Both linear and switching regulators have their own advantages and disadvantages as shown below.
Linear regulators | Switching regulators | |
---|---|---|
Step-down conversion | Supported | Supported |
Step-up conversion | N/S | Supported |
Step-up/step-down conversion | N/S | Supported |
Inverting conversion | N/S | Supported |
Part count | Low | High |
Design complexity | Simple | Complicated |
Input-output voltage differential | Small*1 | Large |
Output voltage ripple | Small | Large |
Noise (e.g., EMI) | Small | Large |
Heat generation | Large*2 | Small |
*1 LDO regulators have a small input-output voltage differential, depending on usage conditions.
*2 The amount of heat generated by LDO regulators might be small, depending on usage conditions.