A voltage converter having four switches Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4, connected in
series and operated in pairs in a complementary fashion. An input voltage
is provided across the four switches. A middle capacitor is connected in
parallel with two middle switches Q2, Q3. Voltage output is provided
across switches Q3 and Q4 (i.e. at a midpoint of the four switches).
Series-connected output capacitors can be connected in parallel with the
set of four switches. The middle capacitor alone or in combination with
parallel connected capacitors, when connected to the input voltage or
output terminals functions as a capacitive voltage divider for voltage
conversion and/or regulation with extremely high efficiency and which can
provide either step-down or step-up function. Also, an output inductor
can be provided as a perfecting feature to further increase efficiency.
Alternatively, two of the four switches can be replaced with rectifying
diodes. Alternatively, the voltage converter has two or more sets of four
switches connected in parallel. The two sets can be connected by
resistor-capacitor ladder, or an inductor-capacitor ladder for
charge/voltage sharing to reduce voltage ripple.