Converter Circuits¶

Course Overview¶

• Institution: University of Colorado Boulder
• Course code: Power Electronics 2
• Track: Power Electronics
• Tier: A
• Role: Alternative
• Level: Not standardized by provider (use prerequisites)
• Last reviewed: 2026-07-28

University of Colorado Boulder's Converter Circuits specializes in converter circuits after the introductory course, using videos, practice, simulation, and code under an explicit prerequisite and possible access fee.

Why choose this course

Alternative course. A reliable option that can serve as a main course or strong alternative.

Before you start

• Recommended foundation: Circuit Analysis
• Recommended foundation: Control Systems
• Recommended foundation: Electronics Laboratory and Measurement
• Course-sequence requirement: complete Introduction to Power Electronics (University of Colorado Boulder Power Electronics 1) first

Verifiable learning outcomes

• Explain the core models in Power Electronics, including their assumptions and limits
• Solve representative derivations and problems, checking units, limiting cases, or numerical results
• Complete a reproducible experiment or implementation with raw data, parameters, versions, and verification

Workload and pacing

11 weeks at 7 hours/week. This maintainer planning estimate is derived from course role and the density of public practice and labs; it is not a provider workload promise. Pilot two weeks while logging instruction, practice, lab, and review time, then adjust the remaining plan when actual effort differs by more than 25%.

Safety level

Simulation only. The default practice scope is software, computation, or simulation only; a lab label in the resource inventory does not authorize connecting physical equipment, and any hardware extension requires provider-scope verification and a new risk assessment.

Course Resources¶

Software, hardware, and cost

Software

• Maintainer-suggested open-source/free verification path: Qucs-S, ngspice, Python 3, Jupyter, and GNU Octave
• The resource inventory lists public code coverage; pin interpreter, dependencies, toolchain, datasets, and PDK versions where applicable

Hardware

• The resource inventory lists lab coverage, but this course's maintainer path explicitly limits it to computational or simulation work. It assumes only a general-purpose computer able to run the software above and retain results; do not purchase or connect isolated/current-limited power, differential probes, electronic load, oscilloscope, and course-specified power stage in a compliant lab

Cost note

The current maintainer path uses computation and simulation only, with no dedicated hardware purchase, and prefers open-source/free tools. This is not a provider requirement; platform, commercial-software, or cloud-compute costs still vary by provider, region, and plan.

Public resource coverage

Resources and access

“Listed by official page” means the link was discovered on a successfully fetched official source on the verification date; it does not guarantee that every region or account can open the target directly. Access does not grant redistribution rights. Re-check the provider page, target link, and third-party notices before downloading, adapting, or publishing material.

Practice and Verification¶

Practice loop

Converter Circuits · University of Colorado Boulder Power Electronics 2: Converter Loss and Closed-Loop Protection Simulation

This is a maintainer-suggested self-study project for Converter Circuits · University of Colorado Boulder Power Electronics 2, not an official course assignment. Simulate a DC–DC converter for Power Electronics and quantify ripple, efficiency proxy, device stress, control stability, and overcurrent or open-load protection.

Origin: Maintainer-suggested project

Deliverables

• A specification of topology, input and output range, switching frequency, ratings, control, and protection
• Switching model, averaged model, controller, and fault-scenario sources
• Raw steady-state, startup, load-step, and fault waveforms with loss and stress data
• A report comparing analytic, averaged, and switching models and explaining worst stress and protection action

Verification

• Keep nominal steady-state output error below 2% and ripple within 15% of hand analysis
• Cover minimum and maximum input, no and full load, startup, and device-parameter extremes
• Cross-check input, output, and loss by power balance with normalized residual below 1%
• Inject a short-circuit proxy or load dump and show protection acts within the declared time without rating violations

Reproducibility

• Commit topology, models, controller, faults, calculations, and plotting sources
• Pin simulator, device models, time step, switching, and control parameters
• Preserve raw waveforms, power and stress tables, fault logs, and the generated report

Safety boundary: Simulation only — Use converter simulation only; do not build mains, high-voltage, high-current, magnetic-component, battery-powered, or power-switching hardware.

Risks, gaps, and boundaries

This course assumes the introductory power-electronics course, and platform access may require payment.

Completion evidence

• Weekly learning log with time, questions, corrected errors, decisions, next steps, and links to that week's reproducible artifacts
• Design-review package with requirements and constraints, trade-offs, editable sources, applicable ERC/DRC/timing/stability checks, exports, and a reproduction test
• Simulation package with model or netlist, inputs, solver and version, parameter-sweep script, benchmark comparison, expected results, and one rerun command
• Code repository with pinned dependencies and toolchain, a minimal run command, tests or waveform/benchmark checks, expected output, and license notes