This paper investigates the operational modes of buck dc-dc converters and their energy transmission methods. The operational modes of such converters are classified in two types, discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) and continuous conduction mode (CCM). In this paper, the critical inductance relation of DCM and CCM is determined. The equations of the output voltage ripple (OVR) for each mode are obtained for a specific input voltage and load resistance range. The maximum output voltage ripple (MOVR) is also obtained for each mode. The filter size is decreased and the minimum required inductance value is calculated to guarantee the minimization of the MOVR. The experimental and simulation results in PSCAD/EMTDC prove the correctness of the presented theoretical concepts.