Research on Single-Phase Three-Level Pseudo Totem-Pole Rectifiers With a Unified Pulsewidth Modulation

In this article, a family of single-phase three-level pseudo totem-pole rectifiers (STPTRs) is proposed. Compared with the conventional diode-clamped three-level converter, the number of semiconductors in the proposed rectifiers is reduced, contributing to lower conduction losses. The proposed STPTRs employ the dual-inductor branch bridge arms working in conjunction with each other to provide a path for the input current, which means that it may reduce the current flowing through the inductors effectively. The characteristics of a selected novel rectifier topology, including its principles of operation, key waveform, and a power circuit design-related analysis, are presented. Meanwhile, the mathematical models between the voltage-level characteristics of the bridge arm to ground and the switching pulse distribution are derived, and a unified pulsewidth modulation for this family of STPTRs is presented. The double-layer carrier modulation technique with unified interval judgment condition can be transplanted to different topologies with the same switching devices. Finally, a 220-V/1-kW laboratory prototype is built to validate the feasibility of the proposed power factor correction (PFC) rectifiers.