Important Notice: Our web hosting provider recently started charging us for additional visits, which was unexpected. In response, we're seeking donations. Depending on the situation, we may explore different monetization options for our Community and Expert Contributors. It's crucial to provide more returns for their expertise and offer more Expert Validated Answers or AI Validated Answers. Learn more about our hosting issue here.

Why use a switch-mode voltage regulator for battery-powered systems?

April 26, 2017battery-powered regulator switch-mode SYSTEMS voltage

0

Posted

Why use a switch-mode voltage regulator for battery-powered systems?

1 Answer

0

Posted

The switch-mode regulator can provide efficiencies of 90% or greater. The linear low-dropout (LDO) regulator efficiency is directly related to the ratio of the output voltage to the input voltage. If the battery voltage is 4.2V, and the output voltage is 2.5V, the LDO efficiency will be 60% at best. Higher efficiency means longer battery run time. In addition, switching regulators are available to convert the battery voltage to a higher output (boost), a lower output (buck), or an output in the middle of the battery voltage range (buck-boost). It is possible to achieve multiple output voltages from a single switching regulator IC. In contrast, the LDO output voltage is constrained to be less than the minimum battery voltage.