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Resonant switched-capacitor converters (SCCs) are being increasingly used in energy conversion systems due to their low cost, low weight, and high efficiency. The zero-current switching (ZCS) feature of an SCC, which can be achieved at a switching frequency below the resonant frequency, not only results in soft switching and, hence, low switching losses, but also reduces the electromagnetic interference caused by the converter. This paper proposes a cascaded step-down SCC (CSD-SCC) with an arbitrary number of converter stages and an exponential output-to-input voltage ratio. This SCC reduces the number of required converter stages for a low voltage conversion ratio and has a low ripple in the output voltage. A mathematical study is proposed to analyze the operating modes of this generalized CSD-SCC under ZCS operation. This study also enables the calculation of the output voltage, the output voltage ripple, and the efficiency for different switching frequencies and loads. The proposed analysis is validated via several simulation and experimental case studies, including a photovoltaic energy conversion system. The experimental CSD-SCC has two converter stages with an efficiency higher than  $\text{95}\%$. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive windings must be used for strong magnetic field applications, which results in low magnetic field uniformity. In this paper, a simple circular Helmholtz coil system is analyzed to identify the main causes of the problems, which arise for high intensity uniform magnetic field applications. Here, dominant deformations of the circular solenoid winding cross-section shape and its dimensions effects on the generated magnetic field and its uniformity are analyzed. These analyses can be applied to the modified Helmholtz coil and multi-axial systems, as well. The system dimensions are optimized and normalized to easily scale the given results for any desired uniform magnetic field and workspace without doing further laborious calculations. The optimized dimensions increase the magnetic field uniformity in a large portion of the available workspace and realize the desired magnetic field at the center of the system. Also, the necessary conductor mass and the total electrical power are reduced. To verify the given analyses, two small-scale Helmholtz coil systems have been implemented and their generated magnetic fields and nonuniformities have been measured under a variety of conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Resonant switched-capacitor converters have widely been used recently to increase conversion power density. The most significant drawback of these converters is voltage regulation problem when their input voltages vary in wide ranges. Here, a basic double voltage-ratio resonant switched-capacitor converter (SCC) is analyzed and simulated below its resonant frequency under the different operation modes to overcome this problem. The converter different parameters are calculated under both continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) conditions. The advantages and drawbacks of these operation modes are compared and the closed-loop control of the converter is also investigated based on the extended describing function approach. The given analyses demonstrate that the output voltage can be well-regulated under the CCM1 and DCM2 operation modes even when wide input voltage and load variations are applied. Besides, the DCM1 operation mode must be avoided when output voltage regulation is important. Based on the given analytical and experimental results, switching frequency varies in a reasonable range to regulate the output voltage. Also, faster transient responses, smaller output capacitor, and smaller resonant tank components can be used below the resonant frequency, as compared to the above resonant frequency, but lower efficiency value is achieved. The given approach has been extended to the other resonant SCCs as well. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a novel single-stage three-port inverter that connects photovoltaic (PV) panel to a single-phase power grid is introduced. In a single-phase grid-connected PV panel, the input power is constant during the line-frequency period, while the output power oscillates at double-line frequency. A series active power decoupling circuit utilizing thin-film capacitors is incorporated to a conventional flyback inverter to handle input and output power differences. Therefore, popularly low-reliable electrolytic capacitors are replaced with small long-lifetime thin film. The proposed inverter can extract the maximum power from PV, deliver a low total harmonic distortion sinusoidal current to the output, and decouple the input and output powers. The proposed power decoupling circuit shares the inverter main switch. Thus, these functions are achieved using just three switches and a simple control scheme which is applicable for both charging and discharging states. Operation principle and control strategy are discussed in detail. Experimental results based on a 100-W prototype inverter verify feasibility and functionality of the proposed inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]