Design of a Signal Conditioning Unit Interface for Power Electronic Applications

Microcontrollers are widely used for control in power electronics. They provide real time control by processing analog signals obtained from the system. A suitable isolation interface needs to be designed for interaction between the control circuit and high voltage hardware. This paper presents the design and application of a signal conditioning unit which provides necessary interface between a high power grid inverter and a low voltage controller unit. Selection of components and their ratings have been detailed and the system layout explained. The operation of this board is demonstrated in an application where a solar array and an energy storage device are connected to a three phase AC grid.