TY - JOUR
T1 - GaN-based split phase transformer-less PV inverter with auxiliary ZVT circuit
AU - Xia, Yinglai
AU - Roy, Jinia
AU - Ayyanar, Raja
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), U.S. Department of Energy (Award Number DE-EE0006521 with North Carolina State University, PowerAmerica Institute) for funding this work.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
PY - 2020/2/19
Y1 - 2020/2/19
N2 - This paper explores performance enhancement of the common ground dynamic dc-link (CGDL) inverter for single phase photovoltaic (PV) applications by a combination of gallium nitride (GaN) devices, split phase topology, coupled inductors, and zero voltage transition (ZVT) scheme. The CGDL inverter has the inherent advantage of minimised dc-link capacitance and negligible leakage current due to the common ground configuration, but its reported efficiency was usually lower because of the higher dc-link voltage used for the reduction of decoupling capacitance to a great extent. To solve the efficiency problem, in this study, a soft switching circuit is proposed for the first stage, while a coupled inductor integrated magnetics is incorporated in the second stage to reduce inductor loss, volume, and cost. Both of these topological improvements combined with the use of GaN devices facilitate in achieving high efficiency without compromising converter power density. Extensive experimental results are provided from a GaN based 1 kVA hardware prototype to demonstrate the superior performance of the CGDL inverter attaining a peak efficiency of 98.7% and a California Energy Commission efficiency of 98.5% at 75/50 kHz switching frequency.
AB - This paper explores performance enhancement of the common ground dynamic dc-link (CGDL) inverter for single phase photovoltaic (PV) applications by a combination of gallium nitride (GaN) devices, split phase topology, coupled inductors, and zero voltage transition (ZVT) scheme. The CGDL inverter has the inherent advantage of minimised dc-link capacitance and negligible leakage current due to the common ground configuration, but its reported efficiency was usually lower because of the higher dc-link voltage used for the reduction of decoupling capacitance to a great extent. To solve the efficiency problem, in this study, a soft switching circuit is proposed for the first stage, while a coupled inductor integrated magnetics is incorporated in the second stage to reduce inductor loss, volume, and cost. Both of these topological improvements combined with the use of GaN devices facilitate in achieving high efficiency without compromising converter power density. Extensive experimental results are provided from a GaN based 1 kVA hardware prototype to demonstrate the superior performance of the CGDL inverter attaining a peak efficiency of 98.7% and a California Energy Commission efficiency of 98.5% at 75/50 kHz switching frequency.
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U2 - 10.1049/iet-pel.2019.0498
DO - 10.1049/iet-pel.2019.0498
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85081096265
SN - 1755-4535
VL - 13
SP - 525
EP - 534
JO - IET Power Electronics
JF - IET Power Electronics
IS - 3
ER -