Friday 24 January 2014

What is this circuit called? (Dual of a boost converter)


A boost converter is a circuit that uses power from a voltage source, to act as another voltage source with a greater voltage. To conserve power, it draws more current from the input than it provides to the output. A boost converter looks like this:




(image from Wikipedia)


The general idea is to charge the inductor up (with the switch closed) then discharge it through the load, in series with the power supply. The capacitor is for smoothing the output voltage, and the diode allows the capacitor and load to retain a voltage while the switch is on (it prevents the capacitor from discharging through the switch).



The following circuit uses power from a current source, to act as another current source with a greater current. To conserve power, it "draws" more voltage across the input than it provides across the output.



(shown in LTspice IV) Here Q1 and I2 represent the switching element - I2 is a pulsed current source.


The general idea is to charge the capacitor up (with the switch open) then discharge it through the load, in parallel with the power supply. The inductor is for smoothing the output current, and the diode allows current to continue circulating through the inductor and load while the switch is off (it prevents the inductor from discharging through the switch, and damaging the switch).


What is this circuit called?



Answer




That's a buck converter. I'm not quite sure if this question is in jest, but, to be more precise, Nick Alexeev is correct: it's a current-fed buck converter.


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