I came across this SMPS topology that I don't recognize. It looks sort of like a combination of a buck converter and a boost converter, but I can't quite figure it out. I haven't been able to find any topologies that match this anywhere. Does anyone know?
Not sure what to call the topology, but the circuit appears to be designed to boost a very low voltage at high current to a usable level. A diode drop from a conventional topology represents a large efficiency loss when in the realm of low voltage power sources. You can see from the circuit that the device has a 1-volt input, so its switches have to be timed to turn off and on to direct and block the flow of current to perform a similar function as the diodes would in a topology with high voltage. You can see that if timed properly, the output voltage will be greater than the input, but even a single diode drop in a switcher would drop your efficiency in half or more at one volt input. The output appears to be AC; is this correct?
I don't think this is a SMPS, as it is missing crucial components, and the topology seems off, but it might look similar to a single-ended primary-inductor (SEPIC) converter.
SEPIC converters are often called buck-boost, but in reality they consist of a boost stage followed by a buck-boost stage. They will output a specific voltage over a range of input voltages (even if the input voltage varies over time). Their advantage over conventional buck-boosts are a non-inverting output and true full shutdown with very low quiescent current.
