Adaptive Peak-Inductor-Current-Controlled PFM Boost Converter With a Near-Threshold Startup Voltage and High Efficiency

Abstract

A high-efficiency boost dc-dc converter with adaptive peak-inductor-current (APIC) control method is proposed. Besides, a novel two-step startup procedure is also proposed and applied on the boost converter. The proposed integrated boost converter was fabricated by using a 0.18-μm 1P6M mixed-signal process with a die area of 0.96 mm × 0.75 mm, and it is meant to be used with low-power, low-voltage green energy sources and batteries, such as fuel cells, solar cells, and nickel-metal hydride batteries. Hence, the power efficiency, minimal startup voltage, and minimal input voltage are the most important design considerations. The output voltage of the proposed converter is set to 1.8V, and the measured power efficiency is up to 90.6%, occurring when the input voltage is 1.3 V, the output voltage is 1.8 V, and the load current is 50 mA. According to the measured results, the proposed converter can start up successfully with a 0.43-V input voltage. Then, the input voltage can be further lowered to 0.22 V after startup. Moreover, both the efficiency and the output voltage ripple are improved with the proposed APIC method. Furthermore, a two-step startup procedure, which does not require any extra startup assist circuit, is proposed.