Converter Control¶

Course Overview¶

• Institution: University of Colorado Boulder
• Course code: Power Electronics 3
• 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 Control advances the power-electronics sequence into converter control through videos, practice, simulation, and code, requiring prior converter and feedback-control knowledge.

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
• Course-sequence requirement: complete Converter Circuits (University of Colorado Boulder Power Electronics 2) 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 Control · University of Colorado Boulder Power Electronics 3: Converter Loss and Closed-Loop Protection Simulation

This is a maintainer-suggested self-study project for Converter Control · University of Colorado Boulder Power Electronics 3, 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

Prior converter and feedback-control knowledge is required, 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