A True ZCZVT Commutation Cell for PWM Converters

This paper introduces a true zero-current and zero-voltage transition (ZCZVT) commutation cell for dc-dc pulsewidth modulation (PWM) converters operating with an input voltage less than half the output voltage. It provides zero-current switching (ZCS) and zero-voltage switching (ZVS) simultaneously, at both turn on and turn off of the main switch and ZVS for the main diode. The proposed soft-switching technique is suitable for both minority and majority carrier semiconductor devices and can be implemented in several dc--dc PWM converters. The ZCZVT commutation cell is placed out of the power path, and, therefore, there are no voltage stresses on power semiconductor devices. The commutation cell consists of a few auxiliary devices, rated at low power, and it is only activated during the main switch commutations. The ZCZVT commutation cell, applied to a boost converter, has been analyzed theoretically and verified experimentally. A 1-kW boost converter operating at 40 kHz with an efficiency of 97.9% demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed commutation cell. Index Terms--High-performance dc--dc power conversion, IGBT's, zero--current-zero-voltage switching (ZCZVS).