An interleaved high step‐up DC–DC converter with ZVS capability for renewable energy systems applications

In this paper, an interleaved zero voltage switching high step‐up converter based on active clamp, coupled inductor (CI), built‐in transformer (BIT), and switched capacitor (SC) is proposed. The main novelty of the proposed converter is that the secondary winding of the CI is inserted between the primary winding of the CI and the primary winding of the BIT. Therefore, the voltage gain can be achieved in proportionate to the multiplication of the turn ratios of the CIs and BIT. The configuration of the proposed converter not only increases the voltage gain, but also reduces the current and voltage stress of the power switches and restricts the input current ripple, which decreases the conduction losses and increases the lifetime of the input source. Also, zero voltage switching turn‐ON and turn‐OFF conditions for all switches are achieved by employing an active clamp configuration. The voltage across the diodes clamped to the output voltage and the reverse recovery problem is reduced due to the leakage inductors. Finally, a 600 W prototype with 24–400 V voltage conversion is built to verify the performance and theoretical analysis.