Applying Variable-Switching-Frequency Variable-Phase-Shift Control and E-Mode GaN HEMTs to an Indirect Matrix Converter-Based EV Battery Charger

An indirect matrix converter is employed directly converting the grid ac to the battery voltage, with the dual-active-bridge taking care of the power factor correction and power delivery simultaneously. Such circuit is regarded as one candidate of the high-efficiency and high-power-density electric vehicle onboard chargers, if the double-frequency current ripple to the battery is tolerated. Instead of optimizing the overall charger, this paper is focused on adopting variable switching frequency with multiple phase shifts to accommodate the wide input range (80-260 V ac ) and output range (200 V-450 V dc ). In addition to the phase shift between the transformer primary-side and secondary-side voltage, one extra phase shift is added to the primary-side H-bridge when the instantaneous input voltage is higher than the reflected output, otherwise, to the secondary side. The goal is to secure zero-voltage-switching for all switches at all voltage range. Such control strategy is further optimized incorporating with the switch parasitic capacitance and deadband settings. To further enhance the charger performance, GaN HEMTs are equipped to the on-board charger aiming at higher efficiency and higher power density than Si devices. Experimental results indicated that such charger with proposed control strategy embraces the peak efficiency of >97% at 7.2 kW and a power density of ~4 kW/L.