Flexible Usage of a Microcontroller System with Improved SPI Communication to Control Power Semiconductors for Teaching Purposes

Engineers use digital signal processors or microcontroller systems in power electronic applications to handle open- and closed-loop control, errors, data analysis, and user communication for teaching purposes. Unfortunately, conventional solutions limit flexibility and adaptivity. However, these features are essential to easily and quickly get students started with new teaching setups, train them on how to control power semiconductors, and let them analyze converter characteristics. Therefore, it is advantageous for microcontroller systems to enable user communication to change system parameters during operation. This paper presents an advanced microcontroller system that fulfills these requirements with a novel SPI communication and filter method. The study validates the microcontroller system with two experimental setups. First, the evaluation investigates closed-loop control, proving it is well-suited for teaching purposes using parameter adjustments during operation. Finally, the results show power semiconductors’ switching characteristics with another experimental setup to confirm adaptability.