ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K.

Jain

I. Converters: convert DC voltage from one level to another DC level

 The three basic types of DC/DC converter:

1) Buck converter – step down input DC voltage
2) Boost converter – step up input DC voltage
3) Buck-boost converter– step up/down input DC voltage

II. Buck Converter:

S L
isw iL io

+ + vsw _ + vL _
+
Vi D C R Vo
_ iD
_

Figure 1

 Depends on the inductance in the DC/DC converter, there are three basic modes of operation
 Modes of operation:
1) Continuous conduction mode (CCM)
2) Boundary between continuous and discontinuous conduction mode
3) Discontinuous conduction mode (DCM)
iL Continuous conduction mode

ton Ts
t

Boundary mode
iL

ton t
Ts
Discontinuous conduction mode
iL

ton Ts t
Figure 2
 Circuit Analysis

Assumptions:

1) The circuit components are ideal (i.e. lossless)

2) The output voltage is ripple free (i.e. vo = Vo and so io = Io)
3) The input voltage is ripple free

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

A. Analysis in continuous conduction mode:

L L
iL iL
+ vL _ + vL _
+ + +
Vi Vo C R Vo C R
_ _ _

(a) when S is on (b) when S is off

Figure 3

S on S off S on S off
vsw Vi

If we let: ton = turn on of S

toff = turn off of S t
vL Vi -Vo
fs = 1/Ts = switching frequency

then t
-Vo
t on
d  duty cycle iL IL,max Io
Ts
toff  Ts  dTs  1  d Ts
IL,min
t on  dTs and
t
isw

t
iD

t
dTs (1-d)Ts T
s

i. Relationship between Vi and Vo Figure 4

The relationship between Vi and Vo can be obtained by applying the fact that the average
voltage across inductor (L) must be equal to zero within a switching period (Ts)

Ts

0   v L t dt
0

Vi  Vo ton  Votoff  0

Vi  Vo ton  Votoff
Vi dTs  Vo dTs  Vo 1  d Ts

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Vo
d --------------------------------- (1)
Vi

ii. Relationship between Ii and Io

Let Io = average output current

Ii = input average current

For ideal circuit, input power = output power

Or Pin = Po → ViIi = IoVo

Vo I i
Hence:  d ------------------------------------ (2)
Vi I o

iii. Maximum and minimum inductor current

Let IL,max = maximum inductor current

IL,min = minimum inductor current

diL
vL  L  Vi  Vo
dt
Vi  Vo
L 
iL  dt  K

 V  Vo 
 i t  K
 L 
From Figure 4, at t = 0, iL = IL,min
Hence, K = IL,min and

 V  Vo 
iL   i t  I L ,min ----------------------------------- (3)
 L 

From Figure 4, iL = IL,max at t = ton = dTs

 Vi  Vo 
Hence, I L ,max   t on  I L ,min
 L 
 V  Vo 
I L ,max  I L ,min   i t on --------------------------- (4)
 L 

Since the capacitor C cannot allow any average current to flow through it, the average current of
inductor L must be equal to the output load current (Io)

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

T
1 s
iL t dt  I o
Ts 0

From Figure 4, the area of iL over a switching cycle (Ts) is the average value of iL

I L ,min  I L ,max 
 Io
2

I L,min  I L,max  2I o -------------------------------------------------- (5)

I L ,max 
Vi  Vo  t  Io ----------------------------------- (6)
on
2L

I L ,min  I o 
Vi  Vo  t ----------------------------------- (7)
on
2L

iv. RMS switch current

Since the input Ii is flowing through the switch S, the RMS value of the switch current can be
obtained according to:

T
1 s 2
isw t dt S on S off
Ts 0
I sw, RMS 
vsw Vi

t
isw IL,max

IL,min

t
dTs Ts
Figure 5

Alternatively, the current Isw,RMS can be determined by combining the following two components
of Figure 6 as follows:

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Isw,1 IL,min + Isw,2 IL,max - IL,min

t t
dTs Ts dTs Ts
Figure 6

I sw,1RMS 
I L , min  dT
2
s
 I L,min d --------------------------------------------- (8)
Ts

The RMS value of Isw,2 is given by

2
 t 
to n

 I  I L ,min 
1
I sw, 2 RMS  L , max
2
  dt
Ts 0  t on 

1 I L ,max  I L ,min 
to n
 t3 
2

 2
  ----------------------------------- (9)
Ts t on  3 0

1 I L ,max  I L ,min 
2

 t on
Ts 3
 I L ,max  I L ,min  d / 3

Hence, the RMS switch current is then given by:

2 d 
I sw, RMS  I sw
2
,1RMS  I sw, 2 RMS 
2
I L2,min d  I L ,max  I L ,min    -------- (10)
3

If the output inductor (L) is assumed to be very large, then the ripple current is zero (i.e.

I L,max  I L,min  0 ). 
Hence: I sw, RMS  I sw,1RMS  I L,min d  I o d ------------------------------ (11)

v. Average diode current

The average value of the diode current

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

S on S off
ID 
I L , max  I L ,min  t off
vD Vi
2 Ts


I L ,max  I L ,min  Ts  dTs 
------------ (12)
2 Ts
 I o 1  d 
t
iD IL,max

IL,min

ton toff
t
Ts
Figure 7

vi. Converter power losses and efficiency

a) Conduction loss in the switch: Pcon,S  Rsw I sw, RMS

2

b) Conduction loss in the diode: Pcon, D  VD, F I D

1
c) Turn-on switching loss: Pton  Vi I L ,min t r f s
3
1
d) Turn-off switching loss: Ptoff  Vi I L ,max t f f s
3

 Hence, total power losses: Ploss  Pcon, S  Pcon, D  Pton  Ptoff

Output power: Po  Vo I o

Input power: Pin  Po  Ploss

Po
Efficiency:  
Pin

vii. Output voltage ripple

It is known that capacitance is defined as the rate of change of the electrical charge with respect
to the electrical potential (voltage)

→ Q  CVo
Q
→ Vo 
C

Q   idt = (Area of the triangle as marked in Figure. 8)*time

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

1 T
 I L s ic IL,max
2 2 ΔI

Ts 1
I L,max  I L,min  IL,min Ts /2
t
4 2
 s I L ,max  I L ,min 
T
vo ΔVo
8

Vo 
Ts
I L,max  I L,min  t
8C Figure 8
T V  Vo 
Hence,  s i t on
8C L
 s 1  d Vi dTs 
T
8LC


1
1  d Vo --------------------------------------- (13)
8LCf s2

1
If we define the cut-off frequency of the LC output filter as: fc 
2 LC
2
2 f 
Then Vo  Vo 1  d  c  ------------------------------------ (14)
2  fs 

Therefore, in order to have ΔV to be very small,

 fc 
i.    1
 fs 
ii. d is very high

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

B. Analysis at the boundary mode:

Since vL  0 S on S off S on S off

vsw Vi
→ Vi  Vo ton   Vo Ts  ton 

t
Vo t on vL Vi -Vo
Or  d
Vi Ts
t
-Vo
IL,max
iL
Io
IL,min
t
dTs (1-d)Ts Ts
Figure 9

Also, since I L min  0

**All the analysis performed for the continuous conduction mode (CCM) is applicable for the
boundary mode if we substitute IL,min = 0 in all the equations**

Minimum inductance for the boundary mode:

For the converter to operate at the boundary, eq. (7) should be set to zero.

→ 0  Io 
Vi  Vo  t
on
2L

Or L
Vi  Vo  t ------------------------------------------- (15)
on
2I o

 If the converter has an inductance value equal to the value given by eq. (15), the converter will
operate in the boundary mode.

 If the converter has an inductance which is greater than the value given by eq. (15), the converter
will operate in CCM, otherwise, it will operate in the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM)

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

C. Analysis at the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM):

t on
If we let: d, S on S off S on S off
Ts
vsw Vi
t off 1 t off 2
 1 and  2 Vi -Vo
Ts Ts
t
vL Vi -Vo

For vL  0 t
-Vo
Hence, Vi  Vo ton  Votoff 1 iL
IL,max

Io

Vi  Vo dTs  Vo 1Ts dTs Δ1Ts Δ2Ts t

Figure 10
Vo d
Hence  ----------------------------------------------------- (16)
Vi d  1

The average output current:

1
I o  I L ,max
ton  toff 1   1 I d   
L ,max 1 -------------------------------------------- (17)
2 Ts 2

Vo t off 1 Vo 1Ts
I L ,max  
L L

Hence, Io 
Vo
d  1 1Ts
2L

2 LI o 2 LI o f s
Or d  1   -------------------------------------------- (18)
Vo 1Ts Vo 1

From eq. (16) and eq. (18)

 V  2 LI o f s
1   o  ---------------------------------------- (19)
 Vi  Vo d

From eq. (16) and eq. (19)

2
V  V  2 LI o f s
d  o d   o  --------------------------- (20)
Vi  Vi  Vo d

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Example 1:

A buck converter has Vi = 15V, Vo = 5V, Io = 10A, fs = 100kHz.

a) Calculate the minimum inductance value for the converter to operate in the CCM;
b) Calculate the value of capacitor C to keep the output voltage ripple to be 50mV;
c) Calculate ΔIL

Solution:

Vo 5
d   0.33
Vi 15
1 1
Ts    10 µs
f s 100 x10 3

t on  dTs  0.33x10s  3.3 µs

Vi 1  d t on 15 x1  0.33x3.3x10 6
Lmin    1.66 µH
2I o 2 x10

1 Vo 1  d 
Vo 
8 LCf s2

1 Vo 1  d  1 5 x1  0.33
→ C  x  500 µF
8 Vo Lf s 2

8 50 x10 x1.66 x10 6 x 100 x10 3
 3
2

I L  I L,max  I L,min
 V  Vo 
 i
15  5x3.3x10 6
ton   20 A
 L  1.66 x106

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Example 2:

If the switching frequency in example 1 is increased to 250kHz,

a) Calculate the voltage ripple (ΔVo);

b) Calculate the current ripple (ΔIL);
c) Comment on the effect of increasing frequency on the converter performance

Solutions:

1 Vo 1  d  1 5 x1  0.33
Vo    8 mV
8 LCf s 2

8 500 x10 6 x1.66 x10 6 x 250 x10 3 
2

I L 
Vi  Vo t on 15  5x0.33x4 x10 6
  8.1A
L 1.66 x10 6

For the same converter components, increasing the frequency reduces the output voltage ripple.

Example 3:

If the output current of the converter in example 1 has dropped to 5A, in which mode the
converter will now operate? Calculate the new duty cycle to keep the output voltage constant.

Solutions:

Since the converter was operating at the boundary at 10A load current, it will operate in the
discontinuous conduction mode at 5A.

From eq. (20):

 2 x1.66 x10 6 x5 
2
5
d    5   6 
d
15  15   dx5 x10 x10 

1
→ 0.33d  d
27d

1
→ 0.67d 
27d

1
→ d  0.234
27 x0.67

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Example 4:

In example 1, calculate:

i. RMS switch current

ii. average diode current
iii. peak voltage across the switch

Solutions:

I L ,max 
Vi  Vo  t
on  I o
2L


 
15  5 3.3x10 6  10  10  10

2 1.66 x10 6 
= 20A

I L ,min  I o 
Vi  Vo  t
on
2L
10  10

= 0A

From eq. (10), IL,min = 0

d 0.33
I sw, RMS  I L ,max  20 = 6.63A
3 3

From eq. (12)

I D  I o 1  d   101  0.33 = 6.67A

Peak switch voltage is 15V

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Example 5:

In example 4, if the switch is a MOSFET and has Rsw = 10mΩ, tr = tf = 100ns, the diode has a forward
voltage drop of 0.8V. Calculate

i. total losses
ii. efficiency

Pcon,S  10 x10 3 6.63  0.44 W

2

Pcon, D  0.86.67  5.36 W

1 1
Pton  Vi I L,min t r f s  x15 x0 x100 x10 9 x100 x10 3  0
3 3

1
Ptoff  x15 x20 x100 x10 9 x100 x10 3  1 W
3

Hence Ploss  0.44  5.36  0  1  6.8 W

Po  10 x5  50 W

Po 50
   88 %
Po  Ploss 56.8

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 ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

III. Boost Converter:

L iL D io
+ vL _
+ + +
Vi S vsw C R Vo
_ _
_

Figure 11

 Similar to the buck converter, the boost converter has the following three modes of operation:
1) Continuous conduction mode (CCM)
2) Boundary between continuous and discontinuous conduction mode
3) Discontinuous conduction mode (DCM)

 Circuit Analysis

Assumptions:

1) The circuit components are ideal (i.e. lossless)

2) The output voltage is ripple free (i.e. vo = Vo)
3) The input voltage is ripple free

A. Analysis in continuous conduction mode (CCM):

L iL
 For steady-state operation:
+ vL _
+
Ts
t on
 v dt  0
L and d
Ts
Vi
0 _

Vi ton  Vi V o toff  0

(a) when S is on

Vi ton  Vi V o Ts  ton 

L
iL io
Vi d  Vi V o 1  d  + + vL _ +

Vi d  Vi 1  d  V o 1  d  Vi C R Vo
_ _
Vi V o 1  d 
(b) when S is off

Figure 12

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Vo 1
Hence,  ------------------------------------------ (21)
Vi 1  d

For d = 0; → Vo = Vi

For d = 1; → Vo = ∞

S on S off S on S off
vsw Vo

t
Vi
vL

t
Vi -Vo
IL,max Io
iL
IL,min
t
dTs (1-d)Ts Ts

Figure 13

Theoretically, the output voltage of the boost converter can be increased from Vi to infinity by changing
the duty cycle from d = 0 to 1.

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

B. Analysis in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM):

S on S off S on S off
Again, if we define the following: vsw Vo

t on t off 1 t off 2 Vi
d 1  2 
Ts Ts Ts t
vL Vi
and 1   2  1  d ---------------------- (22)

Ts Vi -Vo t
For steady-state operation:  v dt  0
0
L
iL
IL,max

Io
Hence, Vi ton  Vi  Vo toff 1  0 dTs Δ1Ts Δ2Ts t

Vi dTs  Vi  Vo 1Ts  0 Figure 14

Vo d  1
 --------------------------------------------------------------- (23)
Vi 1

When the switch S is on, the equivalent circuit of the boost converter is shown in Figure 12 (a).

di L
Vi  L
dt

Vi t
→ iL   dt  K
L0

Vi
→ iL  t  K --------------------------------------------------------------- (24)
L

At t = 0; iL = 0 → K=0

Vi
Eq. (24) now becomes: → iL  t ------------------------------------------- (25)
L

Vi
At t = ton, iL = IL,max → I L ,max  t on ------------------------------------------- (26)
L

The average diode current is the same as the area of the triangle:

1 t off 1 1 Vi
ID  I L,max  t on 1 -------------- (27)
2 Ts 2 L

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Since the output capacitor cannot carry any average current, the diode current ID then must be
equal to the average load current Io.

1 Vi
→ Io  I D  t on 1
2 L

Vo Vi t on V dT Vd
Or  1  i s 1  i 1
R 2L 2L 2 Lf s

2 Lf s  Vo 
Or 1    ----------------------------------------------------- (28)
Rd  Vi 

Substituting Δ1 in eq. (23), we have

2
Vi R  Vi 
d2   1 ------------------------ (29)
Vo 2 Lf s  Vo 

C. Analysis in boundary mode:

For the boundary condition, toff2 in Fig. 13 must be zero. From eq. (22)

2 Lf s  Vo 
→ 1  1  d     [from eq. (28)]
Rd  Vi 
2 Lf s  Vo 
Or    d 1  d  ------------------------------------------------------ (30)
R  Vi 
For boundary condition, eq. (30) should be satisfied.

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Example 6:

In a boost converter Vi = 100V, Vo = 200V, fs = 100kHz, output power Po = 1 kW. What is the minimum
value of the inductance L for the converter to operate at the boundary condition?

Solutions:

At the boundary,

Vo 1 200
 
Vi 1  d 100

Or 2  2d  1 → d = 0.5

From eq. (30), the value of inductance L is

d (1  d ) R Vi
L
2 fs Vo

0.5(1  0.5)(40)(100) Vo2 (200) 2

  25 µH where R    40
2(100  10 3 )(200) Po 1 10 3

Example 7:

In example 6, if the output power is reduced to 100W, calculate the new value of duty-cycle, d, to
maintain the same output voltage of 200V.

Solutions:

Vo2 (200) 2
R   400
Po 100

Since the converter of example 6 was already at the boundary condition, this converter will now operate
in the discontinuous mode as the load current is now lower than before.

From equation (29),

2
100 400  100 
d2 6 3   1
200 2(25 10 )(100 10 )  200 

0.5
Or d 2 (20)  0.5  1 → d  0.16
20

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 ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

IV. Buck-Boost Converter:

Modes of operation

 Similar to the buck converter, the buck-boost converter also operates in the three modes. These
modes are defined in Fig. 2.

S D io
_ _
+ + vsw
+
Vi vL L C R Vo
_ _
iL +

Figure 15

Circuit Analysis

The analysis of the converter is carried out by making the following assumptions

1) The circuit components are ideal

2) The output voltage is negative with respect to the input voltage and is ripple free
3) The input voltage is ripple free.

A. Analysis in the continuous mode:

For steady-state operation, S on S off S on S off

vsw
Vi +Vo
Ts

 V dt  0
0
L

Vi t on  Vo t off  0 t
vL Vi
or Vi dTs  Vo (1  d )Ts

Vo d t
 -------------------- (31) -Vo
Vi 1  d
IL,max Io
iL
For d = 0, Vo = 0
IL,min

For d = 1, Vo = ∞ t
dTs (1-d)Ts Ts
For d = 0.5, Vo = Vi Figure 16

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

0  d  0.5  Buck operation 

  same converter to step  up or step  down the ouput voltage
0.5  d  1  Boost operation 

B. Analysis at the discontinuous conduction mode:

Again, if we define: S on S off S on S off

d= ton/Ts vsw Vi +Vo

Δ1= toff1/Ts Vi

Δ2= toff2/Ts t
vL Vi
1   2  1  d  -------- (32)
t
-Vo
IL,max
iL
For steady-state operation: Io
Ts t
ton toff1 toff2
 VL dt  0
0 Figure 17
Vi t on  Vo t off  0

or Vi dTs  Vo 1Ts

Vo d
 ------------------------------- (33)
Vi 1

When switch S is on, the equivalent circuit of Fig.15 is given in Fig. 18 (i.e. when S is on, D is off). From
Fig. 18,

d iL
vL  L  Vi iL
dt
+ +
Vi
Ts
Vi vL L
L 0
or iL  dt  K
_ _

Vi
 tK Figure 18
L

At t = 0; iL = 0  K = 0

Vi
 iL  t
L

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

At t = ton, iL = ILmax

Vi V
 I L max  t on  i dTs -------------------------- (34)
L L

The average diode current is:

1 t off 1
ID  I L max
2 Ts

1 Vi
 ton1 ---------------------------------------------- (35)
2L

Since no DC current can flow through the output capacitor, the average diode current is equal to the load
current.

1 Vi
 Io  I D  t on 1
2L

Vo 1 Vi
Or  dTs 1
R 2L

 V  2L
1   o 
 Vi  R dTs

2 Lf s  Vo 
   ------------------------------------ (36)
Rd  Vi 

From eq. (33) and (36), we have:

Vi 2 Lf s  Vo 
d  1   
Vo Rd  Vi 

V  2 Lf s
Or d   o  ------------------------------------ (37)
 Vi  R

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

C. Analysis at the boundary mode:

In Fig. 17, toff2 = 0 at the boundary condition. Therefore, from eq. (32), we have:

1  1  d  ----------------------------------------------- (38)

From equations (36) and (38):

 
1  d   2Lf s  Vo  ----------------------------------------------- (39)
Rd  Vi 

For the boundary mode, eq. (39) must be satisfied. The minimum value of inductance which will keep
the operation of the converter in the continuous mode is given by:

L
1  d dR  Vi  ---------------------------------- (40)
V 
2 fs  o

A converter having lower inductance value than given by eq. (40) will operate in discontinuous
conduction mode.

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ELEC 431 Class notes Basic DC/DC Converters P.K. Jain

Example 8:

A buck-boost converter has Vi = 50 V, Vo = 25 V, Po = 50W, fs = 100 kHz, L = 10 μH. The converter is

operating in the discontinuous mode, calculate the duty-cycle d.

Solutions:

Vo2 25 2
R   12.5 
Po 50

V  2 Lf s
d   o 
 Vi  R
6
 25  2(10  10 )(100  10 )
3
 
 50  12.5
 0.2

Example 9:

What is the value of fs in example 8 to achieve d = 0.5 and still maintaining the same output voltage and
power?

Solutions:

6
 25  2(10  10 ) f s
0.5   
 50  12.5

12.5
fs   625 kHz
20  10 6

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