EE 214

ELECTRONICS CIRCUITS LABORATORY II

TERM PROJECT

DC - DC CONVERTER

1. Introduction

In many applications, instead of a constant DC voltage level, different DC voltage levels for
different parts of the system are needed. For instance, in cellular phones, although there is a
battery supplying constant DC voltage, the supply requirements of the LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display) backlight and the speaker may not be the same. This situation is handled by the
utilization of DC-DC converters. These converters can decrease or increase the amplitude of
the input DC voltage; hence can be thought as the DC counterparts of the transformers which
are used for AC-AC conversion. DC-DC converters are employed in many applications such
as regulated power supplies, dynamic braking of the DC motors, DC motor speed control
circuits, electrical cars, sea fright elevators, etc.

There are two types of DC-DC converters:

a. Buck Converter (step-down): If the output DC voltage level is smaller than the input
level, the converter is called a Buck Converter.

b. Boost Converter (step-up): If the output DC voltage level is higher than the input
level, the converter is called a Boost Converter. In this project, we will be
concentrated on the Boost Converters.

From an AC voltage, for instance the line voltage, the DC voltage at desired level can be
generated as follows:

I II
AC voltage DC DC
AC-DC DC-DC
Load
Converter Converter

Figure 1. AC-DC Converter System

As shown in Figure 1, first of all the AC voltage is converted to DC. Then, the DC voltage
level is changed by a DC-DC converter accordingly.

2. EE 214 Term Project – Boost Converter

In this project, you will design a boost converter. Your design is required to be composed of
the building blocks illustrated in Figure 1. The only allowed input is a sinusoidal signal from
the signal generator Agilent 33220A. The input sinusoidal signal will be first converted to a
DC voltage, and then the DC voltage will be amplified by the boost converter.

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 2.1.Allowed Components

During the project implementation, you will use Agilent 33220A signal generator. You may
use any types of transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes. You are not allowed to
use op-amps in your design.

2.1.Specifications

The design requirements are as follows:

• For an input sinusoidal waveform with 5V peak value at 1 kHz, the circuitry should
generate at least 25V DC voltage at the output of the second block in Figure 1, under
no load. To this aim, the DC voltage at the output of the first block, which is around
5V, should be amplified by the boost converter (second block) designed. (Note that,
practically the AC input should be the line voltage with 220Vrms and 50 Hz. However,
utilization of line voltage directly may be dangerous in the lab environment for this
project. Furthermore, in order to account for the high ripple voltages at such a low
operating frequency, the capacitor values should be pretty large. Consequently, for this
project, the input is sinusoidal waveform with 5V peak value at 1 kHz.)
• Peak to peak value of the ripple voltage should be smaller than 0.4% under no load.
For instance, for an output voltage of 25V DC, the ripple voltage should be smaller
than 100mV.
• The load of the DC-DC converter can be modeled as a resistive element with
resistance set to a value in the range 3-5 kΩ. The power supplied to the load is a
design issue. In this project, there is no output power constraint; however the power
output of your boost converter design will affect your project grade as:
o Output power > 50mW 5 pts bonus,
o Output power > 100mW 10 pts bonus,
o Output power > 150mW 15 pts bonus.

3. Rules and Regulations

3.1. Groups

The project will be carried out in groups of two students. The students in the same group
should be in the same laboratory session.

3.2. Project Phases and Important Dates

The project consists of two phases, namely the preparation and implementation phases. Each
phase will be concluded by a report.

3.2.1. Preparation

In this phase, each group is required to present a design solution for the project in a formal
report (pre-report). This report must include simulation results illustrating the operation of the
circuit used in the design. The necessary calculations (for example, resistor and capacitor
values, transistor type selection and output power calculations) must also be given in the pre-
report. The deadline for submitting the pre-report is the 10th of May. Late submissions will

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lower your grades significantly. Moreover, you will not be allowed to continue next phase
unless a pre-report is submitted.

3.2.2. Implementation and Demonstration

In this phase, you will physically construct your circuit. Each group has to attend their
laboratory sessions in the two weeks, 17-21th of May and 24-28th of May, for testing their
circuits. You are not allowed to attend other laboratory sessions other than your own
laboratory session. Attending to at least one test session is an obligatory for both team
members and your attendance will be graded. The demonstrations will be held in 29th 30th of
May. Early demonstration is possible if you complete your circuit during the test sessions.
A successful implementation requires extensive test-modify-test cycle. Since you are allotted
a limited time for testing your circuits in the laboratory, you should make use of your time
effectively. You must provide your own circuit components (transistors, resistors, capacitors,
pots, etc.) and bread-board.

3.2.3. Important dates :

• 9 April : Project Announcement

• 10 May : Deadline for Pre-reports
• 17-21 May : First Laboratory session
• 24-28 May : Second Laboratory sessions
• 29 -30 May : Demonstrations
• 31 May: Deadline for final reports

3.2.4. Final Report

The final report must include the final design, results, a simple cost analysis, and a summary
of the experiences gained during the project. The reports should be properly formatted. The
objectives, results and the experiences should be clearly presented. This does not necessarily
mean a long report, but definitely a well-organized one. The final report should contain the
following sections:

• Abstract (a brief summary of the report),

• Introduction,
• Design formulation,
• Selection of equipments,
• Power analysis,
• Description of circuit operation,
• Computer simulation results
• Comments and conclusions

3.3.Grading

• Pre-Report (%15)
• Report (%20)
• Design and Presentation (%60)
• Attendance (%5)
• Bonus (+%15)

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 4. Cheating

Cheating is strongly forbidden and will be severely punished. This project can be
implemented in many different ways. Hence, it will be easy to detect cheating. This does not
mean that you cannot collaborate with your friends. However, the allowed form of
collaboration is exchanging the ideas, not copying the design details. Using the design of
another group with slightly modified component values will also be regarded as cheating.