Assessment of SiC diode performance in non-isolated converters for LED lighting applications

Today SiC Schottky diodes are becoming less expensive and more affordable in the market of electronic components. However, the price is still higher in comparison with common fast and ultrafast diodes with the same current and voltage rating. The main aim of this research is to find are the SiC diodes more advantageous in non-isolated converters for LED applications. From the one side SiC diodes have extremely fast reverse recovery time (reduced switching losses), from the other side they have higher forward voltage drop (higher conduction losses). In this case the evaluation of loss distribution between the conduction and switching losses is very important. This distribution may vary depending on topology, input-to-output voltage radio and output power. Several topologies are considered in the scope of this article: the most commonly used conventional buck topology, buck-boost topology and tapped-inductor topology.