Proposed Architecture for SiC Switches and Diodes in a Switch Mode Power Supply

This SiC diodes and switches provide greatly enhanced performance at higher operating voltage, but the base material provides a high barrier to adoption in commercial systems. Commercial adoption has not occurred by adopting SiC components in place of Si devices, but only when the characteristics of SiC components can successfully leverage system performance and cost. Doing so requires a close look at current roadblocks and examining topologies and techniques that can bring more optimal system performance (density, efficiency, cost) with SiC components. High density converters using conventional components are becoming limited by the volume and cost of passive components, particularly the EMI filters and bulk filter capacitors. To address this and demonstrate the performance capabilities of SiC in SMPS, a PWM isolation converter is proposed using the resonant reset forward converter in an interleaved configuration. This topology can extend energy recovery from the primary bulk bus capacitor used for hold up time, as well as minimizing filtering requirements for input and output capacitors. The interleaved converter is developed from cascode switches using experimental SiC JFETs, in a configuration derived from previous work with a single switch converter. Overall performance as well as design issues will be discussed.