A dual-mode step-up DC/DC converter IC with current-limiting and EMI reduction techniques

This paper presents a novel dual-mode step-up DC/DC converter. Pulse-frequency modulation (PFM) is used to improve the efficiency at light load. This converter can operate between pulse-width modulation (PWM) and pulse-frequency modulation. The converter will operate in PFM mode at light load and in PWM mode at heavy load. The maximum conversion efficiency of this converter can reach 96%. The conversion efficiency is greatly improved when load current is below 100 mA. Additionally, a soft-start circuit and a variable-sawtooth frequency circuit are proposed in this paper. The former is used to avoid the large switching current at the start up of the converter and the latter is utilized to reduce the EMI of the converter.