ECE 5520 Lecture 4

ECE 5520
Advanced Power Electronics

Lecture 4
Advanced DC/DC Converters:
Flyback in DCM, SEPIC, Switched Capacitor

Converters
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9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 1

Flyback Converter in DCM
• In the previous lecture, we went over how a

flyback converter is derived from a buck-boost
converter
• Main benefits:
– Input-output isolation
– Polarity not an issue
Image Source: http://eas.uccs.edu/~cwang/ECE5955_old/Fly-
back%20Converter_2012.ppt
• Derivation was made assuming continuous

conduction mode (CCM):

• In DCM, the flyback converter has three

operating modes:
– Mode 1: Primary-side inductance charging
– Mode 2: Secondary-side inductance discharging
– Mode 3: All stored energy in the coupled inductor
would have been release in modes 1 and 2, and only
the output capacitor supplies the load

• Mode 1: Primary-side inductance charging while

the switch is on and the diode is reverse biased
• The stored energy in the coupled inductor is:
Image Source (slides 4-14): http://eas.uccs.edu/~cwang/ECE5955_old/Fly-back%20Converter_2012.ppt

• Mode 1: Primary-side inductance charging while

the switch is on and the diode is reverse biased
• The stored energy in the coupled inductor is:

• Mode 2: Primary-side current drops to zero,

causing Vpri to reverse polarity
• The diode is thus forward biased, and energy is
released from the secondary winding to charge
the capacitor and supply the load

• Mode 3: All energy stored in the coupled inductor

is released, thus the diode is reverse biased AND
the switch is still off
• The capacitor supplies the load

• The waveforms of various voltages and currents

are as follows:
time
time
time
time
• Waveforms without animation:
time
time
time
time
• Under DCM, the flyback converter’s coupled

inductor current reaches zero and stays there for
sometime (mode 3)
• Since CCM & DCM were previously defined as
“inductor” current, and here we have two
windings, it is useful to check the energy stored:

• How is a coupled inductor different from a regular

inductor, and from a transformer?
– Two windings, not one, as in a regular inductor
– Transformers do not store energy, but coupled
inductors store energy in their airgap

• Governing equations, assuming an ideal

converter in CCM:
IP – Io = (Edc / Lpri) DT
• Energy transferred to the primary winding when

the switch is on, which is also the energy
transferred from the secondary winding when the
diode is on:
½Edc(Ip+ Io) DT

• Output energy in each cycle:
VoIloadT
• For an ideal converter:

½Edc(Ip+ Io) DT = VoIloadT
• As shown in the previous lecture:

Edc/Vo = (N1/N2) (1-D)/D or Vo/Edc = (N2/N1)D/(1-D)

• DCM means that the stored energy in the coupled
inductor is fully depleted before the upcoming
switching cycle
• The output power is thus:
Po = ½LpriIp2fswitch
• As shown in the previous lecture:

Edc/Vo ≤ (N1/N2) (1-D)/D
Vo/Edc ≥ (N2/N1)D/(1-D)

• A primary-side snubber circuit is commonly used
to dissipate energy stored in the leakage
inductance of the primary side
• The snubber ensures no voltage spikes across
the primary circuit due to large di/dt

SEPIC
• Single-ended primary inductor converter (SEPIC)
is an alternative solution to a buck-boost and
flyback converters
• Compared to the buck-boost converter, SEPIC

does not have the flipped polarity problem at the
output voltage
• Compared to a flyback converter, it is non-isolated

(a drawback), but can handle high power transfers

SEPIC
• We basically edit a boost converter by inserting an
intermediate C-L network between the input and
output sides:
iin + v L1 – Iout
L1 +
V in V out
C
–
+ v L1 – + v C1 –
iin Iout
L1 + +
C1 v L2 V out
V in
L2 – C2
–
Image Source (slides 16-19): http://users.ece.utexas.edu/~kwasinski/_8_EE462L_DC_DC_sepic_PPT.ppt

SEPIC
• The capacitor voltage vC1 can be found to be:
vC1=Vin-vL1-vL2
• On average: vC1=Vin since inductor votlages

average out to zero
• The average values become:
+0– + Vin–
Iin 0 Iout
L1 + +
C1 0 V out
V in
L2 – C2 0
–

SEPIC
• Operating Modes:
– When the switch is on and the diode is reverse biased:
+ Vin – + Vin – – (Vin + Vout) +
iin Iout
L1 – +
C1 Vin V out
V in
L2 C Iout
+ –
– Inductor currents are increasing as the inductors

charge
– C1 is charging while C is discharging

SEPIC
• Operating Modes:
– When the switch is off and the diode is forward biased:
+ Vin –
iin + vL1 - Iout
L1 + +
C1 V L2 V out
V in
L2 C
– –
<vL1>=DVin+(1-D)(-Vout)=0
Vout(1-D)=DVin
Vout/Vin=D/(1-D)
Switched Capacitor Converters
• Switched capacitor converters can step up or

down voltage using capacitors only, without
inductors
• Basic concept: capacitors are charged and re-
arranged to add or subtract voltage
• Switched capacitor circuits are similar to charge
pumps

• Many topologies exist, but the most common

are:
– Dickson charge pump
– Ladder switched capacitor converter

• Switched capacitor circuits are typically used
where the following are desired:
– Low power applications (typically, low voltage)
– Reduced EMI
– Reduced weight, cost, and volume
– System-on-chip implementations
• The basic cell in a switched capacitor converter

(SCC) is as follows:
• When S1 is on, and S2 is off:

– C1 will charge to Vin, with a time constant R1C1
• When S1 is off, and S2 is on:

– C2 will charge to VC1=Vnew, with a time constant R2C2
• Since charge is conserved:

• Energy will be distributed among both capacitors

and will be impacted by the new voltage:

• Resistors have no impact on the amount of

stored energy
• Resistors impact:
– Charge and discharge rates
– Efficiency

• Two operating modes:

– Slow Switching Limit (SSL): We assume that the
switching frequency is low enough for the input
capacitor to be fully charged
– Fast Switching Limit (FSL): We assume that the input
capacitor can be partially charged
Image Source:
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8265&context=masters_theses
• SSL: Lump all resistors into R, L (parasitic

inductance) has minimal impact
• Mode 1 is when C1 (value C) charges, and Mode
2 is when Cout charges from C1
Image Source:
• The voltage across C1 decreases by:
Image Source:
• FSL: We assume that the voltage across C1 is

constant, and that the switching frequency is low
enough to ignore L
• Assuming that Mode 1 has a duty cycle d, the
charging current from C1 to Cout is:
Image Source:
SCC as Step-down Converter
• SCC as a buck or step-down converter:
• A simple voltage divider is shown above, where

each capacitor is charged
– If C1=C2=C, the total voltage across each capacitor is
Vin/2.

SCC as Step-down Converter
• If the input voltage source is disconnected, and

both capacitors are placed in parallel with a
load, the load voltage is Vin/2
• Obviously, the load voltage will
decline as both capacitors
discharge
– The discharge and charge actions should be
slow to maintain an almost constant Vout
– Switching back and for the between both
circuits is thus essential
– Load voltage ripple is set by the voltage rise
and decay during charging and discharging,
respectively.
SCC as Step-up Converter
• In a similar manner to the step-down SCC, both

capacitors are charged
• In this case, they are placed in parallel to charge
and reach a voltage of Vin, each

SCC as Step-up Converter
• The capacitors are then placed in series with the

source
• The total voltage at the load is Vin+Vin+Vin=3Vin
• For n capacitors:
Vin+…+Vin=nVin
• For n capacitors and source:
+-
(n+1)Vin

SCC Switch Matrix
• A step-up SCC is realized using a switch matrix
• Note the large number of switches

– This is no longer an issue with high-power-density
semiconductors
– Powerful embedded systems platforms (digital signal
processors, FPGAs, etc.) can support necessary
control complexity

SCC Switch Matrix
• A step-up SCC is realized as follows:

SCC Switch Matrix
• In order to charge C1 and C2 to Vin each, we turn

on S11, S22, S31, and S42:

SCC Switch Matrix
• In order to connect C1 and C2 in series with Vin,

we turn on S13, S21, S32, and S44:

Dickson Charge Pump
• Below is an example of Dickson SCC for 3V to

1V conversion:
Image Source: https://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2011/EECS-2011-94.pdf

Dickson Charge Pump
• Below is an example of Dickson SCC for 12V to

1.5V conversion (star configuration)

Ladder SCC
• Below is a ladder configuration of the same 12V

to 1.5V desired conversion

Ladder SCC
• Phase 1: • Phase 2: 10.5 V is fine, since

the 12 V source is disconnected

Reading Material
• Reading Material:
Chapter 3 (3.5.4, 3.6.1-3.6.3)

Chapter 4 (4.6)

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ECE 5520

Advanced Power Electronics

Flyback in DCM, SEPIC, Switched Capacitor

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 1

• In the previous lecture, we went over how a

• Derivation was made assuming continuous

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 2

• In DCM, the flyback converter has three

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 3

• Mode 1: Primary-side inductance charging while

Image Source (slides 4-14): http://eas.uccs.edu/~cwang/ECE5955_old/Fly-back%20Converter_2012.ppt

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 4

• Mode 1: Primary-side inductance charging while

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 5

• Mode 2: Primary-side current drops to zero,

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 6

• Mode 3: All energy stored in the coupled inductor

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 7

• The waveforms of various voltages and currents

• Waveforms without animation:

• Under DCM, the flyback converter’s coupled

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 10

• How is a coupled inductor different from a regular

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 11

• Governing equations, assuming an ideal

• Energy transferred to the primary winding when

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 12

• For an ideal converter:

• As shown in the previous lecture:

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 13

• As shown in the previous lecture:

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 14

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 15

• Compared to the buck-boost converter, SEPIC

• Compared to a flyback converter, it is non-isolated

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 16

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 17

• On average: vC1=Vin since inductor votlages

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 18

– Inductor currents are increasing as the inductors

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 19

• Switched capacitor converters can step up or

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 21

• Many topologies exist, but the most common

– Ladder switched capacitor converter

– Reduced weight, cost, and volume

• The basic cell in a switched capacitor converter

• When S1 is on, and S2 is off:

• When S1 is off, and S2 is on:

• Since charge is conserved:

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 24

• Energy will be distributed among both capacitors

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 25

• Resistors have no impact on the amount of

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 26

• Two operating modes:

• SSL: Lump all resistors into R, L (parasitic

• The voltage across C1 decreases by:

• FSL: We assume that the voltage across C1 is

• SCC as a buck or step-down converter:

• A simple voltage divider is shown above, where

9/24/2019 Copyright ©2019 Ali M. Bazzi. All rights reserved. 31

• If the input voltage source is disconnected, and

• In a similar manner to the step-down SCC, both