Study on High Power Density Integration of Multilevel Converters

Abstract:
This paper proposes the use of multilevel converters to achieve a high output power density converter. Generally, high output power density converters are achieved by 2-level converters using high switching frequency operation and ultra low loss power devices. However, the higher switching frequency operation will cause several problems such as the increase in switching loss and an electromagnetic interference. Gallium Nitride (GaN) integrated multilevel converters are, for example, effective to solve the problems. Quantitative investigations are carried out for the total volume of multilevel converters, including filtering components, heat sink, dc-link capacitors, and gate-drivers. The investigations show that the multilevel converters will become excellent method to increase output power density of power converters.