New Energy-Efficient High-Voltage DC/DC Power Conversion Technology

Description

In today's energy-saving conscious world, the efficiency of processing electric power is of vital importance. Electric power is typically transmitted to the load centers on AC transmission lines. However, in certain systems it is desirable to transmit power over high-voltage DC transmission lines. The energy being supplied to the low-voltage equipment in those systems usually goes through multiple power conversion stages for converting the high DC voltage into a low DC voltage. However, the overall efficiency is low with such a configuration. An energy-efficient approach is to perform the ultimate DC-DC power conversion in a single step.This project will have a significant impact on saving energy. A new "multiphase" concept of high-voltage DC-DC conversion technology that features low voltage stress on the switches and high output current capacity will be explored. Switching devices of a low voltage rating and low on-resistance can be used, resulting in a crucial improvement in the power conversion efficiency.