Break the bulky magnetic barrier for power conversion

PWM converters have been the workhorse for most power conversion applications today. However, their bulky magnetics limit further power density improvement. Over the years, researchers recognized that switched-capacitor converters do not need magnetics, but poor voltage regulation prevents them from wide adoption. Resonant converters have penetrated some applications, but they are not ready to replace the PWM converters for high-power applications due to their high RMS voltage/current and limited regulation capability. Researchers in the community have been searching for new solutions with better efficiency, regulation, and power density at the confluence of PWM, resonant, and switching-capacitor converters. The UCI (UC Irvine) Power Electronics Laboratory has dedicated its effort to this search for the last seven years. We have discovered several new switched-capacitor converters and resonant switched-capacitor converters. Recently, we made a breakthrough to realize full-range voltage regulation of resonant switched capacitor converters with one small inductor. In this speech, Dr. Smedley will present a general “PWM-like” control method for resonant switched-capacitor converters with only a 2X frequency swing and only one small inductor (nano-henry scale without DC bias). This new generation of power converters can replace a wide array of conventional PWM converters, dramatically reduce magnetic components, and eventually eliminate the bulky magnetics overall in fully integrated power chips. Speaker(s): Keyue Ma Smedley, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/287725