Development of Versatile Buck Converter Module for Laboratory Experiment in Power Electronic Course

Power electronics as an enabling technology has become increasingly important in today's society where energy-efficient intensive-computing electrical systems such as portable consumer electronics are increasingly popular and prevalent. In addition, any applications requiring conversion of electrical energy from one form to another will require power electronics, such as those commonly found in renewable energy applications. The most widely used power electronic circuit is the Buck regulator. The circuit is typically found in a system with a single battery that powers many integrated circuits at various voltage levels such as cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc. To prepare students with the necessary background and skills in power electronics, the electrical engineering department at Cal Poly State University offers several courses in power electronics. Each course also comes with laboratory component to allow students to learn hands-on power electronic circuit design, test, and measurement. Recently, the power electronic lab courses have undergone revamping efforts to modernize and upgrade the laboratory equipment and experiments to better align with today's advancement in power electronic technology and the needs from power electronic industry. One major update that has been completed is the Buck converter lab module. This paper presents the development of a new Buck converter module to demonstrate practical design aspects and considerations of a Buck converter. The new module was designed and fully supported by Monolithic Power Systems (MPS), a power semiconductor company in San Jose, following the learning outcomes of the lab course as will be presented in this paper. This paper further discusses in detail the various operations and functionalities of the new Buck module to fulfill the specific learning outcomes of the power electronic courses. In addition, the paper presents an overview of the laboratory experiments that have been developed to utilize the module, along with initial student's performance.