1.5 kW single phase CCM totem-pole PFC using 650V SiC cascodes

This paper presents benefits of using 650 V SiC cascodes to realize a 1.5 kW single phase, continuous conduction mode (CCM) totem-pole, bridgeless power factor correction (PFC) AC/DC converter switching at 100 kHz. By exploiting the excellent switching and conduction performance of SiC cascodes, the compatibility with a 12 V gate drive and synchronous rectification of the full-bridge, a very high peak efficiency of 98.6% is achieved for this AC/DC converter at high line (230 V) AC input with 400 V DC output. With correct digital control of the full-bridge gate signals the inductor current spike at zero-crossing is significantly reduced and a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 1.83% is achieved at high line near full load.