Analysis and Implementation of LC Series Resonant Converter with Secondary Side Clamp Diodes under DCM Operation for High Step-Up Applications

Resonant converters have attracted a lot of attention because of their high efficiency due to the soft-switching performance. An isolated high step-up converter with secondary-side resonant loops is proposed and analyzed in this paper. By placing the resonant loops on the secondary side, the current stress for the resonant capacitors is greatly reduced. The power loss caused by the equivalent series resistance of the resonant capacitor is also decreased. Clamp diodes in parallel with the resonant capacitors ensure a unique discontinuous current mode in the converter. Under this mode, the active switches can realize soft-switching during both turn-on and turn-off transitions. Meanwhile, the reverse-recovery problems of diodes are also alleviated by the leakage inductor. The converter is essentially a step-up converter. Therefore, it is helpful for decreasing the transformer turn-ratio when it is applied as a high step-up converter. The steady-state operation principle is analyzed in detail and design considerations are presented in this paper. Theoretical conclusions are verified by experimental results obtained from a 500W prototype with a 35V-42V input and a 400V output.