Questions tagged [dc-dc-converter]

DC-DC conversion. Implies conversion of a DC voltage level up or down. DC-DC converter can be isolated or non-isolated. Electronically it can be done by many kinds of circuits, depending upon the application (charge pumps, voltage multipliers, linear voltage regulators, boost/buck switched converters, etc)

DC-DC conversion. Implies conversion of a DC voltage level up or down. DC-DC converter can be isolated or non-isolated. Electronically it can be done by many kinds of circuits, depending upon the application (charge pumps, voltage multipliers, linear voltage regulators, boost/buck switched converters, etc).

More information on the many possible means of DC-DC conversion can be found on this Wikipedia article on DC-DC converters

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Regulated 3.3V from a Lithium-ion (or LiPo) battery

Background I wish to power my circuit with a Lithium-ion or LiPo battery (likely a battery with around 1000 mAh capacity). These batteries have a voltage that goes from 4.2V to 2.7V typically during their discharge cycle. My circuit (running at…
boardbite
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Reducing voltage with resistors

I have been looking around for an easy way to convert 12V to 5V. I have seen some people saying that a simple resistor is all that is needed. $$ Volts = Ohms \cdot Amps $$ $$ Amps = \frac{Volts}{Ohms} $$ $$Ohms = \frac{Volts}{Amps}$$ So applying a…
Konner Rasmussen
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What is causing large oscillations in my DC/DC boost converter? Is this ground bounce or some other effect?

I designed my first PCB for a DC-DC boost converter only to find that it produced very noisy output. The design is based around the MIC2253. Here's a schematic: Although my circuit allows for different combinations of input voltages (Vin) and…
Dave.Mech.Eng
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Why do smaller loads require larger inductors in buck regulators?

The MC34063 Application Note lists the equation for calculating minimum inductor size as follows: $$L_{min} = \frac{V_{in} - V_{sat} - V_{out}}{I_{pk}(switch)} t_{on}$$ But this implies that as Ipk(switch) (eg, the maximum switch current) decreases,…
Nick Johnson
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Least expensive way to boost DC voltage

What would be the least expensive way to boost a DC voltage? The aim is to convert 1.2 V/1.5 V (from an AA/AAA cell) to 3.3 V to power a small 8-bit microprocessor, like Atmel ATtiny45 or ATtiny2313, and also (if possible) 6 V to power a…
bdutta74
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Should I isolate grounds of an isolated DC/DC converter?

If I use an isolated DC/DC converter, when designing the PCB, should I isolate the ground of the input and the ground of the output as shown below? I've never isolated grounds (except for AGND and DGND) but always used one single ground plane for…
Abdella
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What do the "optional" resistor and capacitor do in this circuit?

I'm designing a circuit that includes a boost converter with a few mysterious "optional" components and I'm trying to decide whether or not to include them. Does anyone know what they do? At first I thought they might be some filter but now I'm not…
Steve Marwin
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Is this negative regulator really meant to be an inverted positive regulator?

Project: make a power supply that can replace the 240V AC supply shown, so that I don't die when messing with the board that this connects to. I'm only interested in the part inside the yellow box; the +40V output goes to the power amp section which…
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Full-bridge converter rectifier kicks

I'm in the process of building an 8kW isolated DC/DC converter, full-bridge topology. I'm seeing some interesting phenomena on the diodes. When each diode becomes reverse-biased, a voltage spike appears across the diode, before settling down to the…
Stephen Collings
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Isolated DC/DC Converter - Purpose of Capactor connecting two GNDs?

I've been looking at board mount isolated DC/DC converters to use in an application. I found this rather reasonably priced for my needs. Here is what I'm confused about, what is C103 doing here? Isn't it breaking the isolation? Or, is it because…
Saad
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DC DC Converters in Parallel for double current

I am using a 15V 7A DC DC converter for powering a robot. I am looking for a 15V 20A supply. For this can I put three of those regulators in parallel and expect them to provide about 20A of current? Also can anybody suggest a better method? (given…
Tarang Shah
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Can a charge-pump be 100% efficient, given ideal components?

A recent question about cyclically charging a capacitor reminded me of something I read once. As I remember, it demonstrated that it's impossible to construct a charge pump that is 100% efficient with ideal components, but it is possible to build a…
Phil Frost
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What is a point-of-load converter?

Can you please give me a definition, or at least a more specific context, of the term "point-of-load" converter/regulator? I have seen around explanations on related products or applications but no real definition. Most important for me is, why do…
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How to create a regulated 5V power supply from an unregulated 5V power supply

I have a project that involves a specific single board computer* and several hundred WS2812B "smart" RGB LEDs*, all running from a 5V supply. I have a 5 volt 15 amp unregulated power supply. While the LEDs are okay with an unregulated power…
HighInBC
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12V DC UPS for Network Equipment

My requirement is to keep running supply of low power devices like DSL modems, etc. Most of these devices input 12V/9V DC so i don't see the value in using ordinary UPS which converts DC to AC then back to DC, lots of conversion lots of power loss…
Imran Naqvi
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