Zero Voltage Switching Quasi-

resonant Converters

1
 Introduction
Zero-current switching is not true soft-switching
It does have loss in the junction capacitor
For example, a switching device is operating under device voltage
Vsw 300V DC and the switching frequency is 1MHz. The junction
capacitance Cj is 500pF. The loss is then:
1 2 1
Losssw = CswVsw f s = 500 ⋅ 10−12 ⋅ 3002 ⋅ 106 W = 22.5W
2 2
The loss is very high
An alternative method to cure this problem is to use zero-voltage
switching.

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 Resonant switches

Zero –current switch Zero-voltage

switch

3
Configurations of the zero-voltage
switch

general half-wave full-wave

4
 Zero voltage switching Quasi-
resonant (ZVS-QR) Buck
converter
LF and CF, are large
The analysis can be
simplified by assuming the
current through the bulk
inductor is a current sink.

5
 4 stages of operation
Capacitor charging stages:(Fig. 4a)
Resonant state: (Fig. 4b)
Inductor recovering stage (Fig.4c)
Free-wheeling stage: (Fig 4d)

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Equivalent circuit

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 Capacitor charging stages
Switch SW is turned off at t0. Input current iLr
rises linearly and is governed by the state
equations
dVC
Cr = Io
dt
Solution: I o (t − t0 )
vCr =
Cr

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 Half-wave
Uni-directional of resonant
voltage on Vc

9
 Full-wave
Bi-directional voltage on Vc

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 Boundary condition and Duration
The stage will finish when vCr increases to Vin, the
voltage across DF becomes positive and it is in forward
bias.
The duration of this state Td1 =Cr Vin / Io
Boundary condition: vCr =Vin

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 Resonant state:
Lr and Cr resonate and DF is on
di L r
Lr = Vin −v Cr
dt
dvc
Cr = i Lr
dt
The solution is:
vCr = Vin + ZI o sin ω o (t − t1)
iLr = I o cos ω o (t − t1)

Resonant 1 Lr
ωo = Impedance Z=
frequency Lr Cr Cr
12
 Duration and Boundary
Finish when the resonant capacitor voltage vCr reaches
zero.
The duration of this state Td2 is
α -1 −1 - V in
where α = sin − Φ = sin
ωo ZI o
π
π <α < 3 halfwave
2
π
3 < α < 2π fullwave
2
13
 Termination of resonant stage
The termination of this state is similar to the zero-current switching.
For the half-wave mode, when resonant voltage vCr reaches zero,
it cannot be reversed because the anti-parallel diode D of the switch
conducts.
The transistor T of the switch SW can be turned on after that to
achieve zero-voltage switching.
For full-wave mode, vCr can reverse into negative because there is
a series diode D with the transistor T. During vCr is negative, the
transistor T should be turned off. When vCr resonates back from
negative to zero, since T is already off, the resonance stops.

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 Voltage during the end of stage
At t2, iLr = Iocosα

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 Inductor recovering stage:
Resonance stops, Lr begins to be charged by
the input voltage Vin
d i Lr
Lr = V in
dt

The solution: Vin (t − t2 )

iLr = I o cos α +
Lr

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 Finish of this stage
Finish when iLr reaches the value of output current IO.
DF no longer conducts because its current is now all
conducted by Lr.
Duration: Td3 = Lr Io cos α / Vin
Boundary condition: iLr=Io

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 Free-wheeling stage: (Fig 4d)
Output current freewheels through Lr and switch SW.
This stage finishes when the transistor turns off again
at t4. t4 is the same as t0 in next cycle.
Duration: Td4= Ts-Td1-Td2-Td3
where Ts is the period of the switching cycle.

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Zero-voltage switching condition
The AC component of the resonant voltage is required
to be greater than its DC level in order to achieve the
ZVS. In this case, the condition is:
ZI o > Vin
This condition is the same as (12):
α -1 −1 - V in
where α = sin − Φ = sin
ωo ZI o

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 Zero-voltage switching
When to turn on and off
The instant to turn on the switch is also important.
For half-wave mode, the transistor must be turned on after
vCr reaches zero at t2 and before isw increases back to positive.
For full-wave mode, the transistor must be turned on when
vCr is negative. When T is turned on, the series diode D is still
in reverse bias and the voltage across T is virtually zero.

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 Why full-wave is no good
The charge stored in the junction
capacitor of T cannot be
conducted to outside, therefore
when T is turned on this energy
is dissipated internally.
Therefore the switching loss is
not zero. The current iSW through
either T or D during t2-t4 is
annotated in Fig.5.

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 DC voltage conversion
The output voltage Vo can be solved by equating the input
energy Ein and output energy Eo
 t1 t2 t3 t4 
E in = V in  ∫ iLr dt + ∫ iLr dt + ∫ iLr dt + ∫ iLr dt 
t t1 t2 t3 
0 
Eo = V o I oT s
R
Vo f s Φ 1  V R
=1−  + α + (1 - cos α )  Φ = in = Z = n
ZI o Vo M
V in 2π f o  2 Φ  Vin

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 DC voltage conversion(Half-
wave)
Still varies between 0 and 1
which is a generally
characteristic of Buck
converters.
The ratio now decreases
with fs/fo increasing
Depends on the load
resistance R

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 DC voltage conversion(Half-
wave)
Still varies between 0 and 1
which is a generally
characteristic of Buck
converters.
The ratio now decreases
with fs/fo increasing
Independent of the load
resistance R

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 Zero voltage switching Quasi-
resonant Boost converter
A steady-state equivalent
circuit using a current
source Iin which represents
the input current.

25
Equivalent circuit

26
 4 stages of operation
Capacitor charging stages:(Fig. 8a)
Resonant state: (Fig. 8b)
Inductor recovering stage (Fig.8c)
Free-wheeling stage: (Fig 8d)

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 Half-wave
Uni-directional of VCr
Similar to ZCS but the
shapes of iLr and Vcr are
swapped.

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 Full-wave
Bi-directional of VCr
Similar to ZCS but the
shapes of iLr and Vcr are
swapped.

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 Capacitor charging stage
Resonant capacitor voltage vCr rises linearly due to the
input current and is governed by the state equations:

dVCr
Cr = I in
dt
Solution:
I in (t − t0 )
vCr =
Cr

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 Termination of stage 1
When vCr increases to the value of Vo, DF
becomes forward biased.
The duration of this state: Td1 =Cr Vo / Iin
Boundary condition: vCr =Vo

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 Resonant state
Lr and Cr resonate and DF is on
diLr
Lr =vCr −Vo
dt
dvCr
Cr = I in − iLr
dt
The solution is:
vCr = Vo + ZI in sin ωo (t − t1)
iLr = I in (1 − cos ω o (t − t1))
The definition of ωo and Z is the same

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 Termination of this stage
This stage finishes when the resonant capacitor voltage
reaches zero.
For half-wave mode, the anti-parallel diode D of the switch
SW conducts. The resonant voltage across SW cannot be
reversed.
For full-wave mode, the transistor T of the SW should be
turned off when the resonant voltage across the switch is
negative. At this time, the series diode D is in reverse bias
and T can then be turned off under zero-voltage switching.

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 Boundary
The duration of this state Td2 is
α -1 −1 - V o
where α = sin − Φ = sin
ωo Z I in
π
π <α < 3 halfwave
2
π
3 < α < 2π fullwave
2
Boundary condition: vCr =0

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 The current left in Lr
At t2, iLr = Iin (1-cosα)

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 Inductor recovering stage
Inductor recovering stage (Fig. 8c):
Resonance stops and Lr begins to be
discharged through the output voltage.

d i Lr
Lr = -V o
dt

Vo t
The solution is: i Lr = I in (1 − cos α ) −
Lr

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Boundary of Inductor recovering stage
Duration:
Td3 = Lr Iin (1-cos α) / Vo

Boundary condition: iLr=0

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 Free-wheeling stage
Output current freewheels through switch SW. This
stage finishes when the transistor turns off again at t4.
The t4 is the same as t0 in the next cycle.
Duration: Td4= Ts-Td1-Td2-Td3

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 DC voltage conversion
The output voltage Vo can be solved by
equating the input energy Ein and
output energy Eo.
The output current Io for the derivation
of the Eo can be obtained from the
current of the diode DF that is the same
as the iLr
 t2 t3  1
Vo
E o = V o  ∫ i Lr dt + ∫ i Lr dt  =
t1
 t2 
 V in f s Φ 1 
 + α + (1 - cos α ) 
E in = V in I in T s 2π f o  2 Φ 

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 Voltage conversion ratio (half-wave)
Depends on Load
Minimum is 1
Maximum approaches to
infinity

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 Voltage conversion ratio (full-wave)
Relatively independent of
Load
Looks like the classical Boost
converter characteristics.

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 Other converter (Buck-Boost)
Can be formed similarly as
the other two converters
Also inverted output voltage

42
Equivalent circuit

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Voltage conversion ratio

Half-wave Full-wave
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 Correct Full-wave for Buck-Boost
The previous is correct 5

because:
4

Does not cover Vo/Vin =0

when fs/fo is close to one 3

Vo / Vin
When fs/fo is 0.2, the 2

Vo/Vin is too large 1

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
fs / fo

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Duration of each stage in ZVS
Stage Duration

Td1 Φ
ωo

Td2 α
ωo

Td3 1 − cos α
ωoΦ
Td4 Ts-Td1-Td2-Td3

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Comparison of Vo/Vin of the classical
and QRC
Classical ZCS ZVS

Buck D g 1-g

Boost 1 1 1
1− D 1− g g
Buck- D g 1− g
Boost 1− D 1− g g

Cuk D g 1− g
1− D 1− g g
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Summary of the quasi-resonant
ZVS converters
Advantage Disadvantage

True soft-switching High voltage rating is

needed
No power loss during ZVS Depends on load
switching condition
Not good for very high
voltage input

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Practical implementation of ZVS quasi-
resonant converters

Buck Boost

Buck-Boost Cuk
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 Tutorial
A ZVS Quasi-resonant Buck converter is operated under the
following condition:
1) Vin=50V
2) Vo=25V
3) fs=1MHz
4) Io=5A
Using the condition of the converter just able to achieve ZVS,
suggest the Lr and Cr that is needed. Assume the junction
capacitance of the transistor is 100pF.

50
 Answer
Full-wave cannot be used because of the junction capacitor
of the transistor, therefore Half-wave is used
Vo f s Φ 1 
=1−  + α + (1 - cos α ) 
V in 2π f o  2 Φ 
α -V
where α = sin -1 − Φ = sin −1 in
ωo ZI o
Therefore: for just ZVS, Vin=ZIo => 50=Z*5 =>Z=10Ω
25 1e6  1 1 
= 1−  + 3π / 2 + (1 - cos(3π / 2))  => 0.5 = 1 − 0.988e6 / fo
50 2π f o  2 1 
Hence, you can obtain fo=1.976MHz

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 Answer (Cont)
1
ωo = = 2πfo Cr =
1
=
1
= 8.05nF
Lr Cr 2πf o Z 2 * π * 1.976e6 * 10

Lr
=> Lr =
Z
=
10
= 0.805µH
2πf o 2 * πf o
Z= = 10
Cr
After calculated Cr, the actual
required Cr is to be deduced by
=> Actual Cr=8.05nF-100pF
the junction capacitance of the
transistor. =7.95nF

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