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Inthismodule,wewilltakeanindepthlookatdifferentpowertopologiesforpowerconversion.Power
convertersarethevehiclesforconvertingelectricalenergy.Thesecircuitscanbedividedintofourmain
categories:DCtoDCconversion,ACtoDCconversion,DCtoACconversion,andACtoACconversion.

DCtoDCconversioninvolvesmovingoneDCvoltagetoeitheralowerorhigherDCvoltage.Linear
regulatorsandbuckconvertersbothstepdowntheinputvoltagetoalowerDCoutputvoltage.Theboost
converter,ontheotherhand,stepsuptheinputvoltagetoahigheroutputvoltage.Abuckboostconverter,as
thenamesuggests,cangenerateaDCvoltagebothaboveandbelowtheinputvoltage.

ACtoDCconversionisusedforanACinputvoltageandDCoutputvoltage.Theseapplicationsaretypically
connectedtotheACmains.AboostconverterinanACtoDCconfigurationhalfwayrectifiestheACmains
andbooststheresultingvoltagetoalevelabovethepeakACvoltage.Powerfactorcorrectioncircuits
commonlyemploythisapproach.AflybackalsohalfwayrectifytheACmains.However,aflybackcanboth
stepdownorstepuptheinputvoltage.Theflybackconverteralsoemploysatransformer,whichprovides
isolation.Theboostconverter'snonisolated.

DCtoACconversionistraditionallylesscommonthanit'sDCtoDCandACtoDCrelativeshowever,it's
becomingmorefrequentlyusedtotakepowerfromasolarpanelthatproducesaDCvoltageandtieittothe
energytotheACgrid.AninverteristhecircuitthatchangesDCtoAC,anditcanbothstepuporstepdown
theDCvoltagetoahigherorlowerACpeakvoltage,respectively.

ThelastcommonpowerconverterisanACtoACconverter.Thisistypicallyusedtodooneofthefollowing.
Stepupthepeak,orRMSACvoltage,stepdownthepeakorRMSACvoltage,and/orchangethefrequencyof
theACpower.ThetransformersusedonthegridtosteptheACvoltageupatthepowerplantorstepthe
voltagedownatthesubstationsaregoodexamplesofthistypeofconverter.

ThismodulewillprovideanindepthlookatthreeDCtoDCconverters:linearregulators,buckconverters,and
boostconverters.Beforedivingintoeachtopology,it'sgoodtounderstandthedifferencebetweenalinear
converterandaswitchingconverter.

Alinearregulatorisusedtogeneratearegulatedloweroutputvoltage,similartoabuckswitchingconverter.
Thefigurebelowshowsthesimplifiedrepresentationofthelinearregulatorasavariableresistor.Noticethat
theinputisalwaysconnectedtotheoutputthroughthepasselement.Thepasselement,whichcouldbea
transistororMOSFET,operatesinthelinearregionandregulatesthecurrentflowfromsourcetoload.

Aswitchingregulatorisdifferentfromalinearregulatorinthattheswitchingconverterdeliverspowertothe
loadinburstsfromthesource.AbuckconvertercanbethoughtofasaPWimpulsealternatingbetween
groundandtheinputvoltagethatisultimatelyaveragedbyanaveragingfilter.Thesourceisnotalways
connectedtotheload.Incontrast,thepastelementswitchesthesourceontoandoffoftheloadataperiodic
rate,typicallyinthehundredsofthousandsoftimespersecond.

Nowthatthedifferencesbetweenlinearandswitchingregulatorshavebeenidentified,acloserlookatthe
linearregulatorisinorder.Thelinearregulator,sometimesreferredtoasanLDO,actsasavariableresistor
betweentheinputandoutputvoltages.Anerroramplifierregulatestheoutputvoltagebyincreasingor
decreasingthepasselementsresistanceasneeded.

Theresistivepasselementcombineswithanoutputcapacitortocreatealowpassfilterandwithalackof
switchingnoisetypicallyassociatedwiththeswitchmodepowersupply,enablesextremelylowoutputripple.
Thepasselementcanbereducedtoaverylowresistance,whichallowsasmallpotentialdifferencebetween
inputandoutput.However,thisdropout,asitiscommonlyreferredto,mustbeverifiedintheLDLdatasheet.
Anotherbigadvantageofthelinearregulatorisit'sfasttransientresponseduetotheinputalwaysbeing
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connectedtotheoutput.Andlastly,easeofuse,lowcost,andnegligibleEMIconcernsroundoutthelinear
regulatorsadvantages.

Despiteitsmultitudeofbenefits,tradeoffsexistwhenusinglinearregulators.Mostimportantly,theefficiency
ofanLDOisdefinedbytheoutputvoltagedividedbytheinputvoltage.Whentheconversionratioishigh,the
efficiencyispoorandthepowerlossandheatgeneratedcanbeextremelyhighevenatmoderatetolowoutput
currents.Thiscanbeashowstopperinsystemswherethethermalbudgetisatapremium.Andlastly,theinput
voltagemustbehigherthantheoutputvoltage.Itisnotpossibletoincreasetheinputvoltagetotheoutput
voltageinalinearregulator.

TofurthercomparetheswitcherandLDO,thissnapshotillustratesanextremecaseoftheboardrealestate
differencesbetweena6wattswitchmodepowersupplyanda2.5wattLDO.AlthoughanLDOsolutionsize
canapproachsizeslessthanfourmillimeterssquared,thepowerthattheLDOisaskedtodissipatedrivesthe
heatseekingarea.Aswitcher,ontheotherhard,hasamuchmoredesirablepowerdensity,enablingitto
providemoreoutputpowerperunitareaofboardspace.

Thefirstswitchmodepowersupplytopologytoinvestigateisthebuckconverter.Aspreviouslydescribed,the
buckconverterallowsaDCinputvoltagetobeefficientlyconvertedtoaloweroutputvoltage.Thoughnot
evenclosetobeinganallencompassinglist,commonapplicationsforbuckconverterarepowerforDDR
memorybanks,CPUpowersupplies,ASICsandFPGAsandservers.Andlaptopscontainbatterychargersand
graphiccardswherebuckconvertersarealsocommonlyused.

Outlinedhereisahighleveloverviewofthebuckconverter'soperation.Operationbeginswhenthecontrol
switchstartsswitchingandthesteadystateoperationisdefinedbythefollowingtwostates,thecontrolswitch
beingon,orthecontrolswitchbeingoff.Whenthecontrolswitchison,thevoltageacrosstheinductoristhe
inputvoltageminustheoutputvoltage.EachisafixedvalueofVinandVout.Thecurrentincreasesthrough
theinductorbyVequalsLDIoverDT,aspresentedinmoduletwo.

Theotherstateiswhenthecontrolswitchisoff.Energycontinuestoflowtotheoutputfromtheinductor,
however,thecurrentintheinductorisdecreasingduringthisperiodbythesameVequalsLDIDTequation.
TheoutputcapacitorisusedtofilterthetriangularACcurrent,whichallowsDCcurrenttoflowintotheload.

Inordertoderivethebookinputtooutputfunction,itisnecessarytodefinethesteadystateinductorprincipal
referenceinmoduletwo.Forthecurrentinaninductortobestudyovertime,thenetinductorvoltageina
switchingperiodmustbezero.Inotherwords,thevoltsecondsacrossaninductormustbebalanced.Ifthe
voltsecondbalanceisnotachieved,theinductorcurrentwilleitherdecreaseuntilitreacheszero,orincrease
untilthecoresaturates.

Lookingatthefirststateofthebuckconverteroperation,thecontrolswitchisclosedandtheinductoris
chargingwithavoltageofVinminusVout.Forsimplicity,let'sassumethattheswitchisclosedforDtimesT
seconds,whereDisthedutycycle,andTistheswitchingperiod.Thesecondstateontherightshowsacontrol
switchopenandcurrentcontinuingtoflowthroughtheinductor.However,inthisstate,theinductoris
dischargingasthevoltageisflippedacrosstheinductorandhasavalueofminusVout.

Thetimespentinthisstateis1minusthedutycycle,D,timesthetotalperiod.Becauseofthesteadystate
inductorprinciple,theaveragevoltageacrosstheinductoris0.Sincetheinductorvoltagehastwostates,both
havingconstantvoltage,theaveragevalueisVinminusVout,timesDT,plusminusVouttimes1minusD
timesT,overT,whichequals0,whichcanbesimplifiedtoVintimesDminusVouttimesD,minusVout,
plusVouttimesDequals0.Andlastly,theoutputvoltageequalstheinputvoltagetimesthedutycyclewhen
theaboveequationissimplified.Thisistheinputtooutputvoltageexpressionofthebuckconverter.

We'vediscussedhowthebuckconverteroperatesandderivedthedutycycleusingthesteadystateinductor
principle.Nowlet'sreviewsomeofthecommonvoltageandcurrentwaveforms.Whenthecontrolswitchis
on,thevoltageattheswitchnodeishigh,asshowninblue.Theswitchcurrent,inred,immediatelyjumpsto
thepresentvalueoftheinductorcurrent.Astheinductorcharges,theswitchcurrentincreases,whichequals
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theinductorcurrentingreen.Whenthecontrolswitchtoggleslow,thesynchronousrectifierordioderectifies
theinductorcurrent.Theinductordischargesuntilthenextswitchingcycle.

Therearemanytypesofbuckconvertercircuits,threeofthemwhichwewilldetailhere.Abuckconverteris
definedasnonsynchronouswhentherectifyingelementisadiode.Typically,thisisalowercost
implementationthatisgoodforhigherinputvoltagesandloweroutputcurrents.Itisverycommonin
automotiveapplicationsduetothehighpeakinputvoltagesassociatedwithloaddumps.Synchronousbuck
converters,whicharebyfarthemostpopularbuckconverter,replacetherectifyingdiodewiththeMOSFET.
TherectifyingMOSFETgenerallyimprovestheoverallefficiencyofthebuckconverter.However,totalcost
canincreaseslightlyastheMOSFETdriverisneededtodrivethelowsideFET.

Lastly,amultiphasebuckconverter,alsoknownasaninterleavedbuckconverter,hasmultiplephasesofbuck
convertersoperatingfromthesameinputwiththesameoutputvoltage.Thinkofthisasfillingabucketof
waterusingtwo,three,four,orsixhosesinsteadofjustone.Thisconfigurationisverypopularinhigher
currentapplicationsandcanhaveveryfasttransientresponse.

Thesecondandfinalswitchmodepowersupplytopologythatwillbepresentedinthismoduleistheboost
converter.Aspreviouslydescribed,theboostconverterallowstheDCinputvoltagetobeefficientlyconverted
toahigheroutputvoltage.OnecommonapplicationisLEDbacklights,whichtypicallyhavemanyseries
LEDsthatrequireahighvoltagetodrive.Anotherisalastgaspfunctionforsystems,suchasSSDs,that
requirefunctionalityforashorttimeafterpowerlossinordertoshutdowninacontrolledfashion.

Bystoringholdupenergyatahighervoltagethanthebusvoltage,theamountofcapacitancecanbereducedby
upto80%,significantlyreducingthesolutionsizeandthecostwhileimprovingreliability.Thesearejustafew
ofthemanyapplicationsforboostconverters.

Outlinedhereisahighleveloverviewoftheboostconverter'soperation.Operationbeginswhenthecontrol
switchstartsswitching,andsteadystateoperationisdefinedbythefollowingtwostatesthecontrolswitch
beingonorthecontrolswitchbeingoff.Whenthecontrolswitchison,thevoltageacrosstheinductoristhe
inputvoltage.ThecurrentincreasesthroughtheinductorbyVequalsL(di/dt)aspresentedinmoduletwo.

Theotherstateiswhenthecontrolswitchisoff.Energyisdumpedintotheoutputfromtheinductor,andthe
inductorcurrentdecreasesduringthisperiodbythesameVequalsL(di/dt)equation.Theoutputcapacitoris
usedtofiltertheinductorACcurrent,whichallowsDCcurrenttoflowintotheload.Aboostconvertercould
bethoughtofasasmallbucketofwaterthatcontinuouslydumpswaterintoalargerbucketofwater.

Theboostconverter'sfirststatehasthecontrolswitchclosedandtheinductorschargingwiththevoltageofV
in.Forsimplicity,let'sassumethattheswitchisclosedforDtimesTseconds,whereDisthedutycycleandT
istheswitchingperiod.Thesecondstateontherightshowsthecontrolswitchopenandcurrentcontinuingto
flowthroughtheinductor,whichisnowconnectedtotheload.However,inthisstate,theinductoris
dischargingasthevoltageisflippedacrosstheinductorandhasthevalueofVinminusVout.Thetimespent
inthisstateis1minusthedutycycle,D,timesthetotalperiod.

Becauseofthesteadystateinductorprinciple,theaveragevoltageacrosstheinductoris0.Sincetheinductor
voltagehastwostates,bothhavingconstantvoltage,theaveragevalueisVintimesDT,plusVinminusV
out,times1minusDtimesToverT,whichcanbesimplifiedtoVintimesD,plusVinminusVout,minusV
intimesD,plusVouttimesD,whichequalsto0.Andlastly,theoutputvoltagebecomesequaltotheinput
voltageover1minusthedutycycle.Itisinterestingtonotethattheoutputvoltagebecomesincreasinglyhigher
asthedutycycleincreases.Thisisdespitethefactthattheinductorspendslessandlesstimeconnectedtothe
output.

We'vediscussedhowtheboostconverteroperatesandderivedthedutycycleusingthesteadystateinductor
principle.Nowlet'sreviewsomeofthevoltageandcurrentwaveforms.Whenthecontrolswitcheson,the
voltageattheswitchnodeis0,asshowninred.Theswitchcurrent,inmaroon,immediatelyjumpstothe
presentvalueoftheinductorcurrent.Astheinductorcharges,theswitchcurrentincreases,equalingthe
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inductorcurrent.Whenthecontrolswitchshutsoff,thesynchronousrectifierordioderectifiestheinductor
current.Theinductordischargesuntilthenextswitchingcycle.

Threemainboostconvertercircuitsexistthenonsynchronousboost,thesynchronousboost,andthe
multiphase,whichisalsoknownasinterleaved,boost.Thenonsynchronousboostisthemostcommon
implementation.Itusesarectifyingdiodetosteertheinductorenergyintotheoutput.Dioderectificationis
morecommoninboostconverters,becauseoutputvoltagesaretypicallyhigherthanbuckconverters.The
diodelossesbecomelesssignificantathigheroutputvoltagesinlowerloadcurrents.

Thesynchronousboostconverterreplacestherectifyingdiodewiththerectifyingswitch.Thisisparticularly
usefulwhenloadcurrentsarehigher,andithelpsreducetheconductionlossesintherectifier.Itisamore
challengingtasktodrivethehighsiderectifiers,sinceneitherdrainnorsearchterminaloftheMOSFETis
grounded.Thelastboostconverteristhemultiphaseboost.Similartothemultiphasebuckconverter,the
interleavedboosthasthesameinputandoutputvoltages.However,itcontainstwoormorephases.
Interleavingbecomesmoreusefulastheoutputpowerincreases.

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