ECEN 438 Power Electronics

Chapter 6
DC-DC Converters

Professor: Dr. Robert S. Balog

rbalog@ece.tamu.edu

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Introduction

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dc-dc Converters
Linear Voltage Regulators
Switching Converters
Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Boost (Step-Up) Converter
Buck-Boost Converter
uk Converter
SEPIC Circuit
Interleaved Converters
Discontinuous Current
Switched Capacitor Converters
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Linear Voltage Regulator

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Linear Voltage Regulator

In this circuit, transistor Q1 is the
output-current pass element
A1 is the control loop error amplifier
VREF is a precision reference voltage
source
RS is the current-limit sense resistor
Q2 is the current-limit
control transistor
R1 and R2 are the loop gain-setting resistors.
When the circuit is regulating, error amplifier A1s output responds as necessary to
keep the difference between its + and inputs at zero
When an excessive current is drawn from the output terminal, sufficient voltage
develops across RS to turn on transistor Q2, which in turn steals base current from Q1
and limits the maximum output current to approximately VBE(for Q2 on)/RS or
0.6V/RS.
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Linear Regulator Efficiency

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Linear Voltage Regulators - Challenges

Input voltage is too low then Q1 transistor has insufficient drive current
The designer must guarantee that the input voltage is never allowed to go
below the value of VOUT + (VIN VOUT) minimum, where (VIN
VOUT) minimum is defined as the dropout voltage
For most monolithic voltage regulators, the dropout voltage is usually on
the order of 2 Volts. This means that for a 5V regulator, the input voltage
must never be allowed to drop below 7V,
There is a special class of linear regulators known as low dropout (LDO)
devices whose minimum input-to-output differential can be as low as 0.5V
(not a part of this course)

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Switching Regulator Block Diagram

The switching regulator takes
discrete packets of energy from the
input voltage source.
It temporarily stores the energy as a
magnetic field in an inductor or as
an electric field in a capacitor and
then transfers the energy to the load.
The ability to perform the energy transfer from the source to the load in measured
amounts requires a more complex control technique than utilized by the linear regulator.
The most common control technique is pulse width modulation (PWM) For switching
regulators, the regulated output voltage is directly proportional to the PWM duty cycle,
and the control loop utilizes the large-signal duty cycle as the controlling signal to the
main power switch.
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Switching Frequency and Size

The physical size of power-switching and energy-storage elements in
switching DC/DC converters is directly affected by the operating
frequency.
The power coupled by a magnetic element is P(L) = (0.5LI2)*f. As
operating frequency rises, the inductance required to maintain a constant
power decreases proportionally. Since inductance is related to the area of
magnetic material and the number of turns of wire, the physical size of an
inductor can be decreased.
The power coupled by a capacitive element is P(C) = (0.5CV2)*f, so a
similar size reduction can be realized for the energy-storage capacitors.
These size reductions are very important to both the power supply
designer and the system designer, as they allow the switching power
supply to occupy less volume and printed-circuit board (pcb) area.
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DC-DC CONVERTER

Example dc-dc Converter VRM

http://www.lineagepower.com

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Ideal Switch Circuit Fundamentals

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Ideal SPDT Switch

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Add a Low Pass Filter

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Add Control to Regulate Output Voltage

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A Switching Converter

Switching Function:
1 switch on
qt
0 switch off
vo t VS q t

Average value:
t
D on
T
T
DT

1
vo
V s q d V s q d

T
0

DT

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vo

1
T

t T

Vs q d
t

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Buck Converter

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Buck (Step-Down) Converter

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Switch Closed, Diode Off

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Switch Open, Diode On

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 i L closed i L open 0

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Periodic Steady-State
T

In general:

iL (T ) iL (0)

1
v L d
L

Preceding analysis is valid for periodic steady state:

T

iL (T ) iL (0)

vL d 0
0

Time-average value of inductor voltage must be zero (volt-seconds):

v L t 0

Zero net change in flux linked by inductor coil over the period.
Similar statements can be made about time-averages capacitor current
(amp-seconds):
i t 0
C

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Periodic Steady-State
T

v L t 0

iL (T ) iL (0)

1
T

vL d 0

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Buck Converter
Desire small ripple voltage, so
assume C is large:

In steady state, the total area (or volt-seconds under the inductor voltage waveform is zero
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iC t i L t i R t
IC I L I R
0 IL IR
Vo
1 D T
iL
L

I max

1 1 D
i L Vo 1 Vo

IL

1 D T Vo

2
R 2 L
R
2Lf

I min

1 1 D
i L Vo 1 Vo

IL

1 D T Vo

2
R 2 L
R
2Lf

L
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Vo 1 D
i L f
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Continuous Conduction: iL(t)>0

1 1 D
I max V o

R
Lf
2

1 1 D
I min V o

R
Lf
2

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Inductor Current Ripple

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DC Transformer

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Input Current

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RMS Voltage and Current

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Switch Ratings

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iC t i L t i R t

Capacitor Current

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Output Voltage Ripple

1 T i L
Q
2 2 2

Ti L
8

Q CVo
Q CVo Vo

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Q
C

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Buck Convertor Example 1

Vs = 50V
D=0.4
L=400uH
C=100uF
F=20kHz
R=20

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Buck Convertor Example 1

Vs = 50V
D=0.4
L=400uH
C=100uF
F=20kHz
R=20

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Buck Convertor Example 1

Vs = 50V
D=0.4
L=400uH
C=100uF
F=20kHz
R=20

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Equivalent Series Resistance

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Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR)

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Buck Convertor Example 1 - Revisited

Vs = 50V
D=0.4
L=400uH
C=100uF
F=20kHz
R=20
ESR=0.1

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Mitigate ESR

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Buck Convertor Example 2

Input voltage

3.3V

Output voltage

1.2V, ripple not to exceed 2%

Output current

varies from 4A to 6A

Switching Freq

500kHz

Inductor current ripple not to exceed 40% of average

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Buck Convertor Example 2

Input voltage
3.3V
Output voltage
1.2V, ripple not to exceed 2%
Output current
varies from 4A to 6A
Switching Freq
500kHz
Inductor current ripple not to exceed 40% of average

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Buck Convertor Example 2

Input voltage
3.3V
Output voltage
1.2V, ripple not to exceed 2%
Output current
varies from 4A to 6A
Switching Freq
500kHz
Inductor current ripple not to exceed 40% of average

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Buck Convertor Example 2

Input voltage
3.3V
Output voltage
1.2V, ripple not to exceed 2%
Output current
varies from 4A to 6A
Switching Freq
500kHz
Inductor current ripple not to exceed 40% of average

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Buck Convertor Example 2

Input voltage
3.3V
Output voltage
1.2V, ripple not to exceed 2%
Output current
varies from 4A to 6A
Switching Freq
500kHz
Inductor current ripple not to exceed 40% of average

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Inductor Series Resistance

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Inductor Series Resistance

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Inductor Series Resistance

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Inductor Series Resistance

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Design a DC-DC BUCK CONVERTER Example

Input voltage

7.5V to 36V

Output voltage

3.3V 2%

Output power

1.65 W (max)

Switching Freq

300kHz

Note: Continuous conduction is desired from 25% load to 100% load

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SYNCHRONOUS RECTIFICATION

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END

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