Dual Modulation Technique for High Efficiency in High-Switching Buck Converters Over a Wide Load Range

Abstract

A dual modulation technique to improve power conversion efficiency with minimal increase in output voltage ripple is presented. The worsening switching noise caused by parasitic resistance and inductance due to high-switching operation can also be alleviated by the proposed ac ripple detector. Furthermore, the dual modulation method can speed up the load transient response since the switching frequency can increase to 5 MHz during the transient period. At very light loads, the switching frequency is always kept higher than the acoustic frequency to avoid noisy sound. Experiment results show that the converter operates at 5 MHz using a small inductor of 1 mu H. The load transient response time is shorter than 3 mu s when load current changes from 150 to 450 mA or vice versa. Power efficiency is kept higher than 85% over a wide load current range. Specifically, light efficiency can be raised to about 45% above that of the conventional design.