Zero-voltage-switching PWM three-level converter with two clamp diodes

Zero-voltage-switching PWM three-level converter (ZVS PWM TL converter) realize ZVS for the switches with the use of the leakage inductance and the output capacitors of the switches, however the rectifier diodes still suffer the reverse recovery which results in oscillation and voltage spike. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel ZVS PWM TL converter, which introduces two clamp diodes to the basic TL converter to eliminate the oscillation and clamp the rectified voltage to the reflected input voltage and also realize ZVS for the switches. The operation principle of the novel converter is analyzed and is verified by a prototype converter. The experimental results are also included in this paper.

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