Review of very high frequency power converters and related technologies

Abstract

With the increasing demand for volume reduction and efficiency improvement, very high frequency (VHF) power converters (30–300 MHz) have attracted great interest. Under such high operating frequency conditions, the value and volume of passive components can be greatly reduced, and the power density can be improved. However, many concerns and challenges accompany the increasing operating frequency, such as high switching loss, high magnetic components loss and high driving circuit loss. Including various topologies of the VHF converter, this study reviews the state-of-the-art technology involved in the VHF power converter, also encompassing the inverter stage and matching network stage. Secondly, different magnetic components and semiconductor devices were evaluated under the VHF operating condition. Thirdly, the high-efficiency driving methods, such as the resonant driving method and self-resonant driving method, were demonstrated. A guideline for converter design and system optimisation of the VHF converter and related technologies, including all components and systems, is illustrated in this study. Finally, the future research hot spots and challenges have been pointed out as guidance for further advanced VHF power conversion techniques.