An ultra‐low quiescent current tri‐mode DC–DC boost converter is proposed in this paper, which can efficiently handle loads from 1 μA to 300 mA, providing 5‐V output from 3 to 4.2‐V input. Hysteresis current mode control is adopted to realize seamless mode switching between continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). In order to deal with the light load situation, this paper proposes a quasi burst mode (QBM). In this mode, most of the modules are turned off and only the QBM controller, low‐power current bias and sample and hold circuit are retained, which significantly reduces the static current of the converter, and thus improves the light load efficiency. Meanwhile, the average current of error amplifier and comparator are reduced significantly by dynamic biasing. Finally, the efficiency of the converter is greatly improved and kept at a reasonable output ripple. The proposed converter is implemented in a 0.13‐μm BCD process design and manufacturing. The test results show that the quiescent current of the converter is only 780 nA, which can achieve a peak efficiency of 95.6%, and ensure that the efficiency is maintained above 80% in the load range of 10 μA to 300 mA.

In order to achieve high efficiency in a wider load range, a PWM/PFM/Power-Saved mode dc–dc buck converter is proposed. The mode switching technique is based on an accurate power loss model consisting of critical components/parameters: The size of the power transistor and the ON/OFF status of power-hungry subcircuits. The circuit of mode switching technique is achieved by the reference, pulse skipped modulation (PSM) comparator and feedback resistors, and its own consumption of quiescent current is extremely low. At ultra-light load, by detecting the ZCD duration and the ripple of the output, the system can switch to the Power-Saved-Mode. The proposed buck converter was implemented by using a 0.18[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m CMOS process. It achieves a peak efficiency of 97% and [Formula: see text]90% efficiency from 100[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]A to 600[Formula: see text]mA. A 360[Formula: see text]nA quiescent current is achieved. With a low output ripple of less than 60[Formula: see text]mV, the input voltage range and regulated output voltage are 3.6–5[Formula: see text]V and 1.2–3.3[Formula: see text]V, respectively.