344 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO.

2, FEBRUARY 2011

Performance of a High-Efficiency Switched-

Capacitor-Based Resonant Converter
With Phase-Shift Control
Kenichiro Sano, Member, IEEE, and Hideaki Fujita, Senior Member, IEEE

Abstract—This paper presents operating performance of a duction loss [9] and the mitigation of the conducted EMI is also
switched-capacitor-based resonant converter (SCRC) using a reported in [10]. The resonant converter has many similarities
phase-shift control method. The proposed phase-shift control re- with SCCs in its circuit topology and operating behavior. There-
alizes zero-voltage switching operation, and thus achieves a high-
conversion efficiency. A theoretical analysis shows that the SCRC fore, this paper refers to the resonant converter, which consists
can reduce its inductor volume compared with a conventional buck of an SCC and a small-rated resonant inductor inserted in se-
converter when the output voltage range is within 19%–81% of its ries with the switched capacitor as “switched-capacitor-based
input voltage. Experimental results verify the operating character- resonant converters (SCRCs).”
istics of the proposed method and show the improved conversion A basic SCRC has an output voltage, which is double or
efficiency of more than 99%.
half of the input voltage. An expanded SCRC equipped with n
Index Terms—Inductor volume, phase-shift control, switched- capacitors can convert the input voltage Vin to an output volt-
capacitor converters (SCC), voltage regulation, zero-voltage age vout = Vin /n in a step-down, or vout = nVin in a step-up
switching (ZVS).
configuration [6]–[8], [11], [12]. The switching devices are op-
erated by feeding periodic gate signals with a fixed duty cycle
I. INTRODUCTION and frequency. Then, the conversion ratio (vout /Vin ) is almost
ARIOUS types of dc–dc converters are widely applied to fixed at a particular value depending on the number of the series-
V dc power supplies, battery chargers, voltage regulators for
photovoltaics and fuel cells, etc. Most of the dc–dc converters
connected capacitors. However, this control method has a diffi-
culty in the output voltage regulation. The output voltage error is
include magnetic components, such as inductors and/or trans- caused by the input voltage fluctuations, and the voltage drops
formers for stepping up/down or smoothing the current/voltage. in the switching devices and the passive components. Some
The magnetic components, however, occupy a large volume and feedback control methods have been proposed to regulate the
weight in the converter, and also produce nonnegligible losses. output voltage by adjusting the blanking time [13], the switching
Switched-capacitor converters (SCC) [1]–[3] have been used frequency [14], and the duty cycle [15]. These methods make
as a simple and low-cost dc–dc converter in small power appli- it possible to decrease the output voltage from the particular
cations. The advantage of the SCC is its small volume because value. However, these methods may cause increased switching
it needs no inductor or transformer. Recently, resonant power and ON-state losses due to its hard-switching operation and
converters consisting of an SCC and a small-rated resonant in- a large peak current, which lead the conversion efficiency to
ductor have been proposed to reduce the switching loss and decline.
electromagnetic interference (EMI) [4]. The resonant convert- The authors have proposed a new voltage-regulation method
ers have an additional small inductor connected in series with for SCRCs, which adjusts a phase-shift angle. The control
the switched capacitor, leading to soft-switching operation with method realized a current amplitude control by adjusting the
a low-switching loss. The inductor used in the resonant convert- phase difference among gate signals. The method makes the
ers is much smaller than that in a conventional buck converter SCRC not only decrease the output voltage, but also increase
because the converter mainly stores the electrical energy in the it continuously, resulting in a more flexible voltage regulation.
switched capacitor similarly to the SCC. As a consequence, the The SCRC can continue zero-voltage switching (ZVS) even if
resonant converter seems to be more suitable for a high-power the output voltage is changed. The basic characteristics have
application than the SCC [5]–[8]. A circuit configuration using been analyzed under the condition that the SCRC is used as
synchronous rectification has been proposed to reduce the con- a dc-capacitor voltage-balancing circuit for a five-level diode-
clamped inverter [16].
Manuscript received October 27, 2009; revised January 13, 2010, March
9, 2010, and July 20, 2010; accepted July 20, 2010. Date of current ver-
This paper presents the output voltage regulation character-
sion February 4, 2011. Recommended for publication by Associate Editor istics of an SCRC using the phase-shift control. The principle
D. Maksimovic. of the phase-shift control is explained as well as the mecha-
The authors are with the Department of Electrical and Electronic En-
gineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan (e-mail:
nism of the ZVS operation. The theoretical analysis shows that
[email protected]; [email protected]). the inductor volume of the SCRC is smaller than that of the
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online buck converter in an output voltage range from 19% to 81%
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPEL.2010.2062537
of the input voltage. Experimental results verify the operation

0885-8993/$26.00 © 2010 IEEE

SANO AND FUJITA: PERFORMANCE OF A HIGH-EFFICIENCY SWITCHED-CAPACITOR-BASED RESONANT CONVERTER 345

Fig. 1. Switched-capacitor-based resonant converter.

characteristics of the proposed control method and show the

improved conversion efficiency of more than 99%.

II. SWITCHED-CAPACITOR-BASED RESONANT CONVERTERS Fig. 2. Four switching modes in the SCRC. (a) Mode 1. (b) Mode 2.
(c) Mode 3. (d) Mode 4.
A. Circuit Configuration
Fig. 1 shows a circuit configuration of a SCRC. This circuit
acts as a step-down converter and feeds the output voltage vout
to a load. The SCRC consists of two half-bridge inverters with
four switching devices S1 –S4 and a series resonant circuit Lr
and Cr . Addition of the small inductor Lr is the difference
from a conventional SCC in the circuit configuration, resulting
in a great suppression of spike currents, power losses, and EMI
issues. The configuration is the same as that in [9] except for
addition of four snubber capacitors Cs .

B. Phase-Shift Control
Fig. 2 shows switching modes in the SCRC. Four switch-
ing modes exist because the SCRC consists of two half-bridge
inverters. Fig. 3 illustrates the switching sequence and wave-
forms of the phase-shift control. These waveforms are drawn
under the condition of a power flow from the voltage source
Vin to the load. In addition, the output voltage is assumed to
be vout = Vin /2. The switching frequency fSW should be set
at a higher frequency than the resonant frequency√ of the se-
ries resonant circuit fr (=ωr /(2π) = 1/(2π Lr Cr )). In this
condition, the resonant circuit acts as an inductive impedance,
and the amplitude of ir is controllable by the phase difference
between the two half-bridge inverters.
Fig. 3. Switching sequence in the phase-shift control.
The reference signal is a square wave with a period TSW
(=1/fSW ) and a 50% duty cycle. The gate signals of S1 and
S2 lead from the reference signal by TS /2, while S3 and S4
lag by TS /2. Therefore, mode 2 or 4 appears for a short dura- from S3 and S4 (TS < 0), the SCRC regenerates an amount of
tion of TS between mode 1 and 3. Since the resonant-capacitor power from the load to Vin . The conventional control methods in
voltage vC r is Vin /2 on average, ±Vin /2 is applied across the [13]–[15] cannot regenerate any power when vout < Vin /2, and
resonant inductor Lr during mode 2 and 4. As a result, the res- the direction of the power flow depends only on the relation
onant current ir has a trapezoidal waveform. Since the output between the input and output voltages. The phase-shift control
current iout is the rectified current of ir , the average value of enables the SCRC to control iout bidirectionally by adjusting
iout is proportional to the amplitude of ir . When S1 and S2 lag the phase-shift time TS regardless of vout .
346 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2011

Fig. 4. Block diagram of the output voltage controller.

The average output current Iout can be expressed as follows

(see Appendix A):

2Vin sin ωr TS sin ωr TS
Iout =
ωr2 Lr TSW 1+cos ωr TS +cos ωr TS +cos(ωr TSW /2)
(1)
where TS = TSW /2 − |TS |. A first-order approximation of (1)
around TS = 0 yields
Vin tan(ωr TSW /4)
Iout ≈ TS (2)
Zr TSW
where Zr is the 
characteristic impedance of the resonant circuit,
given by Zr = Lr /Cr .

C. Control Scheme
Fig. 4 shows the block diagram of the output voltage con-
troller for the SCRC. The output voltage vout can be regulated
by applying voltage feedback with proportional and integral (PI)
∗
gains. The reference of the averaged output current Iout is given
as follows:
  Fig. 5. Voltage and current waveforms of the switching devices in case of a
∗ Ki ∗ ZVS operation.
Iout (s) = Kp + {Vout (s) − Vout (s)} (3)
s
∗
where Kp is a proportional gain, Ki is an integral gain, and Vout
is a reference of the output voltage. The proposed feedback Fig. 6 depicts the six switching states. During state A, for-
control realizes an accurate voltage regulation in spite of the ward current flows through S1 and reverse current flows through
input voltage fluctuation and/or voltage drops in devices. S3 . The snubber capacitor voltage vS 1 equals zero in this state.
According to the relation in (2), TS is calculated from the The state B starts when S1 is turned OFF. The inductor current
∗
reference value of the output current Iout as follows: commutates from S1 to Cs1 and Cs2 , and charges and dis-
charges them. The voltage across S1 gradually increases, and
∗
TS = 2Kr Iout (4) ZVS is achieved in this turn-OFF transition. After Cs2 is fully
where Kr is a control gain depending on circuit parameters, discharged, the diode in S2 starts to conduct, and the state is
given by changed to C. During the state C, the current ir gradually de-
creases. The current in S2 and S3 automatically commutates
Zr TSW from the diodes to the corresponding MOSFETs when the po-
Kr = .
2Vin tan(ωr TSW /4) larity of ir changes. The forward current increases in S2 and S3
This control method simply decides TS to be in proportion to during the state D. The diodes in S2 and S3 turn OFF and the
∗ corresponding MOSFETs can be turned ON with zero-voltage
the Iout , and do not need any current sensor.
zero-current switching (ZVZCS) because the snubber capaci-
III. SOFT SWITCHING tor voltages vS 2 and vS 3 are zero in this state. The MOSFET
in S3 is turned OFF at the beginning of state E. The inductor
A. Soft-Switching Operation
current commutates from S3 to Cs3 and Cs4 , and charges and
Fig. 5 shows drain-to-source voltages vS 1 –vS 4 and drain cur- discharges them. The MOSFET in S3 is turned OFF with ZVS.
rents iS 1 –iS 4 of the MOSFETs in a switching transition from After Cs4 is fully discharged, the diode in S4 starts to conduct
mode 1 to mode 3. The phase-shift control makes the SCRC and the state becomes F.
accomplish ZVS operations by using additional snubber capac- The energy stored in Cs does not cause any power loss when
itors Cs (Cs  Cr ) or the parasitic output capacitance Coss the inductor current ir discharges Cs before the turn-ON transi-
(Coss  Cr ) of the MOSFET. The transition is divided into six tion of the corresponding MOSFETs. The other transition from
states from A to F. mode 3 to mode 1 also achieves ZVS due to the symmetric
SANO AND FUJITA: PERFORMANCE OF A HIGH-EFFICIENCY SWITCHED-CAPACITOR-BASED RESONANT CONVERTER 347

Fig. 7. Current waveforms of the SCRC in case of 0 < M ≤ 0.5.

Fig. 6. Transition of the current path from Mode 1 to 3. (a) State A. (b) State B.
(c) State C. (d) State D. (e) State E. (f) State F.

operation. Therefore, all switching devices can be turned OFF

with ZVS and turned ON with ZVZCS in the phase-shift control.
This switching operation significantly reduces the switching loss
and allows us to use low ON-state resistance MOSFETs with a
relatively large output capacitance.
Fig. 8. Current waveforms of the SCRC in case of 0.5 < M ≤ 1.
B. Requirement for the ZVS Operation
If the inductor current ir is small during the commutation, the the requirement for ZVS operation is summarized as follows:
SCRC cannot fully discharge Cs2 before the turn-ON transition 
Cs
of S2 . In this case, the energy remained in Cs2 is consumed in ID ≥ Vin . (8)
2Lr
the MOSFET in S2 during the turn-ON process. The snubber
capacitor Cs1 is also suddenly charged to Vin /2. Then, a spike Figs. 7 and 8 show waveforms of the resonant current ir and
current flows through the MOSFET in S2 , and produces a loss. the output current iout , when the output voltage vout is lower
The snubber capacitor of S2 is discharged by the inductor than Vin /2 and higher than Vin /2, respectively. Here, the voltage
current ir and its voltage vS 2 decreases from Vin /2 during the conversion ratio is defined as M = vout /Vin . Since the resonant
state B in Fig. 5. Assuming that the capacitance of Cs is much capacitor voltage vC r is equal to Vin /2 on average, Vin /2 is
smaller than that of Cr , the resonance between Lr and Cs occurs applied to Lr in mode 2 and 4. Therefore, the inductor current
during the state B [17], and ir (t) becomes a sinusoidal waveform is increased or decreased with dir /dt = ±Vin /(2Lr ) in mode 2
given by and 4. In mode 1 and 3, ±(Vin /2 − vout ) is applied to Lr , and
the slope of ir is dir /dt = ±(0.5 − M )Vin /Lr . Therefore, Lr
ir (t) = ID cos ωs t (5) is a factor to decide these slopes. The decrease of Lr increases
the slopes of ir , resulting in the increase of Im ax and the decrease
√ ID is the current at the beginning of the state B, and ωs =
where
of Im in . The requirement for ZVS in (8) can be represented by
1/ 2Lr Cs . The snubber capacitor voltage vS 2 is represented

by Cs
 t Im in ≥ Vin . (9)
Vin 1 2Lr
vS 2 (t) = − ir (τ )dτ. (6)
2 2Cs 0 Lr should be designed to satisfy the requirement in (9) in the
Substituting (5) into (6) main operating range.

Vin Lr IV. ENERGY STORED IN THE INDUCTOR
vS 2 (t) = − ID sin ωs t. (7)
2 2Cs
When 0 < M ≤ 0.5, a geometric analysis in Fig. 7 yields
Note that the snubber capacitor voltage vS 2 is kept at zero
dir Vin Im ax + Im in
after the capacitor is fully discharged. When ir is too small = = (in mode 2, 4) (10)
to discharge it completely, vS 2 reaches its minimum value at dt 2Lr TS
t = π/(2ωs ). The blanking time should be set to TD = π/(2ωs ) dir (0.5 − M )Vin Im ax − Im in
= = (in mode 1, 3). (11)
to minimize the loss caused by short circuits of Cs . From (7), dt Lr TS
348 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2011

Fig. 9. Buck converter.

The average output current Iout is expressed as follows:

Fig. 10. Relationship between the voltage conversion ratio and the energy
(Im ax + Im in )TS stored in the inductor E L m in , shown in (14), (16), and (18).
Iout = . (12)
2(TS + TS )
The maximum energy stored in the inductor Lr is given by TABLE I
PARAMETERS OF THE EXPERIMENTAL CIRCUITS
1 2
Lr Im
EL = ax . (13)
2
The minimum value of EL and the inductance to minimize EL
can be derived from (10)–(13) as follows (see Appendix B):
1 − 2M Vin Iout
EL m in = · (0 < M ≤ 0.5) (14)
4 fSW
1 1 − 2M Vin
Lr = · · (0 < M ≤ 0.5). (15)
32 (1 − M ) Iout fSW
2

In general, Vin and fSW are constants decided by the circuit

specifications, and M and Iout are also fixed under a rated load
condition.
The similar analysis in 0.5 < M ≤ 1 gives EL m in and Lr as IXFN130N30) were used as the switching devices and they
follows: were operated at 20 kHz. External snubber capacitors Cs were
−1 + 2M Vin Iout not connected because the parasitic output capacitance (Coss =
EL m in = · (0.5 < M ≤ 1) (16) 2.7 nF at VDS = 25 V) was large enough to achieve soft switch-
4 fSW
ing. The circuit parameters are summarized in Table I. The
1 −1 + 2M Vin
Lr = · · (0.5 < M ≤ 1). (17) inductor Lr is designed to realize soft-switching operation in a
32 M2 Iout fSW range of 0.46 ≤ M ≤ 0.54 (±8 % in the output voltage). The
Fig. 9 shows a buck converter. The energy stored in the in- inductor Lr is twice as large as the theoretical value 12.2 μH
ductor Lc becomes minimum if Lc is designed to make the given by (15) and (17) to realize the soft-switching requirement
peak value of iout equal to twice the average value [18]. In such in (9) in the rated operating range. The resonant frequency of
condition, EL m in is given as follows: the resonant circuit has to be less than 20 kHz because it should
Vin Iout operate as an inductive impedance in the phase-shift control.
EL m in = M (1 − M ) . (18) Therefore, Cr has to be set to more than 2.3 μF from the re-
fSW
quirement of the resonant frequency. In addition, Cr should also
satisfy the requirement of its ripple current rating. In the exper-
The maximum energy stored in the inductor shown in (14),
iments, two 4.7-μF capacitors (rated ripple current: 12 A) were
(16), and (18) are plotted in Fig. 10 by the voltage conversion
connected in parallel and Cr was set to 9.4 μF in order to handle
ratio M . The SCRC is smaller in the stored energy than the
the output current of 14 A.
buck converter in a range of 0.19 < M < 0.81, and the minimum
Fig. 11 is the photograph of the resonant circuit used in the
value of EL m in appears at M = 0.5 in the SCRC. Since inductor
following experiments. Film capacitors were used for the reso-
volume is generally almost proportional to the energy stored in
nant capacitor Cr and a ferrite core inductor was used for the
the inductor, the SCRC has advantage in inductor volume around
resonant inductor Lr . The volume of the capacitors and induc-
M = 0.5. For example, in case that M is adjusted in a range of
tor were 87 cm3 (cylindrical, diameter: 3.5 cm, length: 4.5 cm,
0.45 < M < 0.55, the SCRC is ten times smaller in inductor
and two pieces) and 27 cm3 (3.3 cm × 3.3 cm × 2.5 cm), re-
volume than the conventional buck converter.
spectively. The maximum energy stored in the inductor is only
6.5 mJ. On the other hand, a 2.8-kW buck converter has to store
V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
the magnetic energy more than 70 mJ in the inductor as pre-
The proposed methods were evaluated using a 2.8-kW sented in (18). Therefore, SCRCs can reduce the volume of the
experimental circuit. Power MOSFETs (IXYS HiPerFET, inductor by a factor of ten compared with buck converters.
SANO AND FUJITA: PERFORMANCE OF A HIGH-EFFICIENCY SWITCHED-CAPACITOR-BASED RESONANT CONVERTER 349

Fig. 11. Components for the resonant circuit.

Fig. 13. Experimental waveforms of a half-load (1.3 kW) condition when

V o∗u t = 200 V and Ilo a d = 6.5 A.

charged/discharged immediately in the state D, resulting in an

increase of the switching loss.

B. Voltage Regulation Characteristics

Figs. 15 and 16 are the experimental waveforms of the 2.5 kW
conversion. In Fig. 15, the output voltage Vout was regulated at
185 V by the control scheme shown in Fig. 4, and the output
current was 13.5 A. In Fig. 16, Vout was regulated at 215 V and
Fig. 12. Experimental waveforms of a full-load (2.5 kW) condition when the output current was 11.6 A. The voltage vout applies to S3
V o∗u t = 200 V and Ilo a d = 12.5 A. and S4 , and Vin − vout applies to S1 and S2 . The average of
these voltages Vin /2 (=200 V) is the average of the resonant
capacitor voltage vC r , which is constant regardless of the output
A. Current Control Characteristics voltage Vout .
Fig. 12 shows the experimental waveforms under a full-load Fig. 17 shows the characteristics of the output voltage regu-
∗ lation under different load conditions when the output voltage
(2.5 kW) condition when the voltage reference was set at Vout =
∗
200 V. The control scheme shown in Fig. 4 was applied. The reference Vout was set to 185, 200, and 215 V. The output voltage
phase of S1 and S2 led to the phase of S3 and S4 by TS = 3.0 μs, was well regulated and included almost no error in all operating
and the average output current was 12.5 A. The ZVS operation range. A conventional SCRC without voltage feedback has poor
was realized, and switching surge was very small. voltage regulating performance for a wide load range. The pro-
Fig. 13 shows the experimental waveforms under a half-load posed phase-shift control method can eliminate the steady-state
∗ error because it is equipped with the integral gain in the voltage
(1.3 kW) condition when Vout = 200 V. The phase-shift time
TS decreased to 1.5 μs according to a reduction of the output feedback loop.
current to 6.5 A. Therefore, the output current can be controlled
by the phase-shift time.
Fig. 14 shows the experimental waveform of the drain-to- C. Efficiency and Power Losses
source voltages and drain currents of S1 and S2 . Each MOSFET Fig. 18 shows the experimental circuit used for the efficiency
has parasitic output capacitance Coss and it operates as a snub- measurement [19]. Another SCRC was duplicated with the same
ber capacitor. Fig. 14(a) shows the soft-switching operation in devices as the target SCRC and connected to the target SCRC in
2.5 kW conversion. The drain currents iS 1 and iS 2 show the parallel. The duplicated SCRC operates to regenerate the power
charging/discharging current of the Coss during the state B, from Co to Cin when there is power flowing inside the system.
where Coss of S1 was charged and Coss of S2 was discharged. The power consumed in the two converters was fed from the dc
Total energy related to the charge/discharge of Coss was al- power supply Vin . A four-channel power meter (HIOKI 3390)
most zero. Fig. 14(b) shows the soft-switching limit in 0.5 kW was attached to the system, and measured the input power Pin ,
conversion. Coss were charged/discharged slowly during the the output power Pout , the regenerated power Preg , and the
state B, and the state C disappears. Fig. 14(c) shows the hard- power fed from the dc power supply Psup . The loss consumed
switching operation in 0.2 kW conversion. The charge/discharge in the two converters are Pin − Preg , and it should be equal to
of Coss did not finish during the state B. Then, they are Psup .
350 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2011

Fig. 14. Drain-to-source voltages and drain currents of S 1 and S 2 . (a) Soft switching (2.5 kW). (b) Soft-switching limit (0.5 kW). (c) Hard switching (0.2 kW).

Fig. 17. Output voltage regulation characteristics under different load

conditions.

Fig. 15. Experimental waveforms of 2.5 kW conversion when V o∗u t = 185 V

and Ilo a d = 13.5 A.

Fig. 18. Experimental circuit used for the efficiency measurement.

Fig. 19 shows the measured power loss. The power loss in

Fig. 16. Experimental waveforms of 2.5 kW conversion when V o∗u t = 215 V the target SCRC can be calculated as Pin − Pout . The total loss
and Ilo a d = 11.6 A.
in the target SCRC and the regenerative SCRC is Pin − Preg .
Both of them are plotted along with Psup . Difference between
SANO AND FUJITA: PERFORMANCE OF A HIGH-EFFICIENCY SWITCHED-CAPACITOR-BASED RESONANT CONVERTER 351

Fig. 19. Power loss in the SCRC. Fig. 21. Classified power losses in the SCRC.

Fig. 20. Conversion efficiency at V o u t = 200 V.

Pin − Preg and Psup was less than 0.5 W. Thus, it is expected
that the error in the loss measurement is also about 0.5 W. Fig. 22. Conversion efficiency against the output voltage.
Fig. 20 shows the conversion efficiency in difference load
conditions. The output voltage was regulated as Vout = Vin /2 =
Fig. 22 shows the conversion efficiency when the output volt-
200 V, and the output current Iout was adjusted. The negative
age was changed in a range of 200 ± 16 V (M = 50 ± 4%).
power means the reverse power flow from the output side to the
The efficiency was maintained to 99% in all range when the
input side. The efficiency was calculated as Pout /Pin , and it was
conversion power is 2.5 and 2.0 kW. The reduction of the trans-
more than 99% in a range from 10% to the full load.
ferred power limits the voltage range available to achieve soft
Fig. 21 shows the analytical and measured losses. The
switching. The failure of the soft switching increases power loss.
MOSFET ON-state loss is calculated based on the ON-state
Moreover, the rms value of the current increases when the output
resistance in its data sheet. The loss caused by short circuits
voltage deviates from M = 0.5. Therefore, the farther M goes
of Cs is estimated based on the output capacitance in the
from 0.5 (Vout = 200 V), the lower the efficiency becomes.
MOSFET’s data sheet. The ON-state loss and output capacitance
These effects are shown conspicuously when the conversion
loss in the MOSFET are calculated based on the ON-state resis-
power is decreased. The SCRC has advantage in conversion ef-
tance in its data sheet. The loss in the resonant inductor, resonant
ficiency in case the voltage conversion ratio is near M = 0.5.
capacitor, and wires connecting the components are calculated
based on their impedance measured by an LCR meter. When the
output power is less than 600 W, the resonant current is too small
VI. CONCLUSION
to keep soft-switching operation. Therefore, the output capaci-
tance loss is dominant. The soft switching is achieved when the This paper discussed the output voltage regulation charac-
output power is greater than 600 W, where the output current is teristics, the inductor volume, and the efficiency of the SCRC
Iout = 600 W/200 V = 3.0 A. The range of the soft switching using a phase-shift control method. A control method and soft-
can be derived as Im in ≥ 2.8 A from (9), and it almost matches switching operation of the SCRC was explained. The analysis
with the experimental result. The ON-state loss of the MOSFET of the stored energy in the inductor revealed that the inductor
is 40% of the total loss. The inductor loss is only 20% of the volume of the SCRC is smaller than the buck converter when
total loss because its volume is quite small. The loss in Cr is the converter is operated in a range of 19%–81% in voltage
0.2 W at 2.8 kW output, and thus, it is negligible. The difference conversion ratio. The analysis also showed that the SCRC has a
between the measured and calculated losses is assumed to be significant advantage in inductor volume in case the voltage con-
switching losses. version ratio is around 0.5. Experimental setup rated at 2.8 kW
352 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2011

confirmed the steady-state and transient-state operation. The

conversion efficiency of the experimental setup reached more
than 99%. The experimental results showed that the SCRC has a
significant advantage in efficiency in case the voltage conversion
ratio is around 0.5.

APPENDIX A
DERIVATION OF THE AVERAGE OUTPUT CURRENT
The following assumptions are made to derive the average
output current Iout in the phase-shift control.
1) No voltage drop in switching devices.
2) Constant output voltage Vout = M Vin .
3) In a steady-state operation.
The applied voltage to the resonant circuit vr changes as
follows:
⎧
⎪
⎪
Vin (in mode 4) Fig. 23. Waveforms of the resonant current and resonant capacitor voltage.
⎪
⎨ (1 − M )V
in (in mode 1)
vr = . (19)
⎪
⎪ 0 (in mode 2) v̂C r (TSW /2) at t = TSW /2 are given by
⎪
⎩
M Vin (in mode 3) (1 − M )Vin − v̂C r (TS )
îr TS W
2 = sin ωr TS W
2 − TS
Fig. 23 represents the waveforms of the resonant current ir and ωr Lr
the resonant capacitor voltage vC r . Assuming the initial values + îr (TS ) cos ωr TS W
− TS (27)
2
ir = ir 0 and vC r = vC r 0 at t = TM , the resonant current ir and
 T S W /2
the resonant capacitor voltage vC r is given by TS W
v̂C r = v̂C r (TS ) + ωr2 Lr ir (t)dt (28)
vr − v C r 0 2
TS
ir (t) = sin ωr (t − TM ) + ir 0 cos ωr (t − TM )
ωr Lr where
(20)
 (1 − M )Vin − v̂C r (TS )
t ir (t) = sin ωr (t − TS )
vC r (t) = vC r 0 + ωr2 Lr ir (t)dt (21) ωr Lr
TM
+ îr (TS ) cos ωr (t − TS ) . (29)
where ωr is the resonant
√ angular frequency of the resonant
circuit, i.e., ωr = 1/ Lr Cr . It is defined that TS = TSW /2 − The average value of iout in 0 ≤ t ≤ TSW /2 (modes 4 and 1)
|TS |. Two state variables îr (t) and v̂C r (t) are defined as follows: is given by
 T S W /2
îr (t) = |ir (t)| (22) 2
Iout = ir (t)dt (30)
v̂C r (t) = Vin /2 + |vC r (t) − Vin /2|. (23) TSW T S

Here, the beginning of the mode 4 is defined as t = 0. where ir (t) is shown in (29).
1) 0 ≤ t ≤ TS (mode 4) Equations (24)–(30) are solved as a set of simultaneous equa-
In this mode, TM = 0, vr = Vin , ir 0 = −îr (0), and vC r 0 = tions, and the state equations are derived as follows:
Vin − v̂C r (0). Then, the state variables îr (TS ) and v̂C r (TS ) at ⎡   ⎤
TSW
t = TS are given by ⎢ îr t + 2 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
Vin − {Vin − v̂C r (0)} ⎢   ⎥
îr (TS ) = sin ωr TS ⎣ TSW ⎦
ωr Lr v̂C r t +
2
− îr (0) cos ωr TS (24) ⎡ ⎤
ωr TSW 1 ωr TSW  
 − cos sin
TS ⎢ 2 ωr Lr 2 ⎥ îr (t)
v̂C r (TS ) = {Vin − v̂C r (0)} + ωr2 Lr ir (t)dt =⎣ ⎢ ⎥
(25) ⎦
0 ωr TSW ωr TSW v̂C r (t)
−ωr Lr sin − cos
where 2 2
⎡   ⎤
Vin − {Vin − v̂C r (0)} −
M Vin ωr TSW
− ωr TS
ir (t) = sin ωr t − îr (0) cos ωr t. (26) ⎢ ωr Lr
sin
2 ⎥
ωr Lr ⎢ ⎥
+⎢   ⎥
2) TS ≤ t ≤ TSW /2 (mode 1) ⎣ ωr TSW ⎦
In this mode, TM = TS , vr = (1 − M )Vin , ir 0 = îr (TS ), M Vin cos − ωr TS + (1 − M )Vin
2
and vC r 0 = v̂C r (TS ). Then, the state variables îr (TSW /2) and
(31)
SANO AND FUJITA: PERFORMANCE OF A HIGH-EFFICIENCY SWITCHED-CAPACITOR-BASED RESONANT CONVERTER 353

Iout (t + TSW /2) Substituting (39) to (13) results in

⎡   ⎤T
2 ωr TSW
  1 − 2M Vin Iout 2
Im
⎢ ωr TSW sin ω r T S − sin ⎥ EL = ax
⎢ 2 ⎥ îr (t) 4 fSW Im ax − Im
2 2
in
=⎢  ⎥  2
⎣ 2 ωr TSW ⎦ v̂C r (t) 
cos ωr TS − cos 1 − 2M Vin Iout Im ax + Im in Im ax − Im in
2
ωr Lr TSW 2 = + .
   16 fSW Im ax − Im in Im ax + Im in
2M Vin ωr TSW
− 2 1 − cos − ωr TS . (32) (40)
ωr Lr TSW 2
Applying the inequality of arithmetic and geometric means
In the steady states, the resonant current and the resonant
capacitor voltage in modes 2 and 3 are symmetrical to the    2
1 − 2M Vin Iout Im ax + Im in Im ax − Im in
value in modes 4 and 1. Then, îr (t) = îr (t + TSW /2) = îr , EL ≥ 2· ·
v̂r (t) = v̂r (t + TSW /2) = v̂r , Iout (t + TSW /2) = Iout . In this 16 fSW Im ax − Im in Im ax + Im in
condition, Iout can be derived using (31) and (32) as follows: 1 − 2M Vin Iout
EL ≥ . (41)
  4 fSW
Vin cos ωr TS + cos ωr TS
Iout = 2 −1 . (33)
ωr Lr TSW 1 + cos(ωr TSW /2) The right hand in (41) represents the minimum value of EL .
The equality in (41) holds if
Because (33) does not include M , Iout is independent of M .  
A mathematical operation of (33) gives the following equation: Im ax + Im in Im ax − Im in
= (42)
Im ax − Im in Im ax + Im in
2Vin sin ωr TS sin ωr TS
Iout = . and therefore,
ωr2 Lr TSW 1 + cos ωr TS + cos ωr TS + cos(ωr TSW /2)
(34) Im in = 0. (43)
A first-order approximation of (34) around TS = 0 yields
Note that (43) is derived to minimize EL , so that does not satisfy
Vin tan(ωr TSW /4) the requirement for ZVS operation presented in (9). Under this
Iout ≈ TS (35)
Zr TSW condition, substituting (36) to the following equation:
where Zr is the 
characteristic impedance of the resonant circuit, 1
fSW =
given by Zr = Lr /Cr . 2(TS + TS )
1 − 2M Vin
= . (44)
APPENDIX B 1 − M 8Lr Im ax
DERIVATION OF THE ENERGY STORED IN THE INDUCTOR Therefore, (44) yields
In case of 0 < M ≤ 0.5, (10) and (11) are given by a geo- 1 − 2M Vin
metric analysis in Fig. 7. Equations (10) and (11) are solved as Im ax = . (45)
1 − M 8Lr fSW
a set of simultaneous equations, and yield
Substituting (43) and (45) to (39), Lr can be given as follows:
2(Im ax + Im in )Lr 2(Im ax − Im in )Lr
TS = , TS = . (36) 1 1 − 2M Vin
Vin (1 − 2M )Vin Lr = · · . (46)
32 (1 − M )2 Iout fSW
Equation (12) gives
In case of 0.5 < M ≤ 1, the current waveform changes, as
(Im ax + Im in )TS shown in Fig. 8. A geometric analysis in Fig. 8 yields
Iout =
2(TS + TS ) dir Vin Im ax + Im in
= = (in mode 2, 4) (47)
= (Im ax + Im in )TS fSW . (37) dt 2Lr TS
dir (M − 0.5)Vin Im ax − Im in
Substituting (36) to (37) results in = = (in mode 1, 3). (48)
dt Lr TS

ax − Im in )
2 2
2fSW Lr (Im Applying the similar analysis to (47) and (48), EL m in and Lr
Iout = . (38)
(1 − 2M )Vin can be derived as follows:
−1 + 2M Vin Iout
Therefore, (38) yields EL m in = · (0.5 < M ≤ 1) (49)
4 fSW
(1 − 2M )Vin Iout 1 −1 + 2M Vin
Lr = . (39) Lr = · · (0.5 < M ≤ 1). (50)
ax − Im in )
2
2fSW (Im 2
32 M2 Iout fSW
354 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 26, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2011

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