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Electronics => Beginners => Topic started by: dsharp02 on March 11, 2016, 01:12:09 pm

Title: Can a gyrator be used to build a boost converter?
Post by: dsharp02 on March 11, 2016, 01:12:09 pm

So I'm reading through TAoE and I get to the section covering active filtering, and it mentions a strange circuit called a gyrator that lets you create an inductive circuit without any inductors.  Is the inductive behavior limited to just the frequency response?  Or could you use it to build a boost converter?

-edit: fixed misspelling, and a missing word

Title: Re: Can a gyrator be used to build a boost converter?
Post by: bktemp on March 11, 2016, 01:18:38 pm

It can't be used for a boost converter, because it simulates an inductor. Unlike an inductor a gyrator can not store energy. The energy you put into it gets dissipated as heat, and the energy delivered from the simulated inductor is drawn from the gyrator's power supply. All the signals levels on the simulated inductor are therefore limited by the supply voltage, so it can't generate a higher voltage like a true inductor in a boost converter.