PRINCIPLES OF QUASI- AND MULTI-RESONANT POWER CONVERSION TECHNIQUES

Wojciech A. Tabisz and Fred C. Lee

Virginia Power Electronics Center T h e Bradley Department of Electrical Engineering Virginia Polytechnic Institute a n d State University Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

ABSTRACT
Recently developed quasi-resonant and multi-resonant dc-dc power conversion techniques are reviewed. Quasiresonant converter (QRC) and multi-resonant converter (MRC) topologies are derived from the conventional square-wave, pulse-width modulated (PWM) converters by adding resonant components to achieve zero-current switching (ZCS) or zerovoltage switching (ZVS) of the semiconductor devices. ZCS and ZVS reduce switching losses caused by the parasitic leakage inductance of the power transformer and junction capacitances of semiconductor devices. As a result, QRCs and MRCs can operate at higher switching frequencies and achieve higher power density than PWM converters. Explanation of operation of zero-current-switched and zero-voltage-switched QRCs and MRCs is provided, and their relative advantages and limitations are discussed.

1. INTRODUCTION
Most of presently used switching dc/dc power converters use the pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique. High efficiency, design simplicity, and availability of standard integrated PWM control circuits have all contributed to the popularity of ttiis technique. PWM converters have been widely used in every facet of electronics industries, such as computers, communication, and transportation. The continuous evolutiori of the vel-y large-scale integration (VLSI) circuit technology has resulted in modern computer and communication equipment with a vast amount of data storage and high processing capabilities, and yet ever shrinking size and weight. Switching power supply (SPS) technology must be compatible with this technology trend. High operating frequency is the key to reducing the size and weight, and increasing the performance of SPS equipment Higher switching frequency allows size reduction of the power transformer and the energy storage components (inductors and capacitors). In addition, the quality of the power supplied to Ihe load can be improved, since higher switching frequency allows higher cont rol-loop bandwidth and better dyn a m ic regu Iat ion. Switching frequencies of PWM converters are restricted by performance limitations of semiconductor and magnetic components. The major limiting factoi-s are switching losses and oscillations caused by the parasitic reactances of power stage. Output capacitance of the power MOSFET and junction capacitance of the Schottky diode are the two major parasitic capacitances. The major source of parasitic inductance is the leakage inductance of the power transformer. The detrimental effects of the parasitic reactances can be explained using a simple buck converter, shown with the parasitic components and its waveforms in Figure 1. Switching MOSFET, S , is periodically on and off, resulting in a square-wave voltage applied to the low-pass filter LF - CF. The dc output voltage is regulated by changing the duty ratio of S. The parasitic components are represented in Fig. 1 by CO,C,, and Llh. Diode Ds represents the body diode of the MOSFET.

Ideally, the switch current and voltage ls and vs, and the current a+ voltage of the rectifier, I D and vD,should be square waves, peak values equal to lo and V,,, respectively In practice, however, the waveforms are severely distorted by parasitic oscillations induced in the resonant circuits formed by L/k, CO and C, At to, S is turned-off, and the energy stored in L,I, induces a voltage spike across the MOSFET and the subsequent oscillations in the circuit formed by and CO The uncontrolled voltage spike across the MOSFET may cause a breakdown of the device while the oscillations are a source of high-frequency noise Typically these oscillations decay completely before S is is turned on, and the entire energy stored in Llk prior to to is dissipated During the off-time (to - t , ) S blocks the input voltage, and certain amount of energy is stored in CO When S is turned on at tl CO is rapidly discharged from VI, to 0 while C, is charged from 0 to VI,,, There is energy loss associated with discharging CO and charging C, determined by values of CO and C, and the magnitude of the switched voltage Additional turn-on loss in the MOSFET is caused by the finite switching speed of the MOSFET which results in overlap of drain current and voltage (I]The switching power dissipation increases in proportion to the switching frequency A s a result PWM converters cannot operate efficiently at elevated frequencies

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Fig. 4. Quasi-resonant switching cells: (a) ZCS. (b) AIS.

Fig. 5. Multi-resonantswitching cells: (a) ZCS. (b) ZVS.

In practice, this is not possible due to the presence of Cj. Instead, a series-resonant circuit is formed by LR and C,, and diode voltage is oscillatory with a peak value equal to 2VlN. If the oscillation decays prior to turning-off of the MOSFET, the energy associated with charging of C , will be lost, just as in a PWM converter. If the oscillation does not decay before the MOSFET is turned off, the conversion-ratio characteristics will be adversely affected, resulting in difficulties in controlling the converter [6]. An important drawback of ZVS-QRCs is an extensive voltage stress on the switching transistor. This stress is proportional to the load range. As a result, ZVS-QRCs are not suitable for applications with wide load variations. The families of ZCS- and ZVS-QRCs contain a large number of topologies, including the basic topologies: buck, boost, buckboost, and numerous isolated topologies, both bridge-type and single-ended. All topologies of ZCS-QRCs, however, share a common structure of switching network, shown in Fig. 4(a). Likewise, all topologies of ZVS-QRCs share the switching structure of Fig. 4(b). The structures shown in Fig. 4, are called resonant switch cells and are extracted from QRCs by replacing voltage sources and filter capacitors with short circuits, and filter inductors with open circuits. It can be observed in Fig. 4 that in ZCS-QRCs, the active switch S is in series with the resonant inductor, while the diode is in parallel with the resonant capacitor. In ZVS-QRCs, the active switch is in parallel with the capacitor, and the diode is in series with the inductor. The arrangement of the resonant components with respect to the switching devices determines which parasitic reactances will be absorbed by the resonant circuit. A s a result, ZCS-QRCs are insensitive to the transformer leakage inductance and the junction capacitance of the rectifier diode, while ZVS-QRCs are insensitive to transformer leakage inductance and the MOSFET output capacitance. It is clear, however, that neither ZCS-QRCs nor ZVS-QRCs are capable of utilizing a// major parasitic reactances.

these capacitances cannot be reduced to negligible values. As a result, parasitic oscillations are present in the waveforms. The ZCS-MRC technique is not suitable for high-frequency applications since it cannot accommodate the parasitic capacitances of the semiconductor devices. It could be useful, however, in high-power high-current converters using SCRs or GTOs, where inductive turn-off is of primary concern. The ZVS-MRC technique is much more suitable for highfrequency operation. Figure 6 shows buck ZVS-MRC and its waveforms. The resonant network consists of the resonant elements LR, Cs, and Co. Each of the resonant elements is formed by a combination of the externally added components ( L R ~ CsX, , and CDx)and the parasitic elements (Llk, CO,and Cj). If the converter is operated at a sufficiently high switching frequency, the resonant elements can be formed exclusively by the parasitic components (i.e., LR, = 0, Csx= 0, and CD, = 0). Prior to to, the MOSFET conducts, and a resonant circuit is formed by LR and CD. Current is and voltage vD are sinusoidal. When the MOSFET is turned off at to, a resonant circuit is formed by LR, CD,and Cs. During the resonance, VD falls to zero, and consequently, diode D turns on at t,. This results in yet another resonant circuit formed by LR and Cs. Resonance in this circult reduces vs to zero, atlowing the MOSFET to turn on at t2 without turn-on switching loss. Subsequently, both S and D are on, VIN is applied to LR, and iLR increases linearly. As a result, iD decreases linearly until it drops to zero at ts, forcing diode D to turn off. At this instance, a resonant circuit is formed by LR and Co. This resonant stage is terminated at f.+. when the MOSFET is turned off.

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IV. MULTI-RESONANT TECHNIQUE

The underlying principle of the multi-resonant technique is to utilize all essential parasitic elements in a converter circuit. To achieve this objective it necessary to employ a multi-element resonant network with no less than three energy storage components. Figure 5 shows the ZCS and ZVS multi-resonant switch cells. Multi-resonant converters (MRCs) [5-91 are generated by incorporating these switching networks into basic PWM topologies. In ZCS-MRCs, the resonant circuit is formed in a T-network, with resonant inductors in series with the switching devices, as shown in Fig. 5(a). In ZVS-MRCs, the resonant circuit i s formed in a U-network with resonant capacitors connected in parallel with the switches, as shown in Fig. 5(b). During one cycle of operation of an MRC, three different resonant circuits can be formed, depending on whether the active switch and diode are open or closed. This results in operation of the converter wilh three different resonant stages in one cycle of operation (hence the term "multi-resonant"). Figure 6 shows a circuit diagram of a buck ZCS-MRC. Resonant inductors Ls and LD are formed by the inherent parasitic inductances, LIX.and LIX.,,and the external inductances, Lsx and Lo,. The multiple resonances result in zero-current switching of both the MOSFET and the rectifying diode. For optimal ZCS-MRC operation, the parasitic capacitances, CO and C,, ideally should be zero. However, in practical higli-frequency applications,
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111. QUASI-RESONANT TECHNIQUE

The quasi-resonant technique [2-51 is a general method for improving switching waveforms of dc/dc converters in the presence of significant parasitic reactances. This is achieved by means of a resonant circuit added to a basic PWM converter topology. When a quasi-resonant topology is generated, the basic topological characteristics of its "parent" PWM topoloyy remain unaltered, i.e., the topological interrelations of the nonlinear components (active and passive switches) and the lowpass filter components in a resulting QRC topology are the same as in the original PWM topology. There are two families of QRCs: zero-current-switched (ZCS) QRCs and zero-voltageswitched (ZVS) QFC:; each family is characterized by a unique arrangement of the resonant components. T'le basic operational principles of ZCS-QRCs can be explains4 using the buck topology shown in Fig. 2. This topology is generated from a PWM buck topology by adding an external resonant inductor, LRx, in series with the MOSFET. and an external resonant capacitor, CDx,in parallel with the diode. The effective resonant inductance, LR, is the sum of LRx and Llk. Similarly, the effective resonant c-pacitance CD is the sum of Cox and C , . For simplicity, the low-pass output filter and load resistance are represented by a constant current source, lo. When the MOSFET is off (to- t , ) , output current is freewheeling through D. Ideally, the voltage across the MOSFET would be equal to VI, during this time, as indicated by the dashed line. !n practice, however, the output capacitance of the MOSFET form. a parasitic resonant circuit with LR,and parasitic oscillations are induced in vs. At t , , the MOSFET is turned on. Since diode D continues to conduct the load current, V ~ N is applied directly to the resonant inductance. Subsequently, the current through LR increases linearly, and the load current gradually shifts from the freewheeling diode to the MOSFET. At t2, iD reaches zero, forcing D to turn off. Consequently, CD and LR form a resonant circuit. If the characteristic impedance of this circuit, ZD = is chosen so that V/,/Z, 2 lo, the resonance will force the active switch current to zero. The MOSFET is then turned off at f O , with zero-current condition, and the turn-off switching loss associated with overlapping of the drain current and voltage is practically eliminated. Furthermore, the energy stored in LR at turn-off is zero, and the losses and oscillations associated with an inductive turn-off are also eliminated.

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The resonant frequency of LR and CD dictates the duration of the on-time As a result, ZCS-QRCs operate with a fixed on-time and the output voltage is regulated by varying the off-time (variable frequency control) The virtual elimination of turn-off losses is an obvious advantage of ZCS-QRCs, when compared to PWM converters The overlap of MOSFET drain voltage and current is eliminated and no leakage-inductance energy is dissipated at turn off In addition, the junction capacitance of the rectifying diode is charged and discharged in a resonant fashion, thus, there is no energy dissipation related to charging of C , ZCS-QRCs have the ability to utilize the parasitic leakage inductance of the transformer and the junction capacitance of the rectifier It can be said that ZCS-QRCs are InsensItwe to L l k and C , because these parasitic components are absorbed by the resonant components LR and CO, and do not cause any detrimental effects Although the ZCS-QRC technique dramatically improves switching waveforms and eliminates turn-off losses in the power MOSFET and losses associated with charging of C,, it fails to alleviate the problem of the turn-on dissipation of the energy stored in the MOSFET output capacitance V e problem of capacitii- losses at turn-on is solved in ZVS-QRCS by -1n- a resonant ci--uit to 'ice the drain tosource voltage to -ro prior IO turn-on of the MDSFET Figure 3 shows a buck ZVS-QRC This topology is derived fiom its PWIA counterpart by adding an external resonant capacitor Csx in parallel with the MOSFET and an external resonant inductor, Lq, in series with Llh The equivalent resonant capacitance, CS, is formed by CO and Csx while the equivalent resonant inductance, LR I S formed by L l k and L R ~ Piior to to the MOSFET is on, and the load current flows through LR At to the MOSFET is turned off, and the lsad current 19 diverted into CS Subsequently, vs increases linearly, while I/" decreases linearly At t,, vD is reduced to zero and D turns on This starts a resonance in the LR - CS circuit If the characteristic impedance ZS = is chosen so that l o Z s 2 VIN, the resonance will foice vs to zero A s a result the MOSFET can be turned on at 17 under a zero-voltage condition, thus eliminating the capacitive turn-on loss During the inductor-charging stage (f2 - t3). both S and D are on A s a result, VI, is applied to LR, and ILR increases linearly At f 3 I ~ R reaches the magnitude of lo and diode D turns off Undei ideal conditions (C, = 0), vD would instantaneously increase from zero to V),,,, as indicated by the dashed waveform

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Due to the presence o f D , and the resonant operation, voltage across C D can ~ be either positive o r negative, thus an automatic core resetting mechanism is provided without resorting to the use of any additional windings o r components. A hybridized prototype of a board-mount 50 W forward ZVS-MRC was designed for VHSIC applications [SI. The converter operated at 3 MHz with an input voltage of 50 V and output voltage of 5 V. The complete packaged converter had power density of 50 W/in3

VI. CONCLUSIONS
The switching losses and parasitic oscillations found in PWM topologies can be minimized using the quasi-resonant and multi-resonant conversion techniques. QRCs use a two-element resonant circuit to achieve either zero-current o r zero-voltage switching of the power MOSFET. The ZCS-QRC technique minimizes turn-off losses in the power MOSFET. However, it does not reduce the turn-on losses caused by the discharge of the MOSFET's output capacitance. In ZVS-QRCs, these capacitive turn-on losses are minimized, but the single-ended ZVS-QRC topologies have excessive voltage stress on the switching transistor. Also, the junction capacitance of the rectifying diode is not absorbed into the main resonant circuit, and consequently, causes severe parasitic oscillations and difficulty in control. The multi-resonant conversion technique uses a three-element resonant circuit to achieve ZCS o r ZVS o f the semiconductor devices. The ZCS-MRC technique does not have a potential for very high-frequency operation; however, ZCS-MRC topologies [night find application in high-power high-current circuits using minority-carrier devices such as BJT, SRC o r GTO. ZVS-MRCs are capable of operating at tens of megahertz, and provide a means of further reduction of the size of power converters in the future. it will be a particularly powerful technique when some other technological limitations, particularly in the area of high-freyency magnetic materials, are overcorne.

Fig. 7. Buck zero-voltage-switched multi-resonant converter.

The ZVS-MRC technology is very practical for high-frequency converter applications. The resonant circuit in ZVS-MRCs is designed to absorb all the major parasitic components: leakage inductance of the power transformer, output capacitance of the power MOSFET, and junction capacitance of the rectifier. Single-ended ZVS-MRCs also have a much reduced voltage stress on the switching transistor when compared to that of ZVS-QRCS. An example of successful application of the multi-resonant concept is the forward ZVS-MRC [8]. shown in Fig. 8. In the forward ZVS-MRC, as in any other ZVS-MRC, the resonant components are placed in the circuit in such a manner that the parasitic components are absorbed in the resonant circuit. The primaryside resonant capacitance Csx is in parallel with the output capacitance of the MOSFET. The resonant inductance is formed in part by an external inductance, LRx, and in part by the primary and secondary leakage inductances of the transformer. The secondary-side resonant capacitance is formed in part by the external capacitance, CD,, and in part by the junction capacitances of the rectifying diodes.

REFERENCES
M.Schlecht, L. Casey, 'Comparison of the square-wave and quasi-resonant topologies," IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, Vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 83-92, Jan. 1988. [%] E. Buchanan, E. J. Miller, "Resonant switching power conversion technique," IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conf. Record, pp. 188-193, 1975. [3] K.Liu, F.C. Lee, "Resonant switches - A unified approach to improve performance of switching converters,'' IEEE Int. Telecommunications Energy Conf. Proceedings, pp. 334-341, 1984. [4] K.H. Liu, F.C. Lee, "Zero-voltage switching technique in DClDC converters,'' IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conf. Record, pp. 58-70, 1986. [5] F.C. Lee, W.A. Tabisz, M.M. Jovanovid , "Recent developments in high-frequency quasi-resonant converter technologies,'' European Power Electronics Conf., Aachen, Germany. PP. 401-410. 1989. IF] W.A. Tabisz, F.C. Lee, "Zero-voltage-switching multiresonant technique - A novel approach to improve performance of high-frequency quasi-resonant converters," IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, Vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 450-458, 1989. 171 W.A. Tabisz, F.C. Lee, "DC analysis and design of zerovoltage-switched multi-resonant converters," IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conf. Record, pp. 243-251, 1989. [ R I W.A. Tabisz and F.C. Lee, "A novel, zero-voltage-switched multi-resonant forward converter," High Frequency Power Conversion Conf., pp. 309-318, 1988. [Y] W.A. Tabisz and F.C. Lee, "Design of high-density on-board single- and multiple-output multi-resonant converters," High Frequency Power Conversion Conf., pp. 45-57, 1990. [IO] W.A. Tabisz, M.M. Jovanovid , F.C. Lee, "High-frequency multi-resonant converter technology and its applications," Int. Conf. on Power Electronics and Variabk Speed Drives, pp. 1-9, 1990.
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Fig. 0. Forward ZVS-MRC.

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