Buck converters having a resonant inductor Lr, resonant capacitor Cr, and synchronous
switch Q3 that together provide reduced switching loss and soft switching.
In operation, the resonant inductor Lr is charged during a time period A. Then,
Lr is freewheeling and provides current to an output inductor Lo. Then, Q3
is turned OFF, and energy from the resonant inductor Lr charges the resonant capacitor
Cr. Finally, energy from the resonant capacitor Cr is provided to the output inductor
and load. The output power can be adjusted by phase control of the operation of
switch Q3. In alternative embodiments, the circuit has a pair of coupled
inductors L1 L2 or an isolation transformer 40. The coupled
inductors have a polarity selected so that the output voltage is reduced, thereby
allowing top switch Q1 to have a greater duty cycle. These circuits feature
no body diode loss in the switch Q3.