Midterm Exam

Averages: Grade curve

• all students 78.1 • A 85 - 100
• on-campus students 78.3 • A- 80 - 84
• D+ 35 - 39
• off-campus students 77.8 • B+ 75 - 79
• D 25 - 34
• B 65 - 74
• F 0 - 24
Averages by problem: • B- 60 - 64
1. 29.2/35 83.5% • C+ 55 - 59
2. 21.7/30 72.2% • C 45 - 54
3. 27.2/35 77.8% • C- 40 - 44
ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching
Techniques in Power Electronics
1 Lecture 36
 Soft-switching converters with constant switching
frequency

With two or more active switches, we can obtain zero-voltage switching in

converters operating at constant switching frequency
Often, the converter characteristics are nearly the same as their hard-
switched PWM parent converters
The second switch may be one that is already in the PWM parent
converter (synchronous rectifier, or part of a half or full bridge).
Sometimes, it is not, and is a (hopefully small) auxiliary switch
Examples:
• Two-switch quasi-square wave (with synchronous rectifier)
• Two-switch multiresonant (with synchronous rectifier)
• Phase-shifted bridge with zero voltage transitions
• Forward or other converter with active clamp circuit
These converters can exhibit stresses and characteristics that approach
those of the parent hard-switched PWM converter (especially the last
two), but with zero-voltage switching over a range of operating points

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
2 Lecture 36
 Quasi-square wave buck with two switches

Original one-switch version

• Q2 can be viewed as a
synchronous rectifier
• Additional degree of control
is possible: let Q2 conduct
longer than D2 would
otherwise conduct
• Constant switching
Add synchronous rectifier frequency control is
possible, with behavior
similar to conventional
PWM
• Can obtain µ < 0.5
• See Maksimovic PhD
thesis, 1989
ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching
Techniques in Power Electronics
3 Lecture 36
 State plane

• Remaining details of
analysis left as homework
problem

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
4 Lecture 36
 Characteristics: 1 transistor version

µ vs. F

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
5 Lecture 36
 Waveforms and definition
of duty cycle, 2 transistors

• Here, the controller duty

cycle Dc is defined as the
duty cycle that would be
chosen by a conventional
PWM chip.
• The resonant transitions
are “dead times” that
occur at the beginning of
the DTs and D’Ts intervals.

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
6 Lecture 36
 Constant-frequency control characteristics
two switch quasi-resonant buck converter

Constant frequency, duty cycle control:

Low output impedance, µ doesn’t depend much on J
Very similar to conventional PWM CCM buck converter, but exhibits ZVS over
a range of operating points
ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching
Techniques in Power Electronics
7 Lecture 36
 ZVS boundary

Reducing F = fs/f0 leads

to ZVS over a wider
range of µ and J

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
8 Lecture 36
 The multiresonant switch

Basic single-transistor
version

Synchronous rectifier version

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
9 Lecture 36
 Multiresonant switch characteristics
Single transistor version

Analysis via state plane in supplementary course notes

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
10 Lecture 36
 Multiresonant switch characteristics
Two-transistor version with constant frequency

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
11 Lecture 36
 Zero-voltage transition converters
The phase-shifted full bridge converter

Buck-derived full-bridge converter A popular converter for server front-

end power systems
Zero-voltage switching of each half-
bridge section Efficiencies of 90% to 95% regularly
attained
Each half-bridge produces a square
wave voltage. Phase-shifted control of Controller chips available
converter output
ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching
Techniques in Power Electronics
12 Lecture 36
 Phase-shifted control

Approximate waveforms
and results
(as predicted by
analysis of the
parent hard-
switched converter)

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
13 Lecture 36
 Actual
waveforms,
including
resonant
transitions

• Analysis in an
upcoming
lecture

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
14 Lecture 36
 Effect of ZVT: reduction of effective duty cycle

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
15 Lecture 36
 ZVS active clamp circuits
The auxiliary switch approach

Forward converter implementation Flyback converter implementation

• Circuit can be added to any single switch in a PWM converter

• Main switch plus auxiliary switch behave as half-bridge circuit with dead-
time zero-voltage transitions
• Beware of patent issues
ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching
Techniques in Power Electronics
16 Lecture 36
 Forward converter implementation

• Zero-voltage switching of both transistors

• Resonant reset of transformer reduces
transistor peak voltage, relative to traditional
• Analysis in an
forward converter with auxiliary reset winding
upcoming
lecture • Small increase of rms transistor current
ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching
Techniques in Power Electronics
17 Lecture 36
 Summary: recent soft-switched approaches with
multiple transistors

Represents an evolution beyond the quasi-square wave approach

Zero-voltage transitions in the half-bridge circuit
Output filter inductor operates in CCM with small ripple
Circuit approaches that minimize the amount of extra current needed to
attain zero-voltage switching -- these become feasible when there is
more than one active switch
Constant frequency operation
Often, the converter characteristics reduce to a potentially small variation
from the characteristics of the parent hard-switched PWM converter
Commercial controllers are sometimes available
Sometimes a conventional voltage-mode or current-mode PWM controller
can be used -- just need to add dead times
State-plane analysis of full-bridge ZVT and of active-clamp circuits to come

ECEN 5817 Resonant and Soft-Switching

Techniques in Power Electronics
18 Lecture 36