Source: https://mokxi.com/learn/path/power-electronics Updated: 2026-11-11 All paths # Power electronics Advanced: switches, inductors and heat: buck and boost converters from loose parts, PWM, MOSFET drivers, H bridges, efficiency, and a regulated supply you set from its formula. Free 7 lessons 4 h 4 chapters 2,210 XP Electrical ยท Advanced +250 XP 0 of 7 done Start the course free The buck converter Lesson plan for teachers What you will build ## 2 projects, built step by step 7 lessons in 4 chapters, about 4 hours on a simulated breadboard. Free, in your browser, every step checked by the simulator. Chapter 1 project ### The boost converter The same four parts rearranged so the output climbs above the input: an inductor that kicks, a diode that catches the kick, and Vout = Vin / (1 - duty). Open it in the simulator Chapter 2 project ### H bridges and current limits Four switches around a motor: forward, reverse, brake and coast on a DRV8871, why two switches on one side must never close together, and how the chip's current limit is set. Open it in the simulator The map ## Chapter by chapter Each lesson opens when the one before it is done, and each chapter ends in a project. Chapter 1 ## Converters Step voltage down and up with a switch, an inductor, a diode and a capacitor. Open 227 XP ### The buck converter A buck converter from loose parts: a MOSFET switching 12 V twenty thousand times a second, an inductor, a diode and a capacitor, and why its output is the duty cycle times the input. 0 of 5 steps Start What is in it Project Locked 454 XP ### The boost converter The same four parts rearranged so the output climbs above the input: an inductor that kicks, a diode that catches the kick, and Vout = Vin / (1 - duty). 0 of 5 steps Chapter 2 ## Switching PWM, gate drive, and four switches around a motor. Locked 265 XP ### PWM and duty cycle A lamp dimmed by switching it fully on and fully off a thousand times a second: duty, frequency, the average a meter reads, and how analogWrite does the same thing. 0 of 6 steps Locked 227 XP ### MOSFET drivers Two MOSFET boards on one pin: why the IRF520 module is only partly on from 5 V and off from 3.3 V, what a logic-level gate is, and what a gate driver is for. 0 of 5 steps Project Locked 530 XP ### H bridges and current limits Four switches around a motor: forward, reverse, brake and coast on a DRV8871, why two switches on one side must never close together, and how the chip's current limit is set. 0 of 6 steps Chapter 3 ## Heat Where the lost watts go, and linear against switching. Locked 242 XP ### Heat and efficiency The same 5 V made two ways from 12 V: a 7805 that burns the difference as heat and an LM2596 that switches, measured with two ammeters, and the heatsink math that decides which you need. 0 of 6 steps Chapter 4 ## Boss project A regulated supply, set to the volt and signed off. Locked 265 XP ### Boss: a regulated supply Set an LM317 adjustable supply to exact voltages from its formula, find its dropout, prove it regulates when the input changes, and work out its heat. 0 of 6 steps Syllabus ## Every lesson in the course All 7 lessons, in order, each with what it covers. Any of them opens in the editor right away. Chapter 1 ### Converters - The buck converter A buck converter from loose parts: a MOSFET switching 12 V twenty thousand times a second, an inductor, a diode and a capacitor, and why its output is the duty cycle times the input. - The boost converter The same four parts rearranged so the output climbs above the input: an inductor that kicks, a diode that catches the kick, and Vout = Vin / (1 - duty). Chapter 2 ### Switching - PWM and duty cycle A lamp dimmed by switching it fully on and fully off a thousand times a second: duty, frequency, the average a meter reads, and how analogWrite does the same thing. - MOSFET drivers Two MOSFET boards on one pin: why the IRF520 module is only partly on from 5 V and off from 3.3 V, what a logic-level gate is, and what a gate driver is for. - H bridges and current limits Four switches around a motor: forward, reverse, brake and coast on a DRV8871, why two switches on one side must never close together, and how the chip's current limit is set. Chapter 3 ### Heat - Heat and efficiency The same 5 V made two ways from 12 V: a 7805 that burns the difference as heat and an LM2596 that switches, measured with two ammeters, and the heatsink math that decides which you need. Chapter 4 ### Boss project - Boss: a regulated supply Set an LM317 adjustable supply to exact voltages from its formula, find its dropout, prove it regulates when the input changes, and work out its heat. Keep going ## The next course on your track Power electronics is part of the electrical track, a ladder of courses from zero to expert. Next course ### Circuit design capstone Expert: take one product from a written requirement to a tested board: blocks, a schematic worked out on paper, part choice, simulating the corners, PCB layout, a test plan, and a revision that fixes what the tests found. Open the next course Track ### Electrical track Current and voltage you can see, then transistors, op-amps, filters, power and PCBs. Every circuit runs in a real circuit simulator in your browser. See every course on the track Kits ## Build it on your bench too Every lesson runs in the simulator with nothing to buy. When you want the real thing, these kits have the parts. Have a kit already? ### Find your kit Pick the starter kit you own and run every lesson in its manual with the same parts on the same pins. See every kit Questions ## About Power electronics Is Power electronics free? Yes. All 7 lessons of Power electronics are free and run in your browser, with nothing to install and no parts to buy before you start. Do I need any parts? No. Every circuit is built on a simulated breadboard, and the simulator checks each step as you go. When you want to build it for real, the same parts and wiring work on a real bench. How long does Power electronics take? About 4 hours: 7 lessons in 4 chapters, each one a few short steps. Your progress is kept, so you can stop after any lesson and pick up where you left off. What will I build? Each chapter ends in a project that puts it together: The boost converter and H bridges and current limits. Where do I start? With "The buck converter", and each lesson builds on the one before it. New to circuits? Electronics basics is the course that starts from zero.