A Simple Control Method for a Switching Rectifier with Power Transistors

A very simple control method for a high-frequency switching rectifier with power transistors is presented. The converter uses six semiconductor switches with turn-off capability to connect directly the three-phase source to the load. Each semiconductor switch is composed by two power MOSFET transistors. The control method is based on the fictitious bipolar source concept. A two-level controller with hysteresis is used to control the load current. The converter accepts power flow in both directions, does not need large storage elements, works with good power factor, and can generate output frequencies higher than the source frequency, without affecting the quality of the output current. The control and logic circuits of the rectifier are very simple, due to the high controllability of the bidirectional switches. The performance of the converter is investigated experimentally in the four-quadrant speed control of a dc machine.