
R1224N 
OPERATION of step-down DC/DC converter and Output Current 
The step-down DC/DC converter charges energy in the inductor when Lx transistor is ON, and discharges the 
energy from the inductor when Lx transistor is OFF and controls with less energy loss, so that a lower output 
voltage than the input voltage is obtained. The operation will be explained with reference to the following 
diagrams: 
<Basic Circuits> 
i1 
<Current through L> 
Step 1: Lx Tr. turns on and current IL (=i1) flows, and energy is charged into CL. At this moment, IL increases 
from ILmin. (=0) to reach ILmax. in proportion to the on-time period (ton) of Lx Tr. 
Step 2: When Lx Tr. turns off, Schottky diode (SD) turns on in order that L maintains IL at ILmax, and current IL 
(=i2) flows. 
Step 3: IL decreases gradually and reaches ILmin. after a time period of topen, and SD turns off, provided that in 
the continuous mode, next cycle starts before IL becomes to 0 because toff time is not enough. In this 
case, IL value is from this ILmin (>0). 
In the case of PWM control system, the output voltage is maintained by controlling the on-time period (ton), with 
the oscillator frequency (fosc) being maintained constant. 
Discontinuous Conduction Mode and Continuous Conduction Mode 
The maximum value (ILmax) and the minimum value (ILmin) current which flow through the inductor is the 
same as those when Lx Tr. is ON and when it is OFF. 
The difference between ILmax and ILmin, which is represented by 
I; 
I
=
ILmax-ILmin
=
V
OUT
×
topen/L
=
(V
IN
-V
OUT
)
×
ton/L ................................... Equation 1 
wherein, T
=
1/fosc
=
ton+toff 
duty (%)
=
ton/T
×
100
=
ton
×
fosc
×
100 
topen
< 
=
 toff 
In Equation 1, V
OUT
×
topen/L and (V
IN
-V
OUT
)
×
ton/L are respectively shown the change of the current at ON, and 
the change of the current at OFF. 
When the output current (I
OUT
) is relatively small, topen<toff as illustrated in the above diagram. In this case, the 
energy is charged in the inductor during the time period of ton and is discharged in its entirely during the time 
period of toff, therefore ILmin becomes to zero (ILmin=0). When Iout is gradually increased, eventually, topen 
becomes to toff (topen=toff), and when I
OUT
 is further increased, ILmin becomes larger than zero (ILmin>0). The 
former mode is referred to as the discontinuous mode and the latter mode is referred to as continuous mode. 
I
OUT
Lx Tr 
L 
SD 
V
IN
V
OUT
CL 
i2 
GND 
T
=
1/fosc 
ton
toff 
topen 
ILmin
ILmax 
IL
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