Dc Bias Current Research Articles

Active elimination of DC bias current of a SiC based dual active bridge by controlling the dead time period

AbstractDual active bridge (DAB) is an isolated DC‐DC converter gaining wider attention in power electronics applications. The high frequency (HF) transformer is an integral part of the DAB which is prone to saturation. Silicon carbide (SiC) based DAB are generally preferred for highly efficient power conversions, calling for an extremely low DC resistance of the transformer. This aggravates the DC bias issue significantly. The DC bias current generally flows due to the mismatch in static and transient switching of active devices, leading to eventual saturation of the transformer. This paper proposes an active method to precisely control the dead time of the devices (8–100 ns) without sacrificing the voltage utilization of the converter. This method does not require a sophisticated DC offset current measurement technique. The field programmable gate array (FPGA) based control platform on the gate driver side executes the proposed algorithm. The proposed control is experimentally verified in a 5 kW SiC based converter. The control implementation methodology is discussed with the support of necessary experimental results.

Non-equilibrium excited-state fractionally quantized Hall effects observed via current bias spectroscopy

Studies of fractional quantum Hall effects (FQHE) across various two-dimensional electronic systems (2DES) have helped to establish the equilibrium FQHE many-body ground states with fractionally charged excitations and composite particles in condensed matter. Then, the question arises whether an FQHE system driven to non-equilibrium can approach a different stationary state from the known equilibrium FQHE states. To investigate this question, we examine FQHE over filling factors, ν, 2 ≥ ν ≥ 1 under non-equilibrium finite bias conditions realized with a supplementary dc-current bias, IDC, in high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs devices. Here, we show that all observable canonical equilibrium FQHE resistance minima at ∣IDC∣ = 0 undergo bimodal splitting vs. IDC, yielding branch-pairs and diamond shapes in color plots of the diagonal resistance, as canonical FQHE are replaced, with increasing IDC, by excited-state fractionally quantized Hall effects at branch intersections. A tunneling model serves to interpret the results.

Terahertz-frequency plasmonic-crystal instability in field-effect transistors with asymmetric gate arrays

We present a theory for plasmonic crystal instability in a semiconductor field-effect transistor with a dual grating gate array, designed with strong asymmetry in the elementary cell of this “crystal”. We demonstrate that, under the action of a dc current bias, the Bloch plasma waves in the plasmonic crystal formed in this transistor develop the Dyakonov–Shur instability. By calculating the energy spectrum and instability increments/decrements—which govern the growth/decay of excitations within the plasmonic crystal—we analyze the dependence of the latter on the electron drift velocity and the extent of the structural asymmetry. In contrast with the corresponding problem for gate arrays with symmetric unit cells, the presence of finite plasma instability increments across the entire Brillouin zone is established. This important difference points to the possibility of exciting sustained, radiating, non-linear electron plasma oscillations in the instability endpoint of the asymmetric array. These structures should be readily implementable in common semiconductor heterostructures, using standard nanofabrication techniques, enabling operation at room temperature. Long-range coherence of the unstable plasma oscillations, generated in the elementary cells of the crystal, should dramatically increase the radiated THz electromagnetic power, making this approach a promising pathway to the generation of THz signals.

Room‐temperature tunable tunneling magnetoresistance in Fe3GaTe2/WSe2/Fe3GaTe2 van der Waals heterostructures

AbstractThe exceptional properties of two‐dimensional (2D) magnet materials present a novel approach to fabricate functional magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) by constructing full van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures with atomically sharp and clean interfaces. The exploration of vdW MTJ devices with high working temperature and adjustable functionalities holds great potential for advancing the application of 2D materials in magnetic sensing and data storage. Here, we report the observation of highly tunable room‐temperature tunneling magnetoresistance through electronic means in a full vdW Fe3GaTe2/WSe2/Fe3GaTe2 MTJ. The spin valve effect of the MTJ can be detected even with the current below 1 nA, both at low and room temperatures, yielding a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of 340% at 2 K and 50% at 300 K, respectively. Importantly, the magnitude and sign of TMR can be modulated by a DC bias current, even at room temperature, a capability that was previously unrealized in full vdW MTJs. This tunable TMR arises from the contribution of energy‐dependent localized spin states in the metallic ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2 during tunnel transport when a finite electrical bias is applied. Our work offers a new perspective for designing and exploring room‐temperature tunable spintronic devices based on vdW magnet heterostructures.

An Improved Modulation Scheme of Isolated Matrix Converter for Common-Mode Voltage Reduction and DC-Bias Current Mitigation

In this paper, an optimized space vector modulation (SVM) method is proposed for the isolated three-phase matrix-type AC/DC converter, where the four-quadrant operation ability of the bidirectional power switch can be fully used. The primary-side transformer current can be eliminated naturally during zero current vectors without extra switching actions. Therefore, the conduction loss of matrix converter (MC) is reduced and the efficiency can be increased. Moreover, the proposed method can avoid the shoot-through operation in MC, and the common-mode voltage can be mitigated effectively. As the zero current vector is kept with the proposed modulation strategy, the current harmonics will not be increased. Thirdly, both the DC-link inductor current and DC-bias current of high-frequency transformer (HFT) are measured through the secondary-side current of HFT. Therefore, the DC-bias current and the saturation of HFT are avoided by closed-loop control with the proposed modulation strategy. The experiments have been carried on a 1-kW laboratory prototype to verify the validity of the proposed modulation scheme.

Nonlinear modeling of magnetic materials for circuit simulations

Magnetic materials in the form of magnetic rings are widely used in power engineering products. In many cases, they operate in high frequency and in nonlinear conditions, e.g., as damping elements in electrical power substations equipped with Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS) where they provide suppression of Very Fast Transient Overvoltages (VFTOs). To model phenomena in GIS with magnetic rings it is required to have realistic time-dependent models of magnetic materials operating in a wide frequency range and nonlinear conditions. Nowadays, this has become even more relevant due to the actual trend in the industry to create digital twins of physical devices. Models composed of high-precise discrete lumped nonlinear elements are in demand in circuit simulators like SPICE. This work introduces a method based on classical algorithms that find equivalent lumped models of magnetic cores based on frequency-dependent measurements of impedance under DC-bias current. The model is specifically designed to have smooth behavior in the current domain and thanks to that to improve numerical stability in the time domain simulations.

Phase-Shift Control With Unified PWM/PFM for Improved Transient Response in a Bidirectional Dual-Active-Bridge DC/DC Converter

Determining how to efficiently obtain superior transient response under both unidirectional power-changing and power-reversing operations in a bidirectional dual-active-bridge (DAB) dc/dc converter is a challenging problem. The traditional direct phase-shifting scheme would induce a transient dc current bias in the high-frequency link of the DAB, and therefore lead to some adverse issues, such as magnetic saturation and increased current stress. In addition, the ac transient can propagate to the dc terminates and give rise to a worse transient response in a closed-loop control system. In this study, a fast phase-shift control is proposed which can execute all the possible power changes in a unified manner. By properly operating the primary bridge with pulsewidth modulation (PWM) and the secondary bridge with pulse frequency modulation (PFM), the DAB converter can complete the phase-shifting operation fast without a dc current bias in the ac link. A closed-loop control based on the hybrid PWM/PFM is further designed to regulate the primary dc current with improved transient performance. Since both PWM and PFM are standard, the whole control algorithm can be implemented efficiently in practical applications. Experimental results are provided to show that the power of the DAB converter can be governed bidirectionally with the proposed phase-shift control. The dc terminal current can be changed to both polarities with fast transient and no apparent overshoot or oscillation.

Measuring impedance frequency characteristics of magnetic rings with DC-bias current

This paper reports on a comprehensive study on a measurement method for the impedance characteristics in the frequency domain of magnetic rings as a function of DC-bias current up to saturation. The reported measurements in a one-wire coil arrangement with DC-bias current reproduce the operating conditions of rings used in high-power equipment and are useful for the development of circuit models used in power system simulators. The method and its key features are shown on an example of a nanocrystalline ring with large physical dimensions relevant for heavy power equipment. Low magnetic permeability of the ring material and large size of the ring were chosen as the most challenging case with respect to measurement system arrangement, allowing us to highlight the key aspects of the method. The measurement results are reported for frequency ranging from 50 Hz to 30 MHz and for the DC-bias current up to 800 A. The problems and difficulties encountered are highlighted and discussed how they were controlled and overcome.

60-GHz Single Flux Quantum Pulse Transfer Circuit for Serial Biasing

Serial Biasing (SB) is a technique to reduce the total DC bias current of Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) circuits by partitioning a design into several islands with isolated grounds and sequential biasing. In this paper we focus on the design of a driver-receiver pair (DRP) to transfer pulses between islands that are galvanically isolated for pulse streams. We discuss both DRP itself and the structure for its testing, that comprises several DRPs connected in series, on-chip pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS) generator for circuit stimulation, and HF output interface. We use the layout of DRPs’ chain as an example to illustrate the advantage of the grapevine (GV) approach, introduced earlier, to manage the bias current flowing into and out of an island. The GV current management technique is analyzed by both electromagnetic simulations and measurement, compared, and contrasted with the so-called ‘straightforward’ (SF) approach. The maximum operational frequency for SF test structure was 10 GHz with zero margins for the SB current. Measurements of the GV structure at 10 GHz demonstrated BER of 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">−12</sup> with ±5.8% margins for SB current. We observed the correct operation of the 5-island DRP chain up to 60 GHz using the grapevine approach for SB current management. All chips were fabricated at MIT Lincoln Laboratory using SFQ5ee fab node.

Variable Inductor Control for Misalignment Tolerance and Constant Current/Voltage Charging in Inductive Power Transfer System

In wireless power transfer system, not only the mutual inductance variation but also the self-inductance variation can be occurred under the misalignment condition. In light of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, the variation of the secondary self-inductance and mutual inductance are significantly under the misalignment condition. In order to stabilize the output voltage and current and achieve near-ZPA (near-zero phase angle) of the input impedance. A variable inductor control is presented in this paper, which regulate the inductance of the secondary side by adjusting the dc bias current under large <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">k</i> variation. The proposed control method does not need any auxiliary circuit, and constant current-constant voltage (CC-CV) charging can be achieved by controlling the duty cycle of the boost converter. To verify the proposed control method, a 500-W prototype was set up in the laboratory, and the variable inductor control method ensures a stable output voltage and current with horizontal and vertical offsets of 200 mm and 92 mm, respectively. Additionally, communication is not need between primary and secondary side, and the results show that the maximum efficiency is 92.9%, which is 2.3% higher than the conventional dc-dc regulation method.

A New Method to Synthesise the Sinusoidal Oscillator Based on Series Negative Resistance-Capacitance and its Implementation Using a Single Commercial IC, LT1228

An alternative method for synthesising the sinusoidal oscillator based on series negative resistance-capacitance is presented in this paper. The proposed topology is constructed with the series negative resistance-capacitance circuit connected in parallel with a grounded resistor and capacitor. To validate the proposed method, a new grounded series negative resistance-capacitance simulator is also proposed as a subcircuit for synthesising the sinusoidal oscillator. The series negative resistance-capacitance simulator is based on a commercially available integrated circuit (IC), LT1228. The equivalent negative resistance and equivalent negative capacitance can be adjusted electronically using an external DC bias current. The sinusoidal oscillator that is synthesised using the proposed method consists of a single LT1228, two capacitors, and three resistors. The frequency and the condition of the oscillation are orthogonally adjusted. Also, the condition of oscillation is electronically controlled. The amplitude of the sinusoidal waveform is adjustable. In addition, the output voltage node of the proposed oscillator has a low impedance, which allows it to connect to other circuits without using an additional buffer. Both PSPICE simulation and experiment are used to validate the proposed circuits.

Plasma instability and amplified mode switching effect in THz field effect transistors with a grating gate

We developed a theory of collective plasma oscillations in a dc current-biased field effect transistor with an interdigitated dual grating gate and demonstrated a new mechanism of electron plasma instability in this structure. The instability in the plasmonic crystal formed in the transistor channel develops due to conversion of the kinetic energy carried by the drifting plasmons into electromagnetic energy. The conversion happens at the opposite sides of the gate fingers due to the asymmetry produced by the current flow, and occurs through the gate finger fringing capacitances. The key feature of the proposed instability mechanism is the behavior of the plasma frequency peak and its width as functions of the dc current bias. At a certain critical value of the current, the plasma resonant peak with a small instability increment experiencing redshift with increasing current changes to the blue-shifting peak with a large instability increment. This amplified mode switching effect has been recently observed in graphene-interdigitated structures. The obtained theoretical results are in very good qualitative agreement with these experiments and can be used in future designs of the compact sources of THz electromagnetic radiation.

Direct-current output of silicon–organic monolayer–platinum Schottky TENGs: Elusive friction-output relationship

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are an emerging energy harvesting technology able to convert ubiquitous mechanical energy into electricity. Friction, static charging and flexoelectricity are all involved in the mechanism underpinning TENG operation, but their relative contribution has remained elusive. Here we used dynamic and static conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) measurements on monolayer-modified silicon crystals to detect evidence of a relationship between friction and zero-bias current, and between pressure and the direction of the putative flexovoltage. We demonstrate that a static electricity-related tribovoltage is probably responsible for a friction excess, and that surprisingly this friction excess is found to be dependent on the doping level and type of the silicon substrate. Such friction excess is however no longer measurable once current is allowed to flow across the junction. This observation points to an electrostatic origin of friction in silicon-based Schottky TENGs, and suggests that the zero external bias DC current is at least in part an electronic flow to neutralize static charges. Further, the sign of the zero-bias current, but not its magnitude, is independent of the semiconductor doping type, which is again suggestive of surface statics being a main contributor to the zero-bias output rather than exclusively a space-charge effect. We also reveal the presence of a junction flexovoltage under pressures common in AFM experiments (GPa), even for negligible lateral friction. In a static Pt–monolayer–n-type Si junction the flexovoltage carries the same sign as the tribovoltage, and can reach such magnitude to overwrite external voltages as high as 2 V. The immediate implication is that the flexovoltage is likely to have i) a strong contribution to the zero-bias output of a n-Si Schottky TENG, ii) a negative effect on the output of a p-Si TENG, and iii) its detection can be straightforward, as we discovered that flexoelectricity manifests as an “inverted diode”: a n-type Si–platinum diode with negligible current even when the n-type material is negatively biased as long as the “static” diode remains under a large normal pressure.

Cuk PFC Converter Based on Variable Inductor

When the input inductor operates in discontinuous current mode (DCM), the Cuk converter can automatically achieve power factor correction (PFC) function with only a simple voltage mode control loop. However, the conventional Cuk PFC converter suffers from high intermediate capacitor voltage because of the lack of feedback of the intermediate capacitor voltage and relatively low power factor (PF). In this paper, a Cuk PFC converter using variable inductor which varies with the transient rectified input voltage is proposed to enhance the PF and reduce the intermediate capacitor voltage by injecting a controlled DC bias current into the auxiliary winding of the variable input inductor. The operating principles of the proposed Cuk PFC converter based on variable inductor are analyzed in detail, and the analysis of PF, the voltage of intermediate capacitor, and design considerations are provided. To verify the feasibility of the proposed scheme and compare the characteristics of both the traditional and proposed Cuk PFC converter, a 108W experimental prototype of the proposed converter is built and tested. The experimental results show that the proposed Cuk PFC converter can significantly enhance the PF, decrease the intermediate capacitor voltage, and increase efficiency compared with the traditional Cuk PFC converter.

Study on the correction method of the influence of temperature factor in the simulation calculation of transformer bias current

For analyzing the mechanism of single-polar earth operation of the HVDC transmission system arousing the DC bias of the transformer and correcting the influence of temperature factors on simulation, abstract grids were built. Based on the disciplinarian of ambient temperature affecting the DC resistivity of conductors and shallow soil, the mechanism of the ambient temperature taking effect on the DC bias current of the transformer was discussed. Applying the practical field measurement results, conclusions from the simulation and calculation were proved, and the method of classification correction was present. It was indicated that the modified calculation results of the transformer DC bias current would be closer to the actual measurement values.

A linearly/electronically controllable high gain VDGA and its applications

Since the transconductance gains of an active building block namely voltage differencing gain amplifier (VDGA) is directly proportional to nonlinear (square root) function of external DC bias currents, affecting the narrow range tunability and low transconductance gains. This article aims to introduce a high gain VDGA by using CMOS current squaring circuits biasing in each transconductance cell. It offers high transconductance gains, wide range of tunability, linearity of controllability, larger input voltage range and nearly infinite input impedance. The proposed circuit was designed using a 0.18 µm CMOS transistors technology. The test was performed using PSpice program, it is consistent with the theoretical expectation. The total power consumption is 2.9 mW at ±1.5 V power supply. Even its power consumption is more than about 3 times of their previously proposed VDGAs, the figure of merit (FOM) of the proposed VDGA is much better than that of the previously proposed VDGAs (about 10 times). Additionally, the applications of the proposed VDGA as a capacitance multiplier, current multiplier/divider, summing amplifier, independently/electronically tunable multifunction filter, precision half-wave and full-wave rectifiers are included to insist the workability of the proposed VDGA.

Quantum dynamics of a 4π kink in Josephson junction parallel arrays with large kinetic inductance

We present a theoretical study of the quantum dynamics of two magnetic fluxons trapped in Josephson junction parallel arrays (JJPAs) with large kinetic inductances. The Josephson phase distribution of two trapped magnetic fluxons satisfies a topological constraint, i.e., the total variation of Josephson phases along a JJPA is $4\ensuremath{\pi}$. In such JJPAs the characteristic length of the Josephson phase distribution (``the size'' of magnetic fluxon) is drastically reduced to be less than a single cell size. Two extreme dynamic patterns will be distinguished: two weakly interacting and two merged magnetic fluxons, i.e., a $4\ensuremath{\pi}$ kink. Taking into account the repulsive interaction between two magnetic fluxons located in the same or adjacent cells, we obtain the energy band spectrum ${E}_{4\ensuremath{\pi}}(p)$ for a quantum $4\ensuremath{\pi}$ kink. The coherent quantum dynamics of $4\ensuremath{\pi}$ kinks demonstrates the quantum beats with the frequency and amplitude strongly deviating from those observed for two independent magnetic fluxons. In the presence of applied dc and ac bias currents of frequency $f$ a weakly incoherent quantum dynamics of a $4\ensuremath{\pi}$ kink results in the Bloch oscillations and the seminal current steps with values ${I}_{4\ensuremath{\pi}}^{(n)}=enf$ which are two times less than those for two independent magnetic fluxons.

Dynamic Enhancement for Dual Active Bridge Converter with a Deadbeat Current Controller.

This paper investigates the deadbeat current controllers for isolated bidirectional dual-active-bridge dc-dc converter (IBDC), including the peak current mode (PCM) and middle current mode (MCM). The controller uses an enhanced single phase shift (ESPS) modulation method by exploiting pulse width as an extra control variable in addition to phase shift ratio. The control variables for PCM controllers are derived in detail and the two different current controllers are compared. A double-closed-loop control method is then employed, which could directly control the high-frequency inductor current and eliminate the transient DC current bias of the transformer. Furthermore, load feedforward was introduced to further enhance the dynamic of the converter. With the proposed control method, the settling time could be reduced within several PWM cycles during load disturbance without transient DC current bias. A 5 kW IBDC converter prototype was built and the settling time of 6 PWM cycles during load change with voltage regulation mode was achieved, which verifies the superior dynamic performance of the control method.

Overview of Research Status of DC Bias and Its Suppression in Power Transformers

In this article, the sources of DC bias and its effects on power transformers are first summarized. Secondly, the article classifies and summarizes the current DC bias calculation problems of power transformers, and puts forward some interesting viewpoints on the research logic of related calculations. The current processing methods of DC bias effect are classified and discussed, their advantages and disadvantages are compared, and the logic flow of DC bias effect processing is proposed. Finally, the current research on DC bias voltage of power transformers is summarized, and the progress and deficiencies of current research are pointed out, which has certain reference value for future research on DC bias voltage and its suppression.

Quasi-continuous dc voltage standard using sinusoidal and pulse-driven Josephson junction arrays

Josephson voltage standards (JVSs) provide a primary realization of the volt, the unit of electromotive force. They generate direct current (dc) voltages up to 10 V and show agreement better than 1 nV V−1 at 10 V. For JVSs based on Josephson junction arrays (JJAs) that are driven by sinusoidal radiofrequency (RF) power, commonly referred to as continuous wave-driven JJAs (CWD JJAs), the minimum voltage that can be generated is limited to the voltage across one Josephson junction (JJ) for practical devices. To achieve this resolution, they may require a perfect JJA chip. JVSs based on a pulse-driven (PD) JJA require high performance electronics (i.e. high bandwidth, low distortion and jitter, pulse shaping filters and large memory) to achieve their minimum and maximum voltage. We have combined two CWD JJAs and two PD JJAs driven by two microwave inputs to one chip to generate quasi-continuous dc voltages up to the sum of the full-scale voltages of both JJAs that are robust to the imperfections of the JJs and have relaxed requirements on the RF electronics driving the JJA, compared to the existing CWD JVSs and PD JVSs, respectively. By use of the JJA chip at the National Measurement Institute Australia, we demonstrate its feasibility to generate voltages up to 1 V. Preliminary evaluation of the system shows that the voltage uncertainty can be 11 nV (k = 2) or better and the theoretical resolution is better than 1 nV from 0 V to 1 V. The main requirement is that all the JJs must have quantum locking ranges with respect to the power and frequency of the RF bias and for the PD JJAs to have a constant voltage over a range of dc bias current. Although this development is not a replacement for existing state-of-the-art JVSs, we anticipate that it will be an alternative fit-for-purpose solution for metrological applications under non-ideal operating conditions or when the components of the state-of-the-art solutions are not available.