A system and method for combining power from DC power sources. Each power source is coupled to a converter. Each converter converts input power to output power by monitoring and maintaining the input power at a maximum power point. Substantially all input power is converted to the output power, and the controlling is performed by allowing output voltage of the converter to vary. The converters are coupled in series. An inverter is connected in parallel with the series connection of the converters and inverts a DC input to the inverter from the converters into an AC output. The inverter maintains the voltage at the inverter input at a desirable voltage by varying the amount of the series current drawn from the converters. The series current and the output power of the converters, determine the output voltage at each converter.

Distributed Power Harvesting Systems Using DC Power Sources

Method for distributed power harvesting using DC power sources

A basic cell with winding-cross-coupled inductors (WCCIs) and interleaved structure is proposed in this paper. A family of DC-DC converters is deduced from the proposed basic cell, which is suitable for high step-up or step-down conversions. The passive-lossless clamp scheme is derived from the active clamp scheme to recycle the leakage energy and to suppress the voltage spikes caused by the leakage inductance. The advantages of the derived interleaved boost converter with WCCIs and passive-lossless clamp circuits are analyzed as an example. The voltage gain is extended and the switch voltage stress is reduced to minimize the conduction losses. The rectifier reverse-recovery problem is alleviated by the leakage inductance. Furthermore, a series of DC-DC converters with WCCIs and passive-lossless clamp circuits are summarized for high efficiency, high power and high step-up or step-down applications. A clear picture is made in this paper on the general law and structure of the WCCIs for DC-DC conversion in high step-up or step-down applications. At last, the simulated and experimental results of a 1 kW 40 V-to-380 V prototype with WCCIs and passive-lossless clamp circuits verify the significant improvements in performance.

A Family of Interleaved DC–DC Converters DeducedFrom a Basic Cell With Winding-Cross-CoupledInductors (WCCIs) for High Step-Upor Step-Down Conversions

This paper presents an analytical and experimental comparison of a two-phase buck converter and a two-phase, series capacitor buck converter. The limitations of a conventional buck converter in high-current (10 A or more), and high-frequency (HF, 3–30 MHz) point-of-load voltage regulators with large voltage conversion ratios (10-to-1) are highlighted. The series capacitor buck converter exhibits desirable characteristics at HF, including lower switching loss, less inductor current ripple, automatic phase current balancing, duty ratio extension, and soft charging of the energy transfer capacitor. Analysis of the topologies indicates that switching loss and inductor core loss can dominate at HF. Results from side-by-side 12 V input, 1.2 V output hardware prototypes demonstrate that the series capacitor buck converter has up to 12 percentage points higher efficiency at 3 MHz and reduces power loss by up to 33% at full load (10 A). Some guidelines for inductor selection are provided, and a switch stress comparison reveals that the maximum converter switch stress is reduced by 30%.

Comparison of a Buck Converter and a Series Capacitor Buck Converter for High-Frequency, High-Conversion-Ratio Voltage Regulators

This paper proposes a new interleaved buck converter (IBC) having low switching losses and improved step-down conversion ratio, which is suitable for the applications where the input voltage is high and the operating duty is below 50%. It is similar to the conventional IBC, but two active switches are connected in series and a coupling capacitor is employed in the power path, such as Cuk, Sepic, and Zeta converters. The proposed IBC shows that since the voltage stress across all the active switches is half of the input voltage before turn-on or after turn-off when the operating duty is below 50%, the capacitive discharging and switching losses can be reduced considerably. This allows the proposed IBC to have higher efficiency and operate with higher switching frequency. In addition, the proposed IBC has a higher step-down conversion ratio and a smaller output current ripple compared with a conventional IBC. The features, operation principles, and relevant analysis results of the proposed IBC are presented in this paper. The validity of this study is confirmed by the experimental results of prototype converters with 150-200 V input, 24 V/10 A output.

Interleaved Buck Converter Having Low Switching Losses and Improved Step-Down Conversion Ratio

The narrow duty cycle in the buck converter limits its application for high-step-down dc-dc conversion. With a simple structure, the tapped-inductor buck converter shows promise for extending the duty cycle. However, the leakage inductance causes a huge turn-off voltage spike across the top switch. Also, the gate drive for the top switch is not simple due to its floating source connection. This paper solves all these problems by modifying the tapped-inductor structure. A simple lossless clamp circuit can effectively clamp the switch turn-off voltage spike and totally recover the leakage energy. Experimental results for 12V-to-1.5V and 48V-to-6V dc-dc conversions show significant improvements in efficiency.

Tapped-inductor buck converter for high-step-down DC-DC conversion

To investigate the relationship between the control-loop bandwidth and the switching frequency, this paper introduces a multi-frequency small-signal model for multiphase interleaving buck converters. Including the influences from the frequency components generated by the pulse-width modulation schemes, this model is applicable beyond half the switching frequency, which is where the average model loses its validity. For voltage-mode control, both cases of trailing-edge modulation and of double-edge modulation are analyzed. Control-loop bandwidth limitations are clearly illustrated. In addition, peak current-mode control is discussed. Simulation and experimental results prove the analysis.

Mao Ye

Papers

Tapped-inductor buck converter for high-step-down DC-DC conversion

Control-loop bandwidth limitations for multiphase interleaving buck converters