POWER DESIGN
Inductor Current Rating for a Buck-Boost Converter
uck-boost converters produce a regulated
B output voltage either less than or greater
than the input voltage. When the input
voltage is higher than the output, the con-
verter acts as a buck. When the input is
lower than the output, the converter boosts. Two simple
formulae determine the current rating of the inductor. The
rating is either the dc saturation current rating associated
with buck-converter operation or the energy-storage rat-
ing associated with operation of a nonisolated flyback. [1]
Here, “buck-boost” refers to a chip-controlled type that
can switch between configurations and modes as required.
A buck-boost converter operates in three different configu-
rations. When input voltage is higher than output voltage,
it operates as a conventional buck converter. In the figure,
Q1 is pulse-width modulated, with Q2 acting as the syn-
chronous rectifier of the buck. Q4 is on 100% of the time,
and Q3 is always off, so the inductor current flows directly
to the output.
In the second configuration, the input voltage is lower
than the output, and the buck-boost acts as a nonisolated
flyback. The red lines show that this time, Q1 is on 100%
of the time, and Q2 is always off. Q3 acts as the boost tran-
sistor, and Q4 is the synchronous rectifier. In this configu-
ration, the converter can be either in continuous (CCM)
or discontinuous conduction mode (DCM).
In the third configuration, the input voltage is equal to
the output voltage, and in the approximation in which the
transistors have no resistance, both Q1 and Q4 are on 100%
of the time, and Q2 and Q3 are always off, so that the input
and output are directly connected, as expected.
With this description, it’s easy to calculate the maximum
current the inductor must carry in the three configura-
tions and two modes. When operating as a buck, the cur-
rent carried by the inductor is equal to the output current,
I0. [2] This value represents the large inductance approxima-
tion and is accu-
rate to the extent
Vin Q1 Q4 Vout that ripple current
+
can be ignored.
This approxima-
Q2 Q3
tion is also true in
the third mode be-
Fig. 1. Buck-boost configuration. Yellow arrows
show the direction of current flow as a buck. cause input and
Red arrows show the direction of current flow output are directly
when acting as a flyback. connected.
Power Electronics Technology May 2004
By Ron Lenk, Tyco Electronics Corp., Menlo Park, Calif.
When the converter is operated as a flyback, the inductor
current depends on whether it’s operated in CCM or DCM.
In DCM, output power (P) depends on input voltage (VIN),
duty cycle (DC), inductance (L) and frequency (f) according
to the following formula, which ignores efficiency
P=
Vin2 DC 2
2Lf
We also know that the peak current (Ipk) is
I pk =
Vin t on Vin DC
= .
L Lf
Substituting from the first equation, we have
2P 2V0I0
I pk = =
Lf Lf
It is in DCM, so this formula is valid only so long as half
the peak-to-peak current is less than the output current,
which can be expressed as
V0
I0 ≤ .
2Lf
The maximum occurs when the equality is fulfilled,
yielding
V0
I pk,max = .
Lf
In CCM, again using the zero-ripple approximation, the
inductor current is again just equal to the output current.
Thus, for all configurations and modes of operation of
the buck-boost converter, the maximum current the induc-
tor must carry will be either I0 or Vo/Lf, whichever is greater.
So, selecting an inductor that won’t saturate is easy. Just use
one of the two formulae shown above that gives the great-
est current value, and then add some safety margin.
Choosing the inductance value can be done on the basis of
limiting ripple current in the buck configuration, and decid-
ing where the transition between DCM and CCM modes oc-
curs in boost configuration. Results may be extended to the
case where there’s significant voltage drop across the transis-
tors, particularly where Q2 and Q4 are diodes. The resulting
analysis is a simple exercise in algebra. PETech
1. Ron Lenk, “Practical Design of Power Supplies,” IEEE Press/
McGraw Hill, 1998.
2. This approximation is true for all practical buck-boost con-
verters with which the author is familiar.
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