4.2-18v = Buck driver?

[jh333233]

Must a 4.2-18v driver be a buck one?
If not, powering it with 18v will result in great heat generated by linear regulator with loss of alot of energy?

 

[Steve K]

a buck converter is one that takes a high voltage and converts it to a lower voltage through the use of an inductor for temporary energy storage. It is one type of switching power supply. A linear regulator will convert from high voltage to low voltage by dropping the extra voltage across a transistor, typically. Unless the voltage drop is fairly small, the linear regulator will have higher losses.

regards,
Steve K.

 

[BoarHunter]

a buck converter is one that takes a high voltage and converts it to a lower voltage through the use of an inductor for temporary energy storage. It is one type of switching power supply. A linear regulator will convert from high voltage to low voltage by dropping the extra voltage across a transistor, typically. Unless the voltage drop is fairly small, the linear regulator will have higher losses.

regards,
Steve K.

Inductor ??? Why ?

 

[Th232]

A bit more specificity on "why" would be useful, taking a guess at why you're asking why, the inductor is there to store energy during one part of the cycle. Wikipedia has a good article on the basic functioning of buck converters.