Stabilized DC power supplies

Power supplies for electronic equipment, in the power range from approx. 10 W to 5,000 W, with AC (50 Hz to 400 Hz) or DC input and one or more DC outputs below approx. 200 V, are the subject of this article. This excludes very important areas such as :

• uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) ;

• high-voltage power supplies ;

• inverters (DC input, AC output) ;

• frequency changers ;

• high-power power supply ;

• battery chargers, etc.

Technical problems are discussed in broad terms. Particular emphasis is placed on the parameters of interest to the user in his applications, and on the precautions to be taken to avoid the most common problems encountered in power supply systems for electronic assemblies.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Coutant-Lambda (Invensys Group) for the considerable help they have given me in writing this article, by authorizing the reproduction and updating of technical documents.

In particular, I'd like to thank Daniel Pujol (Managing Director Invensys Europe Systèmes d'énergie), Adam Rawicz-Szerbo (Managing Director Coutant-Lambda) and Robin Jeffery (Technical Director Coutant-Lambda), whose advice was invaluable.