5.2 Excel Design Tool

The Excel-based design tool allows for quick selection of components to satisfy the specific requirements of your design. To use the tool, enter the key input and output parameters as inputs on the left (green) side of the document. The design tool provides guidance with key requirements for each of the major topology components, including input/output capacitors, high/low-side MOSFETs and the primary inductor. These values appear on the right (red) side of the document.

For each section of the tool, enter the row number of a component that satisfies the requirement from the appropriately named tables below (MOSFETs, Diodes, etc.). New parts can be added to empty rows manually as needed. Once selected, the efficiency of each component choice will be immediately shown, so changes can be quickly iterated to improve the design. Other key component and board-level parameters are entered to capture system losses as well. The tool will then provide an estimate of the system efficiency at maximum power and a breakdown of the total losses by component. It may be required to iterate through the design a couple of times to maximize the efficiency vs. cost until satisfactory results are achieved.