8/24/2018 Switch Mode Power Supply and Switching Regulators

Home / Power Electronics / Switch Mode Power Supply

Switch Mode Power Supply

Linear voltage IC regulators have been the basis of power supply designs for many years as they are very
good at supplying a continuous xed voltage output.

Linear voltage regulators are generally much more ef cient and easier to use than equivalent voltage regulator
circuits made from discrete components such a zener diode and a resistor, or transistors and even op-amps.

The most popular linear and xed output voltage regulator types are by far the 78… positive output voltage
series, and the 79… negative output voltage series. These two types of complementary voltage regulators
produce a precise and stable voltage output ranging from about 5 volts up to about 24 volts for use in many
electronic circuits.

There is a wide range of these three-terminal xed voltage regulators available each with its own built-in voltage
regulation and current limiting circuits. This allows us to create a whole host of different power supply rails and
outputs, either single or dual supply, suitable for most electronic circuits and applications. There are even
variable voltage linear regulators available as well providing an output voltage which is continually variable from
just above zero to a few volts below its maximum voltage output.

Most d.c. power supplies comprise of a large and heavy step-down mains transformer, diode recti cation, either
full-wave or half-wave, a lter circuit to remove any ripple content from the recti ed d.c. producing a suitably
We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing to visit this site you agree to our
smooth d.c. voltage, and some form of voltage regulator or stabiliser circuit, either linear or switching to ensure
use of cookies. More info
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 1/13
the8/24/2018
correct regulation of the power supplies Switch
output voltage
Mode under
Power Supply and varying load conditions. Then a typical d.c.
Switching Regulators

power supply would look something like this:

Typical DC Power Supply

 
These typical power supply designs contain a large mains transformer (which also provides isolation between
the input and output) and a dissipative series regulator circuit. The regulator circuit could consist of a single
zener diode or a three-terminal linear series regulator to produce the required output voltage. The advantage of
a linear regulator is that the power supply circuit only needs an input capacitor, output capacitor and some
feedback resistors to set the output voltage.

Linear voltage regulators produce a regulated DC output by placing a continuously conducting transistor in
series between the input and the output operating it in its linear region (hence the name) of its current-voltage
(i-v) characteristics. Thus the transistor acts more like a variable resistance which continually adjusts itself to
whatever value is needed to maintain the correct output voltage. Consider this simple series pass transistor
regulator circuit below:

Series Transistor Regulator Circuit

Here this simple emitter-follower regulator circuit consists of a single
NPN transistor and a DC biasing voltage to set the required output
voltage. As an emitter follower circuit has unity voltage gain, applying a
suitable biasing voltage to the transistors base, a stabilised output is
obtained from the emitter terminal.

Since a transistor provides current gain, the output load current will be
much higher than the base current and higher still if a Darlington transistor arrangement is used.

Also, providing that the input voltage is suf ciently high enough to get the desired output voltage, the output
voltage is controlled by the transistors base voltage and in this example is given as 5.7 volts to produce a 5 volt
output to the load as approximately 0.7 volts is dropped across the transistor between the base and emitter
terminals. Then depending upon the value of the base voltage, any value of emitter output voltage can be
obtained.

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 2/13
While this simple series regulator circuit willSwitch
8/24/2018 work, thePower
Mode downside toSwitching
Supply and this isRegulators
that the series transistor is
continually biased in its linear region dissipating power in the form of heat as a result of its V*I product, since all
the load current must pass through the series transistor, resulting in poor ef ciency, wasted power and
continuous heat generation.

Also, one of the disadvantages that series voltage regulators have is that, their maximum continuous output
current rating is limited to just a few amperes or so, so are generally used in applications where low power
outputs are required. When higher output voltage or current power supplies are required, the normal practice is
to use a switching regulator commonly known as a switch-mode power supply to convert the mains voltage into
whatever higher power output is required.

Switch Mode Power Supplies, or SMPS, are becoming common place and have replaced in most cases the
traditional linear ac-to-dc power supplies as a way to cut power consumption, reduce heat dissipation, as well as
size and weight. Switch-mode power supplies can now be found in most PC’s, power ampli ers, TV’s, dc motor
drives, etc., and just about anything that requires a highly ef cient supply as switch-mode power supplies are
increasingly becoming a much more mature technology.

By de nition, a switch mode power supply (SMPS) is a type of power supply that uses semiconductor switching
techniques, rather than standard linear methods to provide the required output voltage. The basic switching
converter consists of a power switching stage and a control circuit. The power switching stage performs the
power conversion from the circuits input voltage, VIN to its output voltage, VOUT which includes output
ltering.

The major advantage of the switch mode power supply is its higher ef ciency, compared to standard linear
regulators, and this is achieved by internally switching a transistor (or power MOSFET) between its “ON” state
(saturated) and its “OFF” state (cut-off), both of which produces lower power dissipation. This means that when
the switching transistor is fully “ON” and conducting current, the voltage drop across it is at its minimal value,
and when the transistor is fully “OFF” there is no current ow through it. So the transistor is acting like an ideal
switch.

As a result, unlike linear regulators which only offer step-down voltage regulation, a switch mode power supply,
can offer step-down, step-up and negation of the input voltage using one or more of the three basic switch mode
circuit topologies: Buck, Boost and Buck-Boost. This refers to how the transistor switch, inductor, and smoothing
capacitor are connected within the basic circuit.

Buck Switch Mode Power Supply

The Buck switching regulator is a type of switch mode power supply circuit that is designed to ef ciently reduce
DC voltage from a higher voltage to a lower one, that is it subtracts or “Bucks” the supply voltage, thereby
reducing the voltage available at the output terminals without changing the polarity. In other words, the buck
switching regulator is a step-down regulator circuit, so for example a buck converter can convert say, +12 volts
to +5 volts.

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 3/13
The buck switching regulator is a DC-to-DC converter
8/24/2018 andSupply
Switch Mode Power one of
andthe simplest
Switching and most popular type of
Regulators

switching regulator. When used within a switch mode power supply con guration, the buck switching regulator
uses a series transistor or power MOSFET (ideally an insulated gate bipolar transistor, or IGBT) as its main
switching device as shown below.

The Buck Switching Regulator

 
We can see that the basic circuit con guration for a buck converter is a series transistor switch, TR1 with an
associated drive circuit that keeps the output voltage as close to the desired level as possible, a diode, D1, an
inductor, L1 and a smoothing capacitor, C1. The buck converter has two operating modes, depending on if the
switching transistor TR1 is turned “ON” or “OFF”.

When the transistor is biased “ON” (switch closed), diode D1 becomes reverse biased and the input voltage, VIN
causes a current to ow through the inductor to the connected load at the output, charging up the capacitor, C1.
As a changing current ows through the inductor coil, it produces a back-emf which opposes the ow of current,
according to Faraday’s law, until it reaches a steady state creating a magnetic eld around the inductor, L1. This
situation continues inde nitely as long as TR1 is closed.

When transistor TR1 is turned “OFF” (switch open) by the controlling circuitry, the input voltage is instantly
disconnected from the emitter circuit causing the magnetic eld around the inductor to collapse inducing a
reverse voltage across the inductor. This reverse voltage causes the diode to become forward biased, so the
stored energy in the inductors magnetic eld forces current to continue to ow through the load in the same
direction, and return back through diode.

Then the inductor, L1 returns its stored energy back to the load acting like a source and supplying current until
all the inductor’s energy is returned to the circuit or until the transistor switch closes again, whichever comes
rst. At the same time the capacitor also discharges supplying current to the load. The combination of the
inductor and capacitor forms an LC lter smoothing out any ripple created by the switching action of the
transistor.
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 4/13
Therefore,
8/24/2018 when the transistor solid state switch is closed,
Switch Mode current
Power Supply is supplied
and Switching from the supply, and when the
Regulators

transistor switch is open, current is supplied by the inductor. Note that the current owing through the inductor
is always in the same direction, either directly from the supply or via the diode but obviously at different times
within the switching cycle.

As the transistor switch is being continuously closed and opened, the average output voltage value will
therefore be related to the duty cycle, D which is de ned as the conduction time of the transistor switch during
one full switching cycle. If VIN is the supply voltage, and the “ON” and “OFF” times for the transistor switch are
de ned as: tON and tOFF, then the output voltage VOUT is given as:

Buck Converter Duty Cycle

 
The buck converters duty cycle can also be de ned as:

 
So the larger the duty cycle, the higher the average DC output voltage from the switch mode power supply. From
this we can also see that the output voltage will always be lower than the input voltage since the duty cycle, D
can never reach one (unity) resulting in a step-down voltage regulator. Voltage regulation is obtained by varying
the duty cycle and with high switching speeds, up to 200kHz, smaller components can be used thereby greatly
reducing a switch mode power supply’s size and weight.

Another advantage of the buck converter is that the inductor-capacitor (LC) arrangement provides very good
ltering of the inductor current. Ideally the buck converter should be operated in a continuous switching mode
so that the inductor current never falls to zero. With ideal components, that is zero voltage drop and switching
losses in the “ON” state, the ideal buck converter could have ef ciencies as high as 100%.

As well as the step-down buck switching regulator for the basic design of a switch mode power supply, there is
another operation of the fundamental switching regulator that acts as a step-up voltage regulator called the
Boost Converter.
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 5/13
Boost Switch Mode Power Supply Switch Mode Power Supply and Switching Regulators
8/24/2018

The Boost switching regulator is another type of switch mode power supply circuit. It has the same types of
components as the previous buck converter, but this time in different positions. The boost converter is designed
to increase a DC voltage from a lower voltage to a higher one, that is it adds too or “Boosts” the supply voltage,
thereby increasing the available voltage at the output terminals without changing the polarity. In other words,
the boost switching regulator is a step-up regulator circuit, so for example a boost converter can convert say, +5
volts to +12 volts.

We saw previously that the buck switching regulator uses a series switching transistor within its basic design.
The difference with the design of the boost switching regulator is that it uses a parallel connected switching
transistor to control the output voltage from the switch mode power supply. As the transistor switch is
effectively connected in parallel with the output, electrical energy only passes through the inductor to the load
when the transistor is biased “OFF” (switch open) as shown.

The Boost Switching Regulator

 
In the Boost Converter circuit, when the transistor switch is fully-on, electrical energy from the supply, VIN passes
through the inductor and transistor switch and back to the supply. As a result, none of it passes to the output as
the saturated transistor switch effectively creates a short-circuit to the output. This increases the current
owing through the inductor as it has a shorter inner path to travel back to the supply. Meanwhile, diode D1
becomes reverse biased as its anode is connected to ground via the transistor switch with the voltage level on
the output remaining fairly constant as the capacitor starts to discharge through the load.

When the transistor is switched fully-off, the input supply is now connected to the output via the series
connected inductor and diode. As the inductor eld decreases the induced energy stored in the inductor is
pushed to the output by VIN, through the now forward biased diode. The result of all this is that the induced
voltage across the inductor L1 reverses and adds to the voltage of the input supply increasing the total output
voltage as it now becomes, VIN + VL.

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 6/13
 8/24/2018from the smoothing capacitor, C1 which
Current Switch was
Mode used to supply
Power Supply the load
and Switching when the transistor switch was
Regulators

closed, is now returned to the capacitor by the input supply via the diode. Then the current supplied to the
capacitor is the diode current, which will always be ON or OFF as the diode is continually switched between
forward and reverse status by the switching actions of transistor. Then the smoothing capacitor must be
suf ciently large enough to produce a smooth steady output.

As the induced voltage across the inductor L1 is negative, it adds to the source voltage, VIN forcing the inductor
current into the load. The boost converters steady state output voltage is given by:

 
As with the previous buck converter, the output voltage from the boost converter depends upon the input
voltage and duty cycle. Therefore, by controlling the duty cycle, output regulation is achieved. Not also that this
equation is independent of the value of the inductor, the load current, and the output capacitor.

We have seen above that the basic operation of a non-isolated switch mode power supply circuit can use either
a buck converter or boost converter con guration depending upon whether we require a step-down (buck) or
step-up (boost) output voltage. While buck converters may be the more common SMPS switching con guration,
boost converters are commonly used in capacitive circuit applications such as battery chargers, photo- ashes,
strobe ashes, etc, because the capacitor supplies all of the load current while the switch is closed.

But we can also combine these two basic switching topologies into a single non-isolating switching regulator
circuit called unsurprisingly, a Buck-Boost Converter.

Buck-Boost Switching Regulator

The Buck-Boost switching regulator is a combination of the buck converter and the boost converter that
produces an inverted (negative) output voltage which can be greater or less than the input voltage based on the
duty cycle. The buck-boost converter is a variation of the boost converter circuit in which the inverting
converter only delivers the energy stored by the inductor, L1, into the load. The basic buck-boost switch mode
power supply circuit is given below.

The Buck-Boost Switching Regulator

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 7/13
 8/24/2018 Switch Mode Power Supply and Switching Regulators

 
When the transistor switch, TR1, is switched fully-on (closed), the voltage across the inductor is equal to the
supply voltage so the inductor stores energy from the input supply. No current is delivered to the connected
load at the output because diode, D1, is reverse biased. When the transistor switch is fully-off (open), the diode
becomes forward biased and the energy previously stored in the inductor is transferred to the load.

In other words, when the switch is “ON”, energy is delivered into the inductor by the DC supply (via the switch),
and none to the output, and when the switch is “OFF”, the voltage across the inductor reverses as the inductor
now becomes a source of energy so the energy stored previously in the inductor is switched to the output
(through the diode), and none comes directly from the input DC source. So the voltage dropped across the load
when the switching transistor is “OFF” is equal to the inductor voltage.

The result is that the magnitude of the inverted output voltage can be greater or smaller (or equal to) the
magnitude of the input voltage based on the duty cycle. For example, a positive-to-negative buck-boost
converter can convert 5 volts to 12 volts (step-up) or 12 volts to 5 volts (step-down).

The buck-boost switching regulators steady state output voltage, VOUT is given as:

 
Then the buck-boost regulator gets its name from producing an output voltage that can be higher (like a boost
power stage) or lower (like a buck power stage) in magnitude than the input voltage. However, the output
voltage is opposite in polarity from the input voltage.

Switch Mode Power Supply Summary

The modern switch mode power supply, or SMPS, uses solid-state switches to convert an unregulated DC input
voltage to a regulated and smooth DC output voltage at different voltage levels. The input supply can be a true
DC voltage from a battery or solar panel, or a recti ed DC voltage from an AC supply using a diode bridge along
with some additional capacitive ltering.
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 8/13
In 8/24/2018
many power control applications, the power transistor,
Switch Mode PowerMOSFET or IGFET,
Supply and Switching is operated in its switching mode
Regulators

were it is repeatedly turned “ON” and “OFF” at high speed. The main advantage of this is that the power
ef ciency of the regulator can be quite high because the transistor is either fully-on and conducting (saturated)
or full-off (cut-off).

There are several types of DC-to-DC converter (as opposed to a DC-to-AC converter which is an inverter)
con gurations available, with the three basic switching power supply topologies looked at here being the Buck,
Boost, and the Buck-Boost switching regulators. All three of these topologies are non-isolated, that is their input
and output voltages share a common ground line.

Each switching regulator design has its own unique properties with regards to the steady-state duty cycles,
relationship between the input and output current, and the output voltage ripple produced by the solid-state
switch action. Another important property of these switch mode power supply topologies is the frequency
response of the switching action to the output voltage.

Regulation of the output voltage is achieved by the percentage control of the time that the switching transistor
is in the “ON” state compared to the total ON/OFF time. This ratio is called the duty cycle and by varying the
duty cycle, (D the magnitude of the output voltage, VOUT can be controlled.

The use of a single inductor and diode as well as fast switching solid-state switches capable of operating at
switching frequencies in the kilohertz range, within the switch mode power supply design, allows for the size
and weight of the power supply to be greatly reduced. This is because there would be no large and heavy step-
down (or step-up) voltage mains transformers within their design. However, if isolation is required between the
input and output terminals, a transformer must be included before the converter.

The two most popular non-isolated switching con gurations are the buck (subtractive) and the boost (additive)
converters.

The buck converter is a type of switch-mode power supply that is designed to convert electrical energy from one
voltage to a lower one. The buck converter operates with a series connected switching transistor. As the duty
cycle, D < 1, the output voltage of the buck is always smaller than the input voltage, VIN.

The boost converter is a type of switch-mode power supply that is designed to convert electrical energy from
one voltage to a higher one. The boost converter operates with a parallel connected switching transistor which
results in a direct current path between VIN and VOUT via the inductor, L1 and diode, D1. This means there is no
protection against short-circuits on the output.

By varying the duty cycle, (D) of a boost converter, the output voltage can be controlled and with D < 1, the DC
output from the boost converter is greater than input voltage VIN as a consequence of the inductors self-
induced voltage.

Also, the output smoothing capacitors in Switch-mode Power Supplies is assumed to be very large, which
results in a constant output voltage from the switch mode supply during the transistors switching action.

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 9/13
 8/24/2018 Switch Mode Power Supply and Switching Regulators

24 Comments

Join the conversation

Your Name

Email Address

Write your comment here

SUBMIT

G Gordon Robertson
Thanks for the power supply tutorials. Could you write one on a laptop power supply and the basic
relationship between the battery, the DC input, and the charging methodology?

I thought it would be fairly simple but the power switching is quite intricate.

Also, how the various voltages are derived from the 19 volt DC input without battery connected. You have
touched on it but I’m curious about how an of cial derivation comes about.

Or, could you offer a link to a tutorial on such power supplies?

Thanks.
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 10/13
Posted on August 22nd 2018 | 4:40 am
8/24/2018 Switch Mode Power Supply and Switching Regulators  Reply

S Satish raju
Please tell me about y back transformer design. Confused with dot convention.and number of turns and
inductance.

Posted on August 02nd 2018 | 11:03 am

 Reply

D Devaraju m hally
Sir,
I am hobbyist of electronic circuits, basically my work electrical proffetion. Can u give me the practical
knowledge through this media if I known about electronics spare parts. My interest in the eld of UPS.
hoping to get the reply from ur end.
Thanking u

Posted on June 24th 2018 | 1:01 pm

 Reply

J Juzer Gandhi
Dear sir
We want to build 300V DC output with 7 amps current and inout 440V AC
Please suggest suitable design note

Posted on April 29th 2018 | 4:09 am

 Reply

P PRASANNA
VERY CLEAR INFORMATION WITH GOOD FIGURES. THANK YOU
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 11/13
8/24/2018
Posted on March 21st 2018 | 6:40 am Switch Mode Power Supply and Switching Regulators
 Reply

J John Jordan
How smooth is the out put from a SMPS. Can they replace batteries?

Posted on March 14th 2018 | 7:43 pm

 Reply

Wayne Storr
A decent SMPS output is regulated and smooth.

Posted on March 14th 2018 | 9:34 pm

 Reply

T Tariq Aziz
I appreciate it .
But there is no description of transformer turns for a speci c frequency.

Posted on February 06th 2018 | 7:16 am

 Reply

Wayne Storr
Obviously, transformers are not discussed.

Posted on February 06th 2018 | 9:21 am

 Reply

H Harishanker
12v smps the circuit
https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 12/13
8/24/2018
Posted on September 16th 2017 | 2:59 pm Switch Mode Power Supply and Switching Regulators
 Reply

S Srinibas Rao
when 12 volt 1 amp dc with 8 volt battery & needs 5 volt out put what is circuit .

Posted on July 30th 2017 | 6:02 pm

 Reply

V Venkatesh
Can I believe that u would really reply to solve my questions

Posted on July 21st 2017 | 2:36 pm

 Reply

View More

https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/power/switch-mode-power-supply.html 13/13