• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.846-857
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• 2019

Voltage step-down converters are very popular in distributed power systems, voltage regular modules, electric vehicles, etc. However, a high step-down voltage ratio is required in many applications to prevent the traditional buck converter from operating at extreme duty cycles. In this paper, a series capacitor interleaved buck converter with a soft switching technique is proposed. The DC voltage ratio of the proposed converter is half that of the traditional buck converter and the voltage stress across the one main switch and the diodes is reduced. Moreover, by paralleling the series connected auxiliary switch and the auxiliary inductor with the main inductor, zero voltage transition (ZVT) of the main switches can be obtained without increasing the voltage or current stress of the main power switches. In addition, zero current turned-on and zero current switching (ZCS) of the auxiliary switches can be achieved. Furthermore, owing to the presence of the auxiliary inductor, the turned-off rate of the output diodes can be limited and the reverse-recovery switching losses of the diodes can be reduced. Thus, the efficiency of the proposed converter can be improved. The DC voltage gain ratio, soft switching conditions and a design guideline for the critical parameters are given in this paper. A loss analysis of the proposed converter is shown to demonstrate its advantages over traditional converter topologies. Finally, experimental results obtained from a 100V/10V prototype are presented to verify the analysis of the proposed converter.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.832-839
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• 2016

In this study, the performance of a direct current (DC)-DC buck converter is analyzed in the presence of non-idealities in passive components and semiconductor devices. The effect of these non-idealities on the various design issues of a DC-DC buck converter is studied. An improved expression for duty cycle is developed to compensate the losses that occur because of the non-idealities. The design equations for inductor and capacitor calculation are modified based on this improved expression. The effect of the variation in capacitor equivalent series resistance (ESR) on output voltage ripple (OVR) is analyzed in detail. It is observed that the value of required capacitance increases with ESR. However, beyond a maximum value of ESR (r_c,max), the capacitor is unable to maintain OVR within a specified limit. The expression of r_c,max is derived in terms of specified OVR and inductor current ripple. Finally, these theoretical studies are validated through MATLAB simulation and experimental results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.869-880
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• 2019

Due to the inherent feedforward of load current, capacitor current (CC) control shows a fast transient response that makes it suitable for the power supplies used in various portable electronic devices. However, considering the effect of the outer voltage loop, the stable range of the duty-cycle is significantly diminished in CC controlled buck converters. To investigate the stability effect of the outer voltage loop on buck converters, a CC controlled buck converter with a proportion-integral (PI) compensator is taken as an example, and its second-order discrete-time model is established. Based on this model, the instability caused by the duty-cycle is discussed with consideration of the outer voltage loop. Then the dynamical effects of the feedback gain of the PI compensator and the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the output capacitor on the CC controlled buck converter with a PI compensator are studied. Furthermore, the design-oriented closed-loop stability criterion is derived. Finally, PSIM simulations and experimental results are supplied to verify the theoretical analyses.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1988.07a
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• pp.151-154
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• 1988

Quantum converters, a subset of resonant converters operating with optimal conditions are modeled. It is shown that series resonant converter(SRC) can be modeled as buck/boost converter with an equivalent inductor and parallel resonant converter(PRC) can be modeled as Cuk converter, with an equivalent capacitor. Also new resonant circuits with boost, buck-boost and Cuk converter characteristics are proposed. From these models, the quantum converters can be designed to be controlled with closed loop feedback, having many advantages such as low device switching stress, reliable high frequency operation and low EMI.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.334-345
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• 2017

In order to meet the increasing needs of the hybrid energy source system for electric vehicles, which demand bidirectional power flow capability with a wide-voltage-conversion range, a bidirectional three-level DC-DC converter and some control strategies for hybrid energy source electric vehicles are proposed. The proposed topology is synthesized from Buck and Boost three-level DC-DC topologies with a high voltage-gain and non-extreme duty cycles, and the bidirectional operation principle is analyzed. In addition, the inductor current ripple can be effectively reduced within the permitted duty cycle range by the coordinated control between the current fluctuation reduction and the non-extreme duty cycles. Furthermore, benefitting from duty cycle disturbance control, series-connected capacitor voltages can also be well balanced, even with the discrepant rise and fall time of power switches and the somewhat unequal capacitances of series-connected capacitors. Finally, experiment results of the bidirectional operations are given to verify the validity and feasibility of the proposed converter and control strategies. It is shown to be suitable for hybrid energy source electric vehicles.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.1298-1307
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• 2017

The constant on-time current-mode controlled (COT-CMC) switching dc-dc converter is stable, with no subharmonic oscillation in its current loop when a voltage ripple in its outer voltage loop is ignored. However, when its output capacitance is small or its feedback gain is high, subharmonic oscillation may occur in a COT-CMC buck converter with a proportional-integral (PI) compensator. To investigate the subharmonic instability of COT-CMC buck converters with a PI compensator, an accurate reduced-order asynchronous-switching map model of a COT-CMC buck converter with a PI compensator is established. Based on this, the instability behaviors caused by output capacitance and feedback gain are investigated. Furthermore, an approximate instability condition is obtained and design-oriented stability boundaries in different circuit parameter spaces are yielded. The analysis results show that the instability of COT-CMC buck converters with a PI compensator is mainly affected by the output capacitance, output capacitor equivalent series resistance (ESR), feedback gain, current-sensing gain and constant on-time. The study results of this paper are helpful for the circuit parameter design of COT-CMC switching dc-dc converters. Experimental results are provided to verify the analysis results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.592-599
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• 2013

This paper investigates a new isolated single-phase AC-DC converter, which integrates a modified AC-DC buck-boost converter with a DC-DC forward converter. The front semi-stage is operated in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) to achieve an almost unity power factor and a low total harmonic distortion of the input current. The rear semi-stage is used for step-down voltage conversion and electrical isolation. The front semi-stage uses a coupled inductor with the same winding-turn in the primary and secondary sides, which is charged in series during the switch-on period and is discharged in parallel during the switch-off period. The discharging time can be shortened. In other words, the duty ratio can be extended. This semi-stage can be operated in a larger duty-ratio range than the conventional AC-DC buck-boost converter for DCM operation. Therefore, the proposed converter is suitable for universal input voltage (90~264 $V_{rms}$) and a wide output-power range. Moreover, the voltage stress on the DC-link capacitor is low. Finally, a prototype circuit is implemented to verify the performance of the proposed converter.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.300-312
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• 2014

A single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) DC-DC converter providing buck and boost outputs with a new switching sequence is presented. In the proposed switching sequence, which does not require any additional blocks, input energy is delivered to outputs continuously by flowing current through the inductor, which leads to high conversion efficiency regardless of the balance between the buck and boost output loads. Furthermore, instead of multiple output loop compensation, only the freewheeling current feedback loop is compensated, which minimizes the number of off-chip components and nullifies the need for the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the output capacitor for loop compensation. Therefore, power conversion efficiency and output voltage ripples can be improved and minimized, respectively. Implemented in a 0.35-${\mu}m$ CMOS, the proposed SIMO DC-DC converter achieves high conversion efficiency regardless of the load balance between the two outputs with maximum efficiency reaching up to 82% under heavy loads.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.8-16
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• 2013

This paper investigates the electrical characteristics of popular power converters such as a half-bridge rectifier, a full-bridge rectifier, a buck converter, and an inverter when the arc is occurred at the input and the output of each converter. In order to generate an artificial arc, the arc generator has been implemented according to the design guideline suggested in UL1699. After that, the trend of the input and output voltage variation and the switching stress of the devices are analyzed. From the analysis, it has been confirmed that the generated arc causes an uncertain operation to the power converters. To reduce the unexpected disturbance effect of the arc, the capacitor adjustment method has been proposed, and its superiority has been experimentally verified.