Boundary Conduction Mode Operation Research Articles

A GaN BCM AC–DC Converter for Sub-1 V Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting With Enhanced Output Power

A gallium nitride (GaN) boundary conduction mode (BCM) dual-boost ac-dc converter for low-voltage electromagnetic energy harvesting (EH) is presented in this article. The μW-to-mW EH system is very susceptible to any tiny losses from power converters, interconnections, and system parasitic. To have better utilizations of harvested energy, an output power enhanced power conversion design is proposed. First, impedance matching is satisfied between electromagnetic generator and ac-dc converter to achieve maximum delivered power. The ac-dc converter is designed under BCM for constant input impedance. EH's winding inductance is employed as the boost inductor in the ac-dc converter. A codesign principle for converter on-time with electromagnetic generator's winding characteristics is revealed. Second, power transistors in EH low-voltage conversion are optimized to realize high efficiency. Power transistors' low-voltage switching characteristics are significantly different from high-voltage situation with no or little miller plateau region. Low-voltage power transistors are compared from both device characteristics and calculated power loss to provide device selection guidance. A GaN-based dual-boost ac-dc converter under BCM operation with constant on-time controller is designed in this article to provide 3.3 V output for a 500-Ω load resistor. It achieves peak efficiency of 82.4% for open-loop operation at 0.6 V/100 Hz input and peak efficiency of 72.3% for close-loop operation at 0.75 V/100 Hz.

Sensorless Ripple Current Mode Control to Achieve Inductor-Deviation-Tolerant BCM Operation for Boost Converter

For switched mode power converters, boundary conduction mode (BCM) operation is an attractive alternative to improve the bandwidth, overall size, and efficiency. In this article, a sensorless ripple current mode (SRCM) controller is proposed to achieve inductor-deviation-tolerant BCM operation for boost converter. Compared to conventional approaches with current sensing or ZCD, the proposed controller relies on a digital algorithm to ensure consistent BCM operation. The algorithm calculates on / off durations of the main switch so that the inductor current valley value converges to zero. The convergence process is proved by a damped current model with considerations of parasitics and output voltage ripple. Since the convergence is not related to the inductor value, the SRCM controller achieves inductor-deviation-tolerant BCM operation. Furthermore, to improve the power efficiency, an optimal transition condition and a compensation time are adopted to achieve valley switching (VS). Finally, both consistent BCM operation and VS are achieved by the proposed control strategy. Simulations and experimental results prove that the controller effectively improves the closed-loop stability, the robustness to inductor deviation, and the power efficiency.

A High-Efficiency Single-Phase T-Type BCM Microinverter

This paper proposes a high-efficiency single-phase T-type boundary conduction mode (BCM) microinverter. The conventional full-bridge BCM microinverter has achieved zero voltage switching (ZVS) and thereby improved the efficiency, but it suffers from high switching losses under light load conditions. The proposed T-type BCM microinverter reserves ZVS and uses a multilevel technique to further decrease the switching losses. The BCM operation with multilevel technique will have too low switching frequency when the grid voltage approaches half of the dc link voltage. To solve this problem, this paper adopts a third operation mode for the T-type switching leg to maintain the switching frequency above a minimum value. The corresponding mode transitions are also detailed to ensure a smooth operation. Because of the turn- off delay of the freewheeling transistor, the actual lower current boundary deviates from the programmed one, which will distort output current. To address this issue, this paper also proposes a boundary compensation method. A prototype has been built for performance verification, which can test both full-bridge and T-type topology. Compared with the full-bridge BCM microinverter, the proposed T-type BCM microinverter has a higher efficiency over the whole load range.

Primary Side Constant Power Control Scheme for LED Drivers Compatible with TRIAC Dimmers

This paper proposes a primary side constant power control scheme for TRIAC dimmer compatible LED drivers. The LED driver is a Flyback converter operated in boundary conduction mode (BCM) to minimize the switching loss. With the proposed control scheme, the input power of the Flyback converter can be controlled by the TRIAC dimming angle, which is not affected by AC input voltage variations. Since the output voltage is almost constant for LED loads, the output current can be changed by controlling the input power with a given conversion efficiency. The isolated feedback circuit is eliminated with the proposed primary side control scheme, which dramatically simplifies the whole circuit. In addition, the input current automatically follows the input voltage due to the BCM operation, and the resistive input characteristic can be achieved which is attractive for TRIAC dimming applications. Experimental results from a 15W prototype verify the theoretical analysis.