DC‐DC Converters

Summary

This chapter introduces power electronic power converters. The commonly used buck (step‐down) and boost (step‐up) topologies are analyzed for the continuous, boundary, and discontinuous conduction modes (CCM, BCM, and DCM, respectively) of operation. The chapter describes power semiconductors and analyses the power losses of the insulated‐gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and diode. It covers topics such as the sizing of passive components and the benefits of interleaving and reviews some examples based on HEV and FCEV dc‐dc converters. The modern automotive powertrain power converter is based on the IGBT. The IGBT is closely related to its sibling, the MOSFET. The IGBT is the preferred device for high‐voltage converters and inverters due to its lower power loss and its short‐circuit capability. The chapter also reviews the concepts of root‐mean‐squared (rms) and direct‐current (dc) quantities as they are key to learning about the various converters.