Review of very high frequency power converters and related technologies

Abstract

With the increasing demand for volume reduction and efficiency improvement, very high frequency (VHF) powerconverters (30 300 MHz) have attracted great interest. Under such high operating frequency conditions, the value and volumeof passive components can be greatly reduced, and the power density can be improved. However, many concerns andchallenges accompany the increasing operating frequency, such as high switching loss, high magnetic components loss andhigh driving circuit loss. Including various topologies of the VHF converter, this study reviews the state-of-the-art technologyinvolved in the VHF power converter, also encompassing the inverter stage and matching network stage. Secondly, differentmagnetic components and semiconductor devices were evaluated under the VHF operating condition. Thirdly, the highefficiency driving methods, such as the resonant driving method and self-resonant driving method, were demonstrated. Aguideline for converter design and system optimisation of the VHF converter and related technologies, including all componentsand systems, is illustrated in this study. Finally, the future research hot spots and challenges have been pointed out as guidancefor further advanced VHF power conversion techniques.