GaN VHF Converters With Integrated Air-Core Transformers

This paper proposes an air-core transformer integration method, which mounts the transformer straight into the multilayer printed circuit board (PCB), and maintains a proper distance between the inner transformer and other components on the top layer. The integration method reduces the PCB area sign...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on power electronics 2019-04, Vol.34 (4), p.3504-3515
Main Authors: Zhang, Zhiliang, Xu, Ke, Xu, Zhi-Wei, Xu, Jiahua, Ren, Xiaoyong, Chen, Qianhong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air-core transformer
Circuit boards
Converters
Density measurement
Electron mobility
enhancement-mode gallium nitride high-electron mobility transistors (eGaN HEMT)
Finite element method
Full load
Gallium nitrides
HEMTs
Loss measurement
Magnetic fields
MODFETs
Multilayers
power integration
Power system measurements
Printed circuits
resonant converter
Semiconductor devices
Transformers
Transistors
Very high frequencies
very high frequency (VHF)
Windings
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Summary:This paper proposes an air-core transformer integration method, which mounts the transformer straight into the multilayer printed circuit board (PCB), and maintains a proper distance between the inner transformer and other components on the top layer. The integration method reduces the PCB area significantly, ensuring higher power density. The design of the complete structure is accomplished with finite element analysis (FEA) to ensure that the unconstrained transformer magnetic field does not affect other components. It is applied to three resonant flyback converters operating at 20 MHz with Si mosfet s, 30 MHz, and 50 MHz with enhancement-mode gallium nitride (eGaN) high-electron mobility transistors, respectively. The 30-MHz eGaN prototype achieves the full load efficiency of 80.1% (an increase of 1.1% compared with the 20-MHz Si prototype) and power density of 32 W/in 3 at 5-V input and 5 V/ 2 W output. The 50-MHz eGaN prototype achieves the power density of 39.4 W/in 3 , which is 41% higher than the 20-MHz Si prototype. With the similar efficiency, the overall height of the converters in this paper is less than half of the commercial products, very suitable for low thickness and profile applications.
ISSN:0885-8993
1941-0107
DOI:10.1109/TPEL.2018.2849063