93.89% Peak Efficiency 24V-to-1V DC-DC Converter with Fast In-Situ Efficiency Tracking and Power-FET Code Roaming

Abstract

This paper presents a high-efficiency 24V-to-1V buck converter featuring two techniques to improve efficiency and reliability. First, we propose a fast in-situ efficiency tracking technique, which helps to maintain high power efficiency across load conditions and process, voltage, and temperature variations. Second, we propose a power-FET code roaming technique to avoid excessive aging on specific segments. The proposed converter was fabricated in a 180nm BCD process, achieving a peak power efficiency of 93.89% at 405-mA load current. The tracking technique demonstrates an efficiency improvement of up to 34.74% compared to the baseline without efficiency tracking. In addition, the roaming technique slows down the on-time resistance degradation by 5.8X.