Low temperature evaluation of commercial DC/DC converters for military applications

A DC/DC converter is an electronic circuit which converts a source of direct current (DC) from one voltage level to another. Military applications require electronics that withstand low temperature and impact. This paper presents the low temperature evaluation of the commercial DC/DC converters, identification of the problem with them, suggestion of a method to overcome it, and the low temperature evaluation of the suggested DC/DC converter. From the experiment, the commercial DC/DC converters are sensitive to the operating temperature, especially 20 T: below zero. Based on this finding, a circuit is suggested, which replaces electrolyte capacitors to solid capacitors. It is observed that the DC/DC converter with solid capacitors works well at the temperature of 40 T: below zero. It is concluded that the DC/DC convert with solid capacitor can be used for military applications such as low temperature operation.