Survey of resonant converter topologies

In recent years, resonant converters have become more popular and are widely applied in various applications like servers, communications and consumer electronics. The resonant converter can easily achieve high efficiency and allow high frequency operation with its intrinsic wide soft-switching ranges.

However, resonant converters rely on frequency modulation (FM) to achieve voltage or current regulation instead of traditional pulse width modulation (PWM). Therefore, the input-to-output voltage gain of a resonant converter can no longer be derived from the inductor volt-second balance like PWM converters and becomes much more complex than a PWM converter. The complicated input-to-output voltage relation can affect the decision-making process when selecting converter topologies.

This series explores key characteristics, analysis methodology, control challenges and design considerations of resonant topologies. 

Why should I take this training?

• Understanding the design benefits and challenges of resonant converters is becoming essential as their popularity increases
• This survey is a great place to start before beginning a resonant converter design

What will I learn?

• The fundamental components of resonant topologies
• How resonant converters can achieve higher efficiency and higher switching frequency, with lower component count and cost than traditional PWM converters
• How to select the best resonant topology for your application
• The benefit of pairing with a PFC boost front end