DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ADAPTER BOARDS FOR FPGA-BASED POWER ELECTRONICS CONVERTER CONTROLLERS

This thesis provides the design and implementation of adapter boards to provide optical fiber signal conversions between an AC 3-phase microgrid and the FPGA-based controller board. In understanding the design and implementation requirements of the adapter board for the case study of this thesis, an exploration into the history of power electronics converters, their topologies, and applications is carried out. The microgrid concept, its challenges, and control strategies are analyzed in order to understand the main requirements and constraints of this project. A comparison of different board design strategies provided the chosen pathway for the adapter board design in this thesis. The hybrid modular and solid design seemed the ideal choice for this case study. The design rules used in this thesis are discussed and the schematics and PCB layout design are done on Altium Designer software. The final goal is to design a cost-effective, modular, and compact adapter board that provides the interface between power electronics converters and a control board.