This slide and following slides present an example of a non-isolated buck regulator. All of the components are shown in the diagram and must be carefully designed and selected to meet the design requirements. Calculating the inductor value is most critical in designing a step-down switching converter. First, assume the converter is in continuous conduction mode (CCM), which is usually the case. CCM implies that the inductor does not fully discharge during the switch-off time. Peak current through the inductor determines the inductor's required saturation-current rating, in which turn dictates the approximate size of the inductor. Also, please note that saturating the inductor core decreases the converter efficiency, while increasing the temperature of the inductor, the MOSFET, and the diode. Therefore care in calculating these components must be taken.