Practical Design and Implementation Procedure of an Interleaved Boost Converter Using SiC Diodes for PV Applications

The implementation of an interleaved boost converter (IBC) using SiC diodes for photovoltaic (PV) applications is presented in this paper. The converter consists of two switching cells sharing the PV panel output current. Their switching patterns are synchronized with 180° phase shift. Each switching cell has a SiC Schottky diode and a CoolMOS switching device. The SiC diodes provide zero reverse-recovery current ideally, which reduces the commutation losses of the switches. Such an advantage from the SiC diodes enables higher efficiency and higher power density of the converter system by reducing the requirement of the cooling system. This paper presents also an optimization study of the size and efficiency of the IBC. Based on 1) the steady-state characteristic of the topology; 2) the static and dynamic characteristics of the switching cells; 3) the loss model of the magnetic components; and 4) the cooling system design, the paper provides a set of design criteria, procedures, and experimental results for a 2.5 kW IBC prototype using SiC diodes.