The design of Switched Mode Power Supply or SMPS is fairly complex when compared to

linear regulated power supply. But this complexity in design has an advantage as it will result
in stable and regulated DC supply that is capable of delivering more power in an efficient
way for a given physical specification (size, weight and cost).

. The main design types in SMPS are:

 AC to DC, where AC mains is given as input and we get a regulated DC at the output,
 DC to DC Step up converter, where an input DC voltage is stepped up i.e. output
voltage is greater than input and
 DC to DC Step down converter, where the input DC voltage is stepped down i.e.
output voltage is less than or equal to input voltage.

In case of DC to DC SMPS systems, the input DC is usually given from a battery and hence,
both the DC to DC converter circuits (Step up and Step down) are commonly found in battery
operated systems.

Coming back to SMPS design in the above image, it represents a typical AC to DC converter.
We will see the basic working of this SMPS design. The input AC supply is given to rectifier
and filter circuits. This step will convert the High Voltage AC to High Voltage DC.

This high voltage DC is given to a High Speed Switching Element like a Power MOSFET.
The output of this switch, which is a High Frequency, High Voltage Pulsating AC, is given to
a High Frequency Step down Transformer.

The output of this transformer is a Low Voltage AC signal which is in turn given to a rectifier
and a filter circuit to obtain Low Voltage DC.

SMPS Topologies

Non – isolated Converters are a type of SMPS Topology where the switching circuit and
output are not isolated i.e. they have a common terminal. The three basic and important types
in Non – isolated SMPS are:

 Buck Converter or Step – down Converter

 Boost Converter or Step – up Converter
 Buck – Boost Converter

There are other non – isolated SMPS designs like Switched Capacitors, Cuk Converter and
SEPIC Converter but these three types are very important. They are the simplest of SMPS
designs and use a single inductor as an energy storing element and two switches, out of which
one is an active switch (a Transistor – Power MOSFET) while the other can be a diode.

The output voltage can be higher (Boost or Step – up) or lower (Buck or Step – down) and
can be controlled by the duty cycle of the high frequency square wave (that is applied to the
switch). One main drawback of Non – isolated Topology is that the efficiency of the switches
falls as the duty cycle is reduced. Isolated Topology will suit better for larger voltage
changes.

Isolated Topology in SMPS uses a transformer as an isolator between the switching element
and output. Depending on the transformer’s turns ratio, the output voltage can be higher or
lower than the input. Transformer based SMPS topologies can be designed to generate
multiple output voltage by using multiple windings at the transformer.

The energy storage element can be transformers secondary winding or a separate inductor.
The two important Isolated Topology based SMPS converters are:

 Flyback Converter
 Forward Converter

Some of the other commonly used isolated SMPS topologies are Half – bridge, Full – bridge,
Push – Pull, Half – Forward, Isolated Cuk, etc.

Buck Converter or Step – down Converter

Buck Converter is a type of SMPS circuit and DC to DC Converter, where the output voltage
is less than input voltage. Hence, a Buck Converter is also known as a Step – down
Converter.

It is one of the simplest SMPS power converter techniques and is often used in RAM, CPU,
USB etc. The input DC in buck converter can be a rectified AC or a battery. A simple buck
converter using two switches (one transistor and one diode) and an energy storing element
(inductor) is shown in the image below.

Buck Converter Operation

A simple Buck Converter or Step down Converter is shown in the above image and it consists
of a switching transistor, diode, inductor and capacitor. The combination of Inductor , Diode
and Capacitor is called as Flywheel Circuit.

The operation of the Buck Converter is explained with respect to square wave pulse. The
following image shows the operation of the Buck Converter when the input pulse is HIGH
i.e. the switching Transistor is ON.

When the pulse input to the Gate terminal of the MOSFET is HIGH, the Transistor is turned
ON. As a result, the transistor will supply current to the load. During this time, the Diode D is
reverse biased and will not be a part of the circuit during this period.

Initially, the inductor resists the change in current and hence, the current to the load will
increase gradually with expanding magnetic field. Also, the charge on the capacitor is built
up gradually up to the supply voltage. The next image is for the condition where the pulse
becomes LOW i.e. the Transistor is OFF.

When the pulse becomes LOW, the switching Transistor is turned OFF. The magnetic field
that is built up during the Transistor ON state, starts collapsing now and releases the energy
back in to the circuit. The polarity of the voltage across the inductor i.e. its back e.m.f is now
reversed. The energy from the inductor starts collapsing and keeps the current flowing in the
circuit through load and the diode, as the diode D is forward biased.

Once the energy from the inductor is completely utilized, the capacitor starts discharging and
acts as the main source of supply until the transistor is turned ON. When the transistor is
turned ON, it will once again supply current to inductor, capacitor and load and the process
continues.

The output voltage is dependent on the ON and OFF time i.e. the Duty Cycle of the square
wave pulse and the formula for output voltage is

VOUT = D x VIN, where D = TON/(TON+TOFF)

With Buck Converters, we can achieve more than 90% efficiency and as a result, they often
employed in computer systems where they convert 12V supply to typically 1.8V (for RAM,
CPU and USB).

Boost Converter or Step – up Converter

In the previous section, we have seen a Buck Converter type SMPS. Now, we will see about
another type of SMPS called Boost Converter or Step – up converter. A Boost Converter, as
the name suggests, is type of switched mode power supply, which boosts or increases the
output voltage with respect to the input voltage. Boost Converters are also known as Step –
up Converters as the output voltage is higher than the input voltage.

One of the best known application for Boost Converters is in electric cars. The supply from
electric cars batteries won’t be sufficient for its working as they require voltages that are
much higher (typically in region of 500V) than those supplied by the batteries. Another
important application of Boost Converters is Laptop Chargers in Cars.

Typical Car batteries provide 12V and Laptops require anywhere between 18 to 22V. The
following image shows a simple Boost Converter.

Boost Converter Operation

This simple Boost Converter consists of a Switching Transistor (BJT or MOSFETS can be
used), an energy storing element i.e. inductor, another switch (Diode or another Transistor),
capacitor and a high frequency square wave oscillator with controllable duty cycle.
The input to this Boost converter is unregulated DC, which can be given from rectified AC,
batteries, Solar, DC Generators, etc. We will see the working operating of this Boost
Converter. First we will see for period when the Transistor is ON for the first time. The
following image shows this condition. When the pulse is HIGH for the first time, the
transistor is turned ON and it closes a part of the circuit consisting of Inductor, Transistor and
input supply. Current flows from the input through the inductor and transistor.

The inductor, initially resists the change in current but the magnetic field will increase
gradually allowing inductor to store energy. The impedance of the rest of the circuit i.e.
Diode, Capacitor and Load is much higher and hence, there will be no flow of current in that
part of the circuit.

When the square wave pulse goes LOW, the transistor is turned OFF. This action will cause
a drop in the current through the inductor, producing a back e.m.f in the circuit due to
collapsing magnetic field. Also, the polarity of the voltage across the inductor is now
reversed and will be in series with the input voltage.

The combination of the input voltage and Inductor Back e.m.f cannot pass through the
inductor as it is turned OFF. Hence, the diode is forward biased and charges the Capacitor
and also supplies current to load.

An important point to note here is that the voltage supplied to the capacitor and load during
the Transistor OFF state is a combination of input voltage and inductors back e.m.f, which is
higher than the input voltage.

When the transistor is turned ON again, the current flows again through the inductor and
transistor. As the diode is reverse biased, the capacitor discharges it potential, which is sum
of input voltage and inductor voltage, through the load acting as its source during this period.
The output voltage is given by the formula

VOUT= VIN x 1/(1-D) where D = TON/(TON+TOFF)

Flyback Converter

Flyback Converter is a type of Switch Mode Power Supply typically used in low power
applications. Flyback Converter is an Isolated Type SMPS where the input and output are
isolated with a transformer. The following is the circuit of a simple Flyback Converter.

The main components of a Flyback Converter are a Switching Transistor, Oscillator Circuit,
Transformer, switch (like a Diode) and a Capacitor. The Transformer is different from a
normal transformer and is called a Flyback Transformer. In this transformer, the Primary and
Secondary do not conduct simultaneously.

Flyback Converter Operation

When the Transistor is turned ON, the current flows through the primary of the transformer
with the dot being higher potential. As a result, the polarity of the voltage induced in the
secondary will be reverse to that of primary. Hence, the diode D gets reverse biased.

If the capacitor got charged in the previous cycle, it will discharge through the load. The
following image shows this period of operation in the flyback converter.

The operation of the Flyback converter in the other period i.e. Transistor OFF period is
illustrated in the following image. When the pulse becomes LOW, the transistor is turned
OFF and the primary of the transformer do not conduct.

The energy in the secondary of the transformer will be released into the circuit and also the
polarity in the secondary is reversed i.e. it becomes positive. Hence, the diode is forward
biased allowing the energy stored in the secondary coil acting as the source. It recharges the
capacitor and also supplies the current to load.

The output voltage in Flyback Converter can be higher or lower than the input voltage and is
dependent on the turns ratio of the primary and secondary of the transformer.

Forward Converter

Another important switch mode power supply is Forward Converter. It is another isolated
type SMPS and produces controlled and regulated DC from an unregulated DC supply.

The efficiency of Forward Converter is slightly more than that of Flyback Converter and is
often used in application where the power requirements are a little higher (typically around
200W). The design of Forward Converters is slightly complex than Flyback Converters and a
simple structure is shown below.
The simple circuit of Forward Converter consists of a fast switching transistor, a control
circuit to control the duty cycle of the Square Wave, a normal transformer, two diodes for
rectifying the AC, an inductor and a capacitor for filtering.

Forward Converter Operation

The following image shows the operation of the Forward Converter when the Transistor is
turned ON. When the pulse is HIGH, the transistor is turned ON and as a result, the primary
coil of the transformer starts conducting. As a result, a voltage is induced in the secondary
coil of the transformer.

The polarity of the voltage induced in the secondary is similar to that of the primary and
hence, the diode D1 gets forward biased. The voltage from the secondary will start to flow
through the diode D1, inductor, capacitor and finally the load. During this period, both the
inductor and capacitor store energy in the form of magnetic field and electric field
respectively.
When the pulse becomes LOW, the transistor is turned OFF and as a result, the primary coil
stops conducting. This will in turn stop inducing current in the secondary. This sudden
change (or drop) in current will generate a back e.m.f of the inductor and polarity of its
voltage is reversed.

This period of operation of the Forward Converter is shown in the image below. The energy
in the inductor start collapsing in the circuit through the load and Diode D2 (as it is forward
biased). As soon as the energy in the inductor finishes, the capacitor starts discharging
through the load and acts as a temporary source to the load. This continues until the transistor
is turned ON again

the output voltage of the Forward Converter is dependent on the transformer turns ratio as
well as the duty cycle of the Pulse Width Modulator. The output voltage is given by

VOUT = VIN x D x NS/NP