A single-stage ac/dc converter with low voltage stresses and reduced switching losses

This paper proposes a high-efficiency single-stage ac/dc converter. The proposed converter features low voltage stresses and reduced switching losses. It operates at the boundary of discontinuous-and continuous-conduction modes by employing variable switching frequency control. The turn-on switching loss of the switch can be reduced by turning it on when the voltage across it is at a minimum. The voltage across the bulk capacitor is independent of the output loads and maintained within the practical range for the universal line input, so the problem of high voltage stress across the bulk capacitor is alleviated. Moreover, the voltage stress of the output diodes is clamped to the output voltage, and the output diodes are turned off at zero-current. Thus, the reverse-recovery related losses of the output diodes are eliminated. The operational principles and circuit analysis are presented. A prototype circuit was built and tested for a 150 W (50 V/3 A) output power. The experimental results verify the performance of the proposed converter.