Comparison of the performance of Si, SiC, and GaN based switching elements in high gain DC-DC boost converter

Sadullah Esmer – Oktay Aytar

   In this study, Si, SiC, and GaN based semiconductor switching elements to be used in the design of new generation high gain DC-DC converters are compared. Each switching element is tested at different frequencies and different pulse period ratios. The efficiency and output voltage of the high gain boost converter are analyzed in detail according to the switching element used. The amplifiers have been investigated at 50 kHz and 5 MHz switching frequencies. The results show that the converter using GaN-based MOSFET is more efficient than converters using other MOSFETs and reaches the highest efficiency at 200 kHz switching frequency. The proposed converter achieves 91.68% efficiency and 2.66 voltage gain at 0.3 pulse period rate, 94% efficiency and 3.78 voltage gain at 0.5 pulse period rate and 93.94% efficiency, and 6.33 voltage gain at 0.7 pulse period rate. Thus, it is understood that when GaN based MOSFETs are used in high gain DC-DC converters, higher gain and higher efficiency are achieved.

Keywords: high gain DC-DC boost converter, Si MOSFET, SiC MOSFET, GaN MOSFET

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