Design of a High-Voltage Low-Ripple Converter With High-Frequency Dickson Multipliers

Abstract

High-voltage, low-ripple dc-dc converters are essential in various industrial and scientific applications. Increased switching frequency helps improve converter power density but challenges circuit design. In this article, we propose a design method based on a detailed model of Dickson voltage multipliers to account for non-idealities in high-frequency multiplier circuitry. We present the design of a high-frequency 80 W, 48-V-to-7-kV dc-dc power converter with less than 10 Vpp voltage ripple. The circuit utilizes GaN-based high-frequency inverters, multiport air-core planar printed circuit board (PCB) transformers, Dickson voltage multipliers, and ripple cancellation. The PCB transformers are constructed with shielding layers to mitigate noise-induced voltage ripple. The implemented prototype can maintain a 0.1% ripple ratio while achieving 86% peak efficiency.