ABSTRACT
With the increasing demand of integrating voltage regulators completely on silicon, switched-capacitor (SC) power converters that consist of only capacitors and switches are gaining popularity as substitutes for inductor-based DC-DC converters. Switched-capacitor power converters are known as SC converters for short, and step-up SC converters are also known as charge pumps. This chapter starts with classifications of SC converters. Charge balance law is then introduced, followed by performance analysis. Step-up and step-down converters, 2-phase and multiphase topologies, and multi-phase interleaving schemes are presented. Gate control techniques, loss reduction considerations and efficiency optimization issues are also discussed. With the development of semiconductor devices that work as switches, practical switched-capacitor circuits were developed for signal processing and power processing.
