UG:104 vicorpower.com Applications Engineering: 800 927.9474 Page 1
Features
n Oscilloscope probe jack for output voltage and ripple measurements
n Simple to use
n Ring lug or solder connections
n Parallelable
Introduction
The Customer Evaluation Board oers a convenient means to evaluate the
performance of Vicor’s intermediate bus converter (IBC) and has been optimized
for user convenience. Refer to the appropriate IBC data sheet for performance and
operating limits. The data sheets are available for downloading at vicorpower.com.
It is important to remember the fast response of the IBC can readily show the
limitations of the source, load, and associated wiring connected to the evaluation
board. Care should be exercised to minimize stray source and load impedances in
order to fully exercise the IBC.
Please refer to Figure 1 for locations of the input and output connections as viewed
from the component side. Wires may be soldered directly to the pads instead of ring
lugs if desired to minimize circuit impedances.
VI BRICK® IBC
Customer Evaluation Board
USER GUIDE | UG:104
Written by: Michael DeGaetano
Associate Product Line Engineer
April 2012
Contents Page
Features 1
Introduction 1
Set Up 3
Recommended 5
Hardware
Thermals 5
Ordering Info 5
UG:104 vicorpower.com Applications Engineering: 800 927.9474 Page 2
Figure 1.
IBC Customer Evaluation Board
layout drawing,
component side
C18
J10
S02
S01
JP02JP01
J11
TP14
C17
C16
C12
C13
C10
C15
FID01
FID02
L10 VI BRICK IBC
R10
R12
R11
R13
S10
TP12TP19
TP13TP21
TP31
TP27
TP33
Q10
TP29
C14
C11
TP23
TP25
1
2
3
4
+OUT
+IN
-IN-OUT
Figure 2.
IBC Customer
Evaluation Board schematic
C15
10 µF
25 V
C14
0.1 µF
50 V
+OUT
–OUT
+INM
EN
C16C17
2.2 µF
100 V
+IN
2
1
4
3
EN
EN_EXT_IN
–INM
–IN
EN
L10
190 µH
20 A
–INM
+OUT
–OUT
–IN
J10
GND
J11R10
47.5 kΩ
R11R12
47.5 kΩ
VI BRICK
IBC
S10
0 Ω
C11
4.7 nF
1k V
C10
4.7 nF
1k V
C13
4.7 nF
1k V
C12
4.7 nF
1k V
S01
S02
R13
Q10
C18
33 µF
80 V
UG:104 vicorpower.com Applications Engineering: 800 927.9474 Page 3
Set Up
The Customer Evaluation Board should be set up as follows:
Note: Care should be taken to avoid reversing polarities if connecting to the opposite
(solder) side of the board.
+IN, –IN
Connect a high-quality, low-noise power supply to the +IN and –IN terminals of the
Customer Evaluation Board. The start up slew rate of the input source should be no
greater than 1 V/µs. The interconnect leads should be heavy gauge and as short as
possible. Additional capacitance may have to be added on the evaluation board to
make up for impedances in the interconnect leads as well as deficiencies in the source.
It is important to remember that noise from the source, as well as any input source
voltage drops, will appear at the output of the IBC multiplied by its K factor.
+OUT, –OUT
An electronic or passive load should be connected to +OUT and –OUT terminals of the
Customer Evaluation Board with short heavy-gauge leads. Most commercially available
electronic loads do not have current slew rates capable of fully exercising the IBC. The
Customer Evaluation Board can be connected directly to the application for which
the IBC is intended. However, the interconnect impedances between the Customer
Evaluation Board and the application can greatly aect the transient response. For
applications where transient response is critical, the user should consider mounting the
IBC directly to the target application PCB.
EN Control
The IBC Customer Evaluation Board provides two methods to enable and disable the IBC.
For the first method, the IBC is enabled and disabled solely with the S10 switch.
No connection to the J11 header should be made. Flipping S10 toward the outside
perimeter enables the IBC. Flipping S10 toward the inside area disables the IBC.
For the second method, the IBC is enabled and disabled solely with the J11 header. The
S10 switch should be fixed in the inside position. Application of 5 V or more between
EN_EXT_IN and –INM, pins numbered 1 and 3 respectively, is sucient to enable the
IBC. Application of less than 1 V between said pins is sucient to disable the IBC.
GND
The GND terminal of the Customer Evaluation Board is provided for basic EMI testing of
the IBC, during which it should be connected to earth ground. Locations S01 & S02 are
provided to shunt the common-mode choke if desired. Zero ohm resistors are placed in
these locations for this purpose.
Output Voltage Measurement Jack (J10)
This connector is provided to make accurate measurements of the output voltage of the
IBC. Many types of scope probes may be directly connected to this point if the probe is
equipped with a removable plastic sheath. To avoid creating ground loops when making
measurements of the output or input voltage, these measurements should be
made separately.
UG:104 vicorpower.com Applications Engineering: 800 927.9474 Page 4
Paralleling
The paralleling and current sharing capability of the devices can be demonstrated by
stacking multiple Customer Evaluation Boards and interconnecting the inputs and
outputs with standos of sucient current handling capability to create a 3-dimensional
array. See Figure 3 below. When paralleling IBCs the EN control header (J11) should not
be used. The modules should be enabled with the S10 switch. Pre-enabling all modules
before input power is applied does not guarantee a synchronous startup. Therefore, the
load at startup must be sized so that any one module is able to successfully startup into
that load alone.
Input Current Measurement
A current probe can be passed around the +in lead connected to the IBC. Input
capacitors on the Customer Evaluation Board are downstream of this
measurement point.
Efficiency Measurement
As the IBC can deliver and consume large currents, the eect of the PCB must be
considered when making an eciency measurement. Be certain to accurately measure
the voltage directly at the IBC using the appropriate pair of contact points located at the
corners of the IBC.
Figure 3.
Paralleling connections
of two IBC Customer
Evaluation Boards +IN
+OUT
–IN
–OUT
The Power Behind Performance
vicorpower.com Applications Engineering: 800 735.6200 Rev 1.4 Page 5
6/2013
Recommended Hardware:
QTY Description Manufacturer P/N Vicor P/N
4 ring lug Panduit LCAS6-10-L
4 #10-32 screw
4 #10 flat washer
4 #10 lock washer Kit # 37324
4 #10 hex nut
4 self-adhesive rubber feet
Rubber feet can be placed on bottom side of PCB at pad locations 1 through 4.
All hardware is stainless steel except the ring lug.
Kit # 37324 is included with the Customer Evaluation Board.
Thermals
For most lab environments a fan blowing across the evaluation board with at least 200
LFM is recommended. For additional thermal information regarding the IBC refer to the
data sheet or contact Vicor Applications Engineering for assistance (800) 927-9474.
Caution
The IBC and Customer Evaluation Board can comfortably operate at surface
temperatures which may pose a thermal hazard to the operator. Be careful not to touch
any exposed surface. IBCs may operate at potentially dangerous voltages and pose an
energy hazard. The Customer Evaluation Board is not intended for use in
end item equipment.
Ordering Information
The Customer Evaluation Board is specified by replacing the “–00” sux with “–CB” to
the appropriate IBC model number.
See: http://www.vicorpower.com/dc-dc-converters-board-mount/vi-brick-intermediate-
bus-conver for model number listings.
