A Method for Optimally Designing Snubber Circuits for Buck Converter Circuits to Damp LC Resonance

A method for optimally designing RL and RC snubber circuits is presented to reduce the electromagnetic interference caused by parasitic LC resonance. The Q factor of the resonance is used as the design criteria. Optimum snubber parameters are determined analytically and uniquely by using a simplified equivalent circuit of the resonant loop and deriving an analytical formula for the Q factor as a function of the snubber parameters. The optimally designed snubbers can adequately adjust the Q factor to any design target. They can also minimize the increases in the negative effects of the snubbers, i.e., overshoot and power loss. The method was applied to RL and RC snubbers to be added to a synchronous buck converter. The effects of the snubbers were reproduced by simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) simulation to validate the method from the perspective of resonance damping, overshoot, and power loss. The results showed that the damping effects obtained with the optimized snubbers met the Q factor design targets. They also demonstrate that the parameters are optimum in terms of suppressing overshoot and power loss. These results indicate that the method is suitable for optimizing RL and RC snubbers to damp parasitic LC resonance.