Application of 2G Coil to Increase the Voltage Gain of Boost Converters

DC-DC converters are part of several electronic devices, such as televisions, cell phones, computers, and other low-power equipment. With advances in power electronics, these devices are also present in substations, industry, military vessels, and other applications that demand more power. Among various DC-DC converter topologies, the voltage elevator known as Boost motivated this research because of its use in renewable energy applications, such as in maximum power point trackers (MPPT) of photovoltaic systems. The Boost converter comprises inductors, capacitors, diodes, and semiconductor switches. This work investigates a small-scale Boost converter prototype operating at room temperature and cryogenic conditions. We have compared the voltage gain achieved in different tests involving the room temperature and $LN_{2}$ bath for the copper coil and the MOSFETs. Finally, we replaced the copper inductor with a superconducting coil. Since the inductor's resistance limits the voltage gain obtained in Boost converters, the benefits of this substitution can go beyond increasing efficiency: 2G coils increase the voltage gain in Boost converters, giving greater flexibility to MPPTs. Preliminary results indicate that the improvements in the converter could more than double the voltage gain.

I. Introduction

Renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, and hydropower, have gained substantial prominence in the global quest for sustainable energy solutions. In this context, Boost converters represent a crucial link between energy sources and end-use applications. For example, the Boost converter is usually part of maximum power point trackers (MPPTs) of photovoltaic systems. Many works on the development of conventional Boost DC-DC converters mention it as unusual for high voltage gain applications [1], [2], [3], [4], as they do not reach the desired voltage levels when the semiconductor switch (see Fig. 1) operates in the conduction mode (closed) for more than 80% of the time. This limitation is related to the inherent losses of each electronic component and generally corresponds to electrical resistances and the Joule effect.