We recently released our first programmable power converter controller model into the PartQuest Explore Partner Library. Working with ON Semiconductor product and application experts, we created a fully-functional model of the NCV78703. It is a single-chip, three-phase high efficiency boost controller that can be used for various automotive LED Front Lighting functions. Thanks to its SPI programmability, a single hardware configuration can support a diverse range of applications just by using different settings.

Stability is an essential quality of most practical circuits and systems. A traditional stability metric for closed-loop control systems is gain and phase margin, based-on the open-loop transfer function (OLTF) or frequency response. A special physical measurement technique for obtaining the OLTF of an operating closed-loop system, pioneered by Dean Venable* in the 1980s, involves injecting a small sinusoidal stimulus in series with the loop, and measuring the absolute signal levels at the injection site.