This paper was published by IEEE for the 2005 APEC Conference Proceedings.

The conference was held in Austin, Texas,

March 6-10, 2005. IEEE Catalog: 05CH37646 ISBN: 0 -7803-8975-1 Copyright  by IEEE, Inc.

Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver

Substantially Reduces Power Adapter Heat
David Wang
Anachip USA, Inc.
780 Montague Expressway, Suite 201
San Jose, CA 95123
[email protected]

Abstract - Using conventional methods with a rectifier on the with double pulse suppression allow the controller to
secondary side of power adapter produces more heat. The heat operate in noisy environments.
generated, especially on high wattage power adapters, is even The internal function includes a high-speed comparator
worse.
and a high capability buffer as Synchronous Rectifier
An innovative high-speed controller, called Synchronous MOSFET Driver. The operating supply voltage runs form 7
Rectifier MOSFET Driver (or Driver), is designed to drive a power volts to 14 volts. The block diagrams are described as
MOSFET in high current high frequency fly-back converters. The follows.
circuit does not require any ties to the primary side and derives its
operating power directly from the secondary side. The circuit
functions are structured by anticipating transformer output
transition then turns the power MOSFET on or off before the
transitions of the transformer to minimize body drain diode
conduction and reduce associated heat losses.
The advantages of using this solution that will be discussed are
high efficiency, safe operation for lower operating temperatures,
and ease of design and manufacturing.

Keywords – Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver, SMPS, fly-

back converter, Schottky diode.

I. INTRODUCTION

High operating temperatures create hazardous

application conditions. Most of the power adapters are Figure 1. Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver Internal Block Diagram
compact in size and lack a cooling fan. Users are concerned
about this safety issue because of the heat generated. A. High-speed comparator
The operating temperature, for example, can be cut The core of the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver
down from 82°C to 48°C using a Synchronous Rectifier is a comparator. This comparator is high-gain, high-speed
MOSFET Driver for a typical 5 volts output at 5 amps 25 and has input hysteresis of about 50 mV. VR, Voltage
watts rated power adapter. A scalable design for different Refe rence input, takes a fixed reference voltage. VDC, Duty
output wattages can be tailored to fit a fairly wide range of Cycle input, takes the PWM switching signals coming form
wattage applications. The wattage ranges from 50 watts to a PWM controller.
200 watts power adapters with commonly used output
voltages for consumer electronics such as larger size LCD B. Output stage
monitors, 33” and 40” LCD TVs, and newer generation The circuit does not require any external drives. The
notebook computers. It needs to change for an appropriate Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver output stage has
transformer winding while using the same core circuit of the high driving capability. It can drive up to 1.4 amps. The
Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver for the desired maximum VOH is Vcc-1.4 and the minimum VOL is 0.8
output wattage. volts.
The block diagram of the Synchronous Rectifier
MOSFET Driver is shown in Fig. 1. Schmitt trigger inputs
 The pros using the conventional and the Synchronous The 63 kHz switching frequency comes from the PWM
Rectifier are - high efficiency, safe to operation at lower controller, as Figure 4 shown. The off-phase 63 kHz signal
temp eratures, ease of design and manufacturing, and the for synchronous operation is induced at the secondary side
heat reduction. The drawback of using this Synchronous of the transformer. The VDC of the Driver signals VO to
Rectifier MOSFET Driver is adding some cost to the circuit. switch on and off the MOSFET.
Heat reduction and its safer operation are trade offs to the
added cost of using the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET III. EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION ON
Driver. TEMPERATURE REDICTION

II. SYNCHRONOUS RETIFICATION VERSES Table 1 shows a comparison of two application circuits,
CONVENTION RECTIFICATION TOPOLOGY one using the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver and
the other without one. The circuit using the Synchronous
Figure 2 shows multiple power rectifiers used to Rectifier MOSFET Driver reduces the operating
generate an unregulated DC voltage. The advantage of using temperature on the forward diode significantly by 33.4 °C
this topology is its simplicity. The drawback of this is that on 5 amps output and by 16.5 °C on 3 amps output. Using a
too much heat is generated. Often time, a large heat sink to Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver for 20 watts to 33
dissipate the heat is needed. Multiple power Schottky diodes watts power adapters reduces the heat by 34% to 40%.
are often used for handling higher body temperature rises in Because less heat is generated, a smaller heat sink to
plastic enclosure type adapters. dissipate heat is needed, as oppose to the conventional
DC 19V 4.2A rectification topology.
0.7uH 5m Ohm
T1
0.01uF 100K 330pF TABLE 1
40T 8T 330uF 330uF 330uF COMPARISION OF SYNCHRONOUS RECTIFIER AND SCHOTTKY
260uH
BYV-26C 330 DIODE

FCH20A10 Application circuit Application circuit

Fsw = 63KHz FCH20A10 without using using
FCH20A10
Synchronous Synchronous Rectifier
Output Current Rectifier MOSFET MOSEET Driver
Limit Circuit [MOS IRFZ44;
BAV103

C9
Driver
CAP
[Schottky diode B2D7] Schottky diode 1N5819]
Load 5A 3A 5A 3A
Figure 2. An Application Diagram using Conventional Rectifier on the
In PW 34.8 W 21.5 W 33.2 W 20.6 W
Secondary Side V 5.05 V 5.07 V 4.99 V 5.01 V
I 4.95 A 3.00 A 5.00 A 3.00 A
Figure 3 shows an application diagram using Out PW 24.9 W 15.21 W 24.95 W 15.22 W
Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver. A Vcc limit
Ambient 23 °C 23 °C 23 °C 23 °C
temp
circuit supplies a peak current of 1.2 amps. The Temp 81.9 °C 55.5 °C 48.5 °C 38.9 °C
Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver operates up to 200
kHz, turning the MOSFET on and off.
DC 19V 4.2A IV. OUTPUT WAVEFORM VERIFICATION
0.7uH 5m Ohm
T1
0.01uF 100K 330pF

260uH
40T 8T
330
330uF 330uF 330uF
As the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver starts
BYV-26C

driving the MOSFET, VO is changed and clamped due to

Fsw = 63KHz
BEAD
the change on Ro. The VO drives the MOSFET on and off,
FCH20A10
FDP3672N producing Vds as seen on CH2 waveform.
Output Current
Limit Circuit
100 820

Sync Rectifier
4148 4148 MOSFET Driver
1.2A Peak
GND

VO
VDC

VR

Q7
NPN
GND

VCC

510
1000pF

BAV103

DIODE ZENER
CAP

Figure 3. Typical Application Diagram of Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Figure 4A. Ro, Vds, and VO probing
Driver
Figure 4B. Vds waveform of MOSFET and the corresponding Gate drive
waveform VO

Figure 4A and 4B show the test points of VO on CH2 Figure 6. Waveform for CH1: Rout; CH3: Gate Drive VO
waveform.
share a part of the output current as the high frequency
Figure 5 shows the high frequency power adapter runs transformer may operate under continuous mode. The Ir of
in dis continuous mode. As Ro voltage rises above Vgs(th) the Schottky diode needs to be four times higher than the
of the N-channel MOSFET, VO turns on the MOSFET and rated output current for safe operating consideration.
switching current passes through Source-Drain. When the The Schottky diode can be eliminated and totally relies
Ro voltage goes below Vgs(th) switching current passes on the MOSFET for handling power switching on power
through the Schottky diode instead. When making the Vds adapter output less than 50 watts. However, the efficiency
almost zero, as seen on CH2’s low time, VO turns off the will be reduced one to two percent by using this scheme that
MOSFET. The VOL of the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET saves some cost on the Schottky diode. In addition, the EMI
Driver falls straight down with very little swing. increases slightly. The spikes on MOSFET Vds also
increase. Two waveforms, Figure 7A and 7B, show the
differences between using the Schottky diode running in
parallel with the MOSFET and not using one.

Figure 5. Waveform for CH1: Rout; CH2: Vds

The Vcc power to the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET

Driver is reduced significantly by checking the reduction of
ringing, as shown in Figure 6. In general, this scheme Figure 7A. Vds waveform with Schottky diode and MOSFET in parallel
allows the design to use less heat sinks, makes the
application circuit simpler, and elevates the overall
reliability of the power systems. The t(off delay time) plus
t(fall) of the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver is less
than 80 ns, as seen on CH3 fall time.

V. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

A. Operating voltage and optional Schottky diode

A non-logic level power MOSFET is preferred to be
driven by the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver. The
ideal working voltage to the Synchronous Rectifier
MOSFET Driver is about 10 volts. In case the design uses a
Figure 7B. Vds waveform without Schottky diode and MOSFET in parallel
Schottky diode in parallel with MOSFET that is totally
(MOSFET only)
conducting in the SMPS application, the Schottky diode will
B. Operating frequency of the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET turns off, elevating Vol’s threshold beyond 1.4
MOSFET Driver volts whenever the Tj of MOSFET rises beyond 125 °C that
The optimum operating frequency of the Synchronous reduces the Vgs(TH) from 2 volts to around 1.4 volts.
Rectifier MOSFET Driver is 100 kHz maximum. If the Ciss Adding this resistor ensures no mis -trigger on Vgs due to
of the MOSFET is greater than 2500 pF, the optimum high off switching.
operating frequency is 70 kHz maximum. The output
driving current Ig is +1.2 amps/-0.8 amps peak when using D. PC board layout considerations
MOSFET IRFZ44V with Ciss of 2000 pF. The average It is advisable not to place the Synchronous Rectifier
power consumption of the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET MOSFET Driver directly underneath the transformer to
Driver is less than 30 mA and temperature rise on the avoid magnetic interference from the transformer. The
Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver is within the safe length of VDC and VR to Source and Drain pins should be
range of 90 °C to 100 °C while the case temperature is about as short as possible. If Rg resistor is not used, the trace
60 °C. length of VO and Gate should be as short as possible also.
The Schottky diode is usually mounted on the heat sink with
C. MOSFET selection insulation sandwiched in between before the heat sink is
There are several important parameters for selecting the grounded. A small 2200 pF capacitor is placed between Vcc
MOSFET to be used with the Synchronous Rectifier and Gnd pins. All these precautions will help the EMI
MOSFET Driver. These are Td(off) + Tf and Trr, the reduction, avoid oscillation and reduce noises.
smaller the better. Values less than 100ns are considered to
be appropriate for the operating frequency of SMPS 120V ~ 370V
FORWARD DC 12V 16.7A
APPLICATION
between 50 kHz to 70 kHz. The Rds(on) and consumption 24T

current (RxI2 ) are also important. It is recommended to be 0.01uF 100K .

. . 4T 3300pF
12uH

330uF
1uH 20A

330uF 330uF

less than one watt at Ta = 25 °C. The common selection for 24T 10 1W

AMORPHOUS AMORPHOUS

the MOSFET is (1) Ciss < 2500 pF; (2) Qgs < 80 nC; (3) PWM
BEAD CORE BEAD CORE

Td(off) + Tf < 100 ns; (4) Trr < 100 ns; (5) Qrr < 200 nC. Fsw=63
kHZ
20A 100V 20A 100V

The higher Vgs of the MOSFET is not meant to be FDP3672N FDP3672N

good for the Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver. 390 2K 390 2K

Higher value in Vgs means higher Rds(on) and poor Trr. A

MOSFET with a high Vgs of 600 volts gives Trr of 1000 ns 4148 4148 4148 4148

GND

GND
VDC

VDC
VO

VO
NPN

VR

VR
and it will fatally burns itself out when it is used in the
GND

GND
VCC

VCC
510

Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver circuit. The best 1000pF 1500pF

choice for the MOSFET is to use one with minimum Vgs Sync Rectifier
MOSFET Driver 0.1uF

that just passes the actual Vds requirement. Typically a DIODE ZENER

good example of IRFZ24V gives Trr of 53 ns. The 1.2A Peak

MOSFET with a built-in Schottky diode may also be a good

choice. MOSFET with lower Vds gives faster Trr and lower Figure 8. Scaleable design using two Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET
Rds(on), which helps to reduce the material cost and gain Drivers for 200 watts output
the efficiency. An even lower Vds on the MOSFET can be
obtained using a larger filter capacitor on the primary side E. Scalable design
with a minor adjustment of Np1/Ns1 winding ratio for A scalable design by using multiple Synchronous
achieving the optimum combination. Rectifier MOSFET Drivers running in parallel can be
Unless EMI can be solved easily, otherwise, it is better constructed fairly easily for higher power output. A 12 volts
to switch the high frequency transformer under shallow DC / 16.7 amps for 200 watts design can be done using two
continuous transfer mode. This gives the benefits of Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Drivers. A slight
lowering the high frequency spike noise voltage, reducing modification on the transformer winding for higher power
EMI, minimize MOSFET switching loss, increasing output is needed to fulfill the output wattage requirement.
efficiency, and improving Vout variation under dynamic Figure 8 shows the design details of using two Drivers. The
load condition. heat reduction using this scheme will be just as good as the
Unless the high frequency transformer keeps running lower output power supply that is discussed previously.
the non-continuous transfer mode, the Rg resistor value on
the MOSFET gate should not be high. Otherwise, the F. Solving the transformer yield rate issue
suggested value of Rg should be less than 10 Ω to avoid Td The winding of current type power transformers are
(off) + Tf period being too long, making Qrr larger. usually made manually. To achieve the same electrical
Adding a 2.2 kΩ to 10 kΩ resistor between Gate and performance and characteristics on each current type
Source of MOSFET reduces ringing when Vol is low at the transformer is difficult. The yield rate of this type of
Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver output. Some transformer is usually not good. 60% of yield rate on this
current may feed into the Gate via Cgd and Cgs when type of transformer is commonly seen from the
manufacturers.
A conventional way of designing synchronous
rectification circuits uses discrete components and current
transformers. The rectification circuit becomes unstable and
inaccurately operated when the induced current runs below
the predetermined limit. The circuit is commonly designed
to have 2% to 5% of the output rated load. Because of the
variation of the components used, the Mean Time Between
Failure (MTBF) is inferior.
The coil winding on the primary side of current type
transformers used in synchronous rectifier circuits usually
have one or two turns for making the inductance low and
allowing the voltage drop to be ignored. This Initial
Permeability (µ) of iron core used in this transformer is
relatively high, µ > 7000. µ varies greatly from one
transformer to another due to the manufacturing process. Photo 1. A 75 watts power adapter using Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET
Based on V=L*(di/dt) formula, the same amount of current Drivers, top side view
under di/dt produces large voltage differences. This could
make the synchronous rectifier circuit using discrete
components work incorrectly when the operating current is
low.
Unlike the conventional synchronous rectifier circuit,
the integrated Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver uses
very little load current. This Driver allows for designs that
do not use too many discrete components and current type
transformers. All these improve MTBF significantly. It also
solves the transformer yield rate issue because the
Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver does not heavily
rely on accurate µ of a current type transformer.

G. An example of complete 75 watts power adapter design

Figure 9 shows an example of a complete 75 watts
power adapter schematic design. Each of the five major
active components have their own functionality: the Photo 2. A 75 watts power adapter using Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET
Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver senses PWM Drivers, bottom side view
controller providing 63 KHz switching frequency to drive
MOSFET while a dual operation amplifier monitors the VI. CONCLUSION
over voltage and over current conditions that gate an
optoisolator with variable duty cycle depending on the Analysis and experiments using Synchronous Rectifier
feedback from the output load conditions. MOSFET Driver in fly-back converters were performed.
They showed that the temperature over the heat sink could
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS be reduced substantially comparing with the circuit using
conventional Schottky diodes.
The author wishes to thank the Sales/Marketing,
Application, and Architecture Design teams at Anachip REFERENCES
Corporation for their information and support during the
development of this concept. [1] Sanjay Havanur "Combining Synchronous Rectification
and Post Regulation for Multiple Isolated Outputs" APEC
PHOTOS OF A 75 WATTS POWER ADAPTER Conf. Proc, 2004, pp 872-877

Photo 1 and Photo 2 show the top side and bottom side [2] Conor Quinn "Choosing Power Architectures Wisely"
of a 75 watts power adapter. The Synchronous Rectifier ECN Magazine, July 2004, pp 27
MOSFET Driver in SO8 package is located at the lower
middle of Photo 2. [3] "AP436 Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver" Data
Sheet, Anachip Corp, May 26, 2004
 L
+19V

100~240V
50~60 Hz DC 19V 4.2A
40T 8T
AC 260uH

V+
AC
EARTH T1 T1

AC

V-
GND

BEAD
N

BEAD
Fsw = 63 KHz
HV VCC

DRV

ADJ CS

FB GND

VDC

VO
VCC

VR
PWM
CONTROLLER GND

Sync Rectifier
MOSFET Driver

GND
OUT

+
OPTOISOLATOR

DUAL
OP

OUT
AMP

VCC

+
-
Figure 9. An example of complete 75 watts power adapter design using Synchronous Rectifier MOSFET Driver