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Buckconverter
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Abuckconverter(stepdownconverter)isaDCtoDCpowerconverterwhichstepsdownvoltage(while
steppingupcurrent)fromitsinput(supply)toitsoutput(load).Itisaclassofswitchedmodepowersupply
(SMPS)typicallycontainingatleasttwosemiconductors(adiodeandatransistor,althoughmodernbuck
convertersfrequentlyreplacethediodewithasecondtransistorusedforsynchronousrectification)andatleastone
energystorageelement,acapacitor,inductor,orthetwoincombination.Toreducevoltageripple,filtersmadeof
capacitors(sometimesincombinationwithinductors)arenormallyaddedtosuchaconverter'soutput(loadside
filter)andinput(supplysidefilter).[1]
Switchingconverters(suchasbuckconverters)providemuch
greaterpowerefficiencyasDCtoDCconvertersthanlinear
regulators,whicharesimplercircuitsthatlowervoltagesby
dissipatingpowerasheat,butdonotstepupoutputcurrent.[2]
Buckconverterscanberemarkablyefficient(oftenhigherthan
90%),makingthemusefulfortaskssuchasconvertinga
computer'smain(bulk)supplyvoltage(often12V)downto
lowervoltagesneededbyUSB,DRAM,theCPU(1.8Vor
less),etc.

Fig.1:Buckconvertercircuitdiagram.

Contents
1 Theoryofoperation
2 Concept
2.1 Continuousmode
2.2 Discontinuousmode
2.3 Fromdiscontinuoustocontinuousmode(andviceversa)
2.4 Nonidealcircuit
2.4.1 Outputvoltageripple
2.4.2 Effectsofnonidealityontheefficiency
2.5 Specificstructures
2.5.1 Synchronousrectification
2.5.2 Multiphasebuck
3 Efficiencyfactors
4 Impedancematching
5 Seealso
6 References
7 Externallinks

Theoryofoperation
Thebasicoperationofthebuckconverterhasthecurrentinaninductorcontrolledbytwoswitches(usuallya
transistorandadiode).Intheidealisedconverter,allthecomponentsareconsideredtobeperfect.Specifically,the
switchandthediodehavezerovoltagedropwhenonandzerocurrentflowwhenoffandtheinductorhaszero

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seriesresistance.Further,itisassumedthattheinputand
outputvoltagesdonotchangeoverthecourseofacycle(this
wouldimplytheoutputcapacitanceasbeinginfinite).

Concept
Theconceptualmodelofthebuckconverterisbestunderstood
intermsoftherelationbetweencurrentandvoltageofthe
inductor.Beginningwiththeswitchopen(offstate),the
currentinthecircuitiszero.Whentheswitchisfirstclosed
(onstate),thecurrentwillbegintoincrease,andtheinductor
willproduceanopposingvoltageacrossitsterminalsin
responsetothechangingcurrent.Thisvoltagedropcounteracts
thevoltageofthesourceandthereforereducesthenetvoltage
acrosstheload.Overtime,therateofchangeofcurrent
decreases,andthevoltageacrosstheinductoralsothen
decreases,increasingthevoltageattheload.Duringthistime,
theinductorstoresenergyintheformofamagneticfield.If
theswitchisopenedwhilethecurrentisstillchanging,then
therewillalwaysbeavoltagedropacrosstheinductor,sothe
netvoltageattheloadwillalwaysbelessthantheinput
voltagesource.Whentheswitchisopenedagain(offstate),
thevoltagesourcewillberemovedfromthecircuit,andthe
currentwilldecrease.Thechangingcurrentwillproducea
changeinvoltageacrosstheinductor,andnowtheinductor
becomesavoltagesource.Thestoredenergyintheinductor's
magneticfieldsupportscurrentflowthroughtheload.During
thistime,theinductorisdischargingitsstoredenergyintothe
restofthecircuit.Iftheswitchisclosedagainbeforethe
inductorfullydischarges(onstate),thevoltageatthe
loadwillalwaysbegreaterthanzero.

Fig.2:Thetwocircuitconfigurationsofabuck
converter:Onstate,whentheswitchisclosed,and
Offstate,whentheswitchisopen(arrowsindicate
currentaccordingtothedirectionconventional
currentmodel).

Fig.3:Namingconventionsofthecomponents,
voltagesandcurrentofthebuckconverter.

Continuousmode
Abuckconverteroperatesincontinuousmodeifthe
currentthroughtheinductor( )neverfallstozero
duringthecommutationcycle.Inthismode,the
operatingprincipleisdescribedbytheplotsinfigure4:
Whentheswitchpicturedaboveisclosed(topof
figure2),thevoltageacrosstheinductoris
.Thecurrentthroughtheinductor
riseslinearly.Asthediodeisreversebiasedby
thevoltagesourceV,nocurrentflowsthroughit
Whentheswitchisopened(bottomoffigure2),
thediodeisforwardbiased.Thevoltageacross
theinductoris
(neglectingdiode
drop).Current decreases.

Fig.4:Evolutionofthevoltagesandcurrentswithtimein
anidealbuckconverteroperatingincontinuousmode.

TheenergystoredininductorLis
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Therefore,itcanbeseenthattheenergystoredinLincreasesduringontimeas increasesandthendecreases
duringtheoffstate.Lisusedtotransferenergyfromtheinputtotheoutputoftheconverter.
Therateofchangeof

canbecalculatedfrom:

With equalto
duringtheonstateandto
duringtheonstateisgivenby:

duringtheoffstate.Therefore,theincreaseincurrent

Where isascalarcalledtheDutyCyclewithavaluebetween0and1.
Conversely,thedecreaseincurrentduringtheoffstateisgivenby:

Ifweassumethattheconverteroperatesinthesteadystate,theenergystoredineachcomponentattheendofa
commutationcycleTisequaltothatatthebeginningofthecycle.Thatmeansthatthecurrent isthesameat
andat
(figure4).
Sowecanwritefromtheaboveequations:

Theaboveintegrationscanbedonegraphically.Infigure4,
isproportionaltotheareaoftheyellow
surface,and
totheareaoftheorangesurface,asthesesurfacesaredefinedbytheinductorvoltage(red
lines).Asthesesurfacesaresimplerectangles,theirareascanbefoundeasily:
fortheyellow
rectangleand
fortheorangeone.Forsteadystateoperation,theseareasmustbeequal.
Ascanbeseeninfigure4,

and

Thisyields:

Fromthisequation,itcanbeseenthattheoutputvoltageoftheconvertervarieslinearlywiththedutycyclefora
giveninputvoltage.Asthedutycycle isequaltotheratiobetween andtheperiod ,itcannotbemorethan
1.Therefore,
.Thisiswhythisconverterisreferredtoasstepdownconverter.
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So,forexample,stepping12Vdownto3V(outputvoltageequaltoonequarteroftheinputvoltage)would
requireadutycycleof25%,inourtheoreticallyidealcircuit.

Discontinuousmode
Insomecases,theamountofenergyrequiredbythe
loadistoosmall.Inthiscase,thecurrentthroughthe
inductorfallstozeroduringpartoftheperiod.The
onlydifferenceintheprincipledescribedaboveisthat
theinductoriscompletelydischargedattheendofthe
commutationcycle(seefigure5).Thishas,however,
someeffectonthepreviousequations.
Theinductorcurrentfallingbelowzeroresultsinthe
dischargingoftheoutputcapacitorduringeachcycle
andthereforehigherswitchinglosses.Adifferent
controltechniqueknownasPulsefrequency
modulationcanbeusedtominimizetheselosses.
Westillconsiderthattheconverteroperatesinsteady
state.Therefore,theenergyintheinductoristhesame
atthebeginningandattheendofthecycle(inthecase
ofdiscontinuousmode,itiszero).Thismeansthatthe
averagevalueoftheinductorvoltage(VL)iszeroi.e.,

Fig.5:Evolutionofthevoltagesandcurrentswithtimein
anidealbuckconverteroperatingindiscontinuousmode.

thattheareaoftheyellowandorangerectanglesinfigure5arethesame.Thisyields:

Sothevalueofis:

Theoutputcurrentdeliveredtotheload( )isconstant,asweconsiderthattheoutputcapacitorislargeenoughto
maintainaconstantvoltageacrossitsterminalsduringacommutationcycle.Thisimpliesthatthecurrentflowing
throughthecapacitorhasazeroaveragevalue.Therefore,wehave:

Where istheaveragevalueoftheinductorcurrent.Ascanbeseeninfigure5,theinductorcurrentwaveform
hasarectangularshape.Therefore,theaveragevalueofILcanbesortedoutgeometricallyasfollow:

TheinductorcurrentiszeroatthebeginningandrisesduringtonuptoILmax.ThatmeansthatILmaxisequalto:
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SubstitutingthevalueofILmaxinthepreviousequationleadsto:

Andsubstitutingbytheexpressiongivenaboveyields:

Thisexpressioncanberewrittenas:

Itcanbeseenthattheoutputvoltageofabuckconverteroperatingindiscontinuousmodeismuchmore
complicatedthanitscounterpartofthecontinuousmode.Furthermore,theoutputvoltageisnowafunctionnot
onlyoftheinputvoltage(Vi)andthedutycycleD,butalsooftheinductorvalue(L),thecommutationperiod(T)
andtheoutputcurrent(Io).

Fromdiscontinuoustocontinuousmode(andviceversa)
Asmentionedatthebeginningofthissection,the
converteroperatesindiscontinuousmodewhenlow
currentisdrawnbytheload,andincontinuousmodeat
higherloadcurrentlevels.Thelimitbetween
discontinuousandcontinuousmodesisreachedwhen
theinductorcurrentfallstozeroexactlyattheendof
thecommutationcycle.Usingthenotationsoffigure5,
thiscorrespondsto:

Therefore,theoutputcurrent(equaltotheaverage
inductorcurrent)atthelimitbetweendiscontinuous
andcontinuousmodesis(seeabove):
Fig.6:Evolutionofthenormalizedoutputvoltageswiththe
normalizedoutputcurrent.

SubstitutingILmaxbyitsvalue:

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Onthelimitbetweenthetwomodes,theoutputvoltageobeysboththeexpressionsgivenrespectivelyinthe
continuousandthediscontinuoussections.Inparticular,theformeris

SoIolimcanbewrittenas:

Let'snowintroducetwomorenotations:
thenormalizedvoltage,definedby

.Itiszerowhen

thenormalizedcurrent,definedby

.Theterm

,and1when

isequaltothemaximumincreaseofthe

inductorcurrentduringacyclei.e.,theincreaseoftheinductorcurrentwithadutycycleD=1.So,insteady
stateoperationoftheconverter,thismeansthat
equals0fornooutputcurrent,and1forthemaximum
currenttheconvertercandeliver.
Usingthesenotations,wehave:
incontinuousmode:

indiscontinuousmode:

thecurrentatthelimitbetweencontinuousanddiscontinuousmodeis:

Therefore,thelocusofthelimitbetweencontinuousanddiscontinuousmodesisgivenby:

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Theseexpressionshavebeenplottedinfigure6.Fromthis,itisobviousthatincontinuousmode,theoutput
voltagedoesonlydependonthedutycycle,whereasitisfarmorecomplexinthediscontinuousmode.Thisis
importantfromacontrolpointofview.

Nonidealcircuit
Thepreviousstudywasconductedwiththefollowing
assumptions:
Theoutputcapacitorhasenoughcapacitancetosupply
powertotheload(asimpleresistance)withoutany
noticeablevariationinitsvoltage.
Thevoltagedropacrossthediodewhenforwardbiased
iszero
Nocommutationlossesintheswitchnorinthediode
Theseassumptionscanbefairlyfarfromreality,andthe
imperfectionsoftherealcomponentscanhaveadetrimental
effectontheoperationoftheconverter.
Outputvoltageripple

Fig.7:Evolutionoftheoutputvoltageofabuck
converterwiththedutycyclewhentheparasitic
resistanceoftheinductorincreases.

Outputvoltagerippleisthenamegiventothephenomenon
wheretheoutputvoltagerisesduringtheOnstateandfallsduringtheOffstate.Severalfactorscontributetothis
including,butnotlimitedto,switchingfrequency,outputcapacitance,inductor,loadandanycurrentlimiting
featuresofthecontrolcircuitry.Atthemostbasicleveltheoutputvoltagewillriseandfallasaresultoftheoutput
capacitorcharginganddischarging:

DuringtheOffstate,thecurrentinthisequationistheloadcurrent.IntheOnstatethecurrentisthedifference
betweentheswitchcurrent(orsourcecurrent)andtheloadcurrent.Thedurationoftime(dT)isdefinedbythe
dutycycleandbytheswitchingfrequency.
FortheOnstate:

FortheOffstate:

Qualitatively,astheoutputcapacitororswitchingfrequencyincrease,themagnitudeoftherippledecreases.
Outputvoltagerippleistypicallyadesignspecificationforthepowersupplyandisselectedbasedonseveral
factors.Capacitorselectionisnormallydeterminedbasedoncost,physicalsizeandnonidealitiesofvarious
capacitortypes.Switchingfrequencyselectionistypicallydeterminedbasedonefficiencyrequirements,which
tendstodecreaseathigheroperatingfrequencies,asdescribedbelowinEffectsofnonidealityontheefficiency.
HigherswitchingfrequencycanalsoreduceefficiencyandpossiblyraiseEMIconcerns.
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Outputvoltagerippleisoneofthedisadvantagesofaswitchingpowersupply,andcanalsobeameasureofits
quality.
Effectsofnonidealityontheefficiency
Asimplifiedanalysisofthebuckconverter,asdescribedabove,doesnotaccountfornonidealitiesofthecircuit
componentsnordoesitaccountfortherequiredcontrolcircuitry.Powerlossesduetothecontrolcircuitryare
usuallyinsignificantwhencomparedwiththelossesinthepowerdevices(switches,diodes,inductors,etc.)The
nonidealitiesofthepowerdevicesaccountforthebulkofthepowerlossesintheconverter.
Bothstaticanddynamicpowerlossesoccurinanyswitchingregulator.Staticpowerlossesinclude
(conduction)lossesinthewiresorPCBtraces,aswellasintheswitchesandinductor,asinanyelectricalcircuit.
Dynamicpowerlossesoccurasaresultofswitching,suchasthecharginganddischargingoftheswitchgate,and
areproportionaltotheswitchingfrequency.
Itisusefultobeginbycalculatingthedutycycleforanonidealbuckconverter,whichis:

where:
VSWITCHisthevoltagedroponthepowerswitch,
VSYNCHSWisthevoltagedroponthesynchronousswitchordiode,and
VListhevoltagedropontheinductor.
ThevoltagedropsdescribedaboveareallstaticpowerlosseswhicharedependentprimarilyonDCcurrent,and
canthereforebeeasilycalculated.Foradiodedrop,VSWITCHandVSYNCHSWmayalreadybeknown,basedonthe
propertiesoftheselecteddevice.

where:
RonistheONresistanceofeachswitch,and
RDCRistheDCresistanceoftheinductor.
Thedutycycleequationissomewhatrecursive.Aroughanalysiscanbemadebyfirstcalculatingthevalues
VSWITCHandVSYNCSWusingtheidealdutycycleequation.
ForaMOSFETvoltagedrop,acommonapproximationistouseRds(on)fromtheMOSFET'sdatasheetinOhm's
Law,V=Ids*Rdson(sat).ThisapproximationisacceptablebecausetheMOSFETisinthelinearstate,witha
relativelyconstantdrainsourceresistance.ThisapproximationisonlyvalidatrelativelylowVdsvalues.Formore
accuratecalculations,MOSFETdatasheetscontaingraphsontheVdsandIdsrelationshipatmultipleVgsvalues.
ObserveVdsattheVgsandIdswhichmostcloselymatchwhatisexpectedinthebuckconverter.[3]
Inaddition,powerlossoccursasaresultofleakagecurrents.Thispowerlossissimply
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where:
Ileakageistheleakagecurrentoftheswitch,and
Visthevoltageacrosstheswitch.
Dynamicpowerlossesareduetotheswitchingbehavioroftheselectedpassdevices(MOSFETs,power
transistors,IGBTs,etc.).Theselossesincludeturnonandturnoffswitchinglossesandswitchtransitionlosses.
Switchturnonandturnofflossesareeasilylumpedtogetheras

where:
Visthevoltageacrosstheswitchwhiletheswitchisoff,
triseandtfallaretheswitchriseandfalltimes,and
Tistheswitchingperiod.
Butthisdoesn'ttakeintoaccounttheparasiticcapacitanceoftheMOSFETwhichmakestheMillerplate.Then,
theswitchlosseswillbemorelike:

WhenaMOSFETisusedforthelowerswitch,additionallossesmayoccurduringthetimebetweentheturnoffof
thehighsideswitchandtheturnonofthelowsideswitch,whenthebodydiodeofthelowsideMOSFET
conductstheoutputcurrent.Thistime,knownasthenonoverlaptime,prevents"shootthrough",aconditionin
whichbothswitchesaresimultaneouslyturnedon.Theonsetofshootthroughgeneratesseverepowerlossand
heat.Properselectionofnonoverlaptimemustbalancetheriskofshootthroughwiththeincreasedpowerloss
causedbyconductionofthebodydiode.ManyMOSFETbasedbuckconvertersalsoincludeadiodetoaidthe
lowerMOSFETbodydiodewithconductionduringthenonoverlaptime.Whenadiodeisusedexclusivelyforthe
lowerswitch,diodeforwardturnontimecanreduceefficiencyandleadtovoltageovershoot.[4]
Powerlossonthebodydiodeisalsoproportionaltoswitchingfrequencyandis

where:
VFistheforwardvoltageofthebodydiode,and
tnoistheselectednonoverlaptime.
Finally,powerlossesoccurasaresultofthepowerrequiredtoturntheswitchesonandoff.ForMOSFET
switches,theselossesaredominatedbythegatecharge,essentiallytheenergyrequiredtochargeanddischargethe
capacitanceoftheMOSFETgatebetweenthethresholdvoltageandtheselectedgatevoltage.Theseswitch
transitionlossesoccurprimarilyinthegatedriver,andcanbeminimizedbyselectingMOSFETswithlowgate
charge,bydrivingtheMOSFETgatetoalowervoltage(atthecostofincreasedMOSFETconductionlosses),or
byoperatingatalowerfrequency.
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where:
QGisthegatechargeoftheselectedMOSFET,and
VGSisthepeakgatesourcevoltage.
Itisessentialtorememberthat,forNMOSFETs,thehighsideswitchmustbedriventoahighervoltagethanVi.
Toachievethis,MOSFETgatedriverstypicallyfeedtheMOSFEToutputvoltagebackintothegatedriver.The
gatedriverthenaddsitsownsupplyvoltagetotheMOSFEToutputvoltagewhendrivingthehighsideMOSFETs
toachieveaVgsequaltothegatedriversupplyvoltage.[5]BecausethelowsideVgsisthegatedriversupply
voltage,thisresultsinverysimilarVgsvaluesforhighsideandlowsideMOSFETs.
Acompletedesignforabuckconverterincludesatradeoffanalysisofthevariouspowerlosses.Designersbalance
theselossesaccordingtotheexpectedusesofthefinisheddesign.Aconverterexpectedtohavealowswitching
frequencydoesnotrequireswitcheswithlowgatetransitionlossesaconverteroperatingatahighdutycycle
requiresalowsideswitchwithlowconductionlosses.

Specificstructures
Synchronousrectification
Asynchronousbuckconverterisamodifiedversionofthe
basicbuckconvertercircuittopologyinwhichthediode,D,is
replacedbyasecondswitch,S2.Thismodificationisatradeoff
betweenincreasedcostandimprovedefficiency.
Inastandardbuckconverter,theflybackdiodeturnson,onits
own,shortlyaftertheswitchturnsoff,asaresultoftherising
voltageacrossthediode.Thisvoltagedropacrossthediode
resultsinapowerlosswhichisequalto

Fig.8:Simplifiedschematicofasynchronous
converter,inwhichDisreplacedbyasecond
switch,S2

where:
VDisthevoltagedropacrossthediodeattheloadcurrentIo,
Disthedutycycle,and
Ioistheloadcurrent.
ByreplacingdiodeDwithswitchS2,whichisadvantageouslyselectedforlowlosses,theconverterefficiencycan
beimproved.Forexample,aMOSFETwithverylowRDSONmightbeselectedforS2,providingpowerlosson
switch2whichis

Inbothcases,powerlossisstronglydependentonthedutycycle,D.Powerlossonthefreewheelingdiodeor
lowerswitchwillbeproportionaltoitsontime.Therefore,systemsdesignedforlowdutycycleoperationwill
sufferfromhigherlossesinthefreewheelingdiodeorlowerswitch,andforsuchsystemsitisadvantageousto
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considerasynchronousbuckconverterdesign.
Withoutactualnumbersthereaderwillfindtheusefulnessofthissubstitutiontobeunclear.Consideracomputer
powersupply,wheretheinputis5V,theoutputis3.3V,andtheloadcurrentis10A.Inthiscase,thedutycycle
willbe66%andthediodewouldbeonfor34%ofthetime.Atypicaldiodewithforwardvoltageof0.7Vwould
sufferapowerlossof2.38W.AwellselectedMOSFETwithRDSONof0.015,however,wouldwasteonly
0.51Winconductionloss.Thistranslatestoimprovedefficiencyandreducedheatloss.
Anotheradvantageofthesynchronousconverteristhatitisbidirectional,whichlendsitselftoapplications
requiringregenerativebraking.Whenpoweristransferredinthe"reverse"direction,itactsmuchlikeaboost
converter.
Theadvantagesofthesynchronousbuckconverterdonotcomewithoutcost.First,thelowerswitchtypicallycosts
morethanthefreewheelingdiode.Second,thecomplexityoftheconverterisvastlyincreasedduetotheneedfora
complementaryoutputswitchdriver.
Suchadrivermustpreventbothswitchesfrombeingturnedonatthesametime,afaultknownas"shootthrough".
ThesimplesttechniqueforavoidingshootthroughisatimedelaybetweentheturnoffofS1totheturnonofS2,
andviceversa.However,settingthistimedelaylongenoughtoensurethatS1andS2areneverbothonwillitself
resultinexcesspowerloss.Animprovedtechniqueforpreventingthisconditionisknownasadaptive"non
overlap"protection,inwhichthevoltageattheswitchnode(thepointwhereS1,S2andLarejoined)issensedto
determineitsstate.Whentheswitchnodevoltagepassesapresetthreshold,thetimedelayisstarted.Thedriver
canthusadjusttomanytypesofswitcheswithouttheexcessivepowerlossthisflexibilitywouldcausewithafixed
nonoverlaptime.
Multiphasebuck
Themultiphasebuckconverterisacircuittopologywhere
basicbuckconvertercircuitsareplacedinparallelbetweenthe
inputandload.Eachofthen"phases"isturnedonatequally
spacedintervalsovertheswitchingperiod.Thiscircuitis
typicallyusedwiththesynchronousbucktopology,described
above.
Thistypeofconvertercanrespondtoloadchangesasquickly
asifitswitchedntimesfaster,withouttheincreasein
switchinglossesthatwouldcause.Thus,itcanrespondto
rapidlychangingloads,suchasmodernmicroprocessors.
Thereisalsoasignificantdecreaseinswitchingripple.Not
onlyistherethedecreaseduetotheincreasedeffective
frequency,[6]butanytimethatntimesthedutycycleisan
integer,theswitchingripplegoesto0therateatwhichthe
inductorcurrentisincreasinginthephaseswhichareswitched
onexactlymatchestherateatwhichitisdecreasinginthe
phaseswhichareswitchedoff.

Fig.9:Schematicofagenericsynchronousnphase
buckconverter.

Anotheradvantageisthattheloadcurrentissplitamongthenphasesofthemultiphaseconverter.Thisload
splittingallowstheheatlossesoneachoftheswitchestobespreadacrossalargerarea.

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Thiscircuittopologyisusedincomputerpowersuppliesto
convertthe12VDCpowersupplytoalowervoltage(around
1V),suitablefortheCPU.ModernCPUpowerrequirements
canexceed200W,[7]canchangeveryrapidly,andhavevery
tightripplerequirements,lessthan10mV.Typicalmotherboard
powersuppliesuse3or4phases.
Onemajorchallengeinherentinthemultiphaseconverteris
ensuringtheloadcurrentisbalancedevenlyacrossthen
phases.Thiscurrentbalancingcanbeperformedinanumber
ofways.Currentcanbemeasured"losslessly"bysensingthe
voltageacrosstheinductororthelowerswitch(whenitis
turnedon).Thistechniqueisconsideredlosslessbecauseit
reliesonresistivelossesinherentinthebuckconverter
topology.Anothertechniqueistoinsertasmallresistorinthe
circuitandmeasurethevoltageacrossit.Thisapproachis
moreaccurateandadjustable,butincursseveralcostsspace,
efficiencyandmoney.

Fig.10:CloseuppictureofamultiphaseCPU
powersupplyforanAMDSocket939processor.
Thethreephasesofthissupplycanberecognized
bythethreeblacktoroidalinductorsinthe
foreground.Thesmallerinductorbelowtheheat
sinkispartofaninputfilter.

Finally,thecurrentcanbemeasuredattheinput.Voltagecan
bemeasuredlosslessly,acrosstheupperswitch,orusingapowerresistor,toapproximatethecurrentbeingdrawn.
Thisapproachistechnicallymorechallenging,sinceswitchingnoisecannotbeeasilyfilteredout.However,itis
lessexpensivethanemplacingasenseresistorforeachphase.

Efficiencyfactors
Conductionlossesthatdependonload:
ResistancewhenthetransistororMOSFETswitchisconducting.
Diodeforwardvoltagedrop(usually0.7Vor0.4Vforschottkydiode)
Inductorwindingresistance
Capacitorequivalentseriesresistance
Switchinglosses:
VoltageAmpereoverlaploss
Frequencyswitch*CV2loss
Reverselatenceloss
LossesduedrivingMOSFETgateandcontrollerconsumption.
Transistorleakagecurrentlosses,andcontrollerstandbyconsumption.[8]

Impedancematching
Abuckconvertercanbeusedtomaximizethepowertransferthroughtheuseofimpedancematching.An
applicationofthisisina"maximumpowerpointtracker"commonlyusedinphotovoltaicsystems.
Bytheequationforelectricpower:

where:
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Voistheoutputvoltage
Ioistheoutputcurrent
isthepowerefficiency(rangingfrom0to1)
Viistheinputvoltage
Iiistheinputcurrent
ByOhm'sLaw:

where:
Zoistheoutputimpedance
Ziistheinputimpedance
SubstitutingtheseexpressionsforIoandIiintothepowerequationyields:

Aswaspreviouslyshownforthecontinuousmode,(whereIL>0):

where:
Disthedutycycle
SubstitutingthisequationforVointothepreviousequation,yields:

whichreducesto:

andfinally:

Thisshowsthatitispossibletoadjusttheimpedanceratiobyadjustingthedutycycle.Thisisparticularlyusefulin
applicationswheretheimpedance(s)aredynamicallychanging.

Seealso
Boostconverter
Buckboostconverter
SplitPi(BoostBuckConverter)
GeneralDCDCconvertersandSwitchedmodepowersupplies
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References
1.Mammano,Robert."Switchingpowersupplytopologyvoltagemodevs.currentmode."ElektronJournalSouthAfrican
InstituteofElectricalEngineers18.6(2001):2527.
2.http://www.digikey.com/en/articles/techzone/2012/may/understandingtheadvantagesanddisadvantagesoflinear
regulators
3."PowerMOSFETdatasheetlist".http://www.magnachip.com.MagnaChip.Retrieved25January2015.Externallinkin
|website=(help)
4.JimWilliams(1January2009)."DiodeTurnOnTimeInducedFailuresinSwitchingRegulators".
5."NCP5911datasheet"(PDF).http://www.onsemi.com.ONSemiconductor.Retrieved25January2015.Externallinkin
|website=(help)
6.GuySguier,lectroniquedepuissance,7thedition,Dunod,Paris1999(inFrench)
7.Tom'sHardware:"Idle/PeakPowerConsumptionAnalysis"(http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclockcorei7,22
6810.html)
8."iitb.ac.inBuckconverter"(PDF).090424ee.iitb.ac.in

P.Julin,A.Oliva,P.Mandolesi,andH.Chiacchiarini,"Output
WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoBuck
discretefeedbackcontrolofaDCDCBuckconverter,"in
converters.
ProceedingsoftheIEEEInternationalSymposiumonIndustrial
Electronics(ISIE97),Guimaraes,Portugal,711Julio1997,pp.925
930.
H.Chiacchiarini,P.Mandolesi,A.Oliva,andP.Julin,"Nonlinearanalogcontrollerforabuckconverter:
Theoryandexperimentalresults",ProceedingsoftheIEEEInternationalSymposiumonIndustrial
Electronics(ISIE99),Bled,Slovenia,1216July1999,pp.601606.
M.B.DAmico,A.Oliva,E.E.PaoliniyN.Guerin,"Bifurcationcontrolofabuckconverterin
discontinuousconductionmode",Proceedingsofthe1stIFACConferenceonAnalysisandControlof
ChaoticSystems(CHAOS06),pp.399404,Reims(Francia),28al30dejuniode2006.
Oliva,A.R.,H.ChiacchiariniyG.Bortolotto"Developingofastatefeedbackcontrollerforthesynchronous
buckconverter",LatinAmericanAppliedResearch,Volumen35,Nro2,Abril2005,pp.8388.ISSN0327
0793(https://www.worldcat.org/search?fq=x0:jrnl&q=n2:03270793).
DAmico,M.B.,Guerin,N.,Oliva,A.R.,Paolini,E.E.DinmicadeunconvertidorbuckconcontroladorPI
digital.RevistaIberoamericanadeautomticaeinformticaindustrial(RIAI),Vol4,No3,julio2007,
pp.126131.ISSN16977912(https://www.worldcat.org/search?fq=x0:jrnl&q=n2:16977912).
Chierchie,F.Paolini,E.E.Discretetimemodelingandcontrolofasynchronousbuckconverter.Argentine
SchoolofMicroNanoelectronics,TechnologyandApplications,2009.EAMTA2009.12October2009,
pp.510.ISBN9781424448357.

Externallinks
InteractivePowerElectronicsSeminar(iPES)(http://www.ipes.ethz.ch/ipes/e_index.html)ManyJava
appletsdemonstratingtheoperationofconverters
Modelbasedcontrolofdigitalbuckconverter(http://www.vissim.com/solutions/dcdc_buck_converter.html)
DescriptionandworkingVisSimsourcecodediagramforlowcostdigitalcontrolofDCDCbuckconverters
SPICEsimulationofthebuckconverter(http://www.ecircuitcenter.com/Circuits/smps_buck/smps_buck.ht
m)
Tutorialvideoexplainingbuckconverterswithexamplebuckconvertercircuitdesign(http://afrotechmods.c
om/tutorials/2014/12/20/switchmodepowersupplytutorialdcdcbuckconverters/)
SwitchModePowerSupplyTutorial(http://www.powerdesignersusa.com/InfoWeb/resources/pe_html/pe07
_nc8.htm)DetailedarticleonDCDCconverterswhichgivesamoreformalanddetailedanalysisofthe
Buckincludingtheeffectsofnonidealswitching(but,notethatthediagramofthebuckboostconverter
failstoaccountfortheinversionofthepolarityofthevoltagebetweeninputandoutput).
DCDCPowerConverterCasestudy(http://www.mentor.com/products/sm/resources/overview/casestudyd
cdcpowerconverterc99117eac6834c06ba1fa9c5703948b2)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter

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8/27/2016

BuckconverterWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

OnthePowerEfficiencyOptimization(http://www.postreh.com/vmichal/papers/PeakEfficiency_Detection_
DC_DC.pdf)
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