Optimal design of a class-E resonant driver

In many applications of class-E converters, custom-made design of the isolation resonant network is impractical; instead, off-shelf products are used. In this case, matching the target output parameters to the converter component stresses requires an additional passive matching network. The design of this network has a tedious optimisation routine and may pose a considerable engineering challenge. This study introduces an optimisation method based on a behavioural modelling for class-E resonant converters, which significantly simplifies the component selection procedure. The method reduces the number of unknowns during simulation assisted parameter optimisation search. Successful implementation of the optimisation process is demonstrated on an off-line, digitally controlled class-E, piezoelectric transformer-based AC/DC converter, where the main inductor and the matching capacitance are the parameters to be optimised.