INVERTING BUCK-BOOST CONVERTERS
Inverting Buck-Boost Converters
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Inverting Buck-Boost Converters
An inverting buck-boost is a type of switch-mode power supply (SMPS) that converts an input voltage into a higher or lower output voltage. It is given the name inverting because it generates a negative output voltage.
The basic schematic of a inverting buck-boost converter. SW1 is typically a MOSFET switched by control logic (not shown).
Output Voltage
Again, the output voltage for an ideal SEPIC is purely determined by the input voltage and the duty cycle \(D\)
, as given in the following equation:
\begin{align} V_{OUT} = -\frac{D}{1 - D} V_{IN} \end{align}
To give you an idea of how varying the duty cycle can produce either a higher or lower output voltage, see the below image which shows how the output voltage can vary from a small fraction of \(V_{IN}\)
to many times larger than \(V_{IN}\)
, and they are equal when the duty cycle is set at 50%.

Relationship between duty cycle and the voltage ratio for a inverting buck-boost converter, ignoring the sign (so applicable for a SEPIC also). Dotted line drawn where \(V_{OUT} = V_{IN}\)
, at \(D=0.5\)
.
As the duty cycle approaches 100%, the ideal output voltage approaches infinity! In practise, non-idealities and component absolute maximums limit the the output voltage to something in the range of 10x the input voltage.
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