Dual-Path Hybrid Dickson Converter for High-Ratio Conversions in Point-of-Load Applications

This article presents a dual-path hybrid Dickson (DPHD) converter to provide single-step large-ratio voltage conversions. It systematically utilizes a hybrid structure with a N:1 SC network and one inductor to enlarge the duty ratio and reduce the voltage stress of power switches under high input voltage condition. The dual-path hybrid structure further lowers the required inductor current for a given output current, thereby significantly decreasing the inductor conduction loss and improving the capability of delivering a higher output current. Compared with other existing single-inductor hybrid converters, the DPHD converter uses the smallest number of power switches and achieves self balancing of flying capacitors. For performance verifications, a 7:1 DPHD converter prototype with 25 V silicon MOSFETs was built to support conversions from a wide input range of 36–65 V to an output of 1–2 V with the maximum load of 32 A. The converter achieves a high peak power efficiency of 92.7% under 48 V-to-2 V conversion and 250 kHz. High power density of 481 W/in
³
is also obtained in the proposed converter.