Fast‐scale instability in a PFC boost converter under average current‐mode control

This paper investigates the fast‐scale instability in a power‐factor‐correction (PFC) boost converter under a conventional average current‐mode control. The converter is operated in continuous mode. Computer simulations and theoretical analysis are performed to study the effects of the time‐varying input voltage under the variation of some chosen parameters on the qualitative behaviour of the system. It is found that fast‐scale instability may occur during a line cycle, which can cause distortion to the line current and degrade the practical power factor. The results provide useful information for the design of PFC boost converters to avoid distortion due to fast‐scale bifurcation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fast‐scale bifurcation in single‐stage PFC power supplies operating with DCM boost stage and CCM forward stage

This paper describes the fast‐scale bifurcation phenomena of a single‐stage single‐switch power‐factor‐correction (PFC) regulator comprising a boost stage operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) and a forward stage operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM). The two stages combine into a single stage by sharing one main switch and one control loop. Using ‘exact’ cycle‐by‐cycle computer simulations, the effects of various circuit parameters on fast‐scale instabilities are studied. The results are qualitatively verified by experimental measurements. This work provides a clear picture of how the variation of certain practical parameters can render such a circuit fast‐scale unstable. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new single‐phase high‐power‐factor converter with buck and buck–boost hybrid operation

In recent years, a wide variety of high‐power‐factor converter schemes have been proposed to solve the harmonic problem. The schemes are based on conventional boost, buck, or buck–boost topology, and their performance, such as output voltage control range in the boost and buck topology or efficiency in the buck–boost topology, is limited. To solve this, the authors propose a single‐phase high‐power‐factor converter with a new topology obtained from a combination of buck and buck–boost topology. The power stage performs the buck and buck–boost operations by a compact single‐stage converter circuit while the simple controller/modulator appropriately controls the alternation of the buck and buck–boost operation and maintains a high‐quality input current during both the buck and buck–boost operations. The proposed scheme results in a high‐performance rectifier with no limitation of output voltage control range and a high efficiency. In this paper, the principle and operation of the proposed converter scheme are described in detail and the theory is confirmed through experimental results obtained from 2‐kW prototype converter. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 131(3): 91–100, 2000     

Analysis and experimental verification of the linear correlation of the operation condition among the bifurcation points of current‐mode‐controlled buck–boost converter

The operation parameter of the buck–boost converter is examined for its boundary of the first flip bifurcation. It is found that the parameters exhibit a linear relation for the same parameter at another bifurcation point. The bifurcation parameters also have a linear correlation between them. Theoretical analysis is presented to explain how this can occur. Simulation and experimental results at 20 kHz are used to present these novel results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel active‐clamp zero‐voltage‐switching buck‐boost converter

An active‐clamp zero‐voltage‐switching (ZVS) buck‐boost converter is proposed in this paper to improve the performance of converter in light load condition. By employing a small resonant inductor, the ZVS range of switches could be adjusted to very light load condition. Moreover, 2 clamping capacitors are added in the converter to eliminate the voltage spike on the switches during transition. The operating principle of the proposed converter is analyzed, and the optimal design guide for full range ZVS is also provided. A 60‐W output prototype is experimentally built and tested in laboratory to verify the feasibility of proposed converter. The measured results show the critical ZVS operation of power switches at 1 and 0.7‐W output power for buck and boost mode, respectively. The peak conversion efficiency is up to 92.3%.     

Improved control‐to‐output characteristics of a PWM buck‐boost converter

An indirect control variable for improving the control‐to‐output characteristics of a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) buck‐boost converter is introduced in this letter. The voltage gain and the small‐signal model of the buck‐boost converter are reviewed. The actual voltage command at one input of the PWM comparator is from the proposed indirect control variable and the peak value of the high‐frequency PWM carrier. The resulted voltage gain function appears proportional to this indirect control command. Also the dependence of the DC gain of the control‐to‐output transfer function on the duty cycle is eliminated. Experimental results conform well to the theoretical analysis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Output current ripple reduction of LED driver using ceramic‐capacitor‐input circuit and buck‐boost converter

This article proposes an LED driver that consists of a ceramic‐capacitor‐input rectifier and a buck‐boost converter. The LED driver has an advantage of long life because it does not contain any electrolytic capacitors. However, the issue with electrolytic capacitor‐less LED driver is that the ripple of the smoothed voltage becomes large due to insufficient capacitance of the smoothing capacitor. The proposed method, which uses the discontinuous current mode of a buck‐boost converter, reduces the output current ripple under such conditions. Experimental results using a 5.7 W LED driver prototype demonstrate that the proposed method reduces the output current ripple and that the percent flicker becomes 4.4%, which is smaller than the recommended upper limit of 8%.     

Influence of period‐doubling bifurcations in the appearance of border collisions for a ZAD‐strategy‐controlled buck converter

The first period‐doubling bifurcation of a dc–dc buck converter controlled by a zero‐average dynamic strategy is studied in detail. Owing to the saturation of the duty cycle, this bifurcation is followed by a border‐collision bifurcation, which is the main mechanism to introduce instability and chaos in the circuit. The multiparameter analysis presented here leads to a complete knowledge of the relatioship between these two bifurcations. The results are obtained by using a frequency‐domain approach for the study of period‐two oscillations in maps. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bifurcation behaviour in parallel‐connected boost converters

This paper describes the bifurcation phenomena of a system of parallel‐connected d.c./d.c. boost converters. The results provide important information for the design of stable current sharing in a master–slave configuration. Computer simulations and experiments are performed to capture the effects of variation of some chosen parameters on the qualitative behaviour of the system. In particular, it is found that variation of some parameters leads to Neimark–Sacker bifurcation. Analysis is presented to establish the possibility of the bifurcation phenomena. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A single‐phase buck‐boost PFC converter with output‐voltage,ripple‐reducing operation

This paper describes a new single‐phase buck‐boost power‐factor‐correction (PFC) converter with output‐voltage, ripple reducing operation. The converter consists of a conventional buck‐boost PFC converter and an additional switch to obtain a freewheeling mode of the dc inductor current, and is operated by two modulators. The first modulator controls the buck‐boost switch to obtain PFC. The other modulator controls the square value of the instantaneous dc inductor current to perform the output‐voltage‐ripple‐reducing operation. In the two modulations, the time integral value of the input and output currents in each modulation period are controlled directly and indirectly, respectively. Thus, modulation errors or undesirable distortions of the input current and output voltage ripple are eliminated even if the dc inductor current produces large ripple in a low‐frequency range. The theories and combination techniques for the two modulators, implementation, and experimental results are described. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 126(2): 56–70, 1999     

Relationship of fast‐scale and slow‐scale instabilities in switching circuit with multiple inputs

Power converter circuits, such as current‐controlled or voltage‐controlled converters and inverters often have multiple inputs in the controller. The multiple inputs cause high‐frequency and low‐frequency oscillations. In earlier studies, the characteristics of circuits in fast‐scale and slow‐scale dynamics have been investigated. However, in many cases, circuits with multiple inputs have three or more dimensional topology which makes detailed analysis difficult. In this paper, we analyze a simple interrupted electric circuit in order to understand essential characteristics of fast‐scale and slow‐scale dynamics. The advantage of this simple interrupted circuit is that it is possible to derive a 1‐dimensional map, which facilitates rigorous studies. Based on the structure of the return map and the characteristic multiplier, we explain the characteristics of the system. We report the occurrence of pitchfork, period doubling, and border collision bifurcations in slow scale, and period doubling bifurcation in fast scale. We found that local bifurcation, which appears in fast‐scale dynamics, does not significantly affect the global behavior of the system while instabilities in the slow‐scale dynamics strongly affect the system behavior. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A power efficient buck‐boost converter by reusing the coil inductor for wireless bio‐implants

In this paper, a buck‐boost converter circuit for wireless power transfer via inductive links in bio‐implantable systems is presented. The idea is based on reusing the power receiver coil to design a regulator. This method employs five switches to utilize the coil inductor in a frequency other than the power‐receiving signal frequency. Reusing the coil inductor decreases the on‐chip regulator area and makes it suitable for bio‐implants. Furthermore, in the proposed technique, the regulator efficiency becomes almost independent of the coil receiving voltage amplitude. The proposed concept is employed in a buck‐boost regulator, and simulation results are provided. For a 10 MHz received signal with the amplitude variation within 3 ~ 6 V and with the converter switching rate of 200 kHz, the achieved maximum efficiency is 78%. The proposed regulator can also deliver 10 μA to 4 mA to its load while its output voltage varies from 0.6 to 2.3 V. Simulations of the proposed converter are performed in Cadence‐Spectre using TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental evaluation of active power factor correction techniques in a single-phase AC-DC boost converter

The increasing need to improve power quality with the reduction of the harmonic content of current and voltage waveforms has been intensively analyzed in several studies, thus motivating the proposal of many high power factor rectifiers based on the classic converters such as boost and buck-boost. Moreover, distinct control techniques have also been proposed due to the commercial availability of integrated circuits (ICs) dedicated to impose sinusoidal input currents in switch-mode power supplies (SMPSs). The boost converter operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM) is by far the most traditional choice for this purpose due to circuit simplicity and low electromagnetic interference (EMI) levels. Within this context, this work analyzes some of the most important control techniques used in power factor correction (PFC). The performance of a single-phase boost converter using peak current mode control (PCMC), average current mode control (ACMC), and one cycle control (OCC) is evaluated experimentally in detail. A comprehensive analysis of key aspects such as the input current waveform and respective harmonic content, dc output voltage, and dynamic response of the converter is also presented.     

单级功率因数校正变换器中的低频不稳定现象研究

研究了由Boost 变换器和Forward变换器级联构成的单级功率因数校正(power factor correction,PFC)变换器中的低频不稳定现象。通过数值仿真观察了系统随着输出功率增大时出现的低频振荡现象及其对输入电流总谐波畸变的影响。根据Forward变换器电感电流导电模式的临界条件得到了相应的稳定性边界,并对低频不稳定现象的边界碰撞分岔本质进行分析和讨论。通过实验研究,验证仿真结果。该文的研究有助于更好地理解单级PFC变换中的动力学行为,对该系统参数设计也具有一定的参考价值。     

A single‐stage high power‐factor bridgeless AC‐LED driver for lighting applications

An alternating‐current light‐emitting diode (AC‐LED) driver is implemented between the grid and lamp to eliminate the disadvantages of a directly grid‐tied AC‐LED lamp. In order to highlight the benefits of AC‐LED technology, a single‐stage converter with few components is adopted. A high power‐factor single‐stage bridgeless AC/AC converter is proposed with higher efficiency, greater power factor, less harmonics to pass IEC 61000‐3‐2 class C, and better regulation of output current. The brightness and flicker frequency issues caused by a low‐frequency sinusoidal input are surpassed by the implementation of a high‐frequency square‐wave output current. In addition, the characteristics of the proposed circuit are discussed and analyzed in order to design the AC‐LED driver. Finally, some simulation and experimental results are shown to verify this proposed scheme. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐power‐factor single‐switch AC to DC converter for LED lighting

In this paper, we report a novel single‐switch AC to DC step‐down converter suitable for light emitting diodes. The proposed topology has a buck and a buck–boost converter. The circuit is designed to operate in the discontinuous conduction mode in order to improve the power factor. In this topology, a part of the input power is connected to the load directly. This feature of the proposed topology increases the efficiency of power conversion, improves the input power factor, produces less voltage stress on intermediate stages, and reduces the output voltage in the absence of a step‐down transformer. The theoretical analysis, design procedure, and performance of the proposed converter are verified by simulation and experiment. A 36 V, 60 W prototype has been built to demonstrate the merits of this circuit. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Fast‐scale stability limits of a two‐stage boost power converter

There are many applications in power electronics that demand high step‐up conversion ratio between the source and the load. A simple way of achieving such a high voltage ratio is by cascading DC–DC boost converters in a few stages. The individual converters in such a cascaded system are usually designed separately applying classical design criteria. This paper investigates the stability of the overall system of a cascade connection of two boost converters under current mode control. We first demonstrate the bifurcation behavior of the system, and it is shown that the desired periodic orbit can undergo fast‐scale period doubling bifurcation leading to subharmonic oscillations and chaotic regimes under parameter variation. The value of the intermediate capacitor is taken as a design parameter, and we determine the minimum ramp slope in the first stage required to maintain stability. It is shown that smaller capacitance values give rise to wider stability range. We explain the bifurcation phenomena using a full‐order model. Then, in order to simplify the analysis and to obtain a closed‐form expression to explain the previous observation, we develop a reduced‐order model by treating the second stage as a current sink. This allows us to obtain design‐oriented stability boundaries in the parameter space by taking into account slope interactions between the state variables in the two stages. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examination of the frequency modulation and lifting techniques for the generalized power factor correction switched‐capacitor resonant converter

A generalized method for switched‐capacitor resonant converter for use in power factor correction is proposed. Using the techniques, the voltage conversion can be generated into step‐up, step‐down and inverting. The requirement of the inductance in the circuit is minimal. The quality of the power factor improvement is substantial. The method used in the converter includes the frequency modulation and lifting techniques. The power factor improvement is significant and the circuit concept is simple. Mathematical analysis and experimental confirmation have been presented to demonstrate the novel idea. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementation and design of high‐power fast charger for lithium‐ion battery pack

The high‐power fast charger (HPFC) incorporating a power stage with a controlling loop is presented in this paper. A power stage is composed of an inter‐leaved boost power factor correction and a DC‐DC full‐bridge phase‐shifted (FBPS) converter, and that the HPFC can supply a constant‐voltage (CV) or a constant‐current (CC) power to charge a secondary lithium‐ion battery pack. In addition, the ripple current can be reduced due to the DC‐DC FBPS converter combines with the current‐doubler rectifier at HPFC's output side. Also, the controlling loop is equipped with a voltage compensator and a current compensator, and this design is for the sake of HPFC, which can either operate in CV or CC output mode. Moreover, the shut‐down situation will be prevented by proposed bi‐phase charging controller, when the charging current is adjusted from the fist CC level to the second CC level. Analysis and design considerations of the proposed circuits are presented in details. Experimental results agree well with the theoretical predictions and confirm the validity of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal switching Lyapunov‐based control of power electronic converters

This paper presents new ideas and insights towards a novel optimal control approach for power electronic converters. The so‐called stabilizing or Lyapunov‐based control paradigm is adopted, which is well known in the area of energy‐based control of power electronic converters, in which the control law takes a nonlinear state‐feedback form parameterized by a positive scalar λ . The first contribution is the extension to an optimal Lyapunov‐based control paradigm involving the specification of the optimal value for the parameter λ in a typical optimal control setting. The second contribution is the extension to more flexible optimal switching‐gain control laws, where the optimal switching surfaces are parameterized by a number of positive scalars λ _j . Systematic derivation of gradient information to apply gradient‐descent algorithms is provided. The proposed techniques are numerically evaluated using the exact switched model of a DC–DC boost converter. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.