Dynamic Modeling and Closed-Loop Control of a Tapped Inductor Buck Converter

Abstract

Modern smart electronic and information technology (IT) devices require a low DC voltage for operation. The low supply voltage is typically provided by a dedicated DC−DC converter by stepping down the system’s bus voltage (e.g., 12 V). It is essential that the converter possesses a large voltage step-down gain and, at the same time, operates at high efficiency. A tapped inductor buck converter (TIBC) is a topology that has a potential to meet these requirements. It has a simple circuit structure and high efficiency similar to a buck converter, but can give a larger voltage step-down gain. This paper presents a dynamic modeling and closed-loop control of a TIBC. The state space averaging (SSA) method is adopted for the dynamic modeling to derive small-signal transfer functions of the converter. Based on the duty-cycle-to-output voltage transfer function, a closed-loop control is designed to keep the converter’s output voltage constant. To verify the design, a prototype TIBC with closed-loop control is implemented. Experimental results show that the prototype converter has good output voltage regulation and fast transient response when subject to a step load. The effect of the crossover frequency and phase margin on the converter’s transient response is also illustrated.