On the Design of High Switching Frequency DC-DC Buck Converter Power Stages for Automotive Post-Regulated Applications

This paper describes the design and the performance comparison of four different configurations of power stages of switching DC-DC buck converters with high switching frequency (f = 100 MHz), studied for automotive applications in the post-regulated domain. Different transistors are used for both power stage and pre-driver chain, and the solutions are compared in terms of efficiency and maximum input voltage. A rough estimation of the area consumption of each of the four configuration is also provided. The circuits have been optimized to have maximum efficiency with Vin = 3.6 V, Vout = 1.8 V and Iload = 1 A, which are typical values in automotive post-regulated applications.