A generic soft switching converter topology with a parallel nonlinear network for high-power application

A soft switching concept that derives from the resonant link and resonant pole power converters and combines the best features of resonant and hard switching converters is applied to a phase arm. The inductor of the resonant LC is designed to saturate, thus having effectively two inductance values: a very large value during the conduction period and a small value that is only active during switching. The advantage of this technique is that a resonant tank with smaller continuous ratings can be used without giving up the component count advantage of resonant power converters. Another feature, contrary to other resonant topologies, is that semiconductor switches need not be overdimensional for voltage and current rating