Performance assessment of class-E inverter for capacitive power transfer system

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to present a new wireless power transfer technique using capacitive coupling. The capacitive power transfer (CPT) system has been introduced as an attractive alternative to the traditional inductive coupling method. The CPT offers benefits such as simple topology, fewer components, better electromagnetic interference (EMI) performance and robustness to surrounding metallic elements.Design/methodology/approachA class-E inverter together with and without inductor capacitor (LC) matching circuit has been utilised in this work because of its ability to perform the DC-to-AC inversion efficiently with significant reduction in switching losses. The validity of the proposed concept has been verified by conducting a laboratory experiment of the CPT system.FindingsThe performances for both systems are analysed and evaluated. A 9.7 W output power is generated through a combined interface [printed circuit board (PCB) plate] capacitance of 2.82 nF at an operating frequency of 1 MHz, with 97 per cent efficiency for 0.25 mm coupling gap distance.Originality valueAn efficient CPT system with class-E LC matching topology is proposed in this paper. With this topology, the zero-voltage switching can be achieved even if the load is different by properly designing the LC matching transformation circuit.