Voltage Multiplier Rectifier Research Articles

Design and analysis of an interleaved step-up DC–DC converter with enhanced characteristics

In this paper, an interleaved DC–DC step-up converter with improved characteristics based on a voltage multiplier rectifier is presented. The proposed converter is presented and analyzed for two different operating duty regions including operating region 1 (0 < D ≤ 0.5), and operating region 2 (0.5 ≤ D < 1). This converter can be used in various applications such as energy storage, electric vehicles, and renewable energy systems. This converter is composed of two stages: an interleaved boost stage and a voltage multiplier rectifier stage, which collectively forms its general structure. The interleaved boost stage is a type of two-phase boost converter that transforms the input DC voltage into a high-frequency AC square waveform. This waveform can be readily filtered using smaller capacitors. The square-shaped voltage waveform from the interleaved boost stage is rectified and converted to a high DC voltage by the Voltage Multiplier Rectifier (VMR) stage. The operating regions, the evaluation of the steady-state condition, the voltage gain of the proposed converter's parasitic and ideal models as well as its losses and efficiency analysis have been evaluated. The proposed converter has an efficiency of 97% at the output power of 150 W. The proposed converter is simulated to convert a voltage of 25–159.5 V and to validate the mathematical relationships and simulation results, a laboratory prototype has been developed. The simulation and experimental results show the precision of the performance of the proposed interleaved boost converter.

Single inductor multi-PZTs SECE and electromagnetic voltage multiplier rectifier hybrid interface circuit

This paper proposes a single inductor multi-piezoelectric transducers (PZTs) SECE and electromagnetic voltage multiplier rectifier hybrid interface circuit (MP-SECE-VMR), which harvest energy from multi-input PZTs and electromagnetic generator (EMG). The MP-SECE-VMR adopts a voltage multiplier rectifier circuit, utilizing the diode-connected MOSFET configuration which used as diodes to effectively reduce voltage losses during rectification. Experimental tests confirm that this circuit efficiently extracts energy from PZTs despite differences in their phase relationships. The low input voltage from the EMG is effectively elevated through the voltage multiplier rectifier, enabling simultaneous extraction with the PZTs. The proposed MP-SECE-VMR circuit extracts 1.2 mW of power from two PZTs with open-circuit amplitudes of 9 V and 11 V respectively, as well as from an EMG input with an open-circuit amplitude of 3 V and a frequency of 5 Hz. Furthermore, the proposed circuit effectively enhances output power while expanding the working load range compared to single-source energy extraction.

Derivation of Ultra-High Gain Hybrid Converter Families for HASEL Actuators Used in Soft Mobile Robots.

This work proposes, analyzes, designs, and validates superior topologies of UHGH converters that are capable of supporting extremely large conversion ratios up to ∼2000× and output voltage up to ∼4-12 kV for future mobile soft robots from an input voltage as low as the range of a 1-cell battery pack. Thus, the converter makes soft robots standalone systems that can be untethered and mobile. The extremely large voltage gain is enabled by a unique hybrid combination of a high-gain switched magnetic element (HGSME) and a capacitor-based voltage multiplier rectifier (CVMR) that, together, achieve small overall size, efficient operation, and output voltage regulation and shaping with simple duty-cycle modulation. With superior performance, power density, and compact size, the UHGH converters prove to be a promising candidate for future untethered soft robots.

An Ultra High Gain Converter for Driving HASEL Actuator Used in Soft Mobile Robots

Soft robots have the potential to fundamentally change interactions between robots and the surrounding environment, and between robots and animals, and robots and humans in ways that today's hard robots are incapable of doing. However, to realize this potential, soft robot actuators require extremely high voltage supplies of more than 4 kV. The electronics that can satisfy this need currently are either too large and bulky or unable to achieve the high power efficiency required for mobile systems. To meet this challenge, this paper conceptualizes, analyzes, designs, and validates a hardware prototype of an ultra-high gain (UHG) converter that can support extremely large conversion ratios up to ∼1000× to provide up to 5 kV output voltage from an input voltage of ∼5-10 V. This converter is demonstrated to be able to drive HASEL (Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic) actuators, a promising candidate to realize future soft mobile robotic fishes, from an input voltage range of a 1-cell battery pack. The circuit topology employs a unique hybrid combination of a high-gain switched magnetic element (HGSME) and a diode and capacitor-based voltage multiplier rectifier (DCVMR) to enable compact magnetic elements, efficient soft-charging in all flying capacitors, and adjustable output voltage capability with simple duty-cycle modulation. Achieving an efficiency of 78.2% at 15 W output power, while providing 3.85 kV output from 8.5 V input, the proposed UGH converter proves to be a promising candidate for future untethered soft robots.

Maximizing Energy Harvesting in a Miniaturized Implant with an Integrated Coil Receiver

In this work, a fully integrated energy harvester employing an on-chip coil and a voltage multiplier rectifier is proposed. The differential, multi-stage rectifier is optimized recurring to a genetic algorithm with the objective of maximize the power delivered to the load (W power transfer level) while minimizing area and start-up voltage. The rectifier is one of the most critical components in wireless-powered systems, generating a stable DC supply voltage, its efficiency is the main limiting factor in the achievable power budget. When implemented inside an implant, the circuit should occupy the minimum possible area and present a low start-up power as in the context of most applications, the amount of energy that reaches the receiver is extremely small. Simulation results show that the proposed circuit performs with an efficiency of 38% delivering a stable 1.16 V DC voltage to a 100 kΩ load, providing an output power of 14.9 W and solely occupying an area of 8750 m. Post-fabrication experimental results are presented, where a small inductive link employing a fully integrated receiver coil is used with the rectifier. A maximum power transfer of 12.5 W is achieved, with the inductive link operating at 915 MHz.

Transformerless Quadruple High Step-Up DC/DC Converter Using Coupled Inductors

This paper proposes a high voltage step-up DC/DC converter by combining a coupled inductor and a voltage multiplier rectifier. The input side of the proposed converter operates in an interleaved manner with two coupled inductors connected in parallel, and the output side is composed of a voltage multiplier rectifier where two voltage doubler rectifiers are merged in series. By changing the turns ratio of the coupled inductor of the proposed converter, the voltage gain can be increased, and additional voltage gain can be obtained by combining it with a voltage multiplier rectifier. Due to the passive lossless clamping performance of the proposed method, it is possible to recycle the leakage inductance energy of the coupled inductor and voltage stress reduction can be achieved along with zero current turn–ON and turn–OFF of switches and diodes. Finally, this paper evaluates the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed method by operating a prototype circuit with an input voltage of 20V, an output voltage of 400V, and an output power of 320W. The maximum efficiency of the proposed converter is 97.2% and the efficiency at maximum power is 94.1%.

Design and Control of Modified Resonant Voltage Multiplier Rectifier for Photovoltaic Applications Using Electrolytic Capacitive Material

In this paper, a modified resonant voltage multiplier rectifier (RVMR) has been developed to improve the voltage gain and efficiency of the proposed converter on PV interconnected renewable energy systems. To acquire the most energy from the PV source, the improved RVMR scheme uses an altered Perturb and Observe (P&amp;O)‐based MPPT approach. This paper develops a modified variable step size P&amp;O MPPT algorithm that can increase the PV system’s dynamic and steady‐state performance at the same time. The recommended variable step size technique addresses the constraints of traditional P&amp;O MPPT. The suggested study uses the MATLAB/Simulink environment to analyze and evaluate voltage gain and efficiency.

Hierarchical Modular Battery Equalizer With Open-Loop Control and Mitigated Recovery Effect

In this manuscript, an advanced battery equalizer with open-loop control is proposed. This equalizer is based on a two-layer hierarchical modular architecture. The top stringto- module (S2M) layer consists of a half-bridge inverter and a voltage multiplier (VM) rectifier, and the bottom cell-to-cell (C2C) layer is implemented by bidirectional buck-boost units. Without state-of-charge (SOC) estimation, the battery charge can be automatically transferred from high-voltage cell-modules/cells to low-voltage ones. Only a pair of symmetrical pulse width modulation (PWM) driving signals with fixed switching frequency and duty cycle are required.This reduces the control complexity remarkably. Meanwhile, the balancing current of each balancing path naturally attenuates with the convergence of cell-module/ cell voltages. This ensures a fast balancing of cell-module/cell with large voltage mismatch. The battery-recovery-effect induced balancing error is also effectively mitigated. Moreover, simple control facilitates a simultaneous module and cell voltage balancing in static, charging, and discharging conditions. The operation principles are analyzed in detail. An experimental platform with eight series-connected batteries is built and tested. The measured results well validate the theoretical analysis. Both cell and module voltages automatically converge with clearly mitigated recovery effect.

A new non-isolated interleaved high step-up gain DC-DC converter with reduced voltage stress on switching devices

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a new Non-Isolated Interleaved (NII) high step-up gain DC-DC converter. This new topology aimed for high power applications, which achieves high step-up voltage gain without a high turns ratio n and a high duty cycle. This converter comprised of two-phase interleaved Coupled-Inductors (CIs) integrated with voltage multiplier rectifier and switched capacitor. The key feature of this converter is very low voltage stress on switching devices compares to existing NII high step-up gain topologies for the similar gain. The reduced rating allows the use of low-voltage rating power devices. Besides, the presented converter inherently recycles the leakage energy, and do not require an auxiliary clamp circuit. In addition, the switching operation is free from the reverse recovery problem due to the zero-current-switching. The working principle and performance characteristics of the converter are presented in detail. The analytical study of effect of parasitic parameters on voltage gain and efficiency of this converter is also presented. The performance comparisons with existing NII high step-up gain topologies are provided to highlight the merits of the converter. To verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis, the experimental setup of 300 W is built. The experiments are conducted to boost 24 V–380 V with turns ratio n = 1, and to boost 24 V–580 V with n = 2.

Power Conversion Using Analytical Model of Cockcroft–Walton Voltage Multiplier Rectenna

A voltage multiplier rectenna is a combination of a voltage multiplier rectifier and an antenna used for the conversion of AC to DC. It is an essential part of the system of RF energy harvesting. Conventional rectennas are characterized by low conversion efficiency. This study presents an analytical novel mode designed for RF energy harvesting systems to study the voltage and current output of rectifier stages for efficiency optimization. The design contains a voltage multiplier rectification circuit with seven stages. The Schottky diode HSMS 285-C was selected for the circuit modeling voltage multiplier circuit. Advanced Design System (ADS) simulation was used to validate the equations of the theoretical model solved with MATLAB code. The fabricated system was tested for an input power range of 10 μW to 100 mW; the maximum output power is 0.2577 mW with maximum efficiency of 29.85%.

A Closed Loop Model of Modified SEPIC Based High Step-up DC-DC Converter

Since the output voltage of renewable energy system is low, the use of high step-up switched mode DC-DC converters is imperative. This paper presents a novel SEPIC based high step-up DC-DC converter that uses coupled–inductor (CL) technique and voltage multiplier rectifier (VMR), while the main characteristics of the conventional SEPIC converter is preserved. The proposed circuit comprises of a power switch (S), a CL, an input inductor, four diodes and five capacitors. The Voltage Tripler Rectifier provides a high voltage gain and the converter has a significantly reduced switching loss and diode recovery losses due to the quasi-resonance of the CL along with circuit capacitors. The operation principle, design and steady state analysis are discussed and the simulation results are also presented to justify the analysis.

An Improved LLC Resonant Converter With Reconfigurable Hybrid Voltage Multiplier and PWM-Plus-PFM Hybrid Control for Wide Output Range Applications

This paper proposes an improved LLC resonant converter with reconfigurable hybrid voltage multiplier for wide output voltage range applications. By adopting three legs and two active switches, the rectifier can be reconfigured to three configurations, i.e., full-bridge rectifier, hybrid voltage-multiplier rectifier and voltage-multiplier rectifier, covering the range of more than three times of the minimum output voltage. Compared with conventional LLC converter, the operating range of each configuration is narrowed so that the magnetizing inductance is optimized and switching frequency range is narrowed to achieve higher efficiency. Pulsewidth plus pulse-frequency modulation strategy is employed to achieve smooth transition between these operation modes. Zero-voltage switching of all power mosfet s and zero-current switching of all secondary-side diodes are achieved as well. Detailed operational principles, characteristics, design consideration, and control stagey of the proposed converter are analyzed. A 3.3 kW 150–450 V output prototype is built and tested to verify the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed converter.

Peak Current Control of Multichannel LED Driver With Selective Dimming

A novel selective dimming method of the output channels of a multichannel LED driver is proposed in this paper. This LED driver comprises a front-end ac-dc boost power factor correction converter followed by symmetric half-bridge isolated nonresonant dc-dc converter and symmetric voltage-multiplier rectifier with purely capacitive output filters. By controlling the duty ratios of the secondary side switches, which are strategically placed at the output voltage-multiplier-based rectifiers, the average LED current and hence the brightness of individual channels are controlled. Moreover, a unique primary side peak current control is implemented to control the peak currents of LEDs during pulsewidth modulation dimming, which prevents electromigration-related fast aging of the LEDs. This driver also has the advantages of high power (>120 W) operation capabilities, and high efficiency (>94%) with primary side switches zero voltage switching turning on and secondary side rectifier diodes zero current switching turning off. A detailed analysis and design procedure of the proposed converter is presented. To validate the analysis, an industry-standard 150 W prototype is developed, which is digitally controlled by a cost-effective non-DSP microcontroller. The experimental results are in perfect agreement with the claims. A comparison for universal ac input and isolated LED drivers with selective dimming is displayed.

Enhanced Dickson voltage multiplier rectenna by developing analytical model for radio frequency harvesting applications

Radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting has experienced a rapid development recently because of the increasing number of RF transmitter sources. This article illustrates a novel analytical model for the voltage multiplier rectifier at 900 MHz. The model proposes a method of deriving the output characteristics of the rectifying circuits in terms of two main parameters; voltage and current. The design consists of seven stages of Dickson voltage multiplier rectifier. A Schottky diode HSMS 285C was used in the design. Equations for the model were developed. These equations were used to extract the values of output voltage and current. A simulation was optimized using advanced design systems. The system was correspondingly fabricated and tested for input power range of 1 × 10−5-1 × 10−1 W. Experimental results show that an output voltage of 5.45 V and current of 1.26 × 10−5 A are achieved at 10 dBm using a 10 kΩ load, achieving an efficiency of 37.82%.

Reconfigurable LLC Topology With Squeezed Frequency Span for High-Voltage Bus-Based Photovoltaic Systems

In high-voltage bus-based photovoltaic systems, an isolated dc/dc converter is required to link the wide range low-voltage solar panel and the high-voltage dc bus. In this letter, a novel LLC topology with reconfigurable voltage multiplier rectifier is proposed for use in such applications. Depending on different input voltages, its rectifier automatically switches among type-4, type-5, and type-6 voltage multiplier configurations. Thus, the switching frequency range can be effectively squeezed and the efficiency over wide input range can be enhanced. Zero voltage switching and zero current switching are realized among all power mosfet s and all power diodes, respectively. A 300 W prototype converting a 25–50 V input to a 760 V bus is designed and tested both in steady state and dynamically. Both the circuit functionality and the theoretical analysis are verified by the experimental results. The prototype demonstrates 96.1% peak efficiency and good overall efficiency performance over a wide input range.

Time‐division‐multiplex control scheme for voltage multiplier rectifiers

A voltage multiplier rectifier with a novel time-division-multiplexing (TDM) control scheme for high step-up converters is proposed in this study. In the proposed TDM control scheme, two full-wave voltage doubler rectifiers can be combined to realise a voltage quadrupler rectifier. The proposed voltage quadrupler rectifier can reduce transformer turn ratio and transformer size for high step-up converters and also reduce voltage stress for the output capacitors and rectifier diodes. An N -times voltage rectifier can be straightforwardly produced by extending the concepts from the proposed TDM control scheme. A phase-shift full-bridge (PSFB) converter is adopted in the primary side of the proposed voltage quadrupler rectifier to construct a PSFB quadrupler converter. Experimental results for the PSFB quadrupler converter demonstrate the performance of the proposed TDM control scheme for voltage quadrupler rectifiers. An 8-times voltage rectifier is simulated to determine the validity of extending the proposed TDM control scheme to realise an N -times voltage rectifier. Experimental and simulation results show that the proposed TDM control scheme has great potential to be used in high step-up converters.

Isolated switched‐boost push–pull DC–DC converter for step‐up applications

A high voltage ratio DC–DC converter is proposed which is comprised of four stages. First, an impedance network along with a switching network have been used to boost the input voltage. The boosted voltage waveform is then followed by an isolation transformer to provide another degree of freedom and obtain higher boost ability. Finally, a voltage multiplier rectifier is utilised to rectify the secondary voltage of the transformer. No switching dead‐time is required, which increases the reliability of the converter. The proposed converter benefits from the continuous input current. Besides, a comparison with the existing step‐up topologies indicates that the number of passive elements and hence the weight and size have been reduced. The operating principles were analysed and the experimental tests on a 260 W prototype reveal that a high efficiency above 91% can be achieved.

6배압 정류기를 이용한 고전압 전원장치에 관한 연구

This paper presents design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of a high voltage power supply for Carbon Nano Tube-based planar light sources. The proposed power supply employs an LLC resonant half-bridge converter and a sixfold voltage-multiplying rectifier. Steady-state characteristics of the voltage-multiplying rectifier are analyzed and used to derive the input-to-output voltage conversion ratio of the power supply. The input-to-output frequency response characteristics of the LLC tank circuit are analyzed and utilized in designing a proto-type power supply which produces a 15 KV output using a 400 V input source. The high-voltage transformer is fabricated using a sectional bobbin structure with an epoxy impregnation, in order to provide sufficient insulation for high voltage operations. The performance of the proposed power supply is confirmed with stable and reliable operations at the 15 KV output from no load to nominal load conditions. The proposed power supply is well suited as an electric ballast required stable operations of Carbon Nano Tube-based planar light sources.

Analysis and design of isolated flyback voltage‐multiplier converter for low‐voltage input and high‐voltage output applications

An isolated flyback voltage-multiplier (VM) converter is presented in this study in light of the basic line frequency voltage-multiplying rectifier. The proposed circuit with a high conversion ratio operates in discontinuous conduction mode and combines the merits of the VM with flyback converters. It is very suitable to be used in low-voltage input and high-voltage output applications where compact size and a high conversion ratio are needed. The operations and prominent characteristics of the circuit are described, and the dynamic and steady-state transfer function of the output-voltage/input-voltage is also derived. A laboratory prototype has been built based on the analysis. The validity of analysis for this circuit is verified by experimental results.

Modeling and Control Design for a Very Low-Frequency High-Voltage Test System

With the rapid growth of energy generation by regenerative decentralized sources and the continuous replacement of overhead power lines by subterraneous distribution grids, the amount of power supply cables is increasing. In consequence, a large demand for mobile high-voltage cable test systems is expected within the coming years. This contribution deals with modeling and control design of a novel high-voltage test system based on a zero-voltage switching series-parallel resonant converter and a three-stage Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier rectifier, generating a true sinus test voltage of 85 kV (rms) at 0.1 Hz. Due to the inherent high dynamics of the power supply as compared to the slowly varying output test voltage, a cascaded control scheme relying on a fast inner current control loop combined with an outer voltage control is established. In order to derive the relevant waveforms, the complex rectifier was significantly simplified to a one-stage voltage doubler rectifier. By applying a suitable generalized averaging method in combination with an extended describing function, a steady-state solution along with the corresponding small signal model can be established, which is utilized for the current control design. The cascaded control strategy using an observer enables substitution of voluminous and costly high-voltage current sensors. The total high-voltage test system was implemented and validated by experimental tests.