Many system designers need an easy way to producea negative 3.3V power supply. In systems that alreadyhave a transformer, one option is to swap out the existingtransformer with one that has an additional secondarywinding. The problem with this solution is that manysystems now use transformers that are standard, offthe-shelf components, and most designers want toavoid replacing a standard, qualifi ed transformer with acustom version. An easier alternative is to produce thelow negative voltage rail by stepping down an existingnegative rail. For example, if the system already employsan off-the-shelf transformer with two secondary windingsto produce ±12V, and a –3.3V rail is needed, a negativebuck converter can produce the –3.3V output from the–12V rail.