CURRENT-MODE MODELING FOR PEAK, V ALLEY AND
EMULATED CONTROL METHODS
Reference Guide for Fixed-Frequency, Continuous Conduction-Mode Operation
Robert Sheehan
Principal Applications Engineer
National Semiconductor Corporation
Santa Clara, CA
Current-Mode Control
For current-mode control there are three things to consider:
1.Current-mode operation. An ideal current-mode converter is only dependent on the dc or
average inductor current. The inner current loop turns the inductor into a voltage-
controlled current source, effectively removing the inductor from the outer voltage
control loop at dc and low frequency.
2.Modulator gain. The modulator gain is dependent on the effective slope of the ramp
presented to the modulating comparator input. Each operating mode will have a unique characteristic equation for the modulator gain.
3.Slope compensation. The requirement for slope compensation is dependent on the
relationship of the average current to the value of current at the time when the sample is taken. For fixed-frequency operation, if the sampled current were equal to the average
current, there would be no requirement for slope compensation.
Current-Mode Operation
Whether the current-mode converter is peak, valley, average, or sample-and-hold is secondary to the operation of the current loop. As long as the dc current is sampled, current-mode operation is maintai
ned. The current-loop gain splits the complex-conjugate pole of the output filter into two real poles, so that the characteristic of the output filter is set by the capacitor and load resistor. To understand how this works, voltage-mode operation is examined. The basic concept of pulse-width modulation is used to establish the criteria for the modulator gain. This allows a linear model to be developed, illustrating the dc- and ac-gain characteristics.
Having established the basic modulator concept, the current loop is added by sensing the inductor current, and feeding the sensed signal back to the modulator.
Modulator Gain
For simplicity, the buck regulator is used to illustrate the operation.
Figure 1. Pulse-width modulator
Voltage-Mode
A comparator is used to modulate the duty cycle. Fixed-frequency operation is shown in Figure 1, where a sawtooth voltage ramp is presented to the inverting input. The control or error voltage is appl
ied to the non-inverting input. The modulator gain F m  is defined as the change in control voltage which causes the duty cycle to go from 0% to 100%:
RAMP
C m V 1v d F =
=
The modulator voltage gain K m , which is the gain from the control voltage to the switch voltage is defined as:
RAMP
IN m IN m V V F V K =
⋅=
For voltage-mode operation, the control-to-output transfer function is found by multiplying the modulator voltage gain by the output filter response. With V IN  = 10V and V RAMP  = 1V, K m  = 10
which is 20dB. Figure 2 shows the schematic, linear model and frequency response plot. The complex-conjugate pole of the LC output filter is clearly seen, with the resulting 180° phase shift.
Figure 2. (a) Voltage-mode buck, (b) Linear model, (c) Frequency response
Figure 3. (a) Current-mode buck, (b) Linear model, (c) Frequency response Current-Mode
The same PWM function occurs for current-mode control, except that the ramp is created by monitoring the inductor current. This signal is comprised of two parts: the ac ripple current, and the dc or average value of the inductor current.  The output of the current-sense amplifier G i is summed with an external ramp V SLOPE, to produce V RAMP at the inverting input of the comparator.
In Figure 3 the effective V RAMP = 1V, which was used for the voltage-mode modulator. With V IN = 10V, the modulator voltage gain K m = 10.
The linear model for the current loop is an amplifier which feeds back the dc value of the inductor current, creating a voltage-controlled current source. This is what makes the inductor disappear at dc and low frequency. The ac ripple current sets the modulator gain.
The current-sense gain is usually expressed as the product of the current-sense amplifier gain and the sense resistor:
S i i R G R ⋅=
The current-sense gain is an equivalent resistance, the units of which are volts/amp. The current-loo
p gain is the product of the modulator voltage gain and the current-sense gain, which is also in volts/amp. The modulator voltage gain is reduced by the equivalent divider ratio of the load
resistor R O  and the current-loop gain K m  · R i . This sets the dc value of the control-to-output gain. Neglecting the dc loss of the sense resistor:
i
m O O
m C O R K R R K V V ⋅+⋅=
This is usually written in factored form:
i
m O
i
O
C O R K 11
R R V V ⋅+
⋅=
The dominant pole in the transfer function appears when the impedance of the output capacitor equals the parallel impedance of the load resistor and the current-loop gain:
⎟⎟⎠
⎞⎜⎜⎝⎛⋅+⋅=
i
m O O
P R K 1R
1C 1ω
The inductor pole appears when the impedance of the inductor equals the current-loop gain:
L
R K ωi
m L ⋅=
The current loop creates the effect of a lossless damping resistor, splitting the complex-conjugate pole of the output filter into two real poles.
For current-mode control, the ideal steady-state modulator gain may be modified depending
upon whether the external ramp is fixed, or proportional to some combination of input and output voltage. Further modification of the gain is realized when the input and output voltages are
perturbed to derive the effective small-signal terms. However, the concepts remain valid, despite small-signal modification of the ideal steady-state value.
Slope Compensation
The difference between the average inductor current and the dc value of the sampled inductor curren
t can cause instability for certain operating conditions. This instability is known as sub-harmonic oscillation, which occurs when the inductor ripple current does not return to its initial value by the start of next switching cycle. Sub-harmonic oscillation is normally characterized by observing alternating wide and narrow pulses at the switch node. Adding an external ramp (slope compensation) to the current-sense signal prevents this oscillation.
Formal derivation of the criteria for slope compensation is covered in reference [1]. For the purpose of this analysis, a discussion of feed-forward techniques and some illustrations will suffice.
For the buck regulator, the modulator voltage gain K m was found to be V IN / V RAMP. For voltage-mode operation, the gain varies with V IN. Feed-forward techniques are often employed to stabilize the gain. This is typically done by generating V RAMP with a voltage-controlled current source or fixed resistor charging a capacitor from V IN.modulate
Peak Current-Mode
Peak current-mode control is often referred to as having inherent line feed-forward. This is basically true, but is not quite ideal. The sensed inductor up-slope, which is used as V RAMP / T for the modulator is equal to (V IN - V O) · R i / L. In order to stabilize the gain, an external ramp of
V SLOPE / T = V O · R i / L must be added to the current-sense signal. The resultant V RAMP / T = V IN · R i / L.
Figure 4 shows the under-damped condition, where sub-harmonic oscillation occurs with a duty cycle greater than 50%. The relationship of Q as shown in the graphs is covered in the section on sampling gain. To demonstrate the under-damped condition, V SLOPE / T = 0.1 · V O · R i / L.
Figure 4. Peak current-mode sub-harmonic oscillation. For D<0.5, sub-harmonic oscillation is damped. For D>0.5, sub-harmonic oscillation builds with insufficient slope compensation.

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