Open AccessSupercapacitor‐assisted low dropout regulator technique: a new design approach to achieve high‐efficiency linear DC–DC converters
Author(s) -
Gunawardane Kosala,
Kularatihal
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
iet power electronics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.637
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1755-4543
pISSN - 1755-4535
DOI - 10.1049/iet-pel.2017.0093
Subject(s) - low dropout regulator , linear regulator , converters , capacitor , voltage regulator , voltage , regulator , supercapacitor , dropout voltage , control theory (sociology) , switched capacitor , lossless compression , transistor , dropout (neural networks) , electronic engineering , computer science , engineering , topology (electrical circuits) , electrical engineering , capacitance , physics , chemistry , algorithm , electrode , artificial intelligence , data compression , biochemistry , control (management) , quantum mechanics , gene , machine learning
Approximate efficiency of a linear regulator is given by the ratio of regulated output voltage to input voltage. Higher voltage difference between the input and the output means a lower efficiency due to heavy losses in the series power semiconductor. Supercapacitor‐assisted low dropout regulator (SCALDO) is an emerging linear DC–DC converter technique, where a supercapacitor (SC) is used to reduce the voltage drop across the series transistor in a linear regulator where the SC acts as a lossless dropper. The circuit operates at a very low frequency decided by the size of the SC. An efficiency multiplication factor such as 1.33, 2, or 3 is achieved depending on the configuration. This study presents the essentials of its generalised theory, few prototype implementations, and a discussion on SCALDO properties. Typical efficiencies of 12–5 and 5–1.2 V linear regulators are around 42 and 24%, respectively. When SCALDO prototypes are built, the authors achieve respective end‐to‐end efficiencies of 79–81 and 58–73%. A loss analysis summary and further developments of the novel technique are also provided, in addition to a discussion to indicate that this is not a variation of the switched capacitor converters.