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DCDC converters

DCDC converters are voltage converters that transform an input voltage into an output voltage that may be lower or higher than the input voltage.

DCDC converters that transform a lower input voltage into a higher output voltage are referred to as step-up converters, while those that produce a lower output voltage from a higher input voltage are known as step-down converters. Both options are equally possible in isolated DCDC converters, as is the conversion to a voltage as high as the input voltage, in which case the converter simply acts as an isolator between two circuits.

All three groups of DCDC converters involve the same basic design and circuitry; the only differences are the number of winds on the transformer coil and some of the parameters in the input oscillator. The only real difference is the slight deviation in efficiency depending on the relationship between the input and output voltage of the DCDC converter.

Inverting a positive voltage into a negative voltage is easy enough by reversing the output poles of the DCDC converter - as the voltages on the two sides of the converter are isolated, +Vin can be connected to -Vout as effectievly as -Vin can be connected to +Vout. This does not affect the regulation or functional principle of the isolated DCDC converter in any way. Non-isolated buck DCDC converters for step-up conversion use a completely different basic circuit design than step-down or boost converters. Nichtisolierende DCDC Converter für Step - Up - Wandler nach dem Buck - Prinzip hingegen verwenden ein total anderes Schaltungsprinzip als Step - Down - Wandler, die auf das Boost - Prinzip zurückgehen. RECOM currently supplies non-isolated DCDC converters for step-down conversion; four series are already available on the market. Non-isolated step-up DCDC converters are currently in preparation.