High Performance Current-Mode DC-DC Boost Converter in BiCMOS Integrated Circuits

A simulation study of a current-mode direct current (DC)-DC boost converter is presented in this paper. This converter, with a fully-integrated power module, is implemented by using bipolar complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology. The current-sensing circuit has an op-amp to achieve high accuracy. With the sense metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) in the current sensor, the sensed inductor current with the internal ramp signal can be used for feedback control. In addition, BiCMOS technology is applied to the converter, for accurate current sensing and low power consumption. The DC-DC converter is designed with a standard 0.35 mu m BiCMOS process. The off-chip inductor-capacitor (LC) filter is operated with an inductance of 1 mH and a capacitance of 12.5 nF. Simulation results show the high performance of the current-sensing circuit and the validity of the BiCMOS converter. The output voltage is found to be 4.1 V with a ripple ratio of 1.5% at the duty ratio of 0.3. The sensing current is measured to be within 1 mA and follows to fit the order of the aspect ratio, between sensing and power FET.