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Opto CTR degradation in SMPS is not really relevant?

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treez

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Hi,

I am not sure why feedback optocouplers in SMPS are deemed as being wear-out components?
Do you know?

After all, if (as attached) one uses a low value of RLED resistor, then there is plenty of room for the opto CTR to degrade massively and yet still the SMPS will be in control.
For example, the attached offline flyback could suffer reduction of opto CTR down to just 4% and it would still be able to control itself.
However, Unfortunately the opto datasheets don’t depict age related CTR depreciation.

Maybe the attached would suffer opto CTR degrading down to less than 4% within a few years of 12 hours a day operation in 85degc ambient?

Opto datasheet (CNY17)
https://www.mouser.co.uk/datasheet/2/427/cny17-1767437.pdf

(pdf and LTspice sim attached...plus the TL431 model files for the sim if you wish)
 

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  • Flyback _OPTO.TXT
    11.5 KB · Views: 60
  • Flyback _OPTO.pdf
    31.9 KB · Views: 84
  • TL431 MODEL FROM HELMUT.zip
    1.1 KB · Views: 69

Thanks, graph on page 3 says after 100000hrs (11.4 years) at 125degc and passing 60mA constantly , the CTR has only degraded by 30%. Wow.
 

Hi,
Hi,

I am not sure why feedback optocouplers in SMPS are deemed as being wear-out components?
Do you know?

After all, if (as attached) one uses a low value of RLED resistor, then there is plenty of room for the opto CTR to degrade massively and yet still the SMPS will be in control.
For example, the attached offline flyback could suffer reduction of opto CTR down to just 4% and it would still be able to control itself.
However, Unfortunately the opto datasheets don’t depict age related CTR depreciation.

Maybe the attached would suffer opto CTR degrading down to less than 4% within a few years of 12 hours a day operation in 85degc ambient?

Opto datasheet (CNY17)
https://www.mouser.co.uk/datasheet/2/427/cny17-1767437.pdf

(pdf and LTspice sim attached...plus the TL431 model files for the sim if you wish)
Normally, at the onset of the life of the power supply, The cathode to anode voltage of the TL431 is usually close to the power supply output voltage. This is so because the voltage drop across RLED is usually small. So if you divide V_RLED by RLED, you would have a current that is small. As the power supply ages (and of course the optocoupler) and CTR degrades, there is more demand for LED current. The feedback loop does the work of regulating the LED current to meet up the design current through the optocoupler phototransistor. At this time, because CTR has degraded, I_RLED is increased. So, evidently, the low value of RLED at the Beginning Of Life of the power supply does not mean that the current passing through it is high at that time. However, as time passes and the CTR degrades and the LED current increases, the increase in the LED current causes the CTR to degrade the more rapidly.

The End OF Life of the opto is when the CTR has degraded to 50% of the initial value. This is because when the CTR has degraded to 50%, the degradation becomes more and more rapid that in no time, the opto will completely wear out. The 50% mark is usually considered when designing the feedback loop, especially in situations where there is no RHPZ to detect where you crossover.
 
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1000,00 hrs to 50% for a quality part ...
 
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For some environments (like space) the opto's
emitter efficiency, insulation and detector efficiency
all can suffer and CTR can really go in the tank.

If the opto is used as a gain element besides,
then gain drop could affect loop stability
especially if it was initially "aggressive" for
(say) load-step response optimization.
 
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If the opto is used as a gain element besides,
then gain drop could affect loop stability
Thanks yes, this is especially a point for voltage mode SMPS's, where the gain bode plot has a dip at the LC resonance frequency, and the drop in gain of the opto CTR could take this dip below the 0dB line.....instability could then ensue. So yes this is a concern for some modern voltage mode controllers, eg HiperTFS
 

Realize that the TL431 cathode to anode voltage, Vka, is high at the beginning of life of the power supply. The phototransistor current is regulated. As the CTR degrades, the phototransistor current is maintained by means of an increased LED current that compensates for the degrading CTR and Vka is decreases. This continue to happen over the lifetime of the power supply and Vka continues to decreases until it gets to a point where the TL431 stops regulating, which is when Vka equals the reference voltage of the TL431 which is 2.5V. TLV431 or equivalent would be about 1.249V.

So, generally, the degradation in CTR doesn't constitute reduction in loop gain.
 
Thanks, as can be seen in equn 7.61, (Basso Book) the CTR is a feedback loop parameter in TL431/Opto based error amplifiers, so CTR degradation will in fact result in reduction in loop gain.
 

Attachments

  • CTR.pdf
    587.4 KB · Views: 85
reduction in loop gain is far better than the other way around ....!
Thanks, yes, and usually this is the case, but as you know, there are those few cases where reducing the loop gain can actually make things worse......as in Fig 5, page 4 of the attached.

..actually, these things are maybe not that rare...the Fig 5 is a voltage mode Buck, and with the power integration chips, voltage mode is getting more common.....voltage mode means that problems can occur when loop gain is reduced in certain cases....due to the phase margin getting poorer.
 

Attachments

  • _17 Transient Response _STEP response n stability.zip
    1.1 MB · Views: 114

Thanks, as can be seen in equn 7.61, (Basso Book) the CTR is a feedback loop parameter in TL431/Opto based error amplifiers, so CTR degradation will in fact result in reduction in loop gain.
Yes, confirmed. Loop gain does decrease as CTR degrades.

Actually I was picturing the midband gain as expressed in your photo, along side some other expressions used to determine the maximum RLED. So I had some mix up of beginning-of-life and end-of-life parameters. Now, I have confirmed it and you are correct. The point that the led current increases and the TL431 Vka decreases as CTR degrades are true though.
 
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usually one designs a psu to account for a range of opto gains - if one assumes a 30% worst case reduction in CTR over 20 years at 55 deg C ambient - this can be factored in to the design at the outset - ideally use opto's with a very limited gain spread from the factory.
 
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