This paper proposes a bidirectional dc–dc converter for residential micro-grid applications. The proposed converter can operate over an input voltage range that overlaps the output voltage range. This converter uses two snubber capacitors to reduce the switch turn-off losses, a dc-blocking capacitor to reduce the input/output filter size, and a 1:1 transformer to reduce core loss. The windings of the transformer are connected in parallel and in reverse-coupled configuration to suppress magnetic flux swing in the core. Zero-voltage turn-on of the switch is achieved by operating the converter in discontinuous conduction mode. The experimental converter was designed to operate at a switching frequency of 40–210 kHz, an input voltage of 48 V, an output voltage of 36–60 V, and an output power of 50–500 W. The power conversion efficiency for boost conversion to 60 V was ≥98.3% in the entire power range. The efficiency for buck conversion to 36 V was ≥98.4% in the entire power range. The output voltage ripple at full load was <3.59 Vp.p for boost conversion (60 V) and 1.35 Vp.p for buck conversion (36 V) with the reduced input/output filter. The experimental results indicate that the proposed converter is well-suited to smart-grid energy storage systems that require high efficiency, small size, and overlapping input and output voltage ranges.
This paper proposes a miniature DC-DC boost converter to drive the display panel of a notebook computer. To reduce the size of the circuit, the converter was designed to operate at a switching frequency of 1 MHz. The power conversion efficiency improved using a passive snubber circuit that consisted of one inductor, two capacitors, and two diodes; it reduced the switching losses by lowering the voltage stress of the switch and increased the voltage gain using charge pumping operations. An experimental converter was fabricated at 2.5 cm × 1 cm size using small components, and tested at input voltage 5 V ≤ VIN ≤ 17.5 V and output current 30 mA ≤ IO ≤ 150 mA. Compared to existing boost converters, the proposed converter had ~7.8% higher power conversion efficiency over the entire range of VIN and IO, only ~50% as much voltage stress of the switch and diodes, and a much lower switch temperature TSW = 49.5 °C. These results indicate that the proposed converter is a strong candidate for driving the display panel of a notebook computer.
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