Series resonant ZCS‐PFM DC‐DC power converter with high‐frequency high‐voltage transformer link for high‐power magnetron drive

This paper presents a single lossless inductive snubber‐assisted ZCS‐PFM series resonant DC‐DC power converter with a high‐frequency high‐voltage transformer link for industrial‐use high‐power magnetron drive. The current flowing through the active power switches rises gradually at a turned‐on transient state with the aid of a single lossless snubber inductor, and ZCS turn‐on commutation based on overlapping current can be achieved via the wide range pulse frequency modulation control scheme. The high‐frequency high‐voltage transformer primary side resonant current always becomes continuous operation mode, by electromagnetic loose coupling design of the high‐frequency high‐voltage transformer and the magnetizing inductance of the high‐frequency high‐voltage transformer. As a result, this high‐voltage power converter circuit for the magnetron can achieve a complete zero current soft switching under the condition of broad width gate voltage signals. Furthermore, this high‐voltage DC‐DC power converter circuit can regulate the output power from zero to full over audible frequency range via the two resonant frequency circuit design. Its operating performances are evaluated and discussed on the basis of the power loss analysis simulation and the experimental results from a practical point of view. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 153(3): 79–87, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20126     

A power decoupling control method for an isolated single‐phase AC‐to‐DC converter based on a high‐frequency cycloconverter

This paper proposes a new power decoupling method for a high‐frequency cycloconverter which converts the single‐phase line‐frequency ac input to the high‐frequency ac output directly. The cycloconverter consists of two half‐bridge inverters, two input filter capacitors, and a series‐resonant circuit. The proposed power decoupling method stores the input power ripple at double the line frequency in the filter capacitors. Therefore, the proposed method achieves a unity power factor in ac input and a constant current amplitude in the high‐frequency output without any additional switching device or energy storage element. This paper theoretically discusses the principle and operating performance of the proposed power decoupling method, and the viability is confirmed by using an experimental isolated ac‐to‐dc converter based on the high‐frequency cycloconverter. As a result, the proposed power decoupling method effectively improved the displacement power factor in the line current to more than 0.99 and reduced the output voltage ripple to 4% without any electrolytic capacitor.     

A gain/efficiency‐enhanced bidirectional switched‐capacitor DC‐DC converter

A closed‐loop gain/efficiency‐enhanced bidirectional switched‐capacitor converter (BSCC) is proposed by combining an adaptive‐conversion‐ratio (ACR) phase generator and pulse‐width‐modulation (PWM) controller for bidirectional step‐up/down DC‐DC conversion and regulation. For realizing gain‐enhanced, the power part consists of one m_c‐stage cell and one n_c‐stage cell in cascade between low‐voltage (LV) and high‐voltage (HV) sides to boost HV voltage into m_c × n_c times voltage of LV source at most, or convert LV voltage into 1/(m_c × n_c) times voltage of HV source at most. For realizing efficiency‐enhanced, the ACR idea with adapting stage number m, n is built in the phase generator to obtain a suitable step‐up/down gain: m × n or 1/(m × n) (m = 1, 2, …, m_c, n = 1, 2, …, n_c). Further, the output regulation and robustness to source/loading variation can be enhanced by PWM on the LV/HV sides. Some theoretical analysis and control design are included as: modeling, steady‐state analysis, conversion ratio, efficiency, capacitance selection, and control design. Finally, the performance of this scheme is verified experimentally on a BSCC prototype, and all results are illustrated to show the efficacy of this scheme. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fault current limiting system for 500‐kV power systems

Recently, expansion in the scale of power systems and development of localized power sources are leading to an increase in fault current of 500‐kV systems. In the future, it is quite likely that the fault current at the interconnection of such power systems may exceed the rated short‐time current of existing electric power facilities. As one of the solutions of this problem, a thyristor‐controlled series‐resonant‐type fault current limiter (FCL) is proposed to restrain the fault current. This paper deals with the FCL system configuration, the placement method of the FCL in power systems, the outline of the FCL's specification, and the operation method of the protective relay in the multimachine system. Finally, the effectiveness of the FCL is evaluated from the viewpoints of limiting the fault current by simulation analysis. The FCL is shown to be a useful protection device for large, high‐capacity power systems. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 127(1): 11–22, 1999     

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.     

A high step‐up half‐bridge DC/DC converter with a special coupled inductor for input current ripple cancelation and extended voltage doubler circuit for power conditioning of fuel cell systems

This paper presents a high step‐up soft switched dc–dc converter having the feature of current ripple cancelation in the input stage that is specialized for power conditioning of fuel cell systems. The converter comprises a special half‐bridge converter and a rectifier stage based upon the voltage‐doubler circuit, in which the coupled‐inductor technology is amalgamated with switched‐capacitor circuit. The input current with no ripple is the principal characteristics of this topology that is achieved by utilizing a small coupled inductor. In addition, the low clamped voltage stress across both power switches and output diodes is another advantage of the proposed converter, which allows employing the metal–oxide–semiconductor field‐effect transistors with minuscule on‐state resistance and diodes with lower forward voltage‐drop, and thereby, the semiconductors' conduction losses diminish considerably. The inherent nature of this topology handles the switching scheme based on the asymmetrical pulse width modulation in order for switches to establish the zero voltage switching, leading to lower switching losses. Besides, because of the absence of the reverse‐recovery phenomenon, all diodes turn off with zero current switching. At last, a 250‐W laboratory prototype with the input voltage 24 V and output voltage 380 V is implemented to verify the especial features of the proposed converter. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A model‐based dead‐band compensation for the dual‐active‐bridge isolated bidirectional DC–DC converter

The dual active bridge (DAB)‐based isolated bidirectional converter has been used to realize bidirectional energy flow while offering needed isolation between the primary and secondary side: for example, the battery side and grid side of one plug‐in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Even though the operation of a DAB‐based DC–DC converter is straightforward, various transient processes exist, such as the dead‐band effect, which deeply affects the dynamic performance of the converter in real world applications. Compensation of this effect is not easy because of the strong nonlinearity of the entire system. This paper quantitatively analyzed the dead‐band effect at different output powers, and presented a model‐based controller to realize the nonlinear dead‐band compensation strategy, which can effectively mitigate demerits of the traditional PI‐based control strategy. The proposed control algorithm is validated through theoretical simulation and experimental results. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A proposal of a 3.3‐kV/6.6‐kV transformerless hybrid filter,and experimental verification based on a 200‐V laboratory system

This paper proposes a transformerless shunt hybrid filter for harmonic compensation of a three‐phase six‐pulse diode rectifier, where the AC line‐to‐line voltage is 3.3 or 6.6 kV. The hybrid filter consists of a single tuned LC filter per phase and an active filter with a DC capacitor voltage as low as 300 or 600 V. The two filters are directly connected in series with each other without a transformer. The passive filter absorbs harmonic currents produced by the rectifier, whereas the active filter improves the filtering characteristics of the passive filter. The required rating of the active filter is much smaller than that of a conventional shunt active filter used alone. Another advantage is that no additional switching‐ripple filter is required for the active filter because the LC filter acts not only as a tuned LC filter around the seventh‐harmonic frequency but also as a switching‐ripple filter around 10 kHz. A feedforward control scheme is also proposed to improve the active filter performance. Experimental results obtained from a 200‐V, 5‐kW laboratory system and simulation results of a 3.3‐kV, 300‐kW system confirm the validity and effectiveness of the system. The hybrid filter gives satisfactory compensation performance, thus allowing us to put it into practical use. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(2): 54–65, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10236     

A 6.6‐kV transformerless cascade PWM STATCOM. Experimental verification by a three‐phase 200‐V, 10‐kVa laboratory system

This paper deals with a 6.6‐kV transformerless STATCOM cascading multiple single‐phase H‐bridge PWM converters in each phase. The AC voltage of the STATCOM is almost sinusoidal, so that it requires no harmonic filter. Each converter is equipped with a capacitor and a voltage sensor on the DC side, which are electrically isolated from each other. The STATCOM has the capability of self‐starting and voltage‐balancing without any external power supply or equipment. Experiments using a three‐phase 200‐V, 10‐kVA laboratory system, along with computer simulations, are carried out to confirm the viability and effectiveness of the STATCOM. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 170(1): 55–64, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley. com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20822     

A control method for the matrix converter based on virtual AC/DC/AC conversion using carrier comparison method

This paper proposes a novel control method based on the virtual AC/DC/AC conversion for the matrix converter. The virtual AC/DC/AC conversion method is a very simple strategy to control the input current and the output voltage for the matrix converter. There are two new topics proposed in this paper. First, this paper proposes the minimum switching loss modulation on the virtual rectifier. In our proposed modulation, only two arms switching in the virtual rectifier using DC link current control by the virtual inverter can obtain clean sinusoidal input current. Second, a novel lean controlled carrier modulation on the virtual inverter is proposed. The leans of the triangle carrier are controlled by the duty ratio of the rectifier side pulse. The lean controlled carrier reduces harmonic distortion of the input current by avoiding interference between the rectifier control and the inverter control. These new proposals are confirmed by simulation and experimental results. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 152(3): 65–73, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20144     

Analysis and implementation of a high step‐up converter for fuel cell power‐generation systems

This paper presents a high step‐up converter, which utilizes a three‐winding coupled inductor and a rectified voltage‐doubler circuit to obtain high step‐up gain for fuel cells. The proposed converter functions as an active‐clamp circuit, which relieves large voltage spikes across the power switches. Thus, power switches with low‐voltage‐rated can be utilized to reduce conduction losses and circuit cost. Energy stored in leakage inductances of the coupled inductor is recycled to the output terminal, resulting in efficiency improvements. In addition, the coupled inductor in the presented converter can also have extra windings in order to achieve higher voltage gain. Finally, a prototype circuit with an input voltage of 60 V and an output voltage of 380 V is developed for a 1000 W‐rated fuel cell power‐generation system to validate its performance, and experimental waveforms and measured efficiency under different input voltages and output power level are demonstrated. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel multi‐output high‐voltage‐isolated power supply system for semiconductor device series‐connected switches

This paper presents a novel scheme of a multi‐output power supply for solid‐state switches based on series‐connected semiconductor devices. By using the loosely transforming method, the system can realize high‐voltage isolation and a compact size, and its application range can be easily expanded to modular designed switch stacks for higher power ratings. The circuit structure and working principles are described. Based on the system operating equations, the design methodology is proposed and applied for parameter specification of a power supply system of two series‐connected switch stacks containing 20 outputs. Detailed calculations are given, and experimental results prove the feasibility of the proposed scheme. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A PAM control method for a matrix converter based on a virtual AC/DC/AC conversion method

In this paper, a novel control method for a matrix converter is proposed. The proposed method is a PAM (Pulse Amplitude Modulation) control method based on a virtual AC/DC/AC conversion method. Output voltage amplitude is controlled by controlling a virtual DC link voltage with a virtual rectifier. Output frequency is controlled by a virtual inverter. First, the proposed method is explained. Next, the validity of the proposed method is confirmed through simulation and experiment using a 750‐W prototype matrix converter. Moreover, various characteristics of the proposed method and conventional virtual AC/DC/AC method are compared through experiment. As a result of the experiment, it has been understood that total harmonic distortion of output current and common‐mode voltage can be reduced compared with the case of using a conventional virtual AC/DC/AC conversion method. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 166(4): 88–96, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience. wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20601     

A control method for small‐scale DC power systems including distributed generators

This paper describes a DC micro‐grid system interconnecting distributed power generators. The system consists of five generation and control units: a solar‐cell generation unit, a wind‐turbine generation unit, a battery energy‐storage unit, a flywheel power‐leveling unit, and an AC grid‐interconnecting power control unit. The control method is proposed for suppressing the circulating current by detecting only the DC grid voltage. This method brings high reliability, high flexibility, and maintenance‐free operation to the system. The method pays attention to DC output voltage performance of each unit. Each of the power control units and the energy‐storage unit is controlled to act as a voltage source with imaginary impedance. On the other hand, each of the two generation units is controlled to act as a current source. The power‐leveling unit is controlled to act as a current source having the function of frequency selectivity like a high‐pass filter. A 10‐kW prototype system verifies experimentally the validity and effectiveness of the proposed control method for the DC‐grid system. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 167(2): 86–93, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20603     

Design guidelines of a flux‐lock superconducting fault current limiter with ac magnetic field coil for a 6.6‐kV distribution system

We have proposed a new type of fault current limiter, which consists of a flux‐lock reactor with high‐Tc superconducting (HTS) elements and an ac magnetic field coil (Flux‐Lock‐Type Fault Current Limiter: FLT‐FCL). The FLT‐FCL can increase both the current capacity and the limiting impedance by means of a transformer action and an ac magnetic field application mechanism. This paper reports the conceptual design of an FLT‐FCL for application to a 6.6‐kV/200‐A distribution system. Theoretical expressions for the current limiting behavior are derived and the new concept of “quench power” is proposed in order to estimate the required number of HTS elements for two types of FLT‐FCL and for a basic FCL type consisting only of HTS elements. Design guidelines for the FLT‐FCL are derived from the calculation results. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 135(4): 17–25, 2001     

A 6.6‐kV transformerless STATCOM based on a five‐level diode‐clamped converter. Experiments using a three‐phase laboratory model rated at 200 V and 10 kVA

This paper discusses a 6.6‐kV transformerless STATCOM intended for installation on industrial and utility distribution systems in the near future. In addition, this paper provides experimental results obtained from a laboratory model rate at 200 V and 10 kVA. The authors propose such a control method as to superimpose a sixth harmonic zero‐sequence component on each of three‐phase voltage references. This helps to stabilize the voltage of the inner midpoint in the DC link. As a result, the laboratory model installs two bidirectional buck‐boost choppers on the DC link for the purpose of stabilizing the voltages of two outer midpoints. Experimental results obtained from the laboratory model verify the validity of the system design, giving promise of the viability of the 6.6‐kV transformerless STATCOM. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 168(2): 60–68, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20733     

A 0.1 to 2.7‐GHz SOI SP8T antenna switch adopting body self‐adapting bias technique for low‐loss high‐power applications

A low‐loss high‐power single‐pole 8‐throw antenna switch adopting body self‐adapting bias technique in a 0.18‐μm thick‐film partially depleted silicon‐on‐insulator complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor process is implemented for multimode multiband cellular applications. A topology with symmetric port design is developed. We employ the body‐contacted field‐effect transistor to handle high power level and obtain low harmonic distortion. However, the conventional bias method for body‐contacted field‐effect transistor leads to poor insertion loss (IL), serious imbalanced voltage division, and large die size. Therefore, a new body self‐adapting bias scheme is adopted to improve the IL and power handling capability with die area reward by removing the employment of extra biasing resistor and voltage supply at the body. The presented silicon‐on‐insulator antenna switch utilizing the new body bias strategy reveals similar harmonic performance as a conventional switch version, thanks to the analogous DC bias to the gate and body, while it exhibits effectively lower IL, imbalanced voltage division, and die area. The measured IL and 0.1‐dB compression point (P_?0.1dB), at 1.9/2.7 GHz, are roughly 0.52/0.82 dB and 39.2/36.9 dBm, respectively. The overall IL and P_?0.1dB are apparently improved by approximately 0.05 to 0.13 dB and 0.5 to 0.8 dBm compared with the conventional version.     

A 14b 150 MS/s 140 mW 2.0 mm2 0.13µm CMOS A/D converter for software‐defined radio systems

This work proposes a 14 b 150 MS/s CMOS A/D converters (ADC) for software‐defined radio systems requiring simultaneously high‐resolution, low‐power, and small chip area at high speed. The proposed calibration‐free ADC employs a wide‐band low‐noise input sample‐and‐hold amplifier (SHA) along with a four‐stage pipelined architecture optimizing scaling‐down factors for the sampling capacitance and the input trans‐conductance of amplifiers in each stage to minimize thermal noise effect and power consumption. A signal‐insensitive 3‐D fully symmetric layout achieves a 14 b level resolution by reducing a capacitor mismatch of three MDACs. The prototype ADC in a 0.13µm 1P8M CMOS technology demonstrates a measured differential nonlinearity (DNL) and integral nonlinearity within 0.81LSB and 2.83LSB at 14 b, respectively. The ADC shows a maximum signal‐to‐noise‐and‐distortion ratio of 64 and 61 dB and a maximum spurious‐free dynamic range of 71 and 70 dB at 120 and 150 MS/s, respectively. The ADC with an active die area of 2.0mm² consumes 140 mW at 150 MS/s and 1.2 V. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel three‐phase soft‐switched converter with high power factor using a lossless snubber

Recently, three‐phase converters with high power factor, especially using the discontinuous current mode (DCM), have been studied as novel rectifier circuits instead of conventional converters. In this circuit, the current of reactor is zero at turn on because of operating on DCM. Then ZCS (Zero Current Switching) is achieved. However it is necessary to turn off the switch at the maximum current. Then the switching losses increase at higher switching frequency. Therefore, soft‐switching method using the lossless snubber is proposed. In this method, ZVS (Zero Voltage Switching) at the turn off can be achieved by a lossless snubber and ZCS at the turn on can be obtained by operating under the DCM. In this paper, the theoretical analysis, numerical analysis using PSPICE, and results of the experiments show the verification of the proposed converter. © 1999 Scripta Technica. Electr Eng Jpn, 129(3): 69–76, 1999