A novel method to emulate the peak current-mode control in ripple-based switching regulators

This paper presents a novel method that permits emulating a peak current-mode control (PCMC) scheme in switching regulators using ripple-mode control (RMC). Differently from the traditional RMC, the switching current is regulated cycle-by-cycle, like in a traditional PCMC, thus maintaining constant switching frequency operations over a large portion of the operative conditions. Hence, the proposed method avoids the operative dependence on the switching frequency that may suffer the converters based on RMC, while maintaining the simplicity and good dynamic properties of RMC. The paper first provides a theoretical analysis of the new method, supported by a set of simulations that demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of the method. Finally, a bench analysis on a dedicated prototype has confirmed experimentally the good agreement with the theoretical prediction.