SWITCHED MODE POWER CONVERSION

3 RESONANT
CONVERTERS

The increasing requirements of lighter, smaller and more efficient electronic

products require power supply designers to develop AC-DC and DC-DC
converters with high power density and efficiency. High switching frequency and
high efficiency are the two methods used to improve power density and the
profile of switched-mode power supplies (SMPS).

The effort to obtain ever-increasing power density in an SMPS has been limited
by the size of passive components. Operation at higher frequencies considerably
reduces the size of passive components such as transformers and filters;
however, switching losses have been an obstacle to high-frequency operation.

Resonant techniques are used to reduce the switching losses in semiconductor

devices and to allow for high-frequency operation. These techniques process
power in a sinusoidal manner and the switching devices are softly commutated.
Therefore, the switching losses and noise can be dramatically reduced because
of its soft switching characteristics. Resonant techniques are used in both half-
bridge and full-bridge converters.

The three most popular resonant converters are,

 Series resonant converter

 Parallel resonant converter
 LLC resonant converter

 SERIES RESONANT CONVERTER

In a series resonant converter (SRC), the resonant inductor (Lr) and

resonant capacitor (Cr) are in series and placed in series with the load. The
resonant tank and the load act as a voltage divider.

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Series Resonant Converter Circuit Diagram

The impedance of the resonant tank can be changed by varying the frequency
of driving voltage (Va).

The input voltage will be split between this impedance and the reflected
load. Since it is a voltage divider, the DC gain of an SRC is always lower than 1
(maximum gain happens at the resonant frequency).

At light load condition, the impedance of the load will be very large compared
to the impedance of the resonant network and all the input voltage will be
imposed on the load. This makes it difficult to regulate the output at light load.
Theoretically, frequency should be infinite to regulate the output at no load.

Advantages

 Reduced switching loss and EMI through Zero Voltage Switching &
Improved efficiency
 Reduced magnetic components size by high-frequency operation

Disadvantages

 High circulating energy and high switching loss will occur at high input
voltage. They are not suitable in application such (front end DC/DC
application).
 Pulsating rectifier current from the output capacitor so limitation for
high output current application.
 Cannot regulate the output at no load condition.

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 Parallel Resonant Converter

In a parallel resonant converter (PRC), The resonant capacitor (Cr) is placed in

parallel with the load, inevitability requiring large amounts of circulating
current. This makes it difficult to use parallel resonant topologies in applications
with high power density or large load variations.

Parallel Resonant Converter Circuit Diagram

The impedance of the resonant tank can be changed by varying the frequency
of driving voltage (Va). The transformer primary side is a capacitor, so an
inductor is added on the secondary side to match the impedance.

Advantages

 No problem in output regulation at no load condition

 Continuous rectifier current from the output inductor, Hence it is
suitable for high output current application

Disadvantages

 The primary side current is almost independent of load condition,

significant current may circulate through the resonant network, even
at the no-load condition
 High circulating energy and high switching loss will occur at high input
voltage. They are not suitable in application such (front end DC/DC
application)

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 Half-Bridge LLC Resonant Converter

The half-bridge LLC topology consists of a square-wave generator, a series

resonant tank, a transformer, an output rectifier circuit, and an output filter.

Half-Bridge LLC Resonant Converter

The series resonant tank is composed of a series resonant inductor Lr, a series
resonant capacitor Cr, and the Lm formed by the magnetizing inductance of
transformer T1. The series resonant inductor can be an external component or
the leakage inductance of T1. The rectifier circuit which
includes D1 and D2 converts the resonant current into a unidirectional current.
The output filter Co modulates the high-frequency ripple current.

The LLC resonant converter uses transformer magnetizing inductance for

generating one more resonant frequency, which is much lower than the main
resonant frequency comprising resonant tank Lr and Cr. The LLC resonant
converter is designed to operate at a switching frequency higher than the
resonant frequency of the resonant tank Lr and Cr.

Switches S1 and S2 operate at 50% duty cycle and the output voltage is regulated
by varying the switching frequency of the converter. The converter has two
resonant frequencies: a lower resonant frequency Fr2 (given by Lm, Lr, and Cr)
and a fixed higher series resonant frequency Fr1 (given by Lr and Cr only).

The typical frequency response of an LLC resonant converter is:

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SWITCHED MODE POWER CONVERSION

Typical LLC Resonant Converter Frequency Response

The two resonant frequencies are:

The quality factor of the resonant tank is:

RAC = Equivalent AC Resistance, n = Turns ratio

The characteristics of an LLC resonant converter can be divided into three

regions based on the operation.

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SWITCHED MODE POWER CONVERSION

Region 1 is similar to SRC operation. When the switching frequency is higher

than Fr1, the converter is running at the ZVS region and the magnetizing
inductance does not participate in the resonance. This region, which is also
called the inductive load region, the voltage gain of the LLC resonant converter
is always less than one.

Region 2 is the multi-resonant converter (MRC) region. Between Fr1 and Fr2, the
load condition will determine the operation of the converter under ZVS and ZCS
conditions, converter voltage gain reaches its maximum value. In this region, the
energy stored in the magnetic components causes ZVS for the opposite
switching device.

Region 3 is the overloaded region. When switching frequency is higher than Fr2,
the converter always runs at ZCS condition. This region is called the capacitive
mode region, switches S1 and S2 are under hard switching and have high
switching losses. So ZCS operation should always be avoided.

In general, the LLC resonant converter is designed to operate in Region 1 and 2

because of output regulation and ZVS operation. Switches S1 and S2 can be soft-
switched for the entire load range by operating the converter under inductive
load mode (ZVS region). It can be either above or below the resonant
frequency Fr1. The required gain is determined by the relationship between the
input and output voltage, which can be represented by:

g = Voltage gain for LLC resonant converter

Vo = Output voltage

VIN = Input voltage

From this equation, we can see that the lower the input voltage, the higher the
voltage gain.

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Advantages

 Narrow frequency variation over a wide line and load range, making
this topology the best choice for front end DC-DC applications.
 ZVS capability for entire load range, low turn-off current, therefore the
switching loss is very low.
 Zero voltage switching even at no load condition
 All essential parasitic elements, including junction capacitances of all
semiconductor devices and the leakage inductance of the transformer,
are utilized to achieve soft-switching.
 No output choke required, resulting in cost savings
 Integrated magnetics: When a transformer is used in an LLC converter,
the magnetizing inductance and leakage inductance can be used in
resonant circuit instead of using a separate external inductor
 High efficiency of > 96% and high power level up to 1 kW.

Disadvantages

 Higher ripple current on the secondary so lower ESR capacitors needed

Applications

 LED and LCD televisions

 Computers and laptops
 Industrial LED lighting
 High-end audio
 Home appliances
 Industrial battery chargers

ZERO CURRENT SWITCHING QUASI-RESONANT BUCK CONVERTER

A quasi-resonant converter (QRC) works on the basis of using a resonant

switching element. When the FET is then turned on, the element generates a
resonant pulse which is then filtered by the output LC like a traditional switching
converter. In a QRC, the width and amplitude of the pulse is fixed and the
converter is variable frequency (i.e. send more pulses per second to provide
more power).

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Converter waveforms over a cycle.

By using a resonant pulse, the switching element will naturally go into a zero
current state, at which point the FET is turned off ZCS avoiding switching loss.
To better understand the operation of this circuit, we can simplify our model
slightly (assume output filter is large and act like a constant current source) and
break up its operation into four sub-intervals.

Interval 1

Equivalent circuit for the first interval.

Immediately after the FET turns on, Lr's current begins to ramp up linearly. D1 is
still conducting and the resonant node is tied to ground. This initial state lasts

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until the current through Lr increases to the load current, causing D1 to switch
off.
Interval 2

Equivalent circuit for the second interval.

After D1 switches off, the resonant capacitor begins to charge, and the resonant
circuit begins in full. The current and voltage oscillate at their natural frequency,
as the current is being used to both charge the capacitor and provided to the
load. This state continues until the current in Lr hits zero at which point, D2 turns
off and the FET can be turned off ZCS.
Interval 3

Equivalent circuit for the third interval.

In this final state of the resonant switch, the voltage falls linearly as the resonant
capacitor discharges and provides the current for the load. Once the resonant
node hits zero, D1 turns on and pins it to ground.

Interval 4
This final interval provides the free variable for the converter, adjusting the time
between pulses. The value for the off time is dependent on the length of the
resonant pulse, the voltage you want to output, and the current being drawn
(meaning the control law will be load dependent).