DC-to-DC converter with no magnetic elements and enhanced regulation

Abstract

A switched-capacitor-based (SC) step-up DC converter is proposed. It contains no inductors and transformers, thus it can be realized in small size, exhibiting low weight and high power density. Two switched-capacitor circuits, operating in antiphase in each half-cycle, are used to control the energy flow from an unregulated voltage source to a regulated output. The capacitors are charged and discharged according to a designed sequence. To enhance the line and load regulation capability, in each half-cycle, each charging interval is split into two subintervals, which are followed by noncharging subintervals whose duration is dictated by the pulsewidth modulation (PWM) feedback circuit. The new converter is advantageous for applications in which significant line drops are likely to occur.