AN1207FIGURE 5:BUCK CONVERTER WAVEFORMSQ1 Commandt(A)VDC + VD, onVQ1t(B)I2I1IQ1t(C)VD1t(D)(-VDC + VQ, on)I2I1ID1t(E)VDC - VOUTVLAt(F)B-VOUTI2I1ILt(G)TONTOFFT(A) = Command signal and MOSFET gate(B) = Voltage and MOSFET(C) = Current flowing into MOSFET(D) = Voltage on D1 diode(E) = Current in D1 diode(F) = Voltage on LO inductor(G) = Current in LO inductorDS01207B-page 4© 2009 <strong>Microchip</strong> Technology Inc.
AN1207Supposing the output load RO (connected in parallel tothe output capacitor CO) changes by increasing, thischange has the effect of reducing the average outputcurrent. As shown in Figure 6, current moves from lineA for the nominal load, to line B for a larger load. Whatshould be noted is that the slopes of the two ramps,both during TON and TOFF, do not change because,they only depend on VDC, VOUT and L, and they havenot been changed. As a consequence, increasing theload results in RO becoming greater. Since VO equalsconstant (the control loop explained earlier handlesthis) and RO increases, the current diminishes.FIGURE 6:VLINDUCTOR CURRENT AT DIFFERENT LOADSTTONTOFFIncreasing load(reducing IO, av)ABCDCONTINUOUS MODEOperating in the Continuous mode is so named sincethe current in the inductor never stops flowing (goes tozero).As shown in Figure 6, if the load continues to increase(reducing IO, av), at some time the inductor current plotwill touch the x-axis (line C). This means the initial andfinal current (at the beginning and the end of the switchingperiod) in the inductor is zero. At this point, theinductor current enters what is considered as Criticalmode.If the load is further increased, the current during thedown-ramp will reach zero before the end of the periodT (line D), which is known as Discontinuous mode.Note:In Discontinuous mode, the only way tofurther decrease the inductor current is toreduce the ON time (TON).One key point is that the inductor current at the end ofthe TOFF period must equal the inductor current at thebeginning of the TON period, meaning the net change incurrent in one period must be zero. This must be trueat Steady state, when all transients have finished, andthe circuit behavior is no longer changing.TONUsing the value of IL(TON) derived from Equation 3 andEquation 5 creates the relationship shown inEquation 8.EQUATION 8:ΔI LV DC– V Qon ,– V OUT∝ ( )T =( ONV OUT+ V )T D,on OFFNeglecting VD, on and VQ, on, Equation 8 can besolved for VOUT, as shown in Equation 9.EQUATION 9:V OUT= V DCDwhere D = Ton / T (duty cycle), orV OUTD = -------------V DCThe maximum duty cycle is achieved when the inputvoltage is at its minimum, as shown in Equation 10.EQUATION 10:D max=V-------------------- OUTV DC,mintTherefore, D must obviously be between ‘0’ and ‘1’.© 2009 <strong>Microchip</strong> Technology Inc. DS01207B-page 5