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Buck Converter (DC to DC step down converter)

Zafar Ahmad , Syed Afzal Shah , Hafeez Ullah, Adnan khan
Department of Electrical Energy System Engineering
USPCAS-E , University of Engineering and Technology
Peshawar

 (DSPs). This circuit that we design has two parts 1.

Abstract— this paper is the implementation of Pulse generator, 2.dc-dc step down converter.

circuitry of buck converter (from 24 volt to 12 volt 1. Pulse generator is used for the generation of

and 0.5A current). For gate pulses of MOSFET pulses with the help of 555 timer. IC used in a-

(IRF740) we used 555 timer in a-stable mode instead stable mode to give a full square wave to the

of PIC Microntroller which is expensive than 555 next circuit with duty cycle of near 50%. The

timer. MOSFET is used as a switch in this circuit and resistor and capacitor are used to change the

a low pass filter is used to cut off high frequencies duty cycle of the output pulse it can vary from

and pass the lower frequencies. And diode is used to 50% up to 99% and therefore the next circuit

provide path for the inductor current when changes their output according to the pulses

MOSSFET is on and to block the current when given by the pulse generator.

MOSFET is off.

Keywords: MOSFET (Metal-Oxide Semiconductor

Field-Effect Transistor).
2. Now dc to dc step down converter is used to step
down the 24 volts given to 12 volts with 5A
current on output. Now in this circuit MOSFET
I. INTRODUCTION
(IRF740) is linked with the first circuit i.e. pulse

P
ower semiconductors are with us since 1970s and
generator). When MOSFET receive the high
a lot of work has been done to derive the benefits
pulse from pulse generator its becomes turn on
regarding their ability to control both the
and current flow start through inductor through
alternating current (AC) driven loads or direct
diode and when MOSFET receives the low pulse
current (DC) driven loads for both the home and
from the pulse generator it turns off and the
industrial grades. The sensitivity level to drive these
diode become reversed biased and current stops
devices has made it possible to control these power
through diode.
controlling switches by the use of cheap and
commercially available digital controllers such that
Integrated Circuits, or digital signal processors
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II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

The proposed design is implemented and fully tested

Using prototype circuit boards. Heart of the system is IC
555 timer. IC is energized with 9-15 volts. Output can be
enable and disabled by placing push button. Output is
then used for switching of MOSFET which turns on and
off with pulse changing to high and low respectively.
And due to 50% duty cycle 24 volt converts to 12 volts.

A. Pulse Generator (generating firing pulses):

Pulses are generated By IC 555 timer and can be varied

by changing RC combination at IC in puts. This circuit
is operating in a-stable mode. A-stable Circuit has no
stable state - hence the name "a-stable". The output MATHS
continually switches state between high and low without
any intervention from the user, called a 'square' wave.
This type of circuit could be used to give a mechanism
intermittent motion by switching a motor on and off at
regular intervals. It can also be used to flash lamps and
LEDs, and is useful as a 'clock' pulse for other digital
ICs and circuits.

Frequency of Output =
1/ [0.7*(R3+2*R4)*C3]
where RA, RB, and C are shown in fig below
Based on the components I used in this sample circuit,
we can calculate the range of possible output frequencies
as follows:
assuming the potentiometer is turned all the way to one
side and the resistance = 100kohms

Frequency of Output =
1/[0.7*(100,000+2*10,000)*0.00000047]
Frequency of Output =~ 25Hz
t = 0.7*RB*C
substituting RB = 10kOhms and C = 0.47uF you get:
t =~ 3ms
which can be verified in figs.
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Output: both decrease. Therefore, high switching frequencies are

desirable to reduce the size of both the inductor and the
capacitor. The voltage and current waveforms of the
inductor is shown in fig.

B. Buck converter (Dc-Dc step down converter):

This circuit output depends on the pulse generator circuit

The average inductor current must be the same as the
as the firing pulse width changes, output of this circuit
average current in the load resistor, since the average
also changes.
capacitor current must be zero for steady-state operation
When the MOSFET is in ON condition, the output is the
(IL = IC + IR). As there is a change in inductor current,
same as the input, and the output is zero when the
the maximum and minimum values of the inductor
MOSFET is in OFF condition. The periodic openings
current are computed as:
and closings of the switch results in the pulsed output.
The diode provides path for the inductor current when
the MOSFET is ON and is reverse biased when the
MOSFET is OFF. To obtain a dc output, a low-pass
filter circuit is inserted after the MOSFET. The input to
the filter is Vin when the MOSFET is in ON state and is
zero when the MOSFET is in OFF state, provided that MATHS
the inductor current remains positive, keeping the diode
on.

An inductor current that remains positive throughout the

switching period is known as continuous current. Note
that as the switching frequency increases, the minimum
size of the inductor to produce continuous current and
the minimum size of the capacitor to limit output ripple
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The circuit to the given buck converter is given below

III. CONCLUSION

 From this circuitry I concluded how to convert

high dc voltage to a low dc voltage.
 And also I learn how to generate square wave
firing pulses through 555 timer.

APPENDIX

Not needed.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The work described in this paper is substantially

supported by and supervised by Engr. Usher Wahid of
Department of Electrical Engineering University of
Wah.
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REFERENCES

HTTP://CLARKSONUK.COM/555TIMER/OPERATION/HIFRA

MES.HTML

HTTP://WWW.555-TIMER-CIRCUITS.COM/OPERATING-

MODES.HTML

HTTPS://DOCS.GOOGLE.COM/FILE/D/0B5KPSLWFFSARS

K5YCJG4N3UYNTQ/EDIT?PLI=1

HTTP://WWW.ENGINEERSGARAGE.COM/CONTRIBUTION/A

MBHATT/UNDERSTANTING-OPERATING-MODES-OF-555-

TIMER-IC

Power Electronics: Circuits, Devices, and Applications

by M. H. Rashid.