New recommendations and future standards have increased the interest in power factor correction circuits. There are multiple solutions in which line current is sinusoidal. In addition, a great number of circuits have been proposed with nonsinusoidal line current. In this paper, a review of the most interesting solutions for single phase and low power applications is carried out. They are classified attending to the line current waveform, energy processing, number of switches, control loops, etc. The major advantages and disadvantages are highlighted and the field of application is found.

Single phase power factor correction: a survey

A review of high-performance, state-of-the-art, active power-factor-correction (PFC) techniques for high-power, single-phase applications is presented. The merits and limitations of several PFC techniques that are used in today's network-server and telecom power supplies to maximize their conversion efficiencies are discussed. These techniques include various zero-voltage-switching and zero-current-switching, active-snubber approaches employed to reduce reverse-recovery-related switching losses, as well as techniques for the minimization of the conduction losses. Finally, the effect of recent advancements in semiconductor technology, primarily silicon-carbide technology, on the performance and design considerations of PFC converters is discussed.

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State-of-the-art, single-phase, active power-factor-correction techniques for high-power applications - an overview

With the emerging installations of multitype renewable energy sources and energy storage elements, the dc electronic distribution systems in residential buildings (dc nanogrid) are becoming an alternative future system solution, achieving a zero net-energy consumption and optimized power management. The concept of the energy control center (ECC), which interconnects the dc system to the traditional ac utility grid, is introduced, and the operation function of ECC converter suitable for dc nanogrid application is defined. This paper investigates a two-stage topology using a full bridge in series with a bidirectional synchronous rectifier dc–dc converter as a single-phase ECC for dc nanogrid, with a significant reduction of the dc-link capacitor value. The operation analysis and the design of passive components are provided. A bidirectional control system and the design process are also presented in terms of the system requirement and the small dc-link capacitor.

Grid-Interface Bidirectional Converter for Residential DC Distribution Systems—Part One: High-Density Two-Stage Topology

A power converter nearly losslessly delivers energy and recovers energy from capacitors associated with controlled rectifiers in a secondary winding circuit, each controlled rectifier having a parallel uncontrolled rectifier. First and second primary switches in series with first and second primary windings, respectively, are turned on for a fixed duty cycle, each for approximately one half of the switching cycle. Switched transition times are short relative to the on-state and off-state times of the controlled rectifiers. The control inputs to the controlled rectifiers are cross-coupled from opposite secondary transformer windings.

High efficiency power converter

New recommendations and future standards have increased the interest in power factor correction circuits. There are multiple solutions to this problem to obtain sinusoidal line current and in addition, a great number of circuits have been proposed with nonsinusoidal line current. In this paper, a review of the most interesting solutions for single phase applications is carried out. They are classified attending to the line current waveform, energy processing, number of switches, control loops, etc. The major advantages and disadvantages are highlighted and the field of application is found.

Power factor correction: a survey

This paper presents a simple active energy recovery circuit which can be magnetically coupled to any isolated or nonisolated switching power converter to achieve zero-voltage switching (ZVS) of the power devices. Converters using this soft-switching technique exhibit low voltage and current stresses characteristic of hard-switched PWM converters, yet achieve ZVS thus enabling higher frequency operation. Based on this technique, an experimental 300 W, 250 kHz boost converter is designed for offline power factor correction. Steady-state analysis as well as simulations are also presented. >

Zero-voltage-transition converters using a simple magnetic feedback technique

A unique approach to achieving single phase, high quality input rectification along with high bandwidth output regulation is presented. The technique makes use of a DC-to-DC power converter operating as a reactive current shunt across the output or an isolated power factor correction pre-regulator. Operation of such a power system is described, and experimental results of a 400 W, 36 V prototype are presented. >

High power factor AC-to-DC converter using a reactive shunt regulator

Full-wave mode operation of zero-voltage-switched (ZVS) power converters may be losslessly implemented by splitting the resonant capacitor across both the active switch (MOSFET) and the series diode. By appropriately choosing the relative size of each capacitor, charge otherwise trapped inside the MOSFET output capacitance at turn-on may be recirculated through the second capacitor, realizing true zero-voltage-switching. Improved load regulation of ZVS converters (such as ZVS-QRCs) is thereby achieved without sacrificing efficiency at high frequencies. Analysis, simulation, and experimental verification are presented. >

J.P. Gegner

Papers

Zero-voltage-transition converters using a simple magnetic feedback technique

High power factor AC-to-DC converter using a reactive shunt regulator

Zero-voltage-switching converters with multi-resonant bipolar switch