Evaluation of ADC Modules for Real-time Control of Electrics Motors in Automotive Systems

Today, analog-to-digital converters are vital components of contemporary technology. They play a significant role, particularly in the automotive sector, as hundreds of sensors constantly require converting analog signals into digital ones for further processing. To monitor electrical quantities and manage electric motors efficiently, ADCs are integrated into the system-on-a-chip to offer a compact and efficient solution. The control system must provide a quick and accurate response for electric motors while managing multiple signals simultaneously. With the aim of converting several signals at the same time from a DC/DC converter and maximizing performance in order to achieve a fast conversion, this research thesis first focused on analyzing existing microcontroller technologies. In order to determine the best solution, a comparison was made between the analog-to-digital conversion modules of the AURIX™ TC399 and other alternative board solutions. The results showed that the former was superior. The study then proceeded with a detailed evaluation of the various ADC modules existing on the board provided by Infineon, critically comparing EVADC (Enhanced-Versatile-Analog-to-Digital Converter) and EDSADC (Enhanced-Delta-Sigma-Analog-to-Digital Converter). After considering the balance between resolution and conversion time, the EVADC was chosen because it is quicker than the other type of converter. This fast conversion capability is crucial to ensure real-time control of currents and voltages, which in turn regulate the PWM signals used for precise control of the DC/DC converter's switches. A further contribution to this thesis was the successful synchronization of the GTM (Generic Timer Module) with the EVADC module. This enables the use of PWM signals generated by the TOM (Timer Output Module) as triggers for EVADC conversion processes. Finally, regarding the proposed method, an application was initially developed for the conversion of a single analog signal. Subsequently, two different approaches were introduced to calculate the actual conversion times of the EVADC module. After selecting the optimal configuration, a final application was implemented that allows the simultaneous conversion of several signals.