Switched Inductor Z-Source AC-DC Converter

Due to the increasing amount of applications of power electronic ac-dc converters, it is necessary to design a single-stage converter that can reliably perform both buck and boost operations. Traditionally, this can be achieved by double-stage conversion (ac/dc-dc/dc) which ultimately leads to less efficiency and a more complex control system. This paper discusses two types of modern ac-dc converters. First, the novel impedance-source ac-dc converter, abbreviated as custom Z-source rectifier, is analyzed; and then, switched inductor (SL) Z-source ac-dc converter is proposed. This paper describes the Z-source rectifiers` operating principles, the concepts behind them, and their superiorities. Analysis and simulation results show that the proposed custom Z-source rectifier can step up and step down voltage; and the main advantage of the SL Z-source ac-dc converter is its high step-up capability. Low ripple of the output dc voltage is the other advantage of the proposed converters. Finally, the SL Z-source ac-dc converter is compared with the custom Z-source ac-dc converter.