Through-Hole Buck Converters for Fast Prototyping: A Comparative Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Material and Methods
2.1. Design and Customization
2.2. Technical Issues to Overcome
2.2.1. Frequency and Current
2.2.2. Compactness
2.2.3. Layout Recommendations
2.2.4. Manufacturer Demonstration Board
2.3. Logistic and Economic Aspects to Consider
3. Results
3.1. Integrated Buck Switching Regulators on the Market: A Comparison
Candidate from the Comparison: LM2576-ADJ by Texas Instruments
- Its output current is remarkable (3 A), particularly when it comes in a manageable TO-220 package, which allows a heat sink to be easily installed.
- The wide input/output voltage range, as well as the possibility of using the fixed or adjustable version (7th column in Table 1), make this buck converter ideal from a practical point of view.
- Another distinguishing mark of the LM2576-ADJ is the ease with which it can be designed, simulated, or tested. The electronic component by Texas Instruments comes with an excellent datasheet with examples and tools to simplify the design process. The buck converter can be simulated online thanks to the WebenchTM tool, and its Spice model is also available in the list of components on the OrCADTM PSpiceTM 17.2 database. Moreover, the manufacturer offers a demonstration board, which is always helpful for designers.
- Its price and availability are also points in favor of the LM2576-ADJ. It is one of the cheapest switching regulators included in the study and is marketed by all the distributors that have been taken into account. Moreover, this buck converter is sold by two electronic firms, Texas Instruments and ON Semiconductor Corporation (Scottsdale, AZ, USA), which is also an advantage because its availability is more likely.
3.2. Experimental Comparison Focused on the LM2576-ADJ
3.3. Comparison of the Implementations
3.3.1. Output Voltage Ripple
3.3.2. Line Regulation
3.3.3. Load Regulation
3.3.4. Coil Current Ripple
3.3.5. Duty Cycle Evolution Under Different Loads
3.3.6. Efficiency
3.3.7. Conducted EMI Analysis
3.3.8. Thermal Study
- The values of (junction temperature thermal resistance) and (junction capsule thermal resistance) for TO-220 packages are 32.4 °C/W and 0.4 °C/W, respectively. In the case of SMT package (TO-263), and are 42.6 °C/W and 0.4 °C/W, respectively. It is important to clarify this point due to the discrepancies between thermal resistances provided by different manufacturers (Texas Instruments and Onsemi) for the same integrated circuit (LM2576-ADJ), since manufacturers follow different procedures to calculate these parameters [46].
- Due to the small thermal resistance between junction and capsule (0.4 °C/W ), the temperature of the junction () is going to be considered equal to the capsule (). Furthermore, the switching mode in which the buck converter works makes the value of even smaller due to the existence of a thermal impedance which depends on the switching frequency.
- The thermostated ambient temperature () in the laboratory was considered constant at 26 °C for the whole duration of the experiment.
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Manufacturer | Model | Input | Output | Package | Limited | Price/ | Simulation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Voltage | Voltage | Maximun | Output | Maximun | Evaluation | Number | Units | Tools | Supplier | |||
(Min/ | (Min/ | Output | Type | Switching | Module | of External | (*) | Availability | Availability | |||
Max) | Max) | Current | Frequency | Availability | Components | (**) | (***) | |||||
Linear Technology (now Analog Devices) | LT1074 | 8/45 V | 8/35 V | 5 A | TO-220 | Adjustable | 110 kHz | No | Yes | 15.86 €/1 (‡) | iii | 2, 3, 4 |
LT1074HV | 8/64 V | 8/45 V | 5 A | TO-220 | Adjustable | 125 kHz | No | Yes | 18.76 €/1 (‡) | iii | 2, 3, 4 | |
LT1076 | 8/45 V | 8/35 V | 2 A | TO-220 | Adjustable | 110 kHz | No | Yes | 10.35 €/1 (‡) | iii | 2, 3, 4 | |
LT1076HV | 8/64 V | 8/45 V | 2 A | TO-220 | Adjustable | 125 kHz | No | Yes | 16,12 €/1 (‡) | iii | 2, 3, 4 | |
Maxim (now Analog Devices) | MAX638AMJA/883B | 2.2/16.5 V | 1.25/16 V | 525 mA | DIP-8 | Adjustable | 65 kHz | No | Yes (†) | 25.00 €/1 | - | 4 |
MAX5035BUPA | 7.5/76 V | 1.25/13.2 V | 1 A | DIP-8 | Fixed/Adjustable | 125 kHz | Yes | Yes | 3.80 €/1 | ii | 4 | |
MAX758ACPA+ | 4/16 V | 1.25/16 V | 750 mA | DIP-8 | Fixed/Adjustable | 190 kHz | No | Yes | 10.62 €/1 (‡) | - | 3, 4 | |
ON Semiconductor | LM2574 | 4/40 V | 1.23/37 V | 500 mA | DIP-8 | Fixed | 52 kHz | No | Yes | 1.74 €/1 | i | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
LM2576/LM2576-ADJ | 4/40 V | 1.23/37 V | 3 A | TO-220 | Fixed/Adjustable | 52 kHz | No | Yes | 2.56 €/5 | i | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
LM2575/LM2575-ADJ | 4/40 V | 1.23/37 V | 1 A | TO-220 | Fixed/Adjustable | 52 kHz | No | Yes | 2.29 €/1 | i | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
ST Microelectronics | L296/L296P | 9/46 V | 5.1/40 V | 4 A | Multiwatt 15 L | Fixed/Adjustable | 200 kHz | No | No ()() | 13.58 €/1 | ii | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
L4970A | 15/50 V | 5.1/40 V | 10 A | Multiwatt 15 L | Fixed | 200 kHz | No | No () | 15.23 €/1 | ii | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
L4975A | 15/50 V | 5.1/40 V | 5 A | Multiwatt 15 L | Fixed | 200 kHz | No | No () | 17.86 €/1 | ii | 1, 2 | |
Texas Instruments | LM2574 | 4/40 V | 1.23/37 V | 500 mA | DIP-8 | Fixed/Adjustable | 52 kHz | No | Yes | 3.59 €/1 | i, iii | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
LM2574HV | 4/60 V | 1.23/37 V | 500 mA | DIP-8 | Fixed/Adjustable | 52 kHz | No | Yes | 4.46 €/1 | ii, iii | 1, 3, 4 | |
LM2576 | 4/40 V | 3.33/37 V | 3 A | TO-220 | Fixed/Adjustable | 52 kHz | Yes | Yes | 3.40 €/5 | i, iii | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
LM2576HV | 4/60 V | 3.33/37 V | 3 A | TO-220 | Fixed/Adjustable | 52 kHz | No | Yes | 9.55 €/1 | ii, iii | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
LM2575 | 4/40 V | 3.33/37 V | 1 A | TO-220 | Fixed/Adjustable | 100 kHz | Yes | Yes | 3.58 €/1 | i, iii | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
LM2575HV | 4/40 V | 3.33/57 V | 1 A | TO-220 | Fixed/Adjustable | 100 kHz | No | Yes | 5.73 €/1 | ii, iii | 1, 2, 3, 4 | |
LM2595 | 4.75/40 V | 1.2/37 V | 1 A | TO-220 | Fixed/Adjustable | 150 kHz | No | Yes | 4.38 €/1 | ii, iii | 3, 4 | |
LM2596 | 4.75/40 V | 1.2/37 V | 3 A | TO-220 | Fixed/Adjustable | 150 kHz | Yes | Yes | 5.52 €/1 | ii, iii | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
Device | Description | Manufacturer | Part Number |
---|---|---|---|
D | Diode, Schottky, 50 V, 5 A, | On semiconductor | SB550 |
L | Inductor, Toroid, 100 µH, 6.1 A, 0.035 | Bourns (Riverside, CA, USA) | PM2120-101K-RC |
CAP, AL, 470 µF, 63 V, ±20%, 0.053 | Panasonic (Kadoma, Japan) | EEUFC1J471 | |
CAP, AL, 2200 µF, 63 V, ±20%, 0.028 | Panasonic | EEUFC1E222S | |
R1 | 1 k resistor, 5%, 0.25 W | RS PRO (London, UK) | 707-7666 |
R2 | 1.2 k and 1.8 k resistors in series, 5%, 0.25 W | RS PRO | 707-7678, 739-7471 |
Voltage Ripple | Line Regulation | Load Regulation | Switching Frequency | Duty Cycle | Maximum Efficiency | THD | LM2576-ADJ Temperature | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Breadboard | 57.6 | 0.37 % | 0.33% | 49.9 kHz | 53.5% | 79.9% | 1.02% | 86.8 °C |
Stripboard | 17.2 | 0.32 % | 0.79% | 54.8 kHz | 53.8% | 80.3% | 1.12% | 82.6 °C |
Demonstration board | 19.0 | 0.30% | 0.06% | 50.3 kHz | 46.6% | 81.6% | 0.45% | 44.0 °C |
Simulation | 11.8 | 0.28 % | 0.04% | 52.1 kHz | 46.4% | 89.5% | – | – |
Theoretical Temperature TO220 Package | Theoretical Temperature SMT Package | Breadboard | Stripboard | Demonstration Board | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LM2576-ADJ | 44.2 °C | 49.9 °C | 86.8 °C | 82.6 °C | 44.0 °C |
Freewheeling diode | 30.4 °C | 56.5 °C | 70.0 °C | 55.1 °C | 47.1 °C |
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Muñoz, J.V.; Nieto-Nieto, L.M.; Pulido-Lopez, L.; Aguilar-Peña, J.D.; Gonzalez-Rodriguez, A.G. Through-Hole Buck Converters for Fast Prototyping: A Comparative Study. Electronics 2025, 14, 1273. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14071273
Muñoz JV, Nieto-Nieto LM, Pulido-Lopez L, Aguilar-Peña JD, Gonzalez-Rodriguez AG. Through-Hole Buck Converters for Fast Prototyping: A Comparative Study. Electronics. 2025; 14(7):1273. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14071273
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuñoz, Jose Vicente, Luis M. Nieto-Nieto, Luis Pulido-Lopez, Juan D. Aguilar-Peña, and Angel Gaspar Gonzalez-Rodriguez. 2025. "Through-Hole Buck Converters for Fast Prototyping: A Comparative Study" Electronics 14, no. 7: 1273. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14071273
APA StyleMuñoz, J. V., Nieto-Nieto, L. M., Pulido-Lopez, L., Aguilar-Peña, J. D., & Gonzalez-Rodriguez, A. G. (2025). Through-Hole Buck Converters for Fast Prototyping: A Comparative Study. Electronics, 14(7), 1273. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14071273