Chapter 9

Zero-Voltage or Zero-Current Switchings

• converters for soft switching

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-1

 Why resonant converters
• Hard switching is based on on/off
– Switching losses
– Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) because
of high du/dt and di/dt
• SMPS size decreses with increasing
switching frequency
– Target is to use as high fs as possible
– Switching losses are reduced if voltage and/or
current are zero during switching

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-2

 One Inverter Leg

• The output current can be positive or negative

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-3

 Hard Switching Waveforms

• The output current can be positive or negative

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-4
 Change over
• T- conducts Io and it is turned off
– Voltage over it increases and when it is Ud diode D+
starts to conduct
– Because of parasitic inductances voltage exceeds Ud
• D+ conducts Io and T- is turned on
– Current increares and exceeds Io because of diode
reverse recovery current
– After recovery of the diode voltage over T- drops to
nearly zero

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-5

 Turn-on and Turn-off Snubbers

• Turn-off snubbers are used, turn-on very seldom

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-6
 Switching Trajectories

• Comparison of Hard versus soft switching

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-7

 Switching losses
• Voltage and current stresses of the switches can
be reduced by snubber circuits (Finnish
kytkentäsuojapiiri)
– Losses are transferred from the switch to the R of the
RC-snubber
– C discharges through R when switch is turned on
– Total losses do not necessarily decrease, requires
careful dimensioning
• In resonant circuit switching losses in theory can
be even zero

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-8

 Basics of resonant circuits

Series resonance
Lossless parallel resonant circuit

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-9

Undamped Series-Resonant Circuit

• The waveforms shown include initial conditions

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-10

 Series resonance
• Equations
diL duC
Lr  uC  U d Cr  iL
dt dt
• Solution from time t = 0

iL = IL0 cos 0 t +
Vd – VC0
sin 0 t vC = Vd – Vd – VC0 cos 0t + Z0 IL0 sin 0t
Z0
• Resonance frequency and impedance

1 Lr
0  2f 0  Z0 =
Lr Cr Cr

• Often per unit values are used Vbase = Vd Ibas e = Vd

Z0

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-11

 Series-Resonant Circuit with
Capacitor-Parallel Load

• The waveforms shown include initial conditions

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-12

 Series-Resonant Circuit with Capacitor-
Parallel Load
• Equations
vC = Vd – Lr diL iL – iC = Io
• Derivation dt
dv d 2i
iC = Cr C = – LrCr 2L
dt dt
• And using
d 2 iL +  2 i =  2 I
0 L 0 o
dt 2
• Solution is
Vd – VC0
iL = Io + IL0 – Io cos 0 t + sin 0 t
Z0

vC = Vd – Vd – VC0 cos 0t + Z0 IL0 – Io sin 0t

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-13

Impedance of a Series-Resonant Circuit

• Quality factor

Q = 0 Lr = 1 = Z0
R 0 CrR R
•The impedance is capacitive
below the resonance frequency

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-14

Undamped Parallel-Resonant Circuit
iL + Cr dvC = Id
dt vC = Lr diL
dt
iL = Id + IL0 – Id cos 0t + VC0 sin 0t 0 = 2šƒ0 = 1
Z0 Lr Cr

vC = VC0 cos 0t + Z0 Id – IL0 sin 0t Z0 =

Lr
Cr

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-15

Impedance of a Parallel-Resonant Circuit

Q = 0 R Cr = R = R
0 Lr Z0

• The impedance is inductive

below the resonant frequency
• At resonance frequency
imaginary part of admittance is
zero, i.e. impedance is infinite

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-16

 Load resonant converters
• Series Load Resonant (SLR) Converter
– Discontinuous area s < 0/2
– Continuous area 0/2 <s < 0
– Continuous area s > 0
– Steady state characteristics
– Control of SLR
• Parallel Load Resonant (PLR) Converter
– Discontinuous area
– Continuous area s < 0
– Continuous area s > 0
– Steady state characteristics
• Hybrid-resonant converter

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-17

 Load resonant converters
• Converter has LC-resonant circuit and load
current goes through it
– Both series and parallel resonance
• Voltages and current in the resonant circuit are
introducing zero voltage or current switching
• Load power is controlled by adjusting switching
frequency in relation to resonance frequency
– Impedance of the resonant circuit changes

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-18

Series Load Resonant (SLR) Converter

• The transformer is ignored in this equivalent

circuit
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-19
 Principle
• Full-bridge and transformer connection are
also possible
• Current of the resonant circuit is rectified
in the diode bridge
• Output voltage Uo is assumed to be
constant and its polarity depends on the
sign of current iL of the resonant circuit

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-20

 Polarity of voltages
• Positive current U
johtaa u AB  d
T conducts
U
u´AB  d  U o
2 2

U U
johtaa u AB   d
D conducts u´AB   d  U o
2 2

• Negative current U U
johtaa u AB   d
T conducts u´AB   d  U o
2 2

Ud Ud
D johtaa
conducts u AB  u´AB   Uo
2 2

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-21

SLR Waveforms, DCM, s < 0/2

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-22

 Operation
• Current of T+ is zero
– Turned on at 0t0
• At 0t1 current of resonant circuit turns and D+
conducts, because T- is not turned on yet (s <
0/2)
• After 180°, at 0t2 current goes to zero
– Because of symmetry, capacitor voltage is 2Uo
• Because 2Uo < Ud/2 + Uo inductor current is not
increasing but it is discontinuous
• At 0t3 control is given to T- and negative half
cycle starts

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-23

 Remarks
• Switches are turnig of naturally as current
goes to zero
– Even thyristors could be used
• Switches are turning on when current is
zero but voltage not
• Peak value of current in the resonant
circuit is much higher than the average of
output current

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-24

SLR Waveforms, CCM, 0/2 < s < 0

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-25

 Operation
• Switch T+ current ≠ 0
– It is turned on at 0t0, voltage is Ud
– Switch conducts less than 180°
– At 0t1 current iL becomes negative and D+ conducts
• T- is turned on at 0t2
– This is earlier than in the previous DCM operating
area s < 0/2
– D+ conducts less than 180°

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-26

 Devices
• Turning on
– Current and voltage are not zero => losses
• Turning off
– Current and voltage are zero
– Even thyristors could be used
• Reverse recovery current of the diodes
must be small

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-27

SLR Waveforms, CCM, s > 0

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-28

 Operation
• Current of T+ is zero and it is turned on at 0t0
• T+ is turned on at 0t1
– This is before the current has become zero
– D- starts to conduct
– Voltage over the LC-circuits is high and diode current goes
rapidly to zero
• T- is turned on immeadiately as D- starts to
conduct
– T- can conduct as the polarity of the current changes

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-29

 Switches
• Turn-on at zero current and voltage
• Turning off takes place close to the peak
of the resonant current
– Turn-off losses
• Before the switch starts to conduct the
antiparall diode has conducted
– Voltage over switch is ≈ 0
– It is possible to use lossless snubbers, i.e. only
snubber capacitor in the circuit as there is no
discharge current when the switch is turned on

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-30

Lossless Snubbers in SLR Converters

• The operating frequency is above the resonance

frequency
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-31
 SLR Converter Characteristics

• Output Current as a function of operating

frequency for various values of the output voltage
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-32
 SLR Converter Control

• The operating frequency is varied to regulate the

output voltage
• In full-bridge converters frequency can also be
constant and voltage is controlled phase-shifting
leg voltages, ( D = 50 %)

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-33

Parallel Load Resonant (PLR) Converter

• The transformer is ignored in this equivalent

circuit
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-34
 Principle
• Voltage of Cr is recitified and filtered
• Output current is assumed to be constant
during switching cycle
• Voltage over the resonant circuit
Ud
u AB  T tai
or D johtaa
 conducts
2
Ud
u AB   T tai
or D johtaa
conducts
2
• Operation depends on iL and uC

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-35

 PLR Waveforms, DCM

• The current is in a discontinuous conduction

mode
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-36
 Operation (1/2)

• T+ is turned on at 0t0, iL = uC = 0
• Constant output current flows through the
diode bridge and keeps capacitor voltage
as zero
– After0t1 current difference charges resonant
capacitor
• LC-circuit current iL goes to zero at 0t2
and becomes negative
– D+ conducts as T- is not turned on

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-37

 Operation (2/2)
• Gate of T+:n is removed before 0t3:a
– iL remains zero
– Cr discharges in time 0(t3 – t4) with Io
– After this we are in the beginning
• Output voltage average is adjusted with
time t5 – t4
• No turn-on or turn-off losses in diodes

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-38

 PLR Waveforms, CCM, s < 0

• The operating frequency is below the resonance

frequency
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-39
PLR Converter Waveforms, CCM, s > 0

• The operating frequency is above the resonance

frequency
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-40
 PLR, CCM
• No trun-on losses
• Turn-off with current
– Losses
– Losses can be reduced with lossless snubber
as in SLR

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-41

 PLR Converter Characteristics

• Output voltage as a function of operating

frequency for various values of the output current
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-42
 PLR Characteristics
• DCM
– Output voltage doesn’t depend on current
• Many parallel outputs are possible
– Output voltage depends linearly from
switching frequency
• Output voltage can be higher than input
• Maximum current and voltage much higher
than Io and Ud

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-43

 PLR versus SLR
• PLR
– Acts as voltage sourc
• Fits for multiple output SMPS
– No built in overload protection
– Both step up and step down operation

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-44

Hybrid-Resonant DC-DC Converter

• Combination of series and parallel resonance

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-45

 Parallel-Resonant Current-Source
Converter

• Basic circuit to illustrate the operating principle

at the fundamental frequency

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-46

 Parallel-Resonant Current-Source
Converter

• Using thyristors;
for induction
heating

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-47

Class-E Converters

Optimum mode

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-48

Class-E Converters

Non-Optimum
mode

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-49

 Resonant Switch Converters

Classifications

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-50

 Resonant Switch Converters

• Similar ideas was used before gate turn-

off devices
– Thyristors were used in dc-dc converters and
dc-ac inverters => additional LC circuit used
to turn-off conduction thyristor (e.g.
McMurray-circuit)
• Nowadays also in power supplies
• Transformer parasitic inductances and
other parasitics can be used in LC-circuits
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-51
 Classification
• ZCS, zero-current-switching
– Switch turns on and off without current
• ZVS, zero-voltage-switching
– Switch turns on and off without voltage
• ZVS-CV, zero-voltage-switching, clamped
voltage
– As before but at least two switches
– Voltage over switch is limited to the supply voltage

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-52

ZCS Resonant-Switch Converter

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-53

 Operation principle
• Current Io goes through the diode
– Cr is charged to the supply voltage Ud
• Switch is turned on
– Diode D conducts untill at t1 current is equal to the
load current
• LrCr is a resonant circuit discharging Cr
– At t2 current goes to zero and switch turns off
• Output current Io charges Cr to the supply
voltage
– At t3 diode starts to conduct

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-54

 ZCS Resonant-Switch Converter

• Waveforms; voltage is regulated by varying the

switching frequency, time interval t4 - t3

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-55

 Properties
• Resonant frequency in MHz area
resonanssitaajuus valitaan MHz-alueelle
• Switch turns on and off without current
– At turn-off switch voltage is Ud => turn-off losses
• Output current Io  Vo Z0 , Z0  Lr Cr

• When output current increases output voltage

decreases
– Switching frequency is increased
• Antiparallel connected diode
– At low load resonant circuit energy can be supplied back to the
supply
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-56
 Electromagnetic Interference, EMI

• Losses and EMI due to the converter are

reduced when soft switching is used
• Peak current of switch
– High when compared to the output current
– Conduction losses are higher than in hard
switching
– EMI increases???

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-57

 ZCS Resonant-Switch Converter

• A practical circuit
•Capacitor is in
parallel with the
diode

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-58

 Operation
• When switch is turned on its current
increases linearly untill iT = Io
– Diode turns off
• Current iT – Io charges capacitor after t1
• At t2 current iT goes to zero and switch
turns off
• Capacitor is discharged with output current

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-59

 ZVS Resonant-Switch Converter

• Capacitor is
connected in paralle
with the switch =>
limits voltage
changes
•Serious limitations

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-60

 Operation
• Switch is turned off when it conducts Io
– Capacitor Cr charges with constant current
• At t1 uC = Ud
– Diode D conducts, Cr Lr resonant circuit
• At t2 Cr voltage becomes zero
– Dr starts to conduct, gate control is given to switch
and current iL increases linearly
– A t2´ current is positive and it goes through the switch
• At t3 iL is equal to Io and D stops to
conduct
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-61
ZVS Resonant-Switch Converter
Output voltage

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-62

 Comparison of ZCS and ZVS
• ZCS
– Switch maximum current Io  Vd Z0
– Output current limited Io  Vo Z0 , Z0  Lr Cr

• ZVS
– Switch maximum voltage Vd  I o Z 0
– Output current must be larger than Vd Z0
– High voltage switch is needed if output power
variation is large

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-63

 MOSFET Internal Capacitances

• These capacitances affect the MOSFET switching

• ZVS is better for MOSFET
• ZCS good e.g. for IGBT’s because of tail current

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-64

Zero-voltage-switching, clamped-voltage, ZVS-
CV

• The inductor current must reverse direction

during each switching cycle
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-65
 ZVS-CV

• Switch turn on and off with zero voltage

– Maximum voltage is clamped to input voltage
• Lf is small when compared to hard
switching
– Its current is both positive and negative
• T+ conduct current and it is turned off
– Voltage over it is zero because of C+

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-66

 ZVS-CV DC-DC Converter

• One transition is
shown
•In Fig c) C+ = C– =
C/2
•iL is not change
much during t0 - t0´.

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-67

 Operation (1/2)
• Condensator C– has discharged at t0´
– Inductor’s current decreases linearly as D- conducts
and uL = -Uo.
– At the same time gate control to T-
– When current polarity changes at t0´´ switch starts to
conduct
• T- is turned of at t1 with zero voltage (uC- =
0)
– When C- is charged to Ud and C+ has discharged,
negative current flows through diode D+

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-68

 Operation (2/2)
• After t1´ voltage over inductor is positive
– Its current is positive after t2 when T+
conducts
• For ZVS capacitor is connected parallel to
the switch
– Capacitor must be discharged when switch is
turned on
– It is discharged if antiparallel diode has been
conducting
– Therefore current iL has to have both polarities
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-69
 Control of output voltage
• Constant frequency PWM can be used
– Durations t0 - t0´ and t1´ – t1 can be assumed short
– Output voltage is square wave => Uo ≈ D Ud
• Lf must be dimensioned so that
– Even with smallest Ud and highes load
current instantaneous value of iL is also
negative

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-70

 ZVS-CV Principle Applied to DC-AC
Inverters

•Even in dc-dc converter inductor

current had negative values, now
both polarities are equal
• Very large ripple in the output
current

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-71

 Control of output voltage
• In full bridge delay
between pole
voltages can be
adjusted

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-72

Three-Phase ZVS-CV DC-AC Inverter

• Very large ripple in the output current

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-73

 ZVS-CV with Voltage Cancellation

• Commonly used
• Lm is
magnetizing
inductance of
transformer

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-74

 Resonant DC-Link Inverter

• The dc-link voltage

is made to oscillate

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-75

Three-Phase Resonant DC-Link Inverter

• Modifications have been proposed

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-76

 High-Frequency-Link Inverter

• Basic principle for selecting integral half-cycles of the

high-frequency ac input
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-77
 High-Frequency-Link Inverter

• Low-frequency ac output is synthesized by selecting

integral half-cycles of the high-frequency ac input
Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-78
 High-Frequency-Link Inverter

• Shows how to implement such an inverter

Chapter 9 Resonant Converters 9-79