A novel soft-switching boost power factor correction converter with an active snubber

In this paper, a novel soft switching transition technique in power factor correction (PFC) 1-Φ AC-DC converter operating in a continuous conduction mode (CCM) with fixed switching frequency is presented. All of the semiconductor devices of the proposed converter are turned on and off under exact or near zero voltage switching and/or zero current switching. No additional voltage and current stresses on the main switch and main diode occur. The operating modes and analysis for the proposed converter are explained. To evaluate the performance of the suggested converter, simulation results for a 400V, 500W 1-phase AC-DC converter are presented. The simulated results confirm that the converter operates at almost unity power factor with reduced switching losses in a proposed converter. The output voltage is regulated without affecting zero voltage switching even under step change in input voltage. (6 pages)