High frequency and high power density bipolar DC–DC converter with GaN HEMT

Bipolar DC–DC converter plays an important role in data center and distributed renewable energy unit with the advantages of high efficiency and low cost. In order to improve the power density of bipolar DC–DC converter, a high frequency and high power density bipolar DC–DC converter based on Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor (GaN HEMT) is proposed under the development trend of miniaturization, lightweight and high power density of power electronic converter. By using gallium nitride (GaN) switch device, the switching frequency of the converter is increased to 1 MHz, which effectively reduces the volume and weight of the device. In addition, through the design of high frequency driver circuit, two separate pull-up/pull-down outputs are provided for the control signal, and the rising and falling rates of the switch signal are controlled by adjusting the resistance to obtain good performance and driving stability. The experimental results show that the total weight of the converter with radiator is only 121.6 g, the power density is 35.23 W/in3, and the maximum efficiency can reach 92.7%. Compared with the same type of converter, the volume and weight of the converter are greatly reduced, effectively realizing the goals of miniaturization, lightweight and high power density of the converter.