Application Note

Quiet switching controller for audio amplifiers

ANP013 // STEFAN KLEIN

IN COOPERATION WITH GÜNTHER KLENNER FROM

1 Switching Controllers in Audio Amplifiers 3 Interference sources

Analog amplifiers are still used in entertainment electronics, especially in Firstly, line-bound interference and radiated interference emission are
the audio range. Switching controllers are now increasingly used as their distinguished. At the input of the switching controller, the input current
power supplies, as they attain high efficiency. These are switched circuits flows with a superimposed AC component, which contains a high level of
that include various sources of interference and may lead to various types HF energy. This energy arises from the differential mode current and flows
of electromagnetic interference. Classical interference, such as line- with the same frequency as is used to clock the switching controller.
bound interference, is not always the main problem in every circuit. In Because of the input current, an interference voltage is generated from
analog amplification circuits, switching controllers can cause non-linear the impedance of the input circuit and the ESR of the input capacitor,
distortions. Nonetheless, even analog circuits can be supplied with which leads to interference of electrical devices. At the output, an AC
switching controllers, provided attention is paid to filtering of interference component flows through the output capacitor of the switching controller,
and the design of their circuit boards. However, filters are not all the same. which, from the ESR of the output capacitor, leads to undesirable residual
Different filter coils are considered depending on the frequency associated ripple. This can interfere with downstream analog or HF switching circuits.
with the interference. Wire coils with a relatively low self-resonant Consequently, it can lead to interference radiated from the outgoing lines,
frequency are no longer considered for high frequency interference as the lines transmit the interference through the air like antennas. The
sources. SMD ferrites are selected for such cases, as offered in a wide circuit board layout is a factor not to be neglected. Conductor loops in the
variety by Würth Elektronik. This Application Note addresses the EMC- circuit board act as antennas, as clocked currents flow with a high di/dt
compliant design of DC/DC switching controllers for analog audio that in turn contains a very high level of HF energy. The conductor loops
amplifiers using Würth Elektronik SMD ferrites and was written in act like frame antennas and cause increased interference radiation of the
cooperation with Mr. Günther Klenner from K&K Prime. interference field strength through the air. Even a "clean" circuit board
layout still poses the risk of coupling of interference internally within the
2 Classes of Analog amplifiers circuit and of HF energy being radiated via other circuit components or
cables.
Analog amplifiers are distinguished between classes A, B and AB. Class
A amplifiers work with a single output transistor operated in the linear part
4 Coupling Mechanisms
of its characteristic and thus demonstrate outstanding linearity. Class B
amplifiers extend Class A amplifiers with a second transistor of which one An electric alternating field, e.g. caused by switching processes with a
is responsible for the positive and the other one for the negative half-wave high dV/dt component, causes capacitive coupling between neighboring
of the audio signal. This avoids the “power guzzling” quiescent current circuits or conductors.
and the efficiency is up to 78.5 % (theoretically). Class AB amplifiers are dV
a combination of Class A and Class B. Like Class B, the circuitry consists INoise = C ·
dt
of two transistors, but it is extended with a DC quiescent current flowing Here "C" represents the parasitic coupling capacitance between the
(as with Class A, but significantly less), which ensures that crossover individual lines. It also depends on the length and arrangement of the
distortions are minimized. Crossover is the change from one to the other conductors, as well as the medium between the conductors that acts as
transistor with the change from the positive to the negative half-wave. AB a dielectric. Capacitive coupling requires a distance "d" which is less than
amplifier technology has since come of age: The linearity is brought under
10% of the wavelength "λ" (d < λ/10). Analogous to this, alternating
control with differential amplifiers in the preamp stage and, if the polar
currents with a high di/dt generate an alternating magnetic field and can
transistors are replaced with MOSFETs, the result is high performance and
induce an interference voltage VNoise in neighboring circuits. This is how
very low noise amplifier.
magnetic coupling arises.
di
VNoise = M ·
dt

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Application Note

Quiet switching controller for audio amplifiers

Here "M" represents the parasitic coupling inductance between the two
T
conductors. It depends on the geometry of the respective lines, the Hot Node L
distance and the arrangement of the respective conductors to each other. i1 i2
Magnetic coupling requires a conductor whose length "l" is 25% less than
tON
the wavelength (l < λ/4). Both types of coupling reduce with increasing i3
tOFF
distance. Vin Hot Vout
Loop
Cin D Cout
5 Functionality of the frame antenna
Each conductor on the circuit board can form a frame antenna. If a
conductor forms a closed loop in the circuit itself or via various Figure 2: Switching states of a step-down controller
components, a frame antenna is produced. Whether it is round or angular,
it acts as a frame antenna irrespective of the geometry. If an alternating There are two operating states in the working system. In the first operating
current with high di/dt component flows through this conductor loop, an state, the switch - an N-channel MOSFET in this example - is open. The
alternating magnetic field is formed. For radiation to occur, the conductor current flows in a loop from the input terminals via the MOSFET, the coil,
loop "l" has to be small compared with the wavelength "λ" of the the output capacitor and then via the common ground back to the input
alternating current. capacitor. The green-dotted line shows the current path (i1 = i2). In the
c second operating state, the switch is open. As the coil attempts to
I≪λ= (Eq.1) maintain the current, the current now flows from the coil via the output
f
So its antenna characteristic is essentially determined by the frequency capacitor and the free-wheeling diode. The orange-dotted line shows the
"f", the enclosed area "A", the current "i" and the distance "r" between current path (i3 = i2). The current i2 flows continuously through the coil in
the frame antenna and the conductor. Figure 1 shows the spherical non-continuous operation. The currents i1 through the switch and i3
coordinate system of the frame antenna. An increase in current, frequency through the free-wheeling diode flow switched on and off respectively.
or the enclosed area will increase the magnetic field. Parameters such as Their alternating current portions have very high di/dt components that
current or frequency are fixed parameters in the design of the switching can be coupled to neighboring circuits or conductors. The switching node
controller and cannot be changed. In practice, conductor loops are (hot node) between the switch, free-wheeling diode and coil is also critical,
minimized and the circuit board layout is optimized. because the voltage is switched on and off at this point. The dV/dt
z component of the switching edges is greatest here and can couple to
neighboring circuits or conductors. As a result of the switching edges of
currents i1 and i3, the red-dashed line is the most critical conductor loop
in the circuit board layout of a step-up controller. It is known as the "critical
loop" (hot loop). These conductor loops act as frame antennas and release
r Frame antenna
θ their magnetic energy to the near field. The radiated field is proportional
to the square of the frequency "f", the enclosed area "A", the current "I"
ᵠ
y
and the distance "r" between the conductor loop and an antenna
(receiver). The calculation example shows the electric field strength
generated by a conductor loop in a switching controller. The following
x values are available:
ζ
Rise time tr: 14 ns
Figure 1: Spherical coordinate system of the frame antenna
Effective current Iin: 0,68 A
Loop area A: 24 mm2
6 Conductor loops in the switching controller
In this example, the frequency of the switching edge at the switching node
design is selected as the biggest disturbing component. Given an unfavorable
A step-down controller is taken as the example below to draw attention to layout, the steep switching edge goes on to produce resonance and
conductor loops that act as frame antennas. Figure 2 shows the principle oscillates with the frequency of the rise time.
set-up of a step-down converter and its operating states.

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Application Note

Quiet switching controller for audio amplifiers

1
f0 = 8 Selection of the Filter components
tON
A rise time of the switching edge at the switching node of 14 ns Here the Würth Elektronik SMD ferrite WE-CBF 742 792 040 is used to
corresponds to a frequency of around 72 MHz. At a distance of 10 m from suppress capacitive coupling in the cable prior to the switching controller.
the switching controller, this gives rise to a field strength: In combination with the input capacitor C4, it forms a low-pass filter. The
SMD ferrite enables broadband filtering up into the high MHz range and
K · �f2 · A · I� thus suppresses the harmonics of the switching edges. REDEXPERT ® - a
E=
r free-of-charge online design program from Würth Elektronik - is used to
263 ∙ 10-16 �(72 MHz)2 ∙ 24 mm2 ∙ 0,68 A� µV select the SMD ferrite.
E= = 223
10 m m
This value expressed in dB/µV leads to:
223· 10-6 dBµV
E = 20 ·log � -6
� =47
1·10 m
For example, CISPR 22 stipulates for Class A a limit value for the field
strength in the frequency range 30 to 230 MHz as 40 dBµV/m. This
applies for measurement of the specimen at a distance of 10 m from the
antenna. This calculation example shows that even a small conductor loop
results in a field strength that far exceeds the limit value.

7 Case Study of a Step-down converter

Figure 4: REDEXPERT® with selected SMD ferrite
The following example shows a circuit extract of a switching controller in
an analog amplifier. Despite the risk of non-linear distortions, it is possible With the help of REDEXPERT®, the right CBF is easy to select, as electrical
to realize the voltage supply based on a switching controller. In this case, properties and curves can be conveniently filtered. Figure 4 shows a filter
special attention is placed on the filter for the inputs and outputs of the that lists the frequency of the third harmonic SMD ferrite with an
switching controller and the layout. Figure 3 depicts the circuit extract of impedance between 10 and 100 Ω. The result is displayed in the upper
the switching controller. window. WE-CBF 742 792 040 in package size 0805 is selected,
In this example, a step-down converter with clock frequency of 570 kHz because it has a low series resistance RDC of just 150 mΩ and allows
is used. The switching controller is supplied via the system from a desk rated currents up to 2 A. A low RDC is important, because, as the series
power supply pack. As the switching controller is a component of an resistor, it reduces the efficiency of the switching controller. The curves of
overall system in this case and is not supplied directly with mains voltage, the impedance, reactance and resistive loss are displayed in the lower
EMC testing of the RF interference field is not applicable. The priority here window. When selecting the SMD ferrite, it is important to be able to attain
is therefore not to suppress the interference voltage at the input of the high attenuation over a broad frequency range. A 10 µF ceramic capacitor
switching controller, but rather to prevent capacitive coupling to is used as a filter capacitor, as ceramic capacitors have a low ESR. A low
neighboring circuits. ESR is advantageous, as the filter capacitor has a high quality "Q" at the
self-resonant frequency (SRF). This is required to generate the lowest

TP1 TP2 TP3 TP4

C204 L1

L2 R201 VIN BOOT D201 L203

V1 EN IC201 PH R206 R208 V2
C4 C201
R202 COMP VSENSE C206
AGND
R203 SS GND R207
C205
AGND AGND
C3 C202 C203

PGND

Figure 3: Circuit diagram of the step-down converter

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Application Note

Quiet switching controller for audio amplifiers

possible impedance, such that disruptive frequency components can be The SRF can be determined on the basis of the capacitance and the ESL.
short-circuited with low impedance to ground. Figure 5 shows the 1 1
impedance curve of the filter capacitor in the Kemet Spice simulation f0 = = = 1.6 MHz
2 · π · √ESL · C 2 · π · �1 nH · 10 µF
software.
The selection criterion of the filter capacitor is to choose a capacitance
100
value with an SRF which lies near, but above the clock frequency of the
Z = 26,80 Ω
switching controller. The green bar indicates the clock frequency of the
Impedance Z [Ω]

10 ESR = 3,71 mΩ
switching controller. As the interference voltage generated by the
f = 575 kHz
switching controller is highest at the clock frequency, it should be short-
1 circuited to ground with the lowest possible impedance. However, the
switching controller harmonics also have to be considered, so that the SRF
100m is slightly above the clock frequency.

10m 9 Effect of the Filter

The low-pass filter consisting of the "L2" SMD ferrite and the "C4" filter
1m
1k 10k 100k 1M 10M capacitor, which depends on the load and source impedance of the circuit.
Frequency f [Hz] Figure 6 shows the schematic relationship of the impedances and the
Figure 5: Impedance curve of the selected capacitor filter.

The red curve in Figure 5 shows the impedance curve. The values for ESR AF
and ESL can be read off in the upper section. The negative peak of the
ZL
curve clearly shows the capacitor's SRF at which the impedance is lowest.
ZA ZB
1
XC = ZC
2 · π · f0

Filter

Figure 6: Impedance dependence of the low-pass filter

Figure 7: Simulation of the filter in LT Spice

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Application Note

Quiet switching controller for audio amplifiers

ZA · ZC
ZB + ZL +
ZA + ZC
AF = 20 log � �
ZA · ZC
ZA + ZC
In this application, the source impedance "ZB" represents the switching
controller input and the load impedance "ZA" the cable. The insertion
damping of the filters "AF" is defined by the expression above. Calculation
of the source and load impedances is problematic, as they are mostly
unknown. The source impedance, in this case the switching controller
input, can usually be determined by measurement. On the other hand, the
load impedance can vary, because it is the supply for the circuit.
Assumptions can therefore only be made from a value of the load
impedance. For this reason, the impedance of the filter is simulated in the
LT Spice software in the 50 Ω system. LTSpice has an extensive library
in which a large number of Würth Elektronik products are available.
Figure 7 shows on the left side the schematic structure of the filter and on
the right side the attenuation curve of the filter. At a switching frequency Figure 9: Interference voltage at the filter output controller input
of 570 kHz, an attenuation of 71 dB is achieved, which decreases with The measurement shows that the input filter reduces the interference
increasing frequency. The input filter causes a reduction in interference voltage to just 20 mV and especially suppresses the switching spikes. The
voltage amplitude in the time domain. As the capacitive coupling of the interference voltage is therefore in an uncritical range.
interference voltage is to be suppressed in this application, the result of Analogous to this, this measurement can be performed at the switching
the filter can be investigated with an oscilloscope. controller output to check the amplitude of the residual ripple. The same
components are used at the input, as well as at the output of the switching
controller. The "L203" SMD ferrite and the "C206" capacitor form the
output filter.

Figure 8: Interference voltage at the switching

Figure 8 shows the measurement of the interference voltage at test point

2, the direct switching controller input. A far higher AC voltage component
Figure 10: Residual ripple at the switching controller input
with an amplitude of 120 mV is applied. In order that the interference
voltage does not pass the conductor or can cou le to the neighboring Figure 10 shows the residual ripple at the switching controller output of
circuits, the filter is placed directly upstream from the switching controller test point 3 with an AC voltage component of 80 mV. This is still too high
input. Figure 9 shows the interference voltage with the input filter at test to be able to supply analog circuits. Figure 11 shows the measurement of
point 1. residual ripple at the filter output at test point 4. Steep voltage peaks are
also apparent, marked with red ellipses, which have been caused by
coupling into the measurement cables. They may therefore be ignored.

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Application Note

Quiet switching controller for audio amplifiers

controller ground "PGND". If the switching controller ground "PGND" were

to be directly connected with the filter ground "AGND", the interference
current could flow from the switching controller ground "PGND" via the
filter capacitor "CFilter" to the power supply and bridge the input filter.
In practice, the input and output capacitors "Cin" and "Cout" are placed
as closely as possible to one another so that their minus poles can be
connected together. This reduces the ground conductor to a minimum. A
reduction of the conductor loop, as shown in Figure 2 with the orange
curve, is achieved by placing the cathode of the free-wheeling diode
directly at the minus pole of the output capacitor "Cin". The residual ripple
is the lowest at this point. The feedback voltage divider, at which the
controller IC measures the output voltage, should therefore be connected
directly at the output capacitor. The minus pole of the output capacitor
"Cout" should therefore also act as reference ground for the controller IC
and as a node point to be connected with the remaining ground of a
Figure 11: Residual ripple at the filter output circuit.
The effect of the filter is also apparent here. The residual ripple has been The circuit diagram of a switching controller was already shown in
reduced to a value below 10 mV and is now absolutely uncritical. The Figure 3. Now, on the basis of this example, it should be shown how the
residual ripple reduced here should now no longer lead to non-linear conductor loop is reduced in the layout and the ground connection to the
distortions in the analog amplifier. The measurements show the remaining circuit was realized. Figure 13 shows the copper plane and the
importance of filtering the input and output and how effective these filters components on the assembly side.
can be.

10 Layout of the switching controller

The problem of conductor loops and the high field strength is described
at the beginning of the Application Note. In order to reduce the current
loop at the moment of switching on the switch, it is important to reduce
the length of the conductor track. This is realized by placing components
as close as possible to each other. The longest conductor track is still the
connection to ground between the output and input capacitors. To avoid
galvanic coupling of the AC component via the ground of a circuit, the
ground of the switching controller "PGND" should only be connected at a
Figure 13: Excerpt from the assembly plane
single point with the remaining ground of the circuit. The input and output
ground "AGND" is separated from the disturbing ground of the switching The orange line in Figure 13 shows the conductor loop of current via the
controller "PGND". Figure 12 shows the schematic structure of the ground free-wheeling diode, the coil and the output capacitor. All components are
connection of the switching controller. placed as close as possible to one another to reduce conductor track
Lfilter Lconverter Lfilter lengths. The green line shows the flow of current via the input capacitor,
the internal MOSFET of the controller IC, the coil and the output capacitor.
Both minus poles of the capacitors were placed very close together so that
FB the ground conductor of the switching circuit is as short as possible.
Vin Vout
Cfilter Cin D Cout Cfilter The opposite side is completely filled with the "PGDG" ground to shield
components and conductor tracks. The layout of the switching controller
has been separated and routed on a ground plane island. Through-
contacts in the circuit board connect the "PGND" ground via an internal
AGND PGND AGND
ground plane island and therefore allow the connection of the "AGND"
Figure 12: Ground concept of the switching controller ground via just one node point. All other internal planes have the same
ground plane island and are only connected at one point with the
In Figure 12 the input and output filters are already implemented. Their
ground, "AGND" in this case, is purposefully separated from the switching

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Application Note

Quiet switching controller for audio amplifiers

remaining "AGND" ground. Figure 14 shows the first internal plane with 11 Summary
its "PGND" ground plane island.
This Application Note illustrates the importance of correct selection of filter
components and the circuit board layout. Conductor loops can couple
interference voltages to neighboring circuits or conductors, which leads to
increased radiation of the RF interference field. Conductor loops of this
kind can be reduced by observing simple layout tips. Filtering the inputs
also reduces the undesirable interference voltage and thus line-bound
interference. Reduction of residual ripple at the switching controller output
is achieved by means of an output filter and can then prevent an audio
amplifier's non-linear distortions. It has been demonstrated that SMD
ferrites are most suitable for HF suppression. The Würth Elektronik
REDEXPERT® helps in the selection of SMD ferrites and the result of the
Figure 14: Internal copper plane filter can be simulated easily in the LTSpice software. The example
investigated in this Application Note shows that switching controller can
In Figure 14 it is apparent that the internal ground plane is applied over
even be used in analog amplifiers provided the points described are
the entire area and is only connected with the disturbing "PGND" ground
observed.
plane at one point (red ellipse). The through-contacts in the ground plane
island are only connected to the "PGND" ground. Figure 15 shows a
picture of the assembled circuit board.

Figure 15: Picture of the assembled circuit board

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Application Note

Quiet switching controller for audio amplifiers

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