10

DC-DC Converters

Dariusz Czarkowski 10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

New York University, New York, NY, 10.2 DC Choppers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
United States
10.3 Step-Down (Buck) Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
10.3.1 Basic Converter • 10.3.2 Transformer Versions of Buck Converter
10.4 Step-Up (Boost) Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
10.5 Buck-Boost Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
10.5.1 Basic Converter • 10.5.2 Flyback Converter
10.6
Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cuk 282
10.7 Effects of Parasitic Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
10.8 Synchronous and Bidirectional Converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
10.9 Control Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
10.10 Applications of DC-DC Converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

10.1 Introduction for achieving a faster dynamic response to rapid changes in the
load current and/or the input voltage.
Modern electronic systems require high-quality, small, light- High-frequency electronic power processors are used in
weight, reliable, and efficient power supplies. Linear power reg- dc-dc power conversion. The functions of dc-dc converters are
ulators, whose principle of operation is based on a voltage or • to convert a dc input voltage VS into a dc output voltage VO,
current divider, are inefficient. They are limited to output volt- • to regulate the dc output voltage against load and line
ages smaller than the input voltage. Also, their power density is variations,
low because they require low-frequency (50 or 60 Hz) line • to reduce the ac voltage ripple on the dc output voltage
transformers and filters. Linear regulators can, however, pro- below the required level,
vide a very high-quality output voltage. Their main area of • to provide isolation between the input source and the load
application is at low power levels as low-dropout voltage (isolation is not always required),
(LDO) regulators. Electronic devices in linear regulators oper- • to protect the supplied system and the input source from
ate in their active (linear) modes. At higher power levels, electromagnetic interference (EMI),
switching regulators are used. Switching regulators use power • to satisfy various international and national safety
electronic semiconductor switches in on and off states. Since standards.
there is a small power loss in those states (low voltage across
a switch in the on state, zero current through a switch in the The dc-dc converters can be divided into two main types:
off state), switching regulators can achieve high energy conver- hard-switching pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converters
sion efficiencies. Modern power electronic switches can operate and resonant and soft-switching converters. This chapter deals
at high frequencies. The higher the operating frequency, the with the former type of dc-dc converters. The PWM converters
smaller and lighter the transformers, filter inductors, and have been very popular for the last three decades. They are
capacitors. In addition, dynamic characteristics of converters widely used at all power levels. Topologies and properties of
improve with increasing operating frequencies. The bandwidth PWM converters are well understood and described in litera-
of a control loop is usually determined by the corner frequency ture. Advantages of PWM converters include low component
of the output filter. Therefore, high operating frequencies allow count, high efficiency, constant frequency operation, relatively

Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 275

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-811407-0.00010-6
276 D. Czarkowski

simple control and commercial availability of integrated circuit S

controllers, and ability to achieve high conversion ratios for
both step-down and step-up application. A disadvantage of
PWM dc-dc converters is that PWM rectangular voltage and
current waveforms cause turn-on and turn-off losses in semi- +
conductor devices that limit practical operating frequencies to a
megahertz range. Rectangular waveforms also inherently Vs Vo
generate EMI.
This chapter starts from a section on dc choppers that –
are used primarily in dc drives. The output voltage of dc chop-
pers is controlled by adjusting the on time of a switch, which in
turn adjusts the width of a voltage pulse at the output. This is
(A)
the so-called pulse-width-modulation (PWM) control. The dc
choppers with additional filtering components form PWM
dc-dc converters. Four basic dc-dc converter topologies are Vo
presented in Sections 10.3–10.6: buck, boost, buck-boost, and

converters. Popular isolated versions of these converters
Cuk
VS
are also discussed. Operation of converters is explained under
ideal component and semiconductor device assumptions.
Section 10.7 discusses effects of nonidealities in PWM con- S closed S open
verters. Section 10.8 presents topologies for increased efficiency 0 DT T t
at low output voltage and for bidirectional power flow. | |
Section 10.9 reviews control principles of PWM dc-dc con- (1–D)T
(B)
verters. Two main control schemes, voltage-mode control
and current-mode control, are described. Summary of applica- FIG. 10.1 DC chopper with resistive load, (A) circuit diagram and
tion areas of PWM dc-dc converters is given in Section 10.10. (B) output voltage waveform.
Finally, a list of modern textbooks on power electronics is
provided. These books are excellent resources for deeper explo- and can be regulated by adjusting duty ratio D. The average
ration of the area of dc-dc power conversion. output voltage is always smaller than the input voltage, hence,
the name of the converter.
The dc step-down choppers are commonly used in dc drives.
10.2 DC Choppers In such a case, the load is presented as a series combination of
inductance L, resistance R, and back emf E as shown in
A step-down dc chopper with a resistive load is shown in Fig. 10.2A. To provide a path for a continuous inductor current
Fig. 10.1A. It is a series connection of a dc input voltage source flow when the switch is in the off state, an antiparallel diode D
VS, controllable switch S, and load resistance R. In most cases, must be connected across the load. Since the chopper of
switch S has a unidirectional voltage blocking capabilities and Fig. 10.2A provides a positive voltage and a positive current
unidirectional current conduction capabilities. Power elec- to the load, it is called a first-quadrant chopper. The load volt-
tronic switches are usually implemented with power MOS- age and current are graphed in Fig. 10.2B under assumptions
FETs, IGBTs, MCTs, power BJTs, or GTOs. If an antiparallel that the load current never reaches zero and the load time con-
diode is used or embedded in a switch, a switch exhibits a bidi- stant τ ¼ L=R is much greater than the period T. Average values
rectional current conduction property. Fig. 10.1B depicts wave- of the output voltage and current can be adjusted by changing
forms in a step-down chopper. The switch is being operated the duty ratio D.
with a duty ratio D defined as a ratio of the switch on time The dc choppers can also provide peak output voltages
to the sum of the on and the off times. For a constant frequency higher than the input voltage. Such a step-up configuration
operation, is presented in Fig. 10.3. It consists of dc input source VS, induc-
ton ton tor L connected in series with the source, switch S connecting
D
¼ (10.1) the inductor to ground, and a series combination of diode D
ton + toff T
and load. If the switch operates with a duty ratio D, the output
where T ¼ 1/f is the period of the switching frequency f. The voltage is a series of pulses of duration ð1  DÞT and amplitude
average value of the output voltage is VS =ð1  DÞ. Neglecting losses, the average value of the output
voltage is VS. To obtain an average value of the output voltage
VO ¼ DVS (10.2) greater than VS, a capacitor must be connected in parallel with
10 DC-DC Converters 277

S S iL L IO

+ + VL – +
R iS
iC

VS +
D VO VS D C R Vo
– L

E –
–
(A)
(A)
VL
VO

VS–VO
VS
0
t
–VO

0 t

iO iL

0
0 DT T t t

(B) iC

FIG. 10.2 DC chopper with RLE load, (A) circuit diagram and
(B) waveforms. 0 t

L D

+
iS
Load

VS
+ S
Vo

0 DT T 2T t
–
(B)
FIG. 10.3 The dc step-up chopper. FIG. 10.4 Buck converter: (A) circuit diagram and (B) waveforms.

the load. This results in a topology of a boost dc-dc converter

that is described in Section 10.4. inductor current is always positive. The state of the converter
in which the inductor current is never zero for any period of
time is called the continuous conduction mode (CCM). It
10.3 Step-Down (Buck) Converter can be seen from the circuit that when the switch S is com-
manded to the on state, the diode D is reverse biased. When
the switch S is off, the diode conducts to support an uninter-
10.3.1 Basic Converter
rupted current in the inductor.
The step-down dc-dc converter, commonly known as a buck The relationship among the input voltage, output voltage,
converter, is shown in Fig. 10.4A. It consists of dc input voltage and the switch duty ratio D can be derived, for instance, from
source VS, controlled switch S, diode D, filter inductor L, filter the inductor voltage vL waveform (see Fig. 10.4B). According to
capacitor C, and load resistance R. Typical waveforms in the Faraday’s law, the inductor volt-second product over a period
converter are shown in Fig. 10.4B under assumption that the of steady-state operation is zero. For the buck converter,
278 D. Czarkowski

ðVS  VO ÞDT ¼ VO ð1  DÞT (10.3) conduction losses of a converter, it is desirable to use small
passive components. Eqs. (10.5) and (10.6) show that it can
Hence, the dc voltage transfer function, defined as the ratio of be accomplished by using a high switching frequency f. The
the output voltage to the input voltage, is switching frequency is limited, however, by the type of semi-
conductor switches used and by switching losses. It should be
VO also noted that values of L and C may be altered by effects of
MV
¼D (10.4)
VS parasitic components in the converter, especially by the equiv-
alent series resistance of the capacitor. The issue of parasitic
It can be seen from Eq. (10.4) that the output voltage is always components in dc-dc converters is discussed in Section 10.7.
smaller than the input voltage.
The dc-dc converters can operate in two distinct modes with
respect to the inductor current iL. Fig. 10.4B depicts the CCM in 10.3.2 Transformer Versions of Buck Converter
which the inductor current is always greater than zero. When
In many dc power supplies, a galvanic isolation between the dc
the average value of the input current is low (high R) and/or the
or ac input and the dc output is required for safety and reliability.
switching frequency f is low, the converter may enter the dis-
An economical mean of achieving such an isolation is to employ
continuous conduction mode (DCM). In the DCM, the induc-
a transformer version of a dc-dc converter. High-frequency
tor current is zero during a portion of the switching period. The
transformers are of a small size and weight and provide high effi-
CCM is preferred for high efficiency and good utilization of
ciency. Their turns ratio can be used to additionally adjust the
semiconductor switches and passive components. The DCM
output voltage level. Among buck-derived dc-dc converters,
may be used in applications with special control requirements,
the most popular are forward converter, push-pull converter,
since the dynamic order of the converter is reduced (the energy
half-bridge converter, and full-bridge converter.
stored in the inductor is zero at the beginning and at the end of
each switching period). It is uncommon to mix these two oper- 10.3.2.1 Forward Converter
ating modes because of different control algorithms. For the
The circuit diagram of a forward converter is depicted in
buck converter, the value of the filter inductance that deter-
Fig. 10.5. When the switch S is on, diode D1 conducts, and
mines the boundary between CCM and DCM is given by
diode D2 is off. The energy is transferred from the input,
ð1  DÞR through the transformer, to the output filter. When the switch
Lb ¼ (10.5) is off, the state of diodes D1 and D2 is reversed. The dc voltage
2f
transfer function of the forward converter is
For typical values of D ¼ 0:5, R ¼ 10 Ω, and f ¼ 100 kHz, the D
boundary is Lb ¼ 25μH. For L > Lb , the converter operates in MV ¼ (10.7)
n
the CCM.
The filter inductor current iL in the CCM consists of a dc where n ¼ N1 =N2 .
component IO with a superimposed triangular ac component. In the forward converter, the energy-transfer current flows
Almost all of this ac component flows through the filter capac- through the transformer in one direction. Hence, an additional
itor as a current ic. Current ic causes a small voltage ripple winding with diode D3 is needed to bring the magnetizing
across the dc output voltage VO. To limit the peak-to-peak current of the transformer to zero. This prevents transformer
value of the ripple voltage below certain value Vr, the filter saturation. The turns ratio N1/N3 should be selected in such
capacitance C must be greater than a way that the magnetizing current decreases to zero during
a fraction of the time interval when the switch is off.
ð1  DÞVO
Cmin ¼ (10.6) Eqs. (10.5) and (10.6) can be used to design the filter com-
8Vr Lf 2 ponents. The forward converter is very popular for low-power
applications. For medium power levels, converters with
At D ¼ 0:5, Vr =VO ¼ 1%, L ¼ 25 μH, and f ¼ 100 kHz, the
minimum capacitance is Cmin ¼ 25μF.
Eqs. (10.5) and (10.6) are the key design equations for the
S D1 L
buck converter. The input and output dc voltages (hence the
+
duty ratio D) and the range of load resistance R are usually
determined by preliminary specifications. The designer needs
to determine values of passive components L and C and of the D3 N1 N2 C R VO
D2
switching frequency f. The value of the filter inductor L is VS +
N3
calculated from the CCM/DCM condition using Eq. (10.5).
–
The value of the filter capacitor C is obtained from the voltage
ripple condition Eq. (10.6). For the compactness and low FIG. 10.5 Forward converter.
10 DC-DC Converters 279

D1 L D1 L
+ +
S1 S2
C R VO C R VO
N1 N2 N1 N2
VS VS –
–
D2 D2

S1 S2 S3 S4

FIG. 10.6 Push-pull converter. FIG. 10.8 Full-bridge converter.

bidirectional transformer excitation (push-pull, half bridge, push-pull converter. In comparison with the push-pull con-
and full bridge) are preferred due to better utilization of mag- verter, the primary of the transformer is simplified at the
netic components. expense of two voltage-sharing input capacitors. The half-
bridge converter dc voltage transfer function is
10.3.2.2 Push-Pull Converter
The PWM dc-dc push-pull converter is shown in Fig. 10.6. VD D
MV
¼ (10.11)
The switches S1 and S2 operate shifted in phase by T/2 with VS n
the same duty ratio D. The duty ratio must be smaller than
0.5. When switch S1 is on, diode D1 conducts, and diode D2 where D  0:5: Eqs. (10.9) and (10.10) apply to the filter com-
is off. Diode states are reversed when switch S2 is on. When both ponents of this converter.
controllable switches are off, the diodes are on and share equally
10.3.2.4 Full-Bridge Converter
the filter inductor current. The dc voltage transfer function of
the push-pull converter is Comparing the PWM dc-dc full-bridge converter of Fig. 10.8
with the half-bridge converter, it can be seen that the input
2D capacitors have been replaced by two controllable switches.
MV ¼ (10.8)
n The controllable switches are operated in pairs. When S1 and
S4 are on, voltage VS is applied to the primary of the trans-
where n ¼ N1 =N2 . The boundary value of the filter inductor is former, and diode D1 conducts. With S2 and S3 on, there is
ð1  2DÞR voltage VS across the primary transformer, and diode D2 is
Lb ¼ (10.9) on. With all controllable switches off, both diodes conduct, sim-
4f
ilarly as in the push-pull and half-bridge converters. The dc
The filter capacitor can be obtained from voltage transfer function of the full-bridge converter is

ð1  2DÞVO VO 2D
Cmin ¼ (10.10) MV
¼ (10.12)
32Vr Lf 2 VS n

where D  0:5. Values of filter components can be obtained

10.3.2.3 Half-Bridge Converter from Eqs. (10.9) and (10.10).
Fig. 10.7 shows the dc-dc half-bridge converter. The operation It should be stressed that the full-bridge topology is a very
of the PWM half-bridge converter is similar to that of the versatile one. With different control algorithms, it is very pop-
ular in dc-ac conversion (square-wave and PWM single-phase
inverters). It is also used in four-quadrant dc drives.
D1 L
+
S1
VS/2 C R VO 10.4 Step-Up (Boost) Converter
N1 N2
VS – Fig. 10.9A depicts a step-up or a PWM boost converter. It is
D2 composed of dc input voltage source VS, boost inductor L, con-
trolled switch S, diode D, filter capacitor C, and load resistance
VS/2 S2 R. The converter waveforms in the CCM are presented in
Fig. 10.9B. When the switch S is in the on state, the current
FIG. 10.7 Half-bridge converter. in the boost inductor increases linearly. The diode D is off at
280 D. Czarkowski

L iL D IO The boost converter operates in the CCM for L > Lb where

+
+ vL – ð1  DÞ2 DR
iS iC Lb ¼ (10.15)
2f
VS S C R VO
For D ¼ 0:5, R ¼ 10 Ω, and f ¼ 100 kHz, the boundary value of
the inductance is Lb ¼ 6:25μH.
As shown in Fig. 10.9B, the current supplied to the output
– RC circuit is discontinuous. Thus, a larger filter capacitor is
(A) required in comparison with that in the buck-derived con-
verters to limit the output voltage ripple. The filter capacitor
vL must provide the output dc current to the load when the diode
D is off. The minimum value of the filter capacitance that
VS results in the voltage ripple Vr is given by
DVO
0 t Cmin ¼ (10.16)
VS–VO Vr Rf

At D ¼ 0:5, Vr =VO ¼ 1%, R ¼ 10 Ω, and f ¼ 100 kHz, the min-

iL imum capacitance for the boost converter is Cmin ¼ 50μF.
The boost converter does not have a popular transformer
(isolated) version.

0 t 10.5 Buck-Boost Converter

iS
10.5.1 Basic Converter
A nonisolated (transformerless) topology of the buck-boost
converter is shown in Fig. 10.10A. The converter consists of
dc input voltage source VS, controlled switch S, inductor L,
0 t diode D, filter capacitor C, and load resistance R. With the
iC switch on, the inductor current increases, while the diode is
maintained off. When the switch is turned off, the diode pro-
vides a path for the inductor current. Note the polarity of the
diode that results in its current being drawn from the output.
0 t The buck-boost converter waveforms are depicted in
–IO Fig. 10.10B. The condition of a zero volt-second product for
DT T 2T
the inductor in steady state yields
(B)
FIG. 10.9 Boost converter: (A) circuit diagram and (B) waveforms. VS DT ¼ VO ð1  DÞT (10.17)

Hence, the dc voltage transfer function of the buck-boost con-

the time. When the switch S is turned off, the energy stored in verter is
the inductor is released through the diode to the input RC
circuit. VO D
MV
¼ (10.18)
Using the Faraday’s law for the boost inductor, VS 1D
VS DT ¼ ðVO  VS Þð1  DÞT (10.13) The output voltage VO is negative with respect to the ground.
Its magnitude can be either greater or smaller (equal at D ¼ 0:5)
from which the dc voltage transfer function turns out to be than the input voltage as the converter’s name implies.
VO 1 The value of the inductor that determines the boundary
MV
¼ (10.14) between the CCM and DCM is
VS 1  D

As the name of the converter suggests, the output voltage is ð1  D Þ2 R

Lb ¼ (10.19)
always greater than the input voltage. 2f
10 DC-DC Converters 281

S D IO S D

+ +
iS
iL iC

VS
+
R N1 N2
L vL C VO VS C R VO
–

–
–
(A) (A)

S D
vL
+

VS
N1 N2 R
VS Lm C VO
0 t
VO

–
iL (B)
FIG. 10.11 Flyback converter: (A) circuit diagram and (B) circuit with a
transformer model showing the magnetizing inductance Lm.

transformer. The diode D and the RC output circuit are

0 t connected in series with the secondary of the flyback trans-
iS former. Fig. 10.11B shows the converter with a simple flyback
transformer model. The model includes a magnetizing induc-
tance Lm and an ideal transformer with a turns ratio
n ¼ N1 =N2 . The flyback transformer leakage inductances and
losses are neglected in the model. It should be noted that leak-
0 t
age inductances, although not important from the principle of
operation point of view, affect adversely switch and diode tran-
iC sitions. Snubbers are usually required in flyback converters.
Refer to Fig. 10.11B for the converter operation. When the
switch S is on, the current in the magnetizing inductance
0 increases linearly. The diode D is off, and there is no current
t
–IO in the ideal transformer windings. When the switch is turned
DT T 2T off, the magnetizing inductance current is diverted into the
(B) ideal transformer, the diode turns on, and the transformed
FIG. 10.10 Buck-boost converter: (A) circuit diagram and magnetizing inductance current is supplied to the RC load.
(B) waveforms. The dc voltage transfer function of the flyback converter is
VO D
The structure of the output part of the converter is similar to MV
¼ (10.20)
VS nð1  DÞ
that of the boost converter (reversed polarities being the only
difference). Thus, the value of the filter capacitor can be It differs from the buck-boost converter voltage transfer func-
obtained from Eq. (10.16). tion by the turns ratio factor n. A positive sign has been obtained
by an appropriate coupling of the transformer windings.
10.5.2 Flyback Converter Unlike in transformer buck-derived converters, the magnetiz-
ing inductance Lm of the flyback transformer is an important
A PWM flyback converter is a very practical isolated version of design parameter. The value of the magnetizing inductance that
the buck-boost converter. The circuit of the flyback converter is determines the boundary between the CCM and DCM is given by
presented in Fig. 10.11A. The inductor of the buck-boost con-
verter has been replaced by a flyback transformer. The input dc n2 ð1  DÞ2 R
Lmb ¼ (10.21)
source VS and switch S are connected in series with the primary 2f
282 D. Czarkowski

The value of the filter capacitance can be calculated using the switch in the off state, the diode conducts currents of the
Eq. (10.16). inductors L1 and L2, whereas capacitor C1 is charged by the
inductor L1 current.
To obtain the dc voltage transfer function of the converter,


10.6 Cuk Converter we shall use the principle that the average current through a
capacitor is zero for steady-state operation. Let us assume that

converter is shown in Fig. 10.12A. It con-
The circuit of the Cuk inductors L1 and L2 are large enough that their ripple current
sists of dc input voltage source VS, input inductor L1, control- can be neglected. Capacitor C1 is in a steady state if
lable switch S, energy-transfer capacitor C1, diode D, filter
IL2 DT ¼ IL1 ð1  DÞT (10.22)
inductor L2, filter capacitor C, and load resistance R. An impor-
tant advantage of this topology is a continuous current at both
For a lossless converter,
the input and the output of the converter. Disadvantages of the

converter include a high number of reactive components
Cuk PS ¼ VS IL1 ¼ VO IL2 ¼ PO (10.23)
and high current stresses on the switch, the diode, and the
capacitor C1. Main waveforms in the converter are presented Combining these two equations, the dc voltage transfer func-
in Fig. 10.12B. When the switch is on, the diode is off, and
converter is
tion of the Cuk
the capacitor C1 is discharged by the inductor L2 current. With
VO D
MV
¼ (10.24)
VS 1D
L1 IL1 iC1 C1 L2 IL2
This voltage transfer function is the same as that for the buck-
+
+ vC1– boost converter.
+
The boundaries between the CCM and DCM are deter-
VS D R VO
S vS C mined by
iS ð1  DÞR
– Lb1 ¼ (10.25)
2Df
(A)
for L1 and
iC1
ð1  DÞR
IL1 Lb2 ¼ (10.26)
2f
0 t
–IL2 for L2.

converter is similar to that of the
The output part of the Cuk
VC1
buck converter. Hence, the expression for the filter capacitor C is
ð1  DÞVO
Cmin ¼ (10.27)
8Vr L2 f 2

0 t The peak-to-peak ripple voltage in the capacitor C1 can be esti-

VS mated as
DVO
VS Vr1 ¼ (10.28)
C1 Rf

0 t


A transformer (isolated) version of the Cuk converter can
iS be obtained by splitting capacitor C1 and inserting a high-
frequency transformer between the split capacitors.
IL1 + IL2

10.7 Effects of Parasitic Components

0 DT T 2T t
(B) The analysis of converters in Sections 10.2–10.6 has been per-
FIG. 10.12
converter: (A) circuit diagram and (B) waveforms.
Cuk formed under ideal switch, diode, and passive component
10 DC-DC Converters 283

assumptions. Nonidealities or parasitics of practical devices In buck-boost and boost converters, the peak-to-peak capac-
and components may, however, greatly affect some perfor- itor current ICpp is equal to the peak-to-peak diode current and
mance parameters of dc-dc converters. In this section, effects is given by
of parasitics on output voltage ripple, efficiency, and voltage
IO
transfer function of converters will be illustrated. ICpp ¼ (10.33)
A more realistic model of a capacitor than just a capacitance C 1D
consists of a series connection of capacitance C and resistance rC. under condition that the inductor current ripple is much lower
The resistance rC is called an equivalent series resistance (ESR) of than the average value of the inductor current. The peak-to-
the capacitor and is due to losses in the dielectric and physical peak voltage across the ESR is
resistance of leads and connections. Recall Eq. (10.6) that pro-
vided a value of the filter capacitance in a buck converter that rC IO
VrC ¼ rC ICpp ¼ (10.34)
limits the peak-to-peak output voltage ripple to Vr. The equation 1D
was derived under an assumption that the entire triangular ac
component of the inductor current flows through a capacitance L ¼ 40μH, rC ¼ 0:05Ω, and various values of C: C ¼ 33μF (top
C. It is, however, closer to reality to maintain that this triangular graph), C ¼ Cmin ¼ 65μF (middle graph), and C ¼ 100μF
component flows through a series connection of capacitance C (bottom graph).
and resistance rC.
The peak-to-peak ripple voltage is independent of the volt-
age across the filter capacitor and is determined only by the rip- 0.08
Vr
ple voltage of the ESR if the following condition is satisfied:
 

Ripple voltage (V)

0.04
1  Dmin Dmax VC
VrC
C  Cmin ¼ max , (10.29)
2rC f 2rC f 0

If condition (10.29) is satisfied, the peak-to-peak ripple voltage

of the buck and forward converters is –0.04

rC VO ð1  Dmin Þ –0.08
Vr ¼ rC ΔiL max ¼ (10.30) 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
fL

For push-pull, half-bridge, and full-bridge converters, 0.08

  Vr
0:5  Dmin Dmax
Ripple voltage (V)

0.04
C  Cmin ¼ max , (10.31)
2rC f 2rC f VrC VC
0
where Dmax  0:5. If condition (10.31) is met, the peak-to-peak
ripple voltage Vr of these converters is given by –0.04
rC VO ð0:5  Dmin Þ
Vr ¼ rC ΔiL max ¼ (10.32) –0.08
fL 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Waveforms of voltage across the ESR VrC, voltage across the

0.08
capacitance VC, and total ripple voltage Vr are depicted in
Fig. 10.13 for three values of the filter capacitances. For the case Vr
Ripple voltage (V)

of the top graph in Fig. 10.13, the peak-to-peak value of Vr is 0.04

VrC VC
higher than the peak-to-peak value of VrC because C < Cmin .
Middle and bottom graphs in Fig. 10.13 show the waveforms 0
for C ¼ Cmin and C > Cmin , respectively. For both these cases,
the peak-to-peak voltages of Vr and VrC equal to each other. –0.04
Note that when the resistance rC sets the ripple voltage Vr,
the minimum value of inductance L is determined either by –0.08
the boundary between the CCM and DCM according to 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Eq. (10.5) (buck and forward converters) or Eq. (10.9) t/T
(push-pull, half-bridge, and full-bridge converters) or by the FIG. 10.13 Voltage ripple waveforms VrC, VC, and Vr for a buck con-
voltage ripple condition (10.30) or (10.32). verter at VO ¼ 12V, f ¼ 100 kHz.
284 D. Czarkowski

100 Parasitic resistances, capacitances, and voltage sources affect

Ideal also an energy conversion efficiency of dc-dc converters. The
efficiency η is defined as a ratio of output power to the input
80 power:
PO VO IO
η
¼ (10.37)
PS VS IS
Efficiency (%)

60
Efficiencies are usually specified in percent. Let us consider the
Non ideal boot converter as an example. Under low ripple assumption,
40 the boost converter efficiency can be estimated as
Rð1  DÞ2
η¼
20 Rð1  DÞ2 ð1 + ðVD =VO Þ + fCo RÞ + rL + DrS + ð1  DÞrD + Dð1  DÞrC
(10.38)

where VD is the forward conduction voltage drop of the diode,

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 Co is the output capacitance of the switch, rL is the ESR of the
(A) D inductor, and rD is the forward on resistance of the diode. The
term fCoR in Eq. (10.38) represents switching losses in the con-
10 verter. Other terms account for conduction losses. Losses in a
dc-dc converter also contribute to a decrease in the dc voltage
transfer function. The nonideal dc voltage transfer function
8
Ideal
MVn is a product of the ideal one and the efficiency:
MVn ¼ ηMV (10.39)
6
Sample graphs for the boost converter that correspond to
MV, MVn

Eqs. (10.38) and (10.39) are presented in Fig. 10.14.

4

10.8 Synchronous and Bidirectional

2 Converters
Non ideal
It can be observed in Eq. (10.38) that the forward voltage of a
diode VD contributes to a decrease in efficiency. This contribu-
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 tion is especially significant in low-output-voltage power sup-
(B) D plies, for example, 3.3 V power supplies for microprocessors or
FIG. 10.14 Effects of parasitics on characteristics of a boost converter, power supplies for portable telecommunication equipment.
(A) efficiency and (B) dc voltage transfer function. Even with a Schottky diode, which has VD in the range of
0.4 V, the power loss in the diode can easily exceed 10% of
the total power delivered to the load. To reduce conduction
losses in the diode, a low on-resistance switch can be added
Assuming that the total ripple voltage Vr is approximately in parallel as shown in Fig. 10.15 for a buck converter. The
equal to the sum of the ripple voltages across the ESR and input switch and the switch parallel to the diode must be turned
the capacitance, the maximum value of the peak-to-peak ripple on and off alternately. The arrangement of Fig. 10.15 is called a
voltage across the capacitance is synchronous converter or a synchronous rectifier. Modern
VCmax  Vr  VrC (10.35) low-voltage MOSFETs have on resistances of only several milli-
ohms. Hence, a synchronous converter may exhibit higher effi-
Finally, by analogy to Eq. (10.16), when the ESR of the filter ciency than a conventional one at output currents as large as
capacitor is taken into account in the boost-type output filter, tens of amperes. The efficiency is increased at an expense of
the filter capacitance should be greater than more complicated driving circuitry for the switches. In partic-
ular, a special can must be exercised to avoid having both
DVO
Cmin ¼ (10.36) switches on at the same time as this would short the input volt-
VC max Rf age source. Since power semiconductor devices usually have
10 DC-DC Converters 285

S1 L be performed in a closed-loop manner using principles of neg-

ative feedback. Two most common closed-loop control
+ methods for PWM dc-dc converters, namely, the voltage-mode
control and the current-mode control, are presented schemat-
ically in Fig. 10.17.
VS S2 D C R VO In the voltage-mode control scheme shown in Fig. 10.17A,
the converter output voltage is sensed and subtracted from
an external reference voltage in an error amplifier. The error
− amplifier produces a control voltage that is compared to a
constant-amplitude sawtooth waveform. The comparator pro-
FIG. 10.15 Synchronous buck converter. duces a PWM signal that is fed to drivers of controllable
switches in the dc-dc converter. The duty ratio of the PWM sig-
+ nal depends on the value of the control voltage. The frequency
of the PWM signal is the same as the frequency of the sawtooth
N1 N2 waveform. An important advantage of the voltage-mode con-
VS C R VO
trol is its simple hardware implementation and flexibility.
S1 S2 The error amplifier in Fig. 10.17A reacts fast to changes in
−
the converter output voltage. Thus, the voltage-mode control
D1 D2 provides good load regulation, that is, regulation against vari-
ations in the load. Line regulation (regulation against variations
in the input voltage) is, however, delayed because changes in
FIG. 10.16 Bidirectional flyback converter. the input voltage must first manifest themselves in the con-
verter output before they can be corrected. To alleviate this
longer turn-off times than turn-on times, a dead time (some- problem, the voltage-mode control scheme is sometimes aug-
times called a blanking time) must be introduced in PWM driv- mented by the so-called voltage feedforward path. The feedfor-
ing signals. ward path affects directly the PWM duty ratio according to
The parallel combination of a controllable switch and a diode variations in the input voltage. As will be explained below,
is also used in converters that allow for a current flow in both the input voltage feedforward is an inherent feature of
directions: from the input source to the load and from the load current-mode control schemes.
back to the input source. Such converters are called bidirec- The current-mode control scheme is presented in
tional power flow or simply bidirectional converters. As an Fig. 10.17B. An additional inner control loop feeds back an
example, a flyback bidirectional converter is shown in inductor current signal. This current signal, converted into
Fig. 10.16. It contains unipolar voltage and bidirectional cur- its voltage analog, is compared with the control voltage. This
rent switch-diode combinations at both primary and secondary modification of replacing the sawtooth waveform of the
of the flyback transformer. When the primary switch and sec- voltage-mode control scheme by a converter current signal sig-
ondary diode operate, the current flows from the input source nificantly alters the dynamic behavior of the converter. The
to the load. The converter current can also flow from the output converter takes on some characteristics of a current source.
to the input through the secondary switch and primary diode. The output current in PWM dc-dc converters is either equal
Bidirectional arrangements can be made for buck and boost to the average value of the output inductor current (buck-
converters. A bidirectional buck converter operates as a boost derived and Cuk
converters) or a product of an average induc-
converter when the current flow is from the output to the input. tor current and a function of the duty ratio. In practical
A bidirectional boost converter operates as a buck converter implementations of the current-mode control, it is feasible to
with a reversed current flow. If for any reason (for instance, sense the peak inductor current instead of the average value.
to avoid the DCM) the controllable switches are driven at Since the peak inductor current is equal to the peak switch cur-
the same time, they must be driven alternately with a sufficient rent, the latter can be used in the inner loop, which often
dead time to avoid a shot-through current. simplifies the current sensor. Note that the peak inductor
(switch) current is proportional to the input voltage. Hence,
the inner loop of the current-mode control naturally accom-
10.9 Control Principles plishes the input voltage feedforward technique. Among several
current-mode control versions, the most popular is the
A dc-dc converter must provide a regulated dc output voltage constant frequency one that requires a clock signal. Advantages
under varying load and input voltage conditions. The converter of the current-mode control include input voltage feedforward,
component values are also changing with time, temperature, limit on the peak switch current, equal current sharing in mod-
pressure, etc. Hence, the control of the output voltage should ular converters, and reduction in the converter dynamic order.
286 D. Czarkowski

Voltage
reference

Control
Error voltage PWM signal
amplifier Comparator dc-dc converter

Sawtooth
waveform

Output voltage

(A)

Voltage
reference

Control
Error voltage Comparator PWM signal
amplifier and dc-dc converter
latch

Switch or inductor current

Output voltage

(B)
FIG. 10.17 Main control schemes for dc-dc converters, (A) voltage-mode control and (B) current-mode control.

The main disadvantage of the current-mode control is its com- voltage reference is generated on the chip as well. Additionally,
plicated hardware that includes a need to compensate the control the ASIC controller may be equipped in various diagnostic and
voltage by ramp signals (to avoid converter instability). protection features: current limiting, overvoltage and undervol-
Among other control methods of dc-dc converters, a hyster- tage protection, soft start, dead time in case of multiple PWM
etic (or bang-bang) control is very simple for hardware imple- outputs, and duty ratio limiting. In several dc-dc converter
mentation. The hysteretic control results, however, in variable topologies, for example, buck and buck-boost, neither control
frequency operation of semiconductor switches. Generally, a terminal of semiconductor switches is grounded (so-called
constant switching frequency is preferred in power electronic high-side switches). The ASIC controllers are usually designed
circuits for easier elimination of electromagnetic interference for a particular topology, and their PWM drivers may be able to
and better utilization of magnetic components. drive high-side switches in low-voltage applications. In high-
Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are com- voltage applications, external PWM drivers must be used.
mercially available that contain main elements of voltage- or External PWM drivers are also used for switches with high
current-mode control schemes. On a single 14- or 16-pin chip, input capacitances. To take a full advantage of the input-output
there is error amplifier, comparator, sawtooth generator, or isolation in transformer versions of dc-dc converters, such
sensed current input, latch, and PWM drivers. The switching an isolation must be also provided in the control loop. Signal
frequency is usually set by an external RC network and can transformers or optocouplers are used for isolating feedback
be varied from tens of kilohertz to a few megahertz. The signals.
controller has an oscillator output for synchronization with Dynamic characteristic of closed-loop dc-dc converters
other converters in modular power supply systems. A constant must fulfill certain requirements. To simple analysis, these
10 DC-DC Converters 287

requirements are usually translated into desired properties of The control-to-output transfer function of the boost con-
the open loop. The open loop should provide a sufficient verter is given by
(typically, at least 45 degrees) phase margin for stability, high
VO rC
bandwidth (about one-tenth of the switching frequency) for Tp ðsÞ ¼ 
ð1  DÞðR + rC Þ
good transient response, and high gain (several tens of decibels) 

½s + ð1=CrC Þ s  ð1  DÞ2 R =L
at low frequencies for small steady-state error.  
 

s2 + s ð1  DÞ2 CRrC + LÞ=ðLCðR + rC Þ + ð1  DÞ2 RÞ=ðLC ðR + rC Þ
The open-loop dynamic characteristics are shaped by com-
pensating networks of passive components around the error (10.41)
amplifier. Second- or third-order RC networks are commonly
used. Since the converter itself is a part of the control loop, The zero (1  D)2R/L is located in the right half of the s-plane.
the design of compensating networks requires a knowledge of Therefore, the boost converter (and buck-boost and flyback
small-signal characteristics of the converter. There are several converters) is a nonminimum phase system. Nonminimum
methods of small-signal characterization of PWM dc-dc con- phase dc-dc converters are typically compensated with third-
verters. The most popular methods provide average models order controllers. Step-by-step procedures for a design of com-
of converters under high-switching-frequency assumption. pensating networks are usually given by manufacturers of ASIC
The averaged models are then linearized at an operating controllers in application notes.
point to obtain small-signal transfer functions. Among The final word of this section is on the behavior of dc-dc
analytic averaging methods, state-space averaging has been converters in distributed power supply systems. An important
popular since the late 1970s. Circuit-based averaging is usu- feature of closed-loop regulated dc-dc converters is that they
ally performed using PWM switch or direct replacement of exhibit a negative input resistance. As the load voltage is kept
semiconductor switches by controlled current and voltage constant by the controller, the output power changes with the
sources. All these methods can take into account converter load. With slow load changes, an increase (decrease) in the
parasitics. input voltage results in a decrease (increase) in the input power.
The most important small-signal characteristic is the This negative resistance property must be carefully examined
control-to-output transfer function Tp. Other converter charac- during the system design to avoid resonances.
teristics that are investigated include the input-to-output (or
line-to-output) voltage transfer function, also called the open-
loop dynamic line regulation or the audio susceptibility, which 10.10 Applications of DC-DC Converters
describes the input-output disturbance transmission; the
open-loop input impedance; and the open-loop dynamic load Step-down choppers find most of their applications in high-
regulation. Buck-derived, boost, and buck-boost converters performance dc drive systems, for example, electric traction,
are second-order dynamic systems; the Cuk
converter is a electric vehicles, and machine tools. The dc motors with their
fourth-order system. Characteristics of buck and buck-derived winding inductances and mechanical inertia act as filters result-
converters are similar to each other. Another group of con- ing in high-quality armature currents. The average output volt-
verters with similar small-signal characteristics is formed by age of step-down choppers is a linear function of the switch
boost, buck-boost, and flyback converters. Among parasitic duty ratio. Step-up choppers are used primarily in radar and
components, the ESR of the filter capacitor rC introduces addi- ignition systems. The dc choppers can be modified for
tional dynamic terms into transfer functions. Other parasitic two-quadrant and four-quadrant operation. Two-quadrant
resistances usually modify slightly the effective value of the load choppers may be a part of autonomous power supply system
resistance. Sample characteristics below are given for nonzero that contain battery packs and such renewable dc sources as
rC, neglecting other parasitics. photovoltaic arrays, fuel cells, or wind turbines. Four-quadrant
The control-to-output transfer function of the forward con- choppers are applied in drives in which regenerative breaking
verter is of dc motors is desired, for example, transportation systems
with frequent stops. The dc choppers with inductive outputs
vo ðsÞ VI RrC
Tp ðsÞ
jv ðsÞ¼0 ¼ serve as inputs to current-driven inverters.
d ðsÞ s nLðR + rC Þ An addition of filtering reactive components to dc choppers
s + ð1=CrC Þ results in PWM dc-dc converters. The dc-dc converters can
 2
s + sðCRrC + L=LC ðR + rC ÞÞ + R=ðLC ðR + rC ÞÞ be viewed as dc transformers that deliver to the load as dc volt-
(10.40) age or current at a different level than the input source. This
dc transformation is performed by electronic switching means,
It can be seen that this transfer function has two poles and one not by electromagnetic means like in conventional trans-
zero. The zero is due to the filter capacitor ESR. Buck-derived formers. Output voltages of dc-dc converters range from a
converters can be easily compensated for stability with second- volt for special VLSI circuits to tens of kilovolts in x-ray lamps.
order controllers. The most common output voltages are 3.3 V for modern
288 D. Czarkowski

microprocessors, 5 and 12 V for logic circuits, 48 V for The dc-dc converters are used in UPSs to adjust the level of a
telecommunication equipment, and 270 V for main dc bus rectified grid voltage to that of the backup source. Since during
on airplanes. Typical input voltages include 48, 170 (the peak normal operation the energy flows from the grid to the backup
value of a 120 V rms line), and 270 V. source and during emergency conditions the backup source
Selection of a topology of dc-dc converters is determined not must supply the load, bidirectional dc-dc converters are often
only by input/output voltages, which can be additionally used. The dc-dc converters are also used in dedicated battery
adjusted with the turns ratio in isolated converters, but also chargers.
by power levels, voltage and current stresses of semiconductor Power electronic loads, especially those with front-end rec-
switches, and utilization of magnetic components. The low tifiers, pollute the ac grid with odd harmonics. The dc-dc con-
part-count flyback converter is popular in low-power applica- verters are used as intermediate stages, just after a rectifier and
tions (up to 200 W). Its main deficiencies are the large size of before the load-supplying dc-dc converter, for shaping the
the flyback transformer core and high voltage stress on the input ac current to improve power factor and decrease the har-
semiconductor switch. The forward converter is also a monic content. The boost converter is especially popular in
single-switch converter. Since its core size requirements are such power-factor-correction (PFC) applications. Another util-
smaller, it is popular in low-/medium (up to several hundreds ity grid-related application of dc-dc converters is in interfaces
of watts)-power applications. Disadvantages of the forward between ac networks and dc renewable energy sources such as
converter are in a need for demagnetizing winding and in a fuel cells and photovoltaic arrays.
high voltage stress on the semiconductor switch. The push-pull In isolated dc-dc converters, multiple outputs are possible
converter is also used at medium power levels. Due to bidirec- with additional secondary windings of transformers. Only
tional excitation, the transformer size is small. An advantage of one output is regulated with a feedback loop. Other outputs
the push-pull converter is also a possibility to refer driving ter- depend on the duty ratio of the regulated one and on their
minals of both switches to the ground, which greatly simplifies loads. A multiple-output dc-dc converter is a convenient solu-
the control circuitry. A disadvantage of the push-pull converter tion in application where there is a need for one closely regu-
is a potential core saturation in a case of asymmetry. The half- lated output voltage and for one or more noncritical other
bridge converter has similar range of applications as the push- output voltage levels.
pull converter. There is no danger of transformer saturation in
the half-bridge converter. It requires, however, two additional
input capacitors to split in half the input dc source. The full- Further Reading
bridge converter is used at high (several kilowatts) power
[1] R.P. Severns, G. Bloom, Modern DC-to-DC Switchmode Power Con-
and voltage levels. The voltage stress on power switches is verter Circuits, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, NY,
limited to the input voltage source value. A disadvantage of 1985.
the full-bridge converter is a high number of semiconductor [2] A.I. Pressman, Switching Power Supply Design, second ed.,
devices. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 1998.
The dc-dc converters are building blocks of distributed [3] R. Erickson, D. Maksimovic, Fundamentals of Power Electronics,
power supply systems in which a common dc bus voltage is second ed., Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA, 2001.
converted to various other voltages according to the require- [4] N. Mohan, T.M. Undeland, W.P. Robbins, Power Electronics: Con-
ments of particular loads. Such distributed dc systems are com- verters, Applications and Design, third ed., John Wiley & Sons, New
mon in space stations, ships, and airplanes, as well as in York, NY, 2003.
computer and telecommunication equipment. It is expected [5] D.W. Hart, Power Electronics, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 2010.
[6] A. Ioinovici, Power Electronics and Energy Conversion Systems,
that modern portable wireless communication and signal pro-
Fundamentals and Hard-Switching Converters, Wiley, New York,
cessing systems will use variable supply voltages to minimize NY, 2013.
power consumption and extend battery life. Low-output- [7] M.H. Rashid, Power Electronics Circuits, Devices, and Applications,
voltage converters in these applications utilize the synchronous fourth ed., Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2013.
rectification arrangement. [8] P.T. Krein, Elements of Power Electronics, second ed., Oxford Uni-
Another big area of dc-dc converter applications is related versity Press, New York, NY, 2014.
to the utility ac grid. For critical loads, if the utility grid fails, [9] M.K. Kazimierczuk, Pulse-Width Modulated DC-DC Power Con-
there must be a backup source of energy, for example, a verters, second ed., Wiley, New York, NY, 2015.
battery pack. This need for continuous power delivery gave [10] A.M. Trzynadlowski, Introduction to Modern Power Electronics,
rise to various types of uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs). third ed., Wiley, New York, NY, 2015.