Recommendations and Typical Errors in Design of Power Converter PCBs With Shunt Sensors

Nowadays the percentage of power electronic devices, which use shunts for sensing of electrical signals, is increasing significantly. This method of measurements is simple, reliable and low-cost, however it requires careful elaboration of schematics and meticulous design of printed circuit boards. The author provides a detailed insight into the design of power converter Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) with shunt-based sensing circuits and provides recommendations on improvement of signal measurements. He analyses the most popular design mistakes and illustrates their impact on measuring signals, which can be used for mistake localization. This paper demonstrates that the properly designed schematic can be turned into poorly operating PCB and recommends measures to avoid it. The author shares his more than 20-years experience and illustrates his statements with examples from real life. Although this paper is mainly addressed to young engineers, it could also be useful for experienced researchers, who work in neighboring areas and do not gain experience in PCB design.