Interleaved DC/DC Converter with Soft Switching Based on Distributed Partially Coupled Integrated Inductors

The power of DC/DC converters can be significantly improved using interleaved DC/DC converters. The losses in power switching are significantly reduced using a resonant circuit composed of inductors and other components, which is a useful method for improving efficiency. A growing number of studies are focused on coupled inductors for interleaved DC/DC converters, which can increase the gravimetric power density and reduce the number of inductors. Power-inductor and resonant-inductor coupling in single-phase converters has been proposed by some researchers, but few studies have addressed the power-inductor and resonant-inductor coupling in multiphase converters. Therefore, a dual-phase interleaved DC/DC converter with distributed coupled inductors and passive soft-switching is proposed in this paper. The operation process, condition of soft switching, design method, and structure of the distributed coupled inductor are described. A 30 kW, 20 kHz dual interleaved insulated gate bipolar transistor prototype was built, and a power density of 5.15 kW/kg was achieved, attaining 97.18% efficiency at 30 kW. The results of Simulink and experiments reveal that the converter is effective and has the advantages of high power density and high efficiency. © 2025 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.