Multi-loop current control strategy based on predictive control for multiphase pulse power supplies

For high-power quasi-continuous laser drivers, the switched pulse power supply (PPS) is a promising technique due to its higher efficiency when compared with linear drivers. However, there are some digital control challenges with high precision, fast response and zero overshoot during the flat-top current stage. To promote the use of a switched PPS, this paper proposes a digital control strategy based on predictive current control under a multiphase PPS converter circuit. The key of the proposed control strategy is that predictive inner current control is only used for the master phase circuit. Meanwhile, the current sharing control is used for balancing the phase currents, and the setting outer current controller is used for keeping the whole converter control system stable and robust. Furthermore, to obtain fast and precise current tracking, a predictive average current control independent from the load values is derived. Moreover, a reducing gain method is applied to guarantee the stability of the inner current control. When compared with the conventional multiphase control, the proposed strategy possesses a faster dynamic response and a higher accuracy. In addition, it is more flexible under digital control implementation. A 360 W dual-interleaved PPS prototype is utilized for verifying the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.