Tapped-inductor buck converters with a lossless clamp circuit

Abstract

Tapped-inductor buck converters allow great improvements in the performance of 12 V-input voltage regulator modules (VRMs). However, the converters' inductor leakage energy problem limits their applications. This paper proposes a simple clamp circuit, which can effectively clamp the witch turn-off voltage spike and totally recover the leakage energy. Simulation and experimental results prove the significant improvement afforded by the proposed clamp circuit.