Alimentation à découpage

Une alimentation à découpage (alimentation à découpage, alimentation à découpage, alimentation à découpage, SMPS
ou commutateur) est une alimentation électronique qui incorpore un régulateur à découpage pour convertir
efficacement l'énergie électrique. Comme les autres blocs d'alimentation, un SMPS transfère l'alimentation d'une source
CC ou CA (souvent du secteur) à des charges CC, comme un ordinateur personnel, tout en convertissant les
caractéristiques de tension et de courant. Contrairement à une alimentation linéaire, le transistor de passage d'une
alimentation à découpage bascule en permanence entre les états à faible dissipation, à pleine marche et à arrêt complet,
et passe très peu de temps dans les transitions à dissipation élevée, ce qui minimise le gaspillage d'énergie. Une
alimentation électrique à découpage idéale hypothétique ne dissipe aucune puissance. La régulation de tension est
obtenue en faisant varier le rapport entre le temps de marche et d'arrêt (également connu sous le nom de cycles de
service). En revanche, une alimentation linéaire régule la tension de sortie en dissipant continuellement la puissance dans
le transistor de passage. Cette efficacité de conversion de puissance plus élevée est un avantage important d'une
alimentation à découpage. Les alimentations à découpage peuvent également être sensiblement plus petites et plus
légères qu'une alimentation linéaire en raison de la taille et du poids plus petits du transformateur.

Les régulateurs de commutation sont utilisés en remplacement des régulateurs linéaires lorsqu'une efficacité supérieure,
une taille plus petite ou un poids plus léger sont nécessaires. Ils sont cependant plus compliqués; leurs courants de
commutation peuvent causer des problèmes de bruit électrique s'ils ne sont pas soigneusement supprimés, et des
conceptions simples peuvent avoir un facteur de puissance médiocre.

Vue intérieure d'un ATX SMPS: ci-

dessous :

A: filtrage EMI d'entrée et redresseur

en pont;

B: condensateurs de filtre d'entrée;

«Entre» B et C: dissipateur thermique

côté primaire;

C: transformateur;

Entre C et D: dissipateur thermique côté

secondaire;

D: bobine de filtre de sortie;

E: condensateurs de filtre de sortie. La

bobine et le grand condensateur jaune
sous E sont des composants de filtrage
d'entrée supplémentaires qui sont
montés directement sur le connecteur
d'entrée d'alimentation et ne font pas
partie de la carte de circuit imprimé
principale.
Explication [modifier |

Une alimentation linéaire (non SMPS) utilise un régulateur linéaire pour fournir la tension de sortie souhaitée
en dissipant l'excès de puissance en pertes ohmiques (par exemple, dans une résistance ou dans la région
collecteur-émetteur d'un transistor passe dans son mode actif). Un régulateur linéaire régule soit la tension de
sortie, soit le courant en dissipant l'excès d'énergie électrique sous forme de chaleur, et par conséquent, son
efficacité énergétique maximale est la tension de sortie / de tension d'entrée puisque la différence de tension
est gaspillée.

En revanche, un SMPS modifie la tension et le courant de sortie en commutant idéalement des éléments de
stockage sans perte, tels que des inductances et des condensateurs, entre différentes configurations
électriques. Les éléments de commutation idéaux (approximés par des transistors fonctionnant en dehors de
leur mode actif) n'ont aucune résistance lorsqu'ils sont «allumés» et ne transportent pas de courant lorsqu'ils
sont «éteints», et ainsi les convertisseurs avec des composants idéaux fonctionneraient avec une efficacité de
100% (c'est-à-dire que toute la puissance d'entrée est fournie à la charge; aucune énergie n'est gaspillée sous
forme de chaleur dissipée). En réalité, ces composants idéaux n'existent pas, donc une alimentation à
découpage ne peut pas être efficace à 100%, mais il s'agit toujours d'une amélioration significative du
rendement par rapport à un régulateur linéaire.

Le schéma de base d'un convertisseur boost

Par exemple, si une source CC, une inductance, un interrupteur et la masse électrique correspondante sont
placés en série et que l'interrupteur est entraîné par une onde carrée, la tension crête à crête de la forme
d'onde mesurée aux bornes du commutateur peut dépasser le tension d'entrée de la source CC. En effet,
l'inductance répond aux changements de courant en induisant sa propre tension pour contrer le changement
de courant, et cette tension s'ajoute à la tension de source lorsque l'interrupteur est ouvert. Si une
combinaison diode et condensateur est placée en parallèle au commutateur, la tension de crête peut être
stockée dans le condensateur, et le condensateur peut être utilisé comme source CC avec une tension de sortie
supérieure à la tension CC commandant le circuit. Ce convertisseur élévateur agit comme un transformateur
élévateur pour les signaux CC. Un convertisseur abaisseur-élévateur fonctionne de la même manière, mais
produit une tension de sortie qui est opposée en polarité à la tension d'entrée. D'autres circuits abaisseur
existent pour augmenter le courant de sortie moyen avec une réduction de tension.

Dans un SMPS, le flux de courant de sortie dépend du signal de puissance d'entrée, des éléments de stockage et
des topologies de circuit utilisés, ainsi que du modèle utilisé (par exemple, modulation de largeur d'impulsion
avec un cycle de service réglable) pour piloter les éléments de commutation. La densité spectrale de ces formes
d'onde de commutation a une énergie concentrée à des fréquences relativement élevées. En tant que tels, les
transitoires de commutation et l'ondulation introduits sur les formes d'onde de sortie peuvent être filtrés avec
un petit filtre LC.
Avantages et inconvénients

Le principal avantage de l'alimentation à découpage est une plus grande efficacité (jusqu'à 96%) que les
régulateurs linéaires car le transistor de commutation dissipe peu d'énergie lorsqu'il agit comme un
interrupteur.

D'autres avantages incluent une taille plus petite, un bruit plus faible et un poids plus léger grâce à l'élimination
des transformateurs de fréquence de ligne lourds et une génération de chaleur comparable. La perte de
puissance en veille est souvent bien moindre que celle des transformateurs. Le transformateur d'une
alimentation à découpage est également plus petit qu'un transformateur de fréquence de ligne traditionnel (50
Hz ou 60 Hz selon la région) et nécessite donc de plus petites quantités de matières premières coûteuses,
comme le cuivre.

Les inconvénients comprennent une plus grande complexité, la génération d'énergie haute amplitude et haute
fréquence que le filtre passe-bas doit bloquer pour éviter les interférences électromagnétiques (EMI), une
tension d'ondulation à la fréquence de commutation et ses fréquences harmoniques.

Les SMPS à très faible coût peuvent coupler le bruit de commutation électrique sur la ligne d'alimentation
secteur, provoquant des interférences avec les appareils connectés à la même phase, tels que les équipements
A / V. Les SMPS sans correction du facteur de puissance provoquent également une distorsion harmonique.

Comparaison SMPS et alimentation linéaire

Il existe deux principaux types d'alimentations régulées disponibles: SMPS et linéaire. Le tableau suivant
compare les alimentations AC-DC linéaires régulées et non régulées avec les régulateurs à découpage en
général:

Comparaison d'une alimentation linéaire et d'une alimentation à découpage

Alimentation linéaire Alimentation à découpage Notes

La capacité de traitement de
Les dissipateurs de chaleur pour les puissance d'un transformateur de
régulateurs linéaires haute puissance Transformateur plus petit (si utilisé; taille et de poids donnés augmente
ajoutent de la taille et du poids. Les autre inductance) en raison d'une avec la fréquence à condition que les
transformateurs, s'ils sont utilisés, sont fréquence de fonctionnement plus pertes d'hystérésis puissent être
Taille et poids
volumineux en raison de la faible fréquence élevée (généralement 50 kHz - 1 MHz). réduites. Par conséquent, une
de fonctionnement (la fréquence du réseau La taille et le poids d'un blindage RF fréquence de fonctionnement plus
est à 50 ou 60 Hz); sinon, peut être compact adéquat peuvent être importants. élevée signifie une capacité plus
en raison du faible nombre de composants. élevée ou un transformateur plus
petit.

With transformer used, any voltages

Any voltages available, limited only
available; if transformerless, limited to what An SMPS can usually cope with
by transistor breakdown voltages in
Output voltage can be achieved with a voltage doubler. If wider variation of input before the
many circuits. Voltage varies little with
unregulated, voltage varies significantly with output voltage changes.
load.
load.

Efficiency, heat, If regulated: efficiency largely depends on Output is regulated using duty Switching losses in the transistors
and power dissipation voltage difference between input and output; cycle control; the transistors are (especially in the short part of each
output voltage is regulated by dissipating switched fully on or fully off, so very little cycle when the device is partially on),
excess power as heat resulting in a typical resistive losses between input and the on-resistance of the switching
efficiency of 30–40%.[27] If unregulated, load. The only heat generated is in the transistors, equivalent series
transformer iron and copper losses may be non-ideal aspects of the components resistance in the inductor and
 capacitors, and core losses in the
inductor, and rectifier voltage drop
contribute to a typical efficiency of
60–70%. However, by optimizing
SMPS design (such as choosing the
and quiescent current in the control
the only significant sources of inefficiency. optimal switching frequency, avoiding
circuitry.
saturation of inductors, and active
rectification), the amount of power
loss and heat can be minimized; a
good design can have an efficiency
of 95%.

In switched-mode mains (AC-to-DC)

supplies, multiple voltages can be
generated by one transformer core,
but that can introduce design/use
complications: for example it may
place minimum output current
restrictions on one output. For this
Consists of a controller IC, one or SMPSs have to use duty cycle
several power transistors and diodes as control. One of the outputs has to be
Unregulated may be simply a diode and well as a power transformer, inductors, chosen to feed the voltage regulation
capacitor; regulated has a voltage-regulating and filter capacitors. Some design feedback loop (usually 3.3 V or 5
Complexity circuit and a noise-filtering capacitor; usually complexities present (reducing V loads are more fussy about their
a simpler circuit (and simpler feedback loop noise/interference; extra limitations on supply voltages than the 12 V loads,
stability criteria) than switched-mode circuits. maximum ratings of transistors at high so this drives the decision as to
switching speeds) not found in linear which feeds the feedback loop. The
regulator circuits. other outputs usually track the
regulated one pretty well). Both need
a careful selection of their
transformers. Due to the high
operating frequencies in SMPSs, the
stray inductance and capacitance of
the printed circuit board traces
become important.

Mild high-frequency interference may be

Long wires between the components
generated by AC rectifier diodes under heavy EMI/RFI produced due to the current
may reduce the high frequency filter
current loading, while most other supply being switched on and off sharply.
Radio frequency efficiency provided by the capacitors
types produce no high-frequency Therefore, EMI filters and RF
interference at the inlet and outlet. Stable
interference. Some mains hum induction into shielding are needed to reduce the
switching frequency may be
unshielded cables, problematical for low- disruptive interference.
important.
signal audio.

This can be suppressed with

Unregulated PSUs may have a little AC
capacitors and other filtering circuitry
ripple superimposed upon the DC
Noisier due to the switching frequency in the output stage. With a switched
component at twice mains frequency (100–
Electronic noise at the of the SMPS. An unfiltered output may mode PSU the switching frequency
120 Hz). It can cause audible mains hum in
output terminals cause glitches in digital circuits or noise can be chosen to keep the noise out
audio equipment, brightness ripples or
in audio circuits. of the circuits working frequency
banded distortions in analog security
band (e.g., for audio systems above
cameras.
the range of human hearing)

Very low cost SMPS may couple

electrical switching noise back onto the
This can be prevented if a (properly
mains power line, causing interference
Electronic noise at the Causes harmonic distortion to the input AC, earthed) EMI/RFI filter is connected
with A/V equipment connected to the
input terminals but relatively little or no high frequency noise. between the input terminals and the
same phase. Non power-factor-
bridge rectifier.
corrected SMPSs also cause harmonic
distortion.
 Usually inaudible to most humans, The operating frequency of an
unless they have a fan or are unloaded SMPS is sometimes in the
Faint, usually inaudible mains hum, usually unloaded/malfunctioning, or use a audible human range, and may
Acoustic noise due to vibration of windings in the switching frequency within the audio sound subjectively quite loud for
transformer or magnetostriction. range, or the laminations of the coil people whose hearing is very
vibrate at a subharmonic of the sensitive to the relevant frequency
operating frequency. range.

Active/passive power factor
correction in the SMPS can offset
this problem and are even required
by some electric regulation
Low for a regulated supply because current
Ranging from very low to medium since authorities, particularly in the EU.
is drawn from the mains at the peaks of the
a simple SMPS without PFC draws The internal resistance of low-power
Power factor voltage sinusoid, unless a choke-input or
current spikes at the peaks of the AC transformers in linear power supplies
resistor-input circuit follows the rectifier (now
sinusoid. usually limits the peak current each
rare).
cycle and thus gives a better power
factor than many switched-mode
power supplies that directly rectify
the mains with little series resistance.

Empty filter capacitors initially draw

large amounts of current as they
charge up, with larger capacitors
drawing larger amounts of peak
current. Being many times above the
Large current when mains-powered linear normal operating current, this greatly
Extremely large peak "in-rush" surge
power supply equipment is switched on until stresses components subject to the
current limited only by the impedance of
Inrush current magnetic flux of transformer stabilises and surge, complicates fuse selection to
the input supply and any series
capacitors charge completely, unless a slow- avoid nuisance blowing and may
resistance to the filter capacitors.
start circuit is used. cause problems with equipment
employing overcurrent protection
such as uninterruptible power
supplies. Mitigated by use of a
suitable soft-start circuit or series
resistor.

Due to regulations concerning

EMI/RFI radiation, many SMPS
contain EMI/RFI filtering at the input
stage consisting of capacitors and
inductors before the bridge rectifier.
Two capacitors are connected in
Supplies with transformers isolate the series with the Live and Neutral rails
incoming power supply from the powered with the Earth connection in between
device and so allow metalwork of the the two capacitors. This forms a
Common rail of equipment (including
enclosure to be grounded safely. Dangerous capacitive divider that energizes the
casing) is energized to half the mains
if primary/secondary insulation breaks down, common rail at half mains voltage. Its
voltage, but at high impedance, unless
Risk of electric shock unlikely with reasonable high impedance current source can
equipment is earthed/grounded or
design. Transformerless mains-operated provide a tingling or a 'bite' to the
doesn't contain EMI/RFI filtering at the
supply dangerous. In both linear and switch- operator or can be exploited to light
input terminals.
mode the mains, and possibly the output an Earth Fault LED. However, this
voltages, are hazardous and must be well- current may cause nuisance tripping
isolated. on the most sensitive residual-current
devices. In power supplies without a
ground pin (like USB charger) there
is EMI/RFI capacitor placed between
primary and secondary side.[28] It can
also provide some very mild tingling
sensation but it's safe to the user.[29]

Risk of equipment Very low, unless a short occurs between the Can fail so as to make output voltage The floating voltage is caused by
damage primary and secondary windings or the very high[quantify]. Stress on capacitors may capacitors bridging the primary and
regulator fails by shorting internally. cause them to explode. Can in some secondary sides of the power supply.
cases destroy input stages in amplifiers Connection to earthed equipment will
if floating voltage exceeds transistor cause a momentary (and potentially
base-emitter breakdown voltage, destructive) spike in current at the
causing the transistor's gain to drop and connector as the voltage at the
noise levels to increase.[30] Mitigated by secondary side of the capacitor
good failsafe design. Failure of a
 component in the SMPS itself can
cause further damage to other PSU
equalizes to earth potential.
components; can be difficult to
troubleshoot.

Theory of operation[edit]

Block diagram of a mains operated AC/DC SMPS with output voltage regulation

Input rectifier stage[edit]

AC, half-wave and full-wave rectified signals

If the SMPS has an AC input, then the first stage is to convert the input to DC. This is called rectification. An SMPS with a DC input does not require this
stage. In some power supplies (mostly computer ATX power supplies), the rectifier circuit can be configured as a voltage doubler by the addition of a
switch operated either manually or automatically. This feature permits operation from power sources that are normally at 115 V or at 230 V. The rectifier
produces an unregulated DC voltage which is then sent to a large filter capacitor. The current drawn from the mains supply by this rectifier circuit occurs in
short pulses around the AC voltage peaks. These pulses have significant high frequency energy which reduces the power factor. To correct for this, many
newer SMPS will use a special PFC circuit to make the input current follow the sinusoidal shape of the AC input voltage, correcting the power factor.
Power supplies that use active PFC usually are auto-ranging, supporting input voltages from ~100 VAC – 250 VAC, with no input voltage selector switch.
An SMPS designed for AC input can usually be run from a DC supply, because the DC would pass through the rectifier unchanged. [31] If the power supply
is designed for 115 VAC and has no voltage selector switch, the required DC voltage would be 163 VDC (115 × √2). This type of use may be harmful to
the rectifier stage, however, as it will only use half of diodes in the rectifier for the full load. This could possibly result in overheating of these components,
causing them to fail prematurely. On the other hand, if the power supply has a voltage selector switch, based on the Delon circuit, for 115/230 V
(computer ATX power supplies typically are in this category), the selector switch would have to be put in the 230 V position, and the required voltage
would be 325 VDC (230 × √2). The diodes in this type of power supply will handle the DC current just fine because they are rated to handle double the
nominal input current when operated in the 115 V mode, due to the operation of the voltage doubler. This is because the doubler, when in operation, uses
only half of the bridge rectifier and runs twice as much current through it.[32]

Inverter stage[edit]
This section refers to the block marked chopper in the diagram.
The inverter stage converts DC, whether directly from the input or from the rectifier stage described above, to AC by running it through a power
oscillator, whose output transformer is very small with few windings at a frequency of tens or hundreds of kilohertz. The frequency is usually chosen
to be above 20 kHz, to make it inaudible to humans. The switching is implemented as a multistage (to achieve high gain) MOSFET amplifier.
MOSFETs are a type of transistor with a low on-resistance and a high current-handling capacity.

Voltage converter and output rectifier[edit]

If the output is required to be isolated from the input, as is usually the case in mains power supplies, the inverted AC is used to drive the primary
winding of a high-frequency transformer. This converts the voltage up or down to the required output level on its secondary winding. The output
transformer in the block diagram serves this purpose.
If a DC output is required, the AC output from the transformer is rectified. For output voltages above ten volts or so, ordinary silicon diodes are
commonly used. For lower voltages, Schottky diodes are commonly used as the rectifier elements; they have the advantages of faster recovery
times than silicon diodes (allowing low-loss operation at higher frequencies) and a lower voltage drop when conducting. For even lower output
voltages, MOSFETs may be used as synchronous rectifiers; compared to Schottky diodes, these have even lower conducting state voltage drops.
The rectified output is then smoothed by a filter consisting of inductors and capacitors. For higher switching frequencies, components with lower
capacitance and inductance are needed.
Simpler, non-isolated power supplies contain an inductor instead of a transformer. This type includes boost converters, buck converters, and
the buck–boost converters. These belong to the simplest class of single input, single output converters which use one inductor and one active
switch. The buck converter reduces the input voltage in direct proportion to the ratio of conductive time to the total switching period, called the duty
cycle. For example an ideal buck converter with a 10 V input operating at a 50% duty cycle will produce an average output voltage of 5 V. A
feedback control loop is employed to regulate the output voltage by varying the duty cycle to compensate for variations in input voltage. The output
voltage of a boost converter is always greater than the input voltage and the buck–boost output voltage is inverted but can be greater than, equal to,
or less than the magnitude of its input voltage. There are many variations and extensions to this class of converters but these three form the basis of
almost all isolated and non-isolated DC to DC converters. By adding a second inductor the Ćuk and SEPIC converters can be implemented, or, by
adding additional active switches, various bridge converters can be realized.
Other types of SMPSs use a capacitor–diode voltage multiplier instead of inductors and transformers. These are mostly used for generating high
voltages at low currents (Cockcroft-Walton generator). The low voltage variant is called charge pump.

Regulation[edit]

This charger for a small device such as a mobile phone is a simple off-line switching power supply with a European plug. The simple circuit has just two transistors,

an opto-coupler and rectifier diodes as active components.

A feedback circuit monitors the output voltage and compares it with a reference voltage. Depending on design and safety requirements, the
controller may contain an isolation mechanism (such as an opto-coupler) to isolate it from the DC output. Switching supplies in computers, TVs and
VCRs have these opto-couplers to tightly control the output voltage.
Open-loop regulators do not have a feedback circuit. Instead, they rely on feeding a constant voltage to the input of the transformer or inductor, and
assume that the output will be correct. Regulated designs compensate for the impedance of the transformer or coil. Monopolar designs also
compensate for the magnetic hysteresis of the core.
The feedback circuit needs power to run before it can generate power, so an additional non-switching power-supply for stand-by is added.

Transformer design[edit]
Any switched-mode power supply that gets its power from an AC power line (called an "off-line" converter[33]) requires a transformer for galvanic
isolation. Some DC-to-DC converters may also include a transformer, although isolation may not be critical in these cases. SMPS transformers run
at high frequency. Most of the cost savings (and space savings) in off-line power supplies result from the smaller size of the high frequency
transformer compared to the 50/60 Hz transformers formerly used. There are additional design tradeoffs.
The terminal voltage of a transformer is proportional to the product of the core area, magnetic flux, and frequency. By using a much higher
frequency, the core area (and so the mass of the core) can be greatly reduced. However, core losses increase at higher frequencies. Cores
generally use ferrite material which has a low loss at the high frequencies and high flux densities used. The laminated iron cores of lower-frequency
(<400 Hz) transformers would be unacceptably lossy at switching frequencies of a few kilohertz. Also, more energy is lost during transitions of the
switching semiconductor at higher frequencies. Furthermore, more attention to the physical layout of the circuit board is required
as parasitics become more significant, and the amount of electromagnetic interference will be more pronounced.

Copper loss[edit]
Main article: Copper loss
At low frequencies (such as the line frequency of 50 or 60 Hz), designers can usually ignore the skin effect. For these frequencies, the skin effect is
only significant when the conductors are large, more than 0.3 inches (7.6 mm) in diameter.
Switching power supplies must pay more attention to the skin effect because it is a source of power loss. At 500 kHz, the skin depth in copper is
about 0.003 inches (0.076 mm) – a dimension smaller than the typical wires used in a power supply. The effective resistance of conductors
increases, because current concentrates near the surface of the conductor and the inner portion carries less current than at low frequencies.
The skin effect is exacerbated by the harmonics present in the high speed pulse width modulation (PWM) switching waveforms. The appropriate skin
depth is not just the depth at the fundamental, but also the skin depths at the harmonics. [34]
In addition to the skin effect, there is also a proximity effect, which is another source of power loss.

Power factor[edit]
See also: Power factor
Simple off-line switched mode power supplies incorporate a simple full-wave rectifier connected to a large energy storing capacitor. Such SMPSs
draw current from the AC line in short pulses when the mains instantaneous voltage exceeds the voltage across this capacitor. During the remaining
portion of the AC cycle the capacitor provides energy to the power supply.
As a result, the input current of such basic switched mode power supplies has high harmonic content and relatively low power factor. This creates
extra load on utility lines, increases heating of building wiring, the utility transformers, and standard AC electric motors, and may cause stability
problems in some applications such as in emergency generator systems or aircraft generators. Harmonics can be removed by filtering, but the filters
are expensive. Unlike displacement power factor created by linear inductive or capacitive loads, this distortion cannot be corrected by addition of a
single linear component. Additional circuits are required to counteract the effect of the brief current pulses. Putting a current regulated boost chopper
stage after the off-line rectifier (to charge the storage capacitor) can correct the power factor, but increases the complexity and cost.
In 2001, the European Union put into effect the standard IEC/EN61000-3-2 to set limits on the harmonics of the AC input current up to the 40th
harmonic for equipment above 75 W. The standard defines four classes of equipment depending on its type and current waveform. The most
rigorous limits (class D) are established for personal computers, computer monitors, and TV receivers. To comply with these requirements, modern
switched-mode power supplies normally include an additional power factor correction (PFC) stage.

Types[edit]
Switched-mode power supplies can be classified according to the circuit topology. The most important distinction is between isolated converters and
non-isolated ones.

Non-isolated topologies[edit]
Non-isolated converters are simplest, with the three basic types using a single inductor for energy storage. In the voltage relation column, D is the
duty cycle of the converter, and can vary from 0 to 1. The input voltage (V1) is assumed to be greater than zero; if it is negative, for consistency,
negate the output voltage (V2).

Typical
Relative
Type[35] Power Energy storage Voltage relation Features
cost
[W]

0 ≤ Out ≤ In, 

Buck 0–1,000 1.0 Single inductor Current is continuous at output.

Out ≥ In, 

Boost 0–5,000 1.0 Single inductor Current is continuous at input.

Out ≤ 0, 

Buck–boost 0–150 1.0 Single inductor Current is discontinuous at both input and output.

Split-pi (or, boost– Two inductors and

0–4,500 >2.0 Up or down Bidirectional power control; in or out.
buck) three capacitors

Ćuk Capacitor and two Any inverted,  Current is continuous at input and output.

inductors
 Capacitor and two
SEPIC Current is continuous at input.
inductors
Any, 

Capacitor and two

Zeta Current is continuous at output.
inductors
Any, 

No magnetic energy storage is needed to achieve

Charge
conversion, however high efficiency power processing
pump / switched Capacitors only
is normally limited to a discrete set of conversion
capacitor
ratios.

When equipment is human-accessible, voltage and power limits of <=42.4 V peak/60 V DV and 250 VA apply for safety certification
(UL, CSA, VDE approval).
The buck, boost, and buck–boost topologies are all strongly related. Input, output and ground come together at one point. One of the three passes
through an inductor on the way, while the other two pass through switches. One of the two switches must be active (e.g., a transistor), while the
other can be a diode. Sometimes, the topology can be changed simply by re-labeling the connections. A 12 V input, 5 V output buck converter can
be converted to a 7 V input, −5 V output buck–boost by grounding the output and taking the output from the ground pin.
Likewise, SEPIC and Zeta converters are both minor rearrangements of the Ćuk converter.
The neutral point clamped (NPC) topology is used in power supplies and active filters and is mentioned here for completeness. [36]
Switchers become less efficient as duty cycles become extremely short. For large voltage changes, a transformer (isolated) topology may be better.

Isolated topologies[edit]
All isolated topologies include a transformer, and thus can produce an output of higher or lower voltage than the input by adjusting the turns ratio. [37]
[38]
 For some topologies, multiple windings can be placed on the transformer to produce multiple output voltages. [39] Some converters use the
transformer for energy storage, while others use a separate inductor.

Input
Power Relative
Type[35] range Energy storage Features
[W] cost
[V]

Flyback 0–250 1.0 5–600 Mutual inductors Isolated form of the buck–boost converter1

Ringing choke converter

0–150 1.0 5–600 Transformer Low-cost self-oscillating flyback variant[40]
(RCC)

Half-forward 0–250 1.2 5–500 Inductor

Forward2 100–200 60–200 Inductor Isolated form of buck converter

Single rail input, unregulated output, high

Resonant forward 0–60 1.0 60–400 Inductor and capacitor
efficiency, low EMI.[41]

Push-pull 100– 1.75 50–1,000 Inductor

 1,000

Half-bridge 0–2,000 1.9 50–1,000 Inductor

400– Very efficient use of transformer, used for

Full-bridge >2.0 50–1,000 Inductor
5,000 highest powers

Resonant, zero voltage

>1,000 >2.0 Inductor and capacitor
switched

Two capacitors and two

Isolated Ćuk
inductors

Zero voltage switched mode power supplies require only small heatsinks as little energy is lost as heat. This allows them to be small. This ZVS can deliver more

than 1 kilowatt. Transformer is not shown.

 ^1 Flyback converter logarithmic control loop behavior might be harder to control than other types. [42]
 ^2 The forward converter has several variants, varying in how the transformer is "reset" to zero magnetic flux every cycle.
Chopper controller: The output voltage is coupled to the input thus very tightly controlled

Quasi-resonant zero-current/zero-voltage switch[edit]

Quasi-resonant switching switches when the voltage is at a minimum and a valley is detected.

In a quasi-resonant zero-current/zero-voltage switch (ZCS/ZVS) "each switch cycle delivers a quantized 'packet' of energy to the converter output,
and switch turn-on and turn-off occurs at zero current and voltage, resulting in an essentially lossless switch." [43] Quasi-resonant switching, also
known as valley switching, reduces EMI in the power supply by two methods:

1. By switching the bipolar switch when the voltage is at a minimum (in the valley) to minimize the hard switching effect that causes EMI.
2. By switching when a valley is detected, rather than at a fixed frequency, introduces a natural frequency jitter that spreads the RF
emissions spectrum and reduces overall EMI.

Efficiency and EMI[edit]

Higher input voltage and synchronous rectification mode makes the conversion process more efficient. The power consumption of the controller also
has to be taken into account. Higher switching frequency allows component sizes to be shrunk, but can produce more RFI. A resonant forward
converter produces the lowest EMI of any SMPS approach because it uses a soft-switching resonant waveform compared with conventional hard
switching.

Failure modes[edit]
For failure in switching components, circuit board and so on read the failure modes of electronics article.
Power supplies which use capacitors suffering from the capacitor plague may experience premature failure when the capacitance drops to 4% of the
original value.[failed verification] This usually causes the switching semiconductor to fail in a conductive way. That may expose connected loads to the full
input volt and current, and precipitate wild oscillations in output. [44]
Failure of the switching transistor is common. Due to the large switching voltages this transistor must handle (around 325 V for a 230 VAC mains
supply), these transistors often short out, in turn immediately blowing the main internal power fuse.

Precautions[edit]
The main filter capacitor will often store up to 325 volts long after the power cord has been removed from the wall. Not all power supplies contain a
small "bleeder" resistor to slowly discharge this capacitor. Any contact with this capacitor may result in a severe electrical shock.
The primary and secondary sides may be connected with a capacitor to reduce EMI and compensate for various capacitive couplings in the
converter circuit, where the transformer is one. This may result in electric shock in some cases. The current flowing from line or neutral through a 2
kΩ resistor to any accessible part must, according to IEC 60950, be less than 250 μA for IT equipment.[45]

Applications[edit]

Switched mode mobile phone charger

A 450 Watt SMPS for use in personal computers with the power input, fan, and output cords visible

Switched-mode power supply units (PSUs) in domestic products such as personal computers often have universal inputs, meaning that they can
accept power from mains supplies throughout the world, although a manual voltage range switch may be required. Switch-mode power supplies can
tolerate a wide range of power frequencies and voltages.
Due to their high volumes mobile phone chargers have always been particularly cost sensitive. The first chargers were linear power supplies, but
they quickly moved to the cost effective ringing choke converter (RCC) SMPS topology, when new levels of efficiency were required. Recently, the
demand for even lower no-load power requirements in the application has meant that flyback topology is being used more widely; primary side
sensing flyback controllers are also helping to cut the bill of materials (BOM) by removing secondary-side sensing components such
as optocouplers.[citation needed]
Switched-mode power supplies are used for DC to DC conversion as well. In automobiles where heavy vehicles use a nominal 24 VDC cranking
supply, 12 V for accessories may be furnished through a DC/DC switch-mode supply. This has the advantage over tapping the battery at the 12 V
position (using half the cells) that all the 12 V load is evenly divided over all cells of the 24 V battery. In industrial settings such as
telecommunications racks, bulk power may be distributed at a low DC voltage (from a battery back up system, for example) and individual equipment
items will have DC/DC switched-mode converters to supply whatever voltages are needed.
A common use for switched-mode power supplies is as extra-low-voltage sources for lighting, and for this application they are often called "electronic
transformers".

Examples of SMPSs for extra-low voltage lighting applications, called electronic transformers.

Terminology[edit]
The term switch mode was widely used until Motorola claimed ownership of the trademark SWITCHMODE for products aimed at the switching-mode
power supply market and started to enforce their trademark.[33] Switching-mode power supply, switching power supply, and switching regulator refer
to this type of power supply.[33]

See also