Dual Inductor Hybrid Converter for Point-of-Load Voltage Regulator Modules

Achieving high-efficiency power conversion with high power density for a large conversion ratio is crucially needed yet challenging in point-of-load applications because of increasing demands of loads. This article presents a new hybrid converter to address this need. The converter uses two interleaved inductors for complete soft charging of flying capacitors to provide high output currents with no capacitor hard-charge loss. This dual inductor hybrid (DIH) converter features a smaller number of switches and more effective switch utilization than a recently reported hybrid Dickson converter, yielding substantially less switch losses represented by smaller volt-ampere products and smaller equivalent output resistance. Converter operation principle is analyzed in detail to confirm the feasibility and benefits, and design considerations are provided to identify a practical design process. Experimental results verify the converter's operation principles and advantages with a 300-kHz 20-W prototype achieving 95.02% peak efficiency and 225-W/in³ power density. The converter's advantages and performance make the point-of-load converter architecture a good candidate for demanding applications, such as in data centers, telecommunications, and high-performance digital systems.