Week 05
Buck Converters
I organize a study path from switching devices to converters and inverters while tracking power flow and device stress together.
What I connect in this unit
In a buck converter, the inductor charges from the Vin-to-Vout difference while the switch is on and releases energy through the freewheel path while it is off. Duty ratio sets the average voltage, but whether inductor ripple reaches zero separates CCM from DCM, and the output capacitor absorbs the remaining current mismatch.
Concept map
- Duty ratio
- Inductor ripple
- CCM and DCM
- Output capacitors
Technical anchor
For ideal CCM operation, V_out = D V_in, and the on-interval current change is Delta I_L = (V_in - V_out)D/(L f_s).
How I review it
At minimum load, check whether I_L,min stays above zero and whether output ripple including capacitor ESR and switch-diode peak currents remain within ratings on the same design sheet.
Connection to the full course
Unit 5 of 12. Unit numbers follow circuit dependencies and do not claim the original lecture schedule.