Wide-Range ZVS Phase-Shift Full-Bridge Converter With Reduced Conduction Loss Caused by Circulating Current

A conventional phase-shift full-bridge (PSFB) converter with two clamp diodes and an additional resonant inductor is widely used for front-end dc/dc stage in the distributed power system. However, the hold-up-time requirement limits its operating duty ratio at normal operation. It results in conduction loss caused by circulating current. Therefore, a wide-range zero-voltage switching (ZVS) PSFB converter with reduced conduction loss caused by circulating current is proposed in this paper. The proposed converter adopts the large resonant inductance and replaces clamp diodes in the conventional PSFB converter with MOSFET switches. With these modifications, the proposed converter can achieve the ZVS operation over wide load range as well as can reduce the conduction loss caused by the circulating current. These advantages result in the improvement of whole load efficiency. The operational principle and analysis of the proposed converter are presented and verified by the 1.2-kW prototype.