Integration of a series-pass device into switched-mode power converters for input harmonics filtering

Abstract

A concept called the power semiconductor filter (PSF) is presented in this paper. It is used to perform input harmonics filtering for switched-mode power converters. The realisation of this concept is based on connecting a series-pass device (SPD) in series with the input of the converter, so that the input current of the entire system can be programmed by the SPD. The power dissipation of the SPD is maintained at a low level through a feedback mechanism that adjusts the input impedance of the converter and makes the voltage across the SPD small. The proposed concept has been applied to two applications: a 75 W, 90 V to 140 V/24 V classical buck converter and a 100 W, 90 V to 265 V/400 V power factor corrector (PFC). The results show that the PSF concept can significantly reduce the input current harmonics and improve the power factor with a conversion efficiency comparable to traditional passive filters. The major advantages of the PSF are that the filter section is amenable to monolithic integration and that the system will have a high power density.

Keywords:

• power semiconductor filter
• input filtering
• power electronics
• power factor correction
• DC-DC power conversion

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wing To Fan

Notes on contributors

Mr Wing To Fan received his BEng degree in Electronic and Communication Engineering from the City University of Hong Kong in 2013. He is currently working towards his Ph.D. degree in Electronic Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong. His recent research interests include DC-DC converters, power factor correctors, power converter control and active filtering.

Chung Pui Tung

Mr Chung Pui Tung received his BEng degree in Electronic Engineering from the City University of Hong Kong in 2014. He is currently studying for a Ph.D. degree in Power Electronics at the City University of Hong Kong. His research interests include power converter design and digital control system design.

Henry S H Chung

Prof Henry S H Chung (M'95–SM'03) received his BEng and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in 1991 and 1994, respectively. Since 1995, he has been with the City University of Hong Kong, where he is currently a Professor of the Department of Electronic Engineering and the Director of the Centre for Smart Energy Conversion and Utilization Research. His current research interests include time- and frequency-domain analysis of power electronic circuits, switched-capacitor-based converters, random-switching techniques, control methods, digital audio amplifiers, soft-switching converters and electronic ballast design. He has authored six research book chapters and over 320 technical papers, including 150 refereed journal papers in his research areas, and holds 26 patents. Prof Chung is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Power Electronics Letters, and an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, the IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics and the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Fundamental Theory and Applications.