Inductive DC-DC Converter Topologies

This chapter allows the designer to obtain insight into the basic operation principles of the different inductive converter topologies. It also provides a comparison of a selection of these topologies. Thus, allowing the determination of the fundamental and intrinsic advantages and drawbacks of the different converter topologies, with the aim towards monolithic integration. These advantages and drawbacks may well differ from converter topologies that are not intended for monolithic integration, as the on-chip area requirement and available devices are much more restricted. The primary classes of non-galvanically separated step-down, step-up and step-up/down inductive converter topologies are discussed. These topologies are categorized according to their non-inverting voltage conversion range in the respective Sects. 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3. The converters of each of the three categories are compared in terms of their circuit topology, their basic operation and their area requirement. The derived classes of DC-DC converter topologies, such as galvanically separated converters and resonant converters, are addressed in Sect. 3.4. Topology variations on the primary classes of converter topologies, incorporating multi-phase converters and Single-Inductor Multiple Output (SIMO) converters, are discussed in Sect. 3.5. Finally, the chapter is concluded in Sect. 3.6.