Circuit Techniques for Improving the Switching Loci of Transistor Switches in Switching Regulators

The use of switching regulator circuits at high power levels and high frequencies requires careful examination and control of the power dissipation during switching, which may be the dominant loss. In this paper it is shown that it is possible to remove most of the switching losses from the switching transistor with two networks, each containing three components: an inductor or a capacitor, a diode, and a resistor. With proper design, the power dissipation in the resistors is less than the switching losses removed from the switching transistor, resulting in some improvement in overall efficiency. In addition, it is possible to obtain a significant further improvement in efficiency by replacing the resistors in the networks with low loss circuits. Each network, one for the reduction of turnoff losses and one for the virtual elimination of turnon losses in the switching transistor, is described in detail. Analytical design procedures are included.