Basic Introduction to Switching Power Supply

1. What is the concept of switching power supply?

A switching power supply, also known as a switch-mode power supply or switching converter, is a type of high-frequency power converter. The function of a switching power supply is to convert one voltage into another voltage or current that meets user requirements through various structural methods. Switching power supplies play a significant role in our daily electricity usage, improving unsuitable voltages or currents, and can save electricity to a certain extent, ensuring a degree of safety for residential electricity use. Switching power supply technology is a commonly used technology today and is an indispensable technology for the rapid development of the electronic information industry. With the development and innovation of power electronics technology, switching power supply technology is also continuously evolving and advancing towards new technologies. A switching power supply is a power supply that operates in a switching state using power electronic devices, and it must meet three conditions: switching, high frequency, and direct current to be classified as a switching power supply. There are many control methods for switching power supplies, among which digital control technology is a very advanced control technology for switching power supplies, with the control center being a digital processing controller. Digital control technology controls the entire circuit through specific software algorithms, and hard-switching and soft-switching technologies are also commonly used control technologies for switching power supplies. The rapid development of technology has brought electronic power devices closer to people's production and life, and the operation and development of electronic devices cannot be separated from power control technology. The advantage of digital control power supplies is that they can monitor the internal status of the power supply, achieve communication between internal and external systems, and reflect the internal status to the entire power supply system, enabling comprehensive monitoring and control. Switching power supplies are characterized by high power conversion efficiency, wide voltage regulation range, and lightweight. The development of switching power supplies has already eliminated the past drawbacks of large size and inconvenient portability. Traditional switching power supply technology has many shortcomings, such as inconvenient power conversion technology and high switching losses. However, with the continuous development of switching power supply control technology, these issues have been greatly improved, and the shortcomings of power switching control technology are being continuously overcome.

2. Development and Application of Switching Power Supply

Many aspects of power switching control technology have matured, and the development prospects of switching power supply control technology are bright. Switching power supply control technology will develop towards high frequency, high reliability, high performance, low consumption, and low noise, striving to develop the most suitable and optimized switching power supply control technology. Electromagnetic interference can affect the operation of switching power supplies and even impact the operation of other devices nearby, severely affecting the normal operation of electronic devices. Currently, countries abroad that are thriving in the development of switching power supply control technology have developed electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) switching power supply control technology. EMC design has become a hot topic in the current discussions on switching power supply control technology. China has developed EMC technology relatively late, while many foreign countries already have their own standards and norms for EMC technology. China is gradually catching up with the pace of switching power supply development, and relevant departments have also issued directives regarding the development of power switching control technology, increasing attention and efforts in EMC technology. EMC technology allows switching power supplies to maximize their development advantages in electromagnetic environments, ensuring electromagnetic compatibility in the expected electromagnetic environment. Switching power supplies have high requirements for power devices; if the requirements for power devices cannot meet the needs of switching power supplies, the development of switching power supply technology will be hindered, making it difficult to utilize switching power supply technology effectively, which is detrimental to the development of power electronics technology. The requirements for power devices in switching power supplies include high voltage resistance, large current, low conduction resistance, and fast recovery speed. Although China's switching power supply technology has developed well and is progressing rapidly despite its late start, it still lags far behind countries with advanced switching power supply technology. Therefore, China should strive to develop its switching power supply technology, increase innovation efforts, and learn from the technologies of countries with advanced switching power supply technology, discarding the dross and selecting the essence. Before the emergence of switching power supplies, many control devices used linear voltage regulators as their power supply. With the gradual advancement of science and technology, modern electronic devices are very compact, which requires that the size of switching power supply devices cannot be too large. The development of electronic devices also serves as a driving force for the development of switching power supplies.