Unit power factor single-phase rectifier with reduced conduction loss using a nondissipative passive snubber

This paper presents a single-phase rectifier with low conduction losses. To have a further reduction in the rectifier losses, a passive nondissipative snubber is included in the rectifier. The snubber allows nondissipative commutation at the switches within a large range of the input current. The snubber reduces the rate of the current growth during the switch turn on and also the rate of voltage grow during the switch turn off. The performance of the snubber circuit associated with the low conduction losses results in a rectifier with high efficiency. It is also presented the design of a three kW rectifier and simulation results are shown to access the performance of the proposed rectifier.