Automatic dead-time adjustment CMOS mixed-signal circuit for a DCM-operated 3-level switching power converter

This work addresses a method to automatically adjust the dead-time between the power transistors transitions of a DCM-operated 3-level buck converter to avoid both the body-diode conduction and the shot-through current spike. A feedback loop is used to recursively adjust the dead-time depending on the indirect detection of both events. While the body-diode conduction event is detected by sensing the v_x voltage, the shot-through event is detected by means of an observer of the power switches. The complete microelectronic scheme and layout for a 0.25 mura CMOS technology as well as the transistor-level simulation results validating the proposal are provided.