A 5V-to-0.8V Inductor-First 2L2C Multi-Path Hybrid DC-DC Converter

This paper proposes an inductor-first two-inductor two-flying-capacitor (2L2C) multi-path hybrid DC-DC Converter. The proposed converter operates with a switching frequency of 2MHz, an input voltage range of 3 V to 5 V, and an output range between 0.8 V and 1.2 V using only 2-V NMOS power transistors. This hybrid DC-DC topology enables continuous input current and thus alleviates electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues. The two inductors operate in an interleaved manner, reducing the output current ripple. The switched-capacitor network decreases the average inductor current. This work is simulated in a 180-nm BCD process. Both inductors are 470nH with 29-mΩ DCR, while both flying capacitors are 10μF with 10-mΩ ESR. We obtain a peak efficiency of 96.89% at 400 mA load for a 4V-to-1V conversion.