A Novel Digital-Controlled Current-Mode Single-Inductor-Multiple-Output Buck Converter With Individual Output Overload Protection

This brief presents an innovative digital current-mode control technique for single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) buck converters in continuous-conduction mode. Additionally, it first introduces an overcurrent protection (OCP) method for each output channel of the SIMO converter. As a supplement, since previous research could not or could only protect the input, the OCP proposed in this brief makes SIMO more valuable for industrial applications. The proposed approach effectively reduces cross-regulation by distributing currents shared by the inductor among all branches in a reasonable manner. Moreover, the OCP control can detect overloads in any branch and limit the peak current without affecting other branches. Simulation results demonstrate that the cross-regulation between each channel for overcurrent protection is less than 100 mV, even during an overload.