The boost converter is very useful for stepping d.c.

voltages up: that is, for

Lecture 7. D.C.-D.C. conversion (2): boost converter producing output voltages higher than the input voltage.

In this lecture: As before, assume that the components are all ideal, and the JFET switches
with a period of T. The duty cycle is D=ton/T.
5.1. operation
Mode 1 – JFET switch closed
5.2. Input/output characteristic
Assume the capacitor is initially charged. When the switch is closed, it shorts
5.3. Edge jitter point A to ground: VA=0, the diode does not conduct and we get two loops.
iL L A iC
5.4. Design Example
vL
+
Vin vC Rload vout
C
5.1. Operation -
L A

+ +
Vin JFET Rload
C vout
- Switch
-

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In loop 1, the Vin energises the Remember!

inductor: the current in the inductor
climbs linearly, with a slope • For sufficiently high C and R the vout falloff is very small.
depending on the value of L:
• The decay is approximately linear for a short time (compared to the RC
di time-constant).
Vin ≈ L L
dt
di V
⇒ L ≈ in constant
dt L Mode 2 – JFET Switch Open
L A iL
Meanwhile in loop 2 the charged
vL<0 iC iR
capacitor slowly discharges into the +
load, maintaining a (very slowly- Vin C Rload
vout>Vin
-
decaying) voltage across the load.

iout = −iC , vout = vC

vout dv
⇒ = −C out
R dt With the switch open, the node A floats back up to a positive voltage and the
dvout − vout − vout diode conducts current.
= ≈
dt RC RC

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The inductor de-energises: 5.2. Input/output characteristic
• it acts as a source, producing a positive iL with a negative voltage vL: To find out the relationship between vout and Vin, consider the energy in and
out.
• a very large voltage, Vin-vL, is thus dropped across R, larger than Vin.
Energy in. All energy into the circuit comes from the D.C. input voltage
• The large voltage also re-charges C.
source. Since the inductor current is fairly steady, then power is delivered
v out = v C = Vin − v L steadily over the whole period:
= Vin + v L E in = Vin i L T
> Vin
Energy out. Energy reaches the load and capacitor only when the diode
Since VL<0 is constant and negative, the resulting current in the inductor
conducts; that is, when the switch is off.
decreases gradually between t=ton and t=T:
E out = vout i L (T − t on )

Taking

E out = E in gives

vout i L (T − t on ) = Vin i LT

therefore
If T is kept sufficiently short then the current ripple is acceptably small.
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vout T 1 5.3. Edge jitter

= =
Vin T − t on 1 − D
Edge jitter is the uncertainty in the output voltage level due to noise or
So vOUT is greater than Vin. In this way we can boost the output voltage uncertainty in the timing of the clock signal to the switch.
compared to the input voltage.
Every signal has some uncertainty or noise. In particular, the rise and fall
Notes times of a square clock signal are often inexact: the edges of the square
wave may occur slightly earlier or later than they ideally should. This is
The battery can not be left too long energising the inductor. For this reason, called jitter. Even a small jitter in a switching converter can lead to large
a switching failure could cause disaster! errors in output voltage.
The inductor voltage can be very large, and changes rapidly between positive Example
and negative. This can lead to unwanted electromagnetic emissions.
Consider a boost converter with

• Switching frequency = 100 kHz

• Edge jitter = ±100 ns

• Vin = 10 V, D = 0.75.

What is the edge jitter‘s effect on output voltage?

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Solution Thus a 1% error in the timing signal results in a 4V (=10%) swing in the
output voltage – quite a large output error.
Right away, we find T = 10 µs.
Edge jitter (or timing jitter) is a particular problem when the scaling ratio is
So 100ns edge jitter represents only 1% of T. large.

• A large scaling ratio corresponds to a small toff; a jitter of ±∆t then is

then proportionally bigger, leading to a bigger output voltage
Vin = 10V, tOFF = 2.5µs ± 100 ns (=0.1 µs) uncertainty.
T 1
v out = Vin = Vin • So the buck and boost converters are most reliable when the duty ratio
t OFF 1− D
D is small.
Examine the range of values vout may take, given that both T and toff may
differ by up to 0.1µs:

⎛ 10 ⎞
v out (nominal) = 10⎜ ⎟ = 40V
⎝ 2 .5 ⎠
⎛ 10 + 0.1 ⎞
v out (max.) = 10⎜ ⎟ = 42.1V
⎝ 2 .5 − 0 .1 ⎠
⎛ 10 − 0.1 ⎞
v out (min.) = 10⎜ ⎟ = 38.1V
⎝ 2.5 + 0.1 ⎠
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5.4. Design Example 2. Input current ripple and the inductor

Design a Boost Converter such that a 5V input is scaled to 15V, with no more The average input current can be determined by the output load power
than a 50mV ripple on the output and an input current ripple of no more than
2%. The output load power is 6W. The switching frequency is 66.7 kHz and Pout = v out i out
you main assume that timing jitter is not significant.
⇒ i out = 6 / 15 = 0.4 A

Solution With an average output current of 0.4A, the maximum permissible ripple
(2%) is 0.4x0.02=8mA.
1. Duty ratio
To find a value of L that permits this, recall that while the switch is closed
Switching period: T = 1 / f = 15µs (mode 1),
diL ∆I
We need an output voltage of 15V from an input of 5V, thus the switch-off v L = Vi = L ≈L L
time toff is given by dt t on

T giving
v out = Vin
t OFF
t on
V L= Vi
⇒ t OFF = i T = 13 T = 5µs ∆i L
Vo
t on T − t off 10 Recall the maximum permissible current ripple is ∆i L max = 8 mA , so we
And D = = = = 66%
T T 15 require
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 ton 3. Output voltage ripple and the capacitor
L> Vi
∆iL max
In mode 1 (0<t<ton), the charged capacitor supplies energy to the load,
(15 − 5) × 10 −6 maintaining the output voltage (approximately). The capacitor discharges
> × 5 = 6.25 mH
8 × 10 −3 slightly, and its voltage falls by a small amount.

So a larger inductor can store more energy during ton, and guarantees a Assuming the current falls linearly allows us to write
smaller ripple current.
∆vC ∆v
iC ≈ C = C out
If the load current were smaller, then a 2% ripple tolerance would represent ∆t t ON
an even smaller ∆IL, demanding an even bigger inductor. In this way, the
smaller the demanded ripple, the bigger the required inductor. Rearranging gives

t ON
C = iC
∆v out

We require C such that ∆v out (max) = 50 mV ; in other words

t ON 10 × 10 −6
C > iC = (0.4 ) = 80 µF
∆vout max 50 × 10 −3

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We have now defined all the components we need, so just picking values that
satisfy these constraints, comfortably above their minima, gives us the
following circuit:

10 mH A
D = 66%

toff = 5µs +
Vin Rload vout
100 µF
C = 100µF - toff
=5µs
L = 10mH

In the next lecture we will see a D.C.- D.C. converter that is capable of
voltages smaller or bigger than the input voltage.

END OF LECTURE

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