US Patent 7417879 PFM and current controlled switching regulator

A circuit and method for controlling a switching regulator utilize a combination of variable off-time control (or frequency control) and variable peak current control to achieve high efficiency at a wide range of load conditions. A non-linear control circuit receives an error voltage and generates a first control signal for controlling a frequency control circuit and a second control signal for controlling a peak current control circuit. The frequency control circuit and the peak current control circuit operate in conjunction over the entire range of load conditions with the frequency control dominates at light load (or low power) conditions and the variable peak current control dominates at moderate to heavy load (or high power) conditions. The switching regulator transitions smoothly between frequency control and peak current control with continous loop gain throughout the transition region.