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A novel beta-quasi-Z-source (β-qZS) converter is proposed for an isolated dc–dc converter with the buck (step-down) and boost (step-up) functions. The β-qZS isolated dc–dc converter addresses the common challenges such as components stresses, reliability, suppression of switch voltage overshoot, size, and power derating in the existing impedance source-based isolated dc–dc converter applications. In addition, the proposed topology dealt with operating duty cycle constraint and loss of duty cycle phenomenon in the Z/qZS galvanically isolated dc–dc converters. This article describes the configuration and provides the principle of operation for the proposed β-qZS converter topology. A laboratory prototype is developed, and the experimental results satisfy the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a single-phase five-level current source inverter with an inductor cell based on the switching-cell (SC) structure. Compared to the conventional inverter, the proposed structure has no open-circuit problem; thus, its reliability is greatly enhanced. The overlap-time inserted in the driving signals can also be minimized to improve the output waveform quality. The proposed inverter's operation is analyzed herein, and the design guideline of SC capacitors is discussed. In addition, the SC extension for the n-level topology is provided. A 1-kW prototype is built and tested to validate the effectiveness of the proposed structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional dual-active-bridge dc–dc converters require a dedicated voltage balancer or feedback control when they are used for a bipolar LVdc distribution system. This article proposes a dual-active-half-bridge (DAHB) converter with voltage balancing. The proposed converter is composed of a conventional DAHB converter with an additional inductor and capacitor voltage balancer (LCVB). The LCVB is added between the transformer and the output of the DAHB converter. Although the LCVB increases the switch current, it can balance the two output voltages without additional active switching device and feedback control under unbalanced load conditions. In addition, compared with the conventional DAHB converter, the LCVB can increase the zero-voltage-switching range of the DAHB converter and has no detrimental effect on the operation modes and performances. A 2.8-kW prototype was built and tested to verify the performances of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter proposes a modified double-dual-boost (DDB) high-conversion-ratio dc–dc converter. The proposed converter is derived from the existing DDB converter by a simple yet effective circuit modification and inherits all the advantages of the existing DDB converter. In addition, the input and output can share a common ground due to the circuit modification, enabling the use of low-side gate drivers for all switching devices. When compared with the existing DDB converter, the proposed converter requires only one more capacitor, and the seemingly two inductors can be integrated into a single inductor. Thus, the overall magnetic volume is the same as the conventional converter. To validate the performance of the proposed converter, a 2-kW prototype was fabricated and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents current-fed (CF) full-bridge (FB) isolated dc–dc converter using quasi-Z-source network. Owing to its inherent buck–boost and clamping function, the proposed converter can effectively eliminate start-up and switch voltage overshoot problems. In addition, when compared with the conventional CF-FB converter with active clamp, switch current stress is much reduced and less active switches are required. Operation principles of the proposed converter are analyzed in detail. The simulation and experimental results with 1-kW prototype are also provided to verify theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a novel two-channel light emitting diode (LED) current balancing method using current-fed (CF) quasi-Z-source (qZS) dc–dc converter. The proposed LED driver is simple in structure and requires minimal number of component counts. Currents flowing through the two LED strings are automatically balanced owing to charge (amp–sec) balance condition on capacitors in the CF–qZS network. Since current balancing is achieved automatically by passive components, current control of the proposed converter is very simple. In addition, the proposed circuit uses only one active switch and one diode. The operating principle and characteristics of the proposed two-channel LED driver are analyzed in detail. To verify validity of the proposed converter, 80 W prototype is built and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a novel single-phase single-stage transformerless inverter is proposed for grid-tied and standalone applications. The proposed inverter has low leakage current and can perform both buck and boost functions. Furthermore, compared to the conventional state-of-the-art buck–boost inverters, it can achieve high power density because the magnetic volume is reduced significantly. In addition, high power conversion efficiency can be realized because only one switch operates at a high frequency. Moreover, there is no need for inserting high-frequency dead-time between the switches because only one switch receives high frequency and all other switches receive line frequency signals. In order to verify the performance of the proposed topology, a laboratory prototype is designed for 500 W, and the experimental results are provided as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, an asymmetrical pulsewidth modulated (PWM) scheme is proposed to solve the inductor current unbalance and nonlinear voltage gain issues of the series-capacitor (SC) high-conversion-ratio (HCR) converter when D > 0.5. With the proposed scheme, the converter can achieve both current balancing and high step-down conversion even for D > 0.5. As a result, combined with the conventional PWM scheme, the duty cycle limitation of the SC-HCR converter is completely eliminated. A 2-kW prototype SC-HCR converter was fabricated and tested to validate the performance of the proposed PWM scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike voltage-source inverters (VSI), the power decoupling element in current-source inverters (CSI) is inductor. Inductor has a long lifetime and makes the CSI more reliable. However, the traditional CSIs suffer from open-circuit problem and dangerous voltage spikes are generated if the input inductor current is intermitted. Therefore, to avoid the voltage spikes, overlap-time should be inserted in the gate signals. But these intervals distort the output currents and reduce the current source utilization. To address these issues, a novel three-phase CSI is proposed in this article. The proposed inverter is originated from the conventional seven-switch CSI named CSI7 by adding only two small film capacitors. The film capacitors along with the pre-existing diodes of the CSI7 ensure that there is always a path for the inductor current, and thus the open-circuit issue is resolved. The elimination of open-circuit issue enhances the reliability and allows to minimize the overlap-time. This will improve the quality of output currents as well. Moreover, simulation and experimental results are provided at the output power of 950 W to verify the effectiveness of the proposed inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a single-phase bipolar buck–boost direct pulsewidth-modulated ac–ac converter is proposed, comprised of six insulated-gate bipolar transistors, a small film capacitor, and input/output LC filters. The converter can provide discrete noninverting buck (NIBu) and boost (NIBo) operations with voltage gains of D and 1/(1 – D), respectively. Moreover, it provides symmetric noninverting buck–boost (NIBB) and inverting buck–boost (IBB) operations with voltage gains of D/(1 – D) and –D/(1 – D), respectively. It supplies both continuous input/output currents, and it is well suited for reactive loads. It is immune from the commutation problem, and thus, has enhanced the reliability. The various modes of operation of the proposed converter make it suitable for diverse applications, including the following: 1) application as a direct ac voltage regulator when operating in NIBu and NIBo modes; 2) IBB operation can be utilized along with NIBu/ NIBo or NIBB operation to compensate both voltage sag and swell, when used as dynamic voltage restorer; and 3) symmetric NIBB/IBB operations can provide step-changed frequency output, similar to the single-phase matrix converters, for applications as induction motor drive or high-gain ac–dc rectifier. Extensive circuit analysis, component design guidelines, and appropriate comparisons are provided, followed by experimental results obtained using a laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a new single-phase three-level dual-buck inverter. The topology is derived from a simplified neutral-point clamped inverter that includes fewer active switches. The advantages of the proposed inverter are no shoot-through worries and no reverse recovery issue of the body diode of the power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor compared with the conventional inverter; therefore, a high-reliability inverter can be achieved. The operation modes and pulsewidth modulation technique are analyzed in detail. Additionally, a switching scheme is proposed to balance and reduce the direct-current-link capacitance. A 1.4-kW prototype was built and tested to validate the theoretical analysis of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a reactive power elimination method for high conversion-ratio bidirectional resonant converter with ripple-free current at the low voltage side. When transferring power in the backward mode operation, the converter with heavy loads suffers from significant reverse current that generates reactive power. By adjusting the right amount of phase of the pulsewidth modulation signals, we can eliminate the reverse current and the corresponding reactive power. We derive the voltage gain, calculate the right amount of phase, and identify the load threshold, above which the reverse current appears. We use a 600 W converter prototype to demonstrate the performance of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents novel single-phase single-stage buck–boost inverters. The proposed inverters provide buck–boost operation for a wide variation of the input dc voltage. In addition, the proposed inverters are bidirectional and provide reactive power. Further, they require only one inductor. The proposed inverters also eliminate the common-mode leakage current by connecting the output neutral to the midpoint of input capacitors or directly to input voltage sources. Therefore, they are well suitable for photovoltaic applications. Although six switches are required, two switches are working at line frequency, resulting in negligible switching loss. Of the four remaining switches, only two are switching at high frequency at a time. The circuit operations are demonstrated through the analysis of the proposed inverters. A 120 Vrms/60 Hz/400 W hardware prototype was constructed and tested. The experimental results verified the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new bidirectional direct pulse width modulation (PWM) three-phase buck-boost ac–ac converter. It requires six switches and three inductors and can provide wide range buck-boost voltage operation. It has high reliability due to no short-circuit and open-circuit risks in the converter. Therefore, it solves the commutation problem without using lossy snubber circuits, soft commutation strategies, and coupled inductors. It can be designed with metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) without their body diodes conducting, which eliminate reverse recovery issues and losses of body diodes. In addition, to reduce the ripples in input and output voltages and currents, the proposed converter can be operated with a PWM strategy-II. The PWM strategy-II is a type of interleaved PWM strategy with dead- and overlap-times operating modes. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed converter extensive analysis followed by detailed experimental results are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a class of single-phase Z-source (ZS) ac–ac converters is proposed with high-frequency transformer (HFT) isolation. The proposed HFT isolated (HFTI) ZS ac–ac converters possess all the features of their nonisolated counterparts, such as providing wide range of buck-boost output voltage with reversing or maintaining the phase angle, suppressing the in-rush and harmonic currents, and improved reliability. In addition, the proposed converters incorporate HFT for electrical isolation and safety, and therefore can save an external bulky line frequency transformer, for applications such as dynamic voltage restorers, etc. The proposed HFTI ZS converters are obtained from conventional (nonisolated) ZS ac–ac converters by adding only one extra bidirectional switch, and replacing two inductors with an HFT, thus saving one magnetic core. The switching signals for buck and boost modes are presented with safe-commutation strategy to remove the switch voltage spikes. A quasi-ZS-based HFTI ac–ac is used to discuss the operation principle and circuit analysis of the proposed class of HFTI ZS ac–ac converters. Various ZS-based HFTI proposed ac–ac converters are also presented thereafter. Moreover, a laboratory prototype of the proposed converter is constructed and experiments are conducted to produce output voltage of 110 Vrms / 60 Hz, which verify the operation of the proposed converters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, a modified series-capacitor (SC) high conversion ratio (HCR) dc–dc converter is proposed. The proposed converter inherits most of the advantages of the existing SC HCR dc–dc converter and can eliminate the problem of high switch-voltage stress of the existing converter encountered during start-up using a simple circuit modification. Although an extra capacitor is required in the proposed converter, total series capacitance of the proposed converter is the same as that of the conventional SC converter. In addition, input capacitance of the proposed converter can be reduced by less than half of that of the SC buck converter. A 1-kW prototype converter is built and tested to verify the performance of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) technology has become a mature power quality product. In high-power applications, DVR using a multilevel converter is commonly used. However, DVR using a multilevel direct pulse width modulation (PWM) ac–ac converter has not been well studied. This paper presents a new DVR topology using a cascaded multilevel direct PWM ac–ac converter. In the proposed scheme, the unit cell of the multilevel converter consists of a single-phase PWM ac-ac converter using switching cell structure with coupled inductors. Therefore, the multilevel converter can be short- and open-circuited without damaging the switching devices. Neither lossy RC snubber nor a dedicated soft commutation strategy is required in the proposed DVR. This improves the reliability of the DVR system. The output voltage levels of the multilevel converter increase with the number of cascaded unit cells, and a high ac output voltage is obtained by using low-voltage-rating switching devices. Furthermore, a phase-shifted PWM technique is applied to significantly reduce the size of the output filter inductor. A 1-kW prototype of single-phase DVR is developed, and its performance is experimentally verified. Finally, the simulation results are shown for a three-phase DVR system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new type of matrix converter (MC) also called a single-phase high-frequency transformer isolated (HFTI) buck MC is proposed. The proposed converter can provide step-down operation of the input voltage with various types of output voltages such as in-phase and out-of-phase output voltages, rectified (or positive) output voltage, and output voltage with step-changed frequency. By incorporating HFT isolation, the proposed MC saves an extra bulky line frequency transformer, which is required for the conventional MCs to provide electrical isolation and safety, when used in application such as dynamic voltage restorers, etc. Two different circuit variations of the proposed HFTI MC are presented with and without continuous output currents, with the latter having less passive components. The safe-commutation strategy is also employed for the proposed HFTI MC to provide current path for the inductor during dead-time, which avoids switch voltage spikes without adding any snubber circuits. The operation principle and circuit analysis of the proposed MC are presented, and switching strategies are also developed to obtain various output voltages. Moreover, a prototype of the proposed MC is fabricated, and experiments are performed to produce in-phase/out-of-phase and rectified output voltages, and output voltage with step-changed frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a new single-phase switched-coupled-inductor dc–ac inverter featuring higher voltage gain than the existing single-phase qZ-source and semi-Z-source inverters. Similar to the single-phase qZ-source and semi-Z-source inverters, the proposed inverter also has common grounds between the dc input and ac output voltages, which is beneficial especially for photovoltaic inverter systems. The inverter volume and maximum current flowing can be reduced significantly through the coupling of all inductors. A theoretical analysis of the proposed inverter is described and a 280-W experimental prototype is built to verify the performance of the inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a single-phase buck–boost matrix converter is proposed which can both buck and boost the input voltage with step-changed frequency. It consists of only six unidirectional current flowing bidirectional voltage blocking switches, two input and output filter capacitors, and one inductor. It has following advantages over the existing single-phase matrix converters: 1) it can both buck and boost input voltage solving the limited voltage transfer ratio (only boost or buck) problem; 2) it also has enhanced reliability as it is immune from shoot-through problem of voltage source when all switches are turned-on simultaneously, and, therefore, it has no need of PWM dead times and RC snubbers or dedicated soft-commutation strategies to solve the commutation problem; 3) it can also use high-speed power MOSFETs as their body diodes never conduct, which eliminate their poor reverse recovery problem. The operation principle of the proposed converter is given, and switching strategies are developed to obtain various multiples and submultiples of input frequency. To verify its performance, a laboratory prototype is fabricated and experiments are performed to produce step-down and step-up voltage with three different frequencies of 120, 60, and 30 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, the switching cell concept is extended to isolated ac–ac converters, and a highly reliable double step-down ac–ac converter is proposed with high-frequency transformer (HFT) isolation. By using the switching cell structure and coupled inductors, the proposed converter has no commutation problem as it is immune from both short-circuit and open-circuit problems, even when all the switches are turned on or turned off, simultaneously. Therefore, it does not require pulse width modulation dead times along with bulky and lossy RC snubbers or voltage-sensing circuitry to implement soft-commutation strategies, resulting in high reliability and high quality output waveforms. The HFT in the proposed converter provides electrical isolation and safety which is required in applications such as dynamic voltage restorer (DVR), solid-state transformer (SST), etc., without the need for external bulky line frequency transformer. Moreover, all the passive components experience twice the switching frequency; therefore, their size can be reduced. The proposed converter is very suitable for application as DVR, to compensate both voltage sags and swells, owing to its ability to provide both inverting and noninverting outputs. A detailed theoretical analysis and operation of the proposed ac–ac converter are provided, and its applications as DVR and SST are also discussed. Experimental results with scaled-down prototype are also provided to verify its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the high-frequency transformer isolation concept to the Z-source (ZS) ac–ac converters and introduces a new family of high-frequency transformer isolated (HFTI) ZS ac–ac converters. The proposed HFTI-ZS converters retain all the benefits of their existing nonisolated counterparts, such as providing a larger range of output voltage with buck–boost functionality, reversing or maintaining the phase angle, reducing the in-rush and harmonic currents, and improving reliability. In addition to these benefits, the high-frequency (20 kHz) transformer (HFT) in the proposed ZS ac–ac converters provides the electrical isolation and safety with high power density as it eliminates the need for bulky and heavy line frequency (50 or 60 Hz) transformer for galvanic isolation, in applications such as dynamic voltage restorers, etc. The dc-blocking capacitor added in series with the HFT results in only ac voltage applied across its windings, which avoids its saturation. Various ZS-based HFTI ac–ac converters are proposed in this paper, and to verify their operation and advantages, example of quasi-ZS (qZS)-based isolated ac–ac converter is considered in detail. The commutation strategy is also developed to achieve the safe commutation, which avoids the current and voltage spikes without using any RC snubber. A 200-W laboratory prototype of HFTI-qZS ac–ac converter is fabricated and experiments are performed to validate the advantages of the proposed ac–ac converters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Z-source inverters (ZSIs) have many advantages over the conventional voltage-fed and current-fed inverters, and extensive research works are conducing recently. However, relatively difficult physical layouts of the Z-source networks make them less attractive in the industry applications. A good hardware design is important to handle with the inherent long high-frequency loop in order to avoid generating severe voltage overshoot in the dc-rail voltage of the ZSIs. In this paper, the high-frequency loops in various ZSIs are investigated. A dc-rail voltage clamping technique for magnetically coupled impedance source converters is proposed by using an intuitive circuit modification and addition of a clamping diode. The proposed technique is verified through simulation and experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a new type of ac–ac converter which can operate as traditional noninverting buck and boost converters, and inverting buck–boost converter as well. The proposed converter uses six unidirectional current flowing and bidirectional voltage blocking switches, implemented by six reverse blocking insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) or series mosfet–diode pairs, two input and output filter capacitors, and one inductor. It has no shoot-through problem of voltage source (or capacitor) even when all switches are turned-on, and therefore, pulsewidth modulation dead-times are not needed resulting in high-quality waveforms, and solves the commutation problem without using bulky and lossy RC snubbers or dedicated soft-commutation strategies. It has smaller switching losses because only two switches out of six are switched at high frequency during each half-cycle of input voltage, and it can use power MOSFETs as body diode never conducts, making it immune from mosfet failure risk which otherwise may occur due to poor reverse recovery problem of body diode. The noninverting buck–boost mode of the proposed converter can be used in applications with both step-up and step-down demand, while the inverting buck–boost mode can also be used in its application as dynamic voltage restorer. Detailed analysis of the proposed converter is given, and experimental results are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Z-source inverters have become a research hotspot because of their single-stage buck–boost inversion ability, and better immunity to EMI noises. However, their boost gains are limited, because of higher component-voltage stresses and poor output power quality, which results from the tradeoff between the shoot-through interval and the modulation index. To overcome these drawbacks, a new high-voltage boost impedance-source inverter called a switched-coupled-inductor quasi-Z-source inverter (SCL-qZSI) is proposed, which integrates a switched-capacitor and a three-winding switched-coupled inductor (SCL) into a conventional qZSI. The proposed SCL-qZSI adds only one capacitor and two diodes to a classical qZSI, and even with a turns ratio of 1, it has a stronger voltage boost-inversion ability than existing high-voltage boost (q)ZSI topologies. Therefore, compared with other (q)ZSIs for the same input and output voltages, the proposed SCL-qZSI utilizes higher modulation index with lower component-voltage stresses, has better spectral performance, and has a lower input inductor current ripple and flux density swing or, alternately, it can reduce the number of turns or size of the input inductor. The size of the coupled inductor and the total number of turns required for three windings are comparable to those of a single inductor in (q)ZSIs. To validate its advantages, analytical, simulation, and experimental results are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a family of three-phase direct pulse-width modulated (PWM) ac–ac converters consisting of buck, boost, and buck–boost converters is proposed. The proposed converters have no commutation problem even if all of the switches are turned on or off simultaneously. They do not use lossy snubbers and do not sense the voltage polarity for commutation, and produce high-quality output voltage waveforms. The proposed converters allow the use of power MOSFETs and fast recovery freewheeling diodes independently. The use of power MOSFETs as active switches and freewheeling diodes with extremely fast recovery features lower the switching losses and enable us to reduce the volume of passive components by increasing switching frequency. The input (or output) filter inductor experiences twice of the converter switching frequency and thus can be designed with minimum size. To increase power density of the proposed converters, a three-phase three-limb coupled inductor is proposed. Three-phase coupled inductor integrates three separate coupled inductors of the proposed converters in one three-limb core. In comparison with separate coupled inductors, the three-phase coupled inductor has a smaller size with large current-handling capability. Experimental results obtained for the boost-type converter show the robustness of the proposed three-phase ac–ac converters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents novel single-phase pulse width modulation (PWM) ac-ac converters that can solve the commutation problem in single-phase direct PWM ac-ac converters without sensing the input voltage polarity. By using a basic switching cell structure and coupled inductors, the proposed ac-ac converters can be short- and open-circuited without damaging the switching devices. Neither lossy RC snubber nor dedicated soft commutation strategy is required in the proposed converter. By replacing the conventional phase-leg of the PWM ac-ac converters with the switching cell structure and the coupled inductor, three novel buck, boost, and buck-boost type PWM ac-ac converters are developed. Although two coupled inductors are required for the proposed converter, the input inductor of the proposed converter can be much smaller than that of the conventional PWM ac-ac converters. The volume of the magnetic components can be further reduced by increasing switching frequency of the converter because very fast recovery diodes can be selected externally. In order to verify performance and robustness of the proposed converter, a 200-W boost type prototype converter was built and tested with both mismatched gate signals and highly distorted input voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]