The power converter development board PEPPER was designed for precise control, characterization, and testing of various power components, including power supplies, transformers, inductors, actuators, and motors.
One standout feature of this digital amplifier is its ability to regulate both voltage and current outputs while accommodating a wide range of load impedances, from capacitive to inductive.
The dev kit PEPPER excels in flexibility, accuracy, efficiency, and bandwidth. Its adaptable digital amplifier design can seamlessly integrate into custom, application-specific solutions for our valued customers.
Benefits at a glance
High power density which makes compact design possible
High efficiency, accuracy and bandwidth
Low noise and ripple
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) or Pulse Density Modulation (PDM) control
Good EMC and EMI characteristics
Robust: Overload and short-circuit protection
Configurable as source or load; current, voltage, power, impedance
Wide impedance range: inductive, resistive (positive / negative), capacitive
Powerful in combination with the FPGA development boar MINT and model-driven design
Technical specification of PEPPER
| Technology | GaN FETs (Si or SiC FETs possible) |
| Number of channels | 4 |
| Supply Voltage | 0V to 50V |
| Output voltage | 0V to 48V |
| Output Current | – 5A to +5A |
| Output Ripple | < 50 mVpp at 50V |
| Current Noise | < 500 uArms at 5A |
| Efficiency | up to 98% |
| Output Power | 4 x 48V x 5A = 960W |
| Inputs | 2 x Hall/Encoder input |
| Form factor |
FMC card compatible with most evaluation boards Compatible with MINT |
PEPPER - the flexible development board for various power converter applications
PEPPER is a 4-channel dev kit featuring cutting-edge Gallium-Nitride (GaN) FETs. Its output signals are meticulously filtered to eliminate interference, ensuring that typical issues seen with conventional motor drives have no impact. This not only simplifies EMC compliance but also minimizes disturbances within your system.
Implemented as an FMC (FPGA Mezzanine Card), the PEPPER power converter development board seamlessly connects to 3T's MINT FPGA development board. This FMC design ensures compatibility with most third-party FPGA or microcontroller development boards. When paired with MINT, PEPPER becomes a highly flexible amplifier, allowing you to implement control algorithms in either the FPGA or the ARM section of the Arria V System-On-Chip.
To streamline design efforts and verification, control algorithms can be developed in MATLAB/Simulink. Once validated through simulation, a Model-Based Design approach generates VHDL/C/C+ code. Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing enables validation of the control algorithm on PEPPER using MATLAB/Simulink.
PEPPER can function as both a source and a load, with fully adjustable output characteristics. This versatility makes it ideal for precision actuator control and the characterization of various components, including:
Voice coil or Lorentz actuators
Solenoids
Variable reluctances
Motors (DC, brushless, AC induction, sensorless, ironless, 2 or 3 phases)
Piezos
Laser and LED modulation
Heaters
Precision programmable power supply, voltage / current limited
Active loads
Battery cell charging, discharging, characterization (load curves, lifetime, automatic endurance tests)
