Analysis of efficiency-enhancing techniques for DC/DC step down converters at the hardware and software level

This thesis claims to study power electronics technologies to improve the efficiency and performance of DC/DC converters, which are essential in renewable energy systems, such as those used for hydrogen production. It investigates methods to enhance the efficiency of DC/DC step-down converters by focusing on both hardware and software improvements. The use of advanced semiconductor materials, including Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), is suggested as a means to reduce power loss, minimize heat generation, and improve switching speeds. The thesis examines various converter designs, such as buck converters, interleaved buck converters, and stacked interleaved buck converters, to evaluate their effectiveness. The traditional buck converter, known for its simplicity, is compared with more complex designs that aim to reduce output current ripple and improve heat management. Interleaved buck converters are examined for their ability to distribute current evenly across multiple phases, which is said to reduce ripple and enhance overall thermal efficiency. Stacked interleaved buck converters are reported to further minimize ripple, making them suitable for high-power applications requiring stable and efficient power delivery. The study also addresses different types of power losses, such as switching and conduction losses, as well as losses from specific components like inductors, capacitors, and semiconductor switches, such as MOSFETs and IGBTs. By employing loss models, the thesis claims to provide insights into how different converter designs perform under various load conditions. It discusses techniques like soft-switching and optimal component selection as methods to reduce these losses and enhance the overall performance of DC/DC converters. In brief, the advanced topologies of DC/DC converters and the efficiency improvement techniques were explained in detail in this research, which makes the thesis very contributive to the field of power electronics.