Adaptive Dead-Time Compensation in Synchronous Buck Converters for Enhanced Efficiency in IoT Applications

Synchronous buck converters are pivotal in ensuring efficient voltage regulation for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, primarily due to their capability to provide high efficiency across a wide load range. One of the critical challenges in these converters is the dead-time interval, during which both the high-side and low-side switches are off to prevent shoot-through. An inadequately managed dead-time can lead to efficiency losses due to cross-conduction or body diode conduction. This research introduces an adaptive dead-time compensation technique that dynamically adjusts the dead-time based on the converter's operating conditions. The proposed method employs a real-time monitoring system, which assesses the transitions of the power switches and fine-tunes the dead-time, mitigating potential power losses. Experimental results, under various operating conditions, demonstrate that the adaptive compensation achieves a noticeable improvement in efficiency, especially at light loads which are characteristic of many IoT applications. This optimized efficiency promises extended battery life for battery-operated IoT devices and reduced thermal challenges, thereby offering a sustainable solution for the next-generation IoT ecosystem.