
Typical application for a ste-down switching regulator: Unlike a linear regulator, however, an SMPS can also provide a step-up function and an inverted output function. SMPSs can be used to step-down a supply voltage, just as linear supplies do. The output voltage variations caused by the switching are filtered out by an LC filter. The switch mode power supply, however, uses a high frequency switch (in practice a transistor) with varying duty cycle to maintain the output voltage.

The linear regulator can, therefore, tend to be very inefficient. Conventional series-regulated linear power supplies maintain a constant voltage by varying their resistance to cope with input voltage changes or load current demand changes. Switch Mode Power Supplies are the current state of the art in high efficiency power supplies. The Buck Regulator (or Forward Regulator).

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