Solid-state switch-mode rectification converters have reached a matured level for improving power quality in terms of power-factor correction (PFC), reduced total harmonic distortion at input AC mains and precisely regulated DC output in buck, boost, buck-boost and multilevel modes with unidirectional and bidirectional power flow. This paper deals with a comprehensive review of improved power quality converters (IPQCs) configurations, control approaches, design features, selection of components, other related considerations, and their suitability and selection for specific applications. It is targeted to provide a wide spectrum on the status of IPQC technology to researchers, designers and application engineers working on switched-mode AC-DC converters. A classified list of more than 450 research publications on the state of art of IPQC is also given for a quick reference.

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A review of single-phase improved power quality AC-DC converters

A system and method for variable power transfer in an inductive charging or power system. In accordance with an embodiment the system comprises a pad or similar base unit that contains a primary, which creates an alternating magnetic field. A receiver comprises a means for receiving the energy from the alternating magnetic field from the pad and transferring it to a mobile device, battery, or other device. In accordance with various embodiments, additional features can be incorporated into the system to provide greater power transfer efficiency, and to allow the system to be easily modified for applications that have different power requirements. These include variations in the material used to manufacture the primary and/or the receiver coils; modified circuit designs to be used on the primary and/or receiver side; and additional circuits and components that perform specialized tasks, such as mobile device or battery identification, and automatic voltage or power-setting for different devices or batteries.

System and method for inductive charging of portable devices

DC–DC converters with voltage boost capability are widely used in a large number of power conversion applications, from fraction-of-volt to tens of thousands of volts at power levels from milliwatts to megawatts. The literature has reported on various voltage-boosting techniques, in which fundamental energy storing elements (inductors and capacitors) and/or transformers in conjunction with switch(es) and diode(s) are utilized in the circuit. These techniques include switched capacitor (charge pump), voltage multiplier, switched inductor/voltage lift, magnetic coupling, and multistage/-level, and each has its own merits and demerits depending on application, in terms of cost, complexity, power density, reliability, and efficiency. To meet the growing demand for such applications, new power converter topologies that use the above voltage-boosting techniques, as well as some active and passive components, are continuously being proposed. The permutations and combinations of the various voltage-boosting techniques with additional components in a circuit allow for numerous new topologies and configurations, which are often confusing and difficult to follow. Therefore, to present a clear picture on the general law and framework of the development of next-generation step-up dc–dc converters, this paper aims to comprehensively review and classify various step-up dc–dc converters based on their characteristics and voltage-boosting techniques. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of these voltage-boosting techniques and associated converters are discussed in detail. Finally, broad applications of dc–dc converters are presented and summarized with comparative study of different voltage-boosting techniques.

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Step-Up DC–DC Converters: A Comprehensive Review of Voltage-Boosting Techniques, Topologies, and Applications

In this paper, the principle of modularity is used to derive the different multilevel voltage and current source converter topologies. The paper is primarily focused on high-power applications and specifically on high-voltage dc systems. The derived converter cells are treated as building blocks and are contributing to the modularity of the system. By combining the different building blocks, i.e., the converter cells, a variety of voltage and current source modular multilevel converter topologies are derived and thoroughly discussed. Furthermore, by applying the modularity principle at the system level, various types of high-power converters are introduced. The modularity of the multilevel converters is studied in depth, and the challenges as well as the opportunities for high-power applications are illustrated.

Modular Multilevel Converters for HVDC Applications: Review on Converter Cells and Functionalities

This paper reviews the state of the art of field- programmable gate array (FPGA) design methodologies with a focus on industrial control system applications. This paper starts with an overview of FPGA technology development, followed by a presentation of design methodologies, development tools and relevant CAD environments, including the use of portable hardware description languages and system level programming/design tools. They enable a holistic functional approach with the major advantage of setting up a unique modeling and evaluation environment for complete industrial electronics systems. Three main design rules are then presented. These are algorithm refinement, modularity, and systematic search for the best compromise between the control performance and the architectural constraints. An overview of contributions and limits of FPGAs is also given, followed by a short survey of FPGA-based intelligent controllers for modern industrial systems. Finally, two complete and timely case studies are presented to illustrate the benefits of an FPGA implementation when using the proposed system modeling and design methodology. These consist of the direct torque control for induction motor drives and the control of a diesel-driven synchronous stand-alone generator with the help of fuzzy logic.

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FPGA Design Methodology for Industrial Control Systems—A Review

Modern transmitters usually have to amplify and transmit complex communication signals with simultaneous envelope and phase modulation. Due to this property of the transmitted signal, linear power amplifiers (class A, B or AB) are usually employed as a solution for the power amplifier stage. These amplifiers have high linearity, but suffer from low efficiency when the transmitted signal has high peak-to-average power ratio. The Kahn envelope elimination and restoration (EER) technique is used to enhance efficiency of RF transmitters, by combining highly efficient, nonlinear RF amplifier (class D or E) with a highly efficient envelope amplifier in order to obtain linear and highly efficient RF amplifier. This paper presents solutions for the power supply that acts as the envelope amplifier and class E amplifier that is used as a nonlinear amplifier. The envelope amplifier is implemented as a multilevel converter in series with a linear regulator and can provide up to 100 W of peak power and reproduce sine wave of 2 MHz, while the implemented class E amplifier operates at 120 MHz with an efficiency near to 90%. The envelope amplifier and class E amplifier have been integrated in order to implement the Kahn's technique transmitter and series of experiments have been conducted in order to characterize the implemented transmitter.

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High efficiency power amplifier for high frequency radio transmitters

Switched mode power supplies are widely used due to their advantages on efficiency, size and weight However, it is necessary to include an EMI filter that is not always considered, but affects the overall volume This paper quantifies the advantages of the interleaved converters from the point of view of EMI generation Clear benefits are obtained and a great reduction of the EMI filter is achieved

Exploring interleaved converters as an EMI reduction technique in power converters

A boost derived topology, the two inductor boost with switch near ground presents some advantages over the conventional boost topology like continuous output current and MOSFET near ground [1]. The main advantage of this new topology is that the right half-plane (RHP) zero (inherent to the boost topology) can be cancelled by means of a new energy transference principle. This work presents a dynamic study of the topology and it shows that the RHP zero cancellation is not achieved for all design cases. The aim of this work is to develop a model for this topology in order to analyze the design requirements to obtain the RHP zero cancellation. A design condition has been derived from the dynamic analysis for achieving minimum phase characteristics on the new boost topology. The model and conclusions have been validated by means of an actual prototype. Considerations about the influence of the theoretical condition on the design and the field of application of this topology are shown in this paper.

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Analysis and design considerations for the right half -plane zero cancellation on a boost derived dc/dc converter

Power amplifier supplied with constant supply voltage has very low efficiency in the transmitter. A DC-DC converter in series with a linear regulator can be used to obtain voltage modulation. Since this converter should be able to change the output voltage very fast, a multiphase buck converter with a minimum time control strategy is proposed. To modulate supply voltage of the envelope amplifier, the multiphase converter works with some particular duty cycle (i/n, i=1, 2 … n, n is the number of phase) to generate discrete output voltages, and in these duty cycles the output current ripple can be completely cancelled. The transition times for the minimum time are pre-calculated and inserted in a look-up table. The theoretical background, the system model that is necessary in order to calculate the transition times and the experimental results obtained with a 4-phase buck prototype are given.

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Multiphase buck converter with minimum time control strategy for RF envelope modulation

The use of magnetic components containing winding as in different core legs is a common practice in order to integrate a transformer and an inductor in the same magnetic core (integrated magnetics). The use of a model for these components is a helpful tool to aid the designer in order to select the adequate winding strategy. This work presents a full procedure to generate a 2D finite element analysis (FEA) based model for integrated magnetics. Since the model is based on the application of FEA tools, the model is frequency dependent and takes into consideration the materials and winding disposition of the magnetic component.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/9082/28819/01295937.pdf

J.A. Cobos

Papers

High efficiency power amplifier for high frequency radio transmitters

Exploring interleaved converters as an EMI reduction technique in power converters

Analysis and design considerations for the right half -plane zero cancellation on a boost derived dc/dc converter

Multiphase buck converter with minimum time control strategy for RF envelope modulation

A full procedure to model integrated magnetics based on FEA