A new design method for high power high efficiency switched-capacitor dc-dc converters

Switched-capacitor technology is widely used in low power dc-dc converter, especially in power management of the integrated circuit. These circuits have a limitation: high pulse currents will occur at the switching transients, which will reduce the efficiency and cause electromagnetic interference problems. This makes it difficult to use this technology in high-power-level conversion. This paper presents a new design method for dc-dc converter with switched-capacitor technology. The new method can reduce the high pulse current which usually causes serious problem in traditional converters. Therefore, the power level of this new designed converter can be extended to 1 kW or even higher. A 1-kW 42/14-V switched-capacitor converter was designed for 42-V automotive system. The proposed converter has no requirement for magnetic components and can achieve a peak efficiency of 98% and 96% at full load. The main circuit of the dc-dc converter is analyzed and its control scheme is presented in the paper. The experimental results verified the analysis and demonstrate the advantages.