General Laws of Sneak Circuit in Resonant Switched Capacitor Converters

Sneak circuit is an unexpected path that has been inadvertently designed into the system, it may lead to an unwanted or unintended action or inhibit a desired action under certain conditions. As the sneak circuit phenomena have been found in the step-down mode resonant switched capacitor (RSC) converter, this paper studies the other two fundamental RSC converters (i.e. step-up mode and inverse mode), and deduces the parameter relationship which will cause sneak circuit happen. By discussing the similarities and differences among these three RSC converters, the general law of sneak circuit in RSC converters has been summarized, which will help to avoid the undesired function.