DC-DC Switch-Mode Converters

Applications:
Regulated switch mode dc power supplies
dc motor drives
dc-dc Converters:
Step-down (buck) converter
Step-up (boost) converter
Step-down/step-up (buck-boost) converter
Cuk converter
Full-bridge converter
7-1

Functional Block Diagram of DC-DC Converter System

Controlled dc output at a desired

voltage level
Unregulated dc voltage obtained by
rectifying the line voltage, and therefore
will fluctuate with line voltage magnitude

7-2

Control of DC-DC Converters

In a dc-dc converter:
Average output dc voltage must be controlled to equal a desired level.
Utilizes one or more switches to transform dc from one level to another.
The average output voltage is controlled by controlling the switch on and
off durations (ton and toff).
Lets consider the following switch-mode dc-dc converter:

Average output dc voltage Vo depends on ton and toff.

Switching is done at a constant frequency with switching time period Ts.
This method is called pulse-width modulation (PWM) in which the duty ratio
D is varied to control Vo, where D=ton/Ts
7-3

Control of DC-DC Converters (contd)

The switch control signal, which

controls the on and off states of the
switch, is generated by comparing a
signal level control voltage vcontrol with
a repetitive waveform.
The switching frequency is the
frequency of the sawtooth waveform
with a constant peak.
The duty ratio D can be expressed as

t on v control
^
Ts
V st

7-4

Step-Down (Buck) Converter

converts dc from one level to another

the average output voltage is controlled by
the ON-OFF switch
pulse-width modulation (PWM) switching is
employed
lower average output voltage than the dc
input voltage Vd depending on the duty ratio,
D
D=ton/Ts

Average
1 Ts output: 1

V0

Ts

v0 t dt

ton
Vd DVd
Ts

t on

Ts

Ts

t on

Vd dt 0 dt

Applications:
regulated switch mode dc power supplies

dc motor drives

low-pass filter: to reduce output voltage fluctuations

diode is reversed biased during ON period, input
provides energy to the load and to the inductor
energy is transferred to the load from the inductor
during switch OFF period
in the steady-state, average inductor voltage is zero
in the steady-state, average capacitor current is zero
7-5

Step-Down (Buck) Converter: Continuous current conduction mode

Inductor current iL flows continuously

Average inductor voltage over a time period

must be zero
Ts

t on

Ts

v dt v dt v dt 0
L

ton

Area A and B must be equal , therefore ,

Vd V0 ton V0 Ts ton
or
V0 ton

D
Vd Ts

duty ratio

Assuming a lossless circuit

Vd I d V0 I 0
and
I 0 Vd 1

I d V0 D

Buck converter is like a dc transformer where the turns ratio can be controlled
electronically in a range of 0-1 by controlling D of the switch

7-6

Example..
For a buck converter, R=1 ohm, Vd=40 V, V0=5 V, fs=4 kHz. Find the duty ratio
and on time of the switch.

7-7

Solution.
D = V0 /Vd = 5/40 = 0.125 = 12.5%
Ts = 1/fs = 0.25 s = 250 s
Ton = DTs = 31.25 s
Toff = Ts ton = 218.75 s
When the switch is on: VL = Vd - V0 = 35 V
When the switch is off: VL = -V0 = - 5 V
I0 = IL = V0 / R = 5 A
Id = D I0 = 0.625 A
7-8

Step-Up (Boost) Converter

Output voltage always higher than the

input voltage
When the switch is ON:
diode is reversed biased
output circuit is thus isolated
inductor is charged
When the switch is OFF:
the output stage received energy from the
inductor as well as from the input
Filter capacitor is very large to ensure
constant output voltage

Applications:
regulated switch mode power supplies
Regenerative braking of dc motors
7-9

Step-Up (Boost) Converter: Continuous current conduction mode

Inductor current iL flows continuously

Average inductor voltage over a time

period must be zero

Vd ton Vd V0 toff 0
Dividing both side by Ts
V0
Ts
1

Vd
toff 1 D

Assuming a lossless circuit

Vd I d V0 I 0
and
I0
1 D
Id
7-10

Step-Up (Boost) Converter: Effect of parasitic elements

Parasitic elements are due to the

losses associated with the inductor,
capacitor, switch and diode
Figure shows the effect of the
parasitic elements on the voltage
transfer ratio
Unlike ideal characteristics, in
practice, Vo /Vd declines as duty
ratio approaches unity

7-11

Step-Down/Step-Up (Buck-Boost) Converter

This converter can be obtained by the cascade

connection of two converters: the step-down converter
and the step-up converter
The output voltage can be higher or lower than the input
voltage
Used in regulated dc power supplies where a negative
polarity output may be desired with respect to the
common terminal of the input voltage
The output to input voltage conversion ratio
V0
1
D
Vd
1 D

This allows V0 to be higher or lower than Vd

When the switch is ON:

diode is reversed biased
output circuit is thus isolated
inductor is charged
When the switch is OFF:
the output stage received energy from the inductor

7-12

Buck-Boost Converter: Continuous current conduction mode

Inductor current iL flows continuously

Average inductor voltage over a time

period must be zero
Vd D Ts V0 1 D Ts 0

V0
D

Vd 1 D

Assuming a lossless circuit

Vd I d V0 I 0
and
I 0 1 D

Id
D

Depending on the duty ratio, the output

voltage can be either higher or lower than
the input

7-13

Buck-Boost Converter: Effect of parasitic elements

Parasitic elements are due to the losses

associated with the inductor, capacitor,
switch and diode
Parasitic elements have significant
impact on the voltage transfer ratio

7-14

Cuk DC-DC Converter

Named after its inventor

The output voltage can be higher or lower than the input voltage
Provides a negative polarity output voltage with respect to the common
terminal of the input voltage
C1 acts as the primary means of storing and transferring energy from the
input to the output
In the steady-state, average inductor voltages, VL1 and VL2 are zero, therefore,
VC1 = Vd + V0
7-15

Cuk DC-DC Converter

When the switch is OFF:

- iL1 and iL2 flow through the diode
- C1 is charged through the diode by energy from
both the input and L1
- energy stored in L2 feeds the output

When the switch is ON:

- Vc1 reverse biases the diode
- iL1 and iL2 flow through the switch
- since Vc1>V0, C1 discharges through the switch,
transferring energy to the output and L2
- Therefore, iL2 increases
- Input feeds energy to L1 causing iL1 to increase

7-16

Steady-state current and voltage equations..Cuk

Vc1 is constant and average voltages across L1 and L2 over a time
period must be zero
L1 :

Vd D Ts Vd Vc1 1 D Ts 0

L2 :

Vc1

1
Vd
1 D

Vc1 Vd D Ts V0 1 D Ts 0

Vc1

1
V0
D

Equating the above two equations,

V0 I d
D

Vd I 0 1 D

7-17

7-18

7-19

Boost converter
iin + v L1
Vin

Iout
+
Vout

L1
C

SEPIC converter
iin + v L1
Vin

L1

+ v C1

Iout
+
Vout

C1
L2

v L2

+ v C1
+

C1
L2

v L2

20

7-20

Switch closed
assume constant

iin + Vin
Vin

L1

+ Vin

+ v D

Iout
+
Vout

C1
L2

v L2

KVL shows that vD = (Vin + Vout),

so the diode is open
Thus, C is providing the load power when the switch is closed

iin + Vin
Vin

L1

(Vin + Vout) +

+ Vin

Iout

C1
L2

Vin
+

Iout

+
Vout

iL1 and iL2 are ramping up (charging). C1 is charging L2

21
(so C1 is discharging). C is also discharging.

7-21

Switch open (assume the diode is conducting because,

otherwise, the circuit cannot work)

assume constant
+ Vin

iin Vout +
L1

Vin

Iout

C1
L2

+
Vout

+
Vout

C1 and C are charging. L1 and L2 are discharging.

KVL shows that VL1 = Vout
The input/output equation comes from recognizing that the average
voltage across L1 is zero

VL1avg D Vin 1 D Vout 0

Vout (1 D) D Vin

DVin
Vout
1 D

Voltage can be stepped-up or

22
stepped-down

7-22

KVL and KCL in the average sense

I in + 0
Vin

L1
I in

+ Vin

C1

Iout
L2

Iout

Iout
+
0

+
Vout

KVL shows that VC1 = Vin

Interestingly, no average current passes from the source side, through

C1, to the load side, and yet this is a DC - DC converter

23

7-23

Full-Bridge dc-dc Converter

Four-quadrant operation: magnitude and direction of both v0 and i0 can be

controlled
This converter consists of two legs, A and B. Each leg consists of two switches
and their antiparallel diodes
A reversible flow of power is made possible by connecting diodes in antiparallel
with switches
Applications: dc motor drives and dc-to-ac conversion
7-24

One of the two switches in each leg is ON

The output current io will flow continuously
(TA+ , TB-) and (TA- , TB+) are treated as two
switch pairs: switches in each pair are
turned ON and OFF simultaneously

vAN=Vd

(if TA+ is ON and TA- is OFF) :: output current will flow through
TA+ if io is positive or it will flow through DA+ if io is negative

vAN=0

(if TA- is ON and TA+ is OFF) :: output current will flow through
TA- if io is negative or it will flow through DA- if io is positive

The average output voltage of the converter leg A:

VAN

Vd ton 0 toff
Ts

Vd duty ratio of TA

where ton and toff are the ON and OFF intervals of TA+, respectively. Output voltage
is independent of the direction of io
7-25

Similar arguments apply to the converter leg B.

VBN depends on Vd and the duty ratio of the switch TB+:

VBN Vd duty ratio of TB

VBN is independent of the direction of io

Output voltage V0 (=VAN-VBN) can be controlled by controlling the switch duty ratios
7-26

(TA+ , TB-) and (TA- , TB+) are two switch

pairs: one of the two switch pairs is always
ON
Switching signal is generated by comparing
a switching-frequency triangular wave with
a control voltage
If vcontrol>vtri: TA+ and TB- are ON

If vcontrol<vtri: TA- and TB+ are ON

7-27

vtri V tri

t
Ts

0t

Ts

at t t1
t1

vcontrol Ts

4
V
tri

1
ton 2t1 Ts
2
ton 1
v
1 control

Ts 2
V tri

Duty ratio of pair 2 : D1 1 D1 TB , TA

Duty ratio of pair 1 : D1

V0 VAN VBN D1Vd D2Vd 2 D1 1Vd

TA , TB

Vd

V tri

vcontrol kvcontrol

V0 varies linearly with the input

control signal

7-28

Comparison of Converters

Buck converter: step-down, has one switch, simple, high efficiency greater
than 90%, provides one polarity output voltage and unidirectional output
current
Boost converter: step-down, has one switch, simple, high efficiency,
provides one polarity output voltage and unidirectional output current,
requires a larger filter capacitor and a larger inductor than those of a buck
converter
Buck-boost converter: step-up/step-down, has one switch, simple, high
efficiency, provides output voltage polarity reversal
Cuk converter: step-up/step-down, has one switch, simple, high efficiency,
provides output voltage polarity reversal, additional capacitor and inductor
needed
Full-bridge converter: four-quadrant operation, has multiple switches, can
be used in regenerative braking

7-29

Conclusions
In many industrial applications, it is required to convert fixed dc voltage
into variable dc voltage
Various types of dc-to-dc converters
Operation of dc-to-dc converters
The step-down, step-up, buck-boost and Cuk converters are only capable
of transferring energy only in one direction
A full-bridge converter is capable of a bidirectional power flow
Like ac transformers, dc converters can be used to step-up or step-down a
dc voltage source
Applications: electric automobiles, trolley cars, marine hoists, mine
haulers, etc.
Also used in regenerative braking of dc motors to return energy back into
the supply energy savings for transportation systems with frequent stops

7-30