An Integrated Boost Multilevel Converter using Si and SiC switches for Inductive Power Transfer Application

Misalignment between the transmitter and receiver coils in an Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) degrades the efficiency and reduces the power transfer to the Electric Vehicle (EV). This issue is further aggravated by variations in the battery voltage, making it challenging to design a power converter for such applications. The challenge is typically overcome either by employing superior SiC MOSFETs with pre-regulation, which are expensive, or by utilizing complex control and compensation schemes. A low-voltage Si MOSFET based Integrated Boost Multilevel Converter (IBMC) topology has been proposed as a solution, but the requirement for 12 submodules (SMs) impacts the efficiency and also significantly increases costs. This article enhances the IBMC topology by introducing a new configuration that utilizes both Si and SiC MOSFETs to reduce the switch count, thereby decreasing the cost and losses of the system. Additionally, the work extends the digitized modulation scheme proposed for an IBMC to enhance the number of digitized states with fewer submodules, facilitating operation over a wide Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) range