Single-phase non-isolated high power factor rectifier based on an interleaved DCM boost converter in a three-level configuration

This paper proposes a single-phase high power factor rectifier based on an interleaved DCM boost converter in a three-level configuration. Each boost converter operates in DCM as a voltage follower where the input current waveform follows the voltage waveform without a current control loop. The input current presents low current ripple due to the interleaved operation. Since the proposed configuration is a three-level structure, the voltage applied across the power switches is half of the total output voltage, which enables the use of devices with lower voltage ratings. A PWM asymmetric modulation with a complementary command at each half cycle of the AC input voltage is proposed in order to maintain the voltage sharing at the output capacitors. Simulation and preliminary experimental results from a prototype with 127V input voltage, 400V output voltage, 40kHz switching frequency and 1kW output power are also presented.