A Family of Novel Switch Capacitor Based Integrated Matrix Autotransformer LLC Converter for Data Center Application

Switched Tank Converter(STC) is one kind of Resonant Switch Capacitor(ReSC) that can be considered as a good candidate for data center application with high power efficiency and high power density. On the other hand, LLC converter can also realize very good performance for low voltage application. Although STC can realize relatively higher efficiency than LLC converter in the light load since the core loss is saved, LLC can keep relatively higher efficiency in the heavy load than STC does since the conduction loss of LLC is smaller. The main reason is because transformer’s winding resistance is smaller than semiconductor devices’ resistance, and this is very important for high current application.In order to utilize the benefits of the STC and the LLC converter together, this paper proposes a family of the novel Switch Capacitor based Integrated Matrix Autotransformer LLC Converters (SCIMAC). The proposed converters share the same high voltage side circuit of the STC with low voltage stress devices. Different from the traditional LLC converter with an isolated transformer, the proposed SCIMAC utilizes one autotransformer with only the secondary side windings similar to LLC's secondary side. There are several advantages that can be realized of the SCIMAC: 1). Low figure of merit (FOM) devices can be adopted to realize higher efficiency due to the low voltage stress of the SCIMAC. 2). Higher power efficiency can be realized when compared with STC converter in heavy load because the resistance of the autotransformer’s windings is lower than semiconductor devices’ resistance. 3). The primary side winding loss of the transformer is saved to further increase the efficiency. 4) ZVS turning on can be realized by the magnetizing current of the core.