GaN-Based High Efficiency Transmitter for Multiple-Receiver Wireless Power Transfer

Wireless power transfer (WPT) has attracted great attention from industry and academia due to high charging flexibility. However, the efficiency of WPT is lower and the cost is higher than the wired power transfer approaches. Efforts including converter optimization, power delivery architecture improvement, and coils have been made to increase system efficiency.In this thesis, new power delivery architectures in the WPT of consumer electronics have been proposed to improve the overall system efficiency and increase the power density.First, a two-stage transmitter architecture is designed for a 100 W WPT system. After comparing with other topologies, the front-end ac-dc power factor correction (PFC) rectifier employs a totem-pole rectifier. A full bridge 6.78 MHz resonant inverter is designed for the subsequent stage. An impedance matching network provides constant transmitter coil current. The experimental results verify the high efficiency, high PF, and low total harmonic distortion (THD).Then, a single-stage transmitter is derived based on the verified two-stage structure. By integration of the PFC rectifier and full bridge inverter, two GaN FETs are saved and high efficiency is maintained. The integrated DCM operated PFC rectifier provides high PF and low THD. By adopting a control scheme, the transmitter coil current and power are regulated. A simple auxiliary circuit is employed to improve the light load efficiency. The experimental results verify the achievement of high efficiency.A closed-loop control scheme is implemented in the single-stage transmitter to supply multiple receivers simultaneously. With a controlled constant transmitter current, the system provides a smooth transition during dynamically load change. ZVS detection circuit is proposed to protect the transmitter from continuous hard switching operation. The control scheme is verified in the experiments.The multiple-reciever WPT system with the single-stage transmitter is investigated. The system operating range is discussed. The method of tracking optimum system efficiency is studied. The system control scheme and control procedure, targeting at providing a wide system operating range, robust operation and capability of tracking the optimized system efficiency, are proposed. Experiment results demonstrate the WPT system operation

Wireless Power System Design for Maximum Efficiency

With the potential of cutting the last cord, wireless power transfer (WPT) using magnetic resonant coupling is gaining increasing popularity. Evolved from the inductive WPT techniques used in commercial products today, resonant WPT can transfer power over a longer distance with higher spatial freedom. Experimental prototypes have shown power transfer across a 2 m air gap [1], proving the viability of resonant WPT. Industrial consortia such as the AirFuel Alliance have standard specifications that enable wide application in consumer electronics.Despite the promises of high efficiency and long transfer distance, resonant WPT has significant challenges to overcome before the broad adoption will occur. One of the critical challenges is the how to design the complicated system. A WPT system consists of multiple parts: the transmitter coil and the compensation capacitor, the receiver coil and the compensation capacitor, and the power stages which consists of the inverter in the transmitter side and rectifier in the receiver side. This thesis investigates the WPT system design for maximum efficiency. It explores modeling and design of individual stages as well as the entire system design method. From the careful literature review, it is found that current design method of coils is insufficient for consumer electronics applications due to the strict sensitivity of size. The current power stage design method is insufficient or inaccurate for WPT applications where wide loading situations need to be considered. The system-level design method is based on assumptions that are not generally true due to the neglect of ZVS requirement and diode rectifier reactance. Instead, previously established techniques in coil design are applied to invent a new coil structure for reduced ESR while achieving a compact size. Previous ZVS inverter and diode rectifier topology are combined with waveform and circuit analysis to develop new accurate modeling and design method for a wide load range. From the resulting coil and converter models, an entire WPT system model and design methodology are proposed which highlights the design parameters selection and the design sequence. These techniques together contribute to a WPT system in terms of both high efficiency and compact size

Design of Power Receiving Units for 6.78MHz Wireless Power Transfer Systems

In the last decade, the wireless power transfer (WPT) technology has been a popular topic in power electronics research and increasingly adopted by consumers. The AirFuel WPT standard utilizes resonant coils to transfer energy at 6.78 MHz, introducing many benefits such as longer charging distance, multi-device charging, and high tolerance of the coil misalignment. However, variations in coil coupling due to the change in receiving coil positions alter the equivalent load reactance, degrading efficiency. In recent studies, active full-bridge rectifiers are employed on WPT receivers because of their superior efficiency, controllability, and ability to compensate for detuned WPT networks. In order to take advantage of those characteristics, the rectifier switching actions must be synchronized with the magnetic field. In the literature, existing solutions for synchronizing the active rectifier in WPT systems are mostly not reliable and bulky, which is not suitable for small receivers. Therefore, a frequency synchronous rectifier with compact on-board control is proposed in this thesis. The rectifier power stage is designed to deliver 40 W to the load while achieving full zero-voltage switching to minimize the loss. The inherent feedback from the power stage dynamics to the sensed signal is analyzed to design stable and robust synchronization control, even at a low power of 0.02 W. The control system is accomplished using commercial components, including a low-cost microcontroller, which eliminates the need for bulky control and external sensing hardware. This high power density design allows the receiver to be integrated into daily consumer electronics such as laptops and monitors. Finally, a wide-range and high v resolution control scheme of the rectifier input phase is proposed to enable the dynamic impedance matching capability, maintaining high system efficiency over wide loading conditions. In addition, to increase the WPT technology adoption to low-power consumer electronics, a small wireless receiver replacing conventional AA batteries is developed. This receiver can supply power to existing AA battery-powered devices while providing the benefit of WPT technologies to consumers

Self-Frequency Tracking High-Frequency Class E Resonant Inductive Links For Wireless Power Transfer Application

Nowadays, Wireless Power Transfer (WPT), specifically based on Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) technology is widely used in mobile applications such as mobile phone, pacemaker, and other applications. It is capable to transfer an electrical power from a power source (transmitter) to an electronic device (receiver) via an air gap, make it flexible and portable to be used for mobile device charger. Therefore, the IPT charger must be compact and small in size. In order to realize it, the coil size should be reduced. So, the operating frequency of the IPT system must be increased significantly to ensure the strongest magnetic field can be generated for a better power transmission. However, as the frequency increases, the switching losses in resonance power converter circuit increase at the same time. Thus, a Class E resonant power converter circuit that yields low switching loss is proposed and designed to drive inductive links with high frequency at transmitter side. In this research, the used operating frequency is 1MHz. To guarantee the maximum power transfer and improvement in efficiency, some studies and experiments on the type of compensated capacitor connection in IPT system were conducted. The simulation and experimental results showed that the external capacitor in series with the transmitter coil improved the result of the induced voltage. Further investigation on capability of larger inductance of inductive links to receive more power with a secondary series compensated capacitor is also conducted. On top of that, since the power transmission is based on the induced voltage concept of two inductive resonance coupling coils, the frequency of the driver circuit may dynamically drift away from the designed circuit. This is because the reflected load impedance exists in transmitter side. In order to rectify the aforementioned problem, a self-frequency tracking approach with feedback loop, which is Phased Lock Loop is proposed to ensure the frequency of the IPT system is operated at 1MHz stably. The analysis of the IPT system with self-frequency tracking performance is validated through LTspice simulations and experimental works. The results revealed that the proposed self-frequency tracking approach improved the power transfer efficiency as compared to without using frequency tracking. Therefore, the total power transfer efficiency of IPT system for simulated results is equal to 84.3% with frequency tracking and 80.6% of without tracking results, respectively. Otherwise, the experimental result of self-frequency tracking is 85.0% and the efficiency of without tracking is 80.4% at 10 mm of air gap distance. Thus, the power transfer efficiency has increased about 4.6% for experimental results

A GaN-Based Synchronous Rectifier with Reduced Voltage Distortion for 6.78 MHz Wireless Power Applications

The call for a larger degree of engineering innovation grows as wireless power transfer increases in popularity. In this thesis, 6.78 MHz resonant wireless power transfer is explained. Challenges in WPT such as dynamic load variation and electromagnetic interference due to harmonic distortion are discussed, and a literature review is conducted to convey how the current state of the art is addressing these challenges.A GaN-based synchronous rectifier is proposed as a viable solution, and a model of the circuit is constructed. The precisely derived model is compared to a linearized model to illustrate the importance of exactness within the model derivation. The model is then used to quantify the design space of circuit parameters Lr and Cr with regard to harmonic distortion, input phase control, and efficiency. Practical design decisions concerning the 6.78 MHz system are explained. These include gate driver choice and mitigation of PCB parasitics. The model is verified with open loop experimentation using a linear power amplifier, FPGA, electronic load, and two function generators. Current zero-crossing sensing is then introduced in order to achieve self-regulation of both the switching frequency and input phase. The details of the FPGA code and sensing scheme used to obtain this closed loop functionality are described in detail. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and future work is identified

A Study of the Sensitivity of Energy Conversion Efficiency to Load Variation in Class-E Resonant Power Inverter

In this thesis the sensitivity of energy conversion efficiency (ECE) and output power of a class-E resonant inverter under variable resistive and inductive load assignments is examined for wireless power transfer (WPT) applications. By performing simulation and mathematical analysis, it was found that the on-resistance of the switching device has minor effect on the design’s efficiency. Additional comparisons between the simulation and mathematical analysis show reasonable output power and ECE load variation performance for the design, but with unique load impedances where zero voltage switching (ZVS) and zero derivative switching (ZDS) are achieved. These comparisons also expose inaccurate mathematical assumptions. Experimental test results are presented to validate simulation and mathematical assumptions. These tests also show invalid assumptions used in the simulation and mathematical analysis and the performance of the class-E resonant power inverter suffer due to the difference in resonant frequencies during switch on and off state periods, nonlinear shunt capacitance, and parasitic impedances

A Critical Analysis of a Wireless Power Transmission (WPT) with an Improvement Method for a Non-Radiative WPT

This paper describes the analysis of the wireless power transmission including recent progresses in non-radiative wireless power transmission (WPT) and the improvement methods. Generally, WPT transmitter side consists of a DC supply voltage source, inverter/power amplifier, transmitter impedance matching device (IMD), source resonator and primary coil. The WPT receiver meanwhile consists of the secondary coil, device resonator, receiver IMD, rectifier and load. In order to achieve an efficient WPT, the WPT transmitter must transmit energy with minimum loss at the receiver side.  This setup can be achieved by employing the power amplifier (PA). In this paper, the power amplifier in wireless power transmission for portable devices was designed. A Class E power amplifier was proposed and designed to improve the WPT transmitter side. The effects of zero voltage and zero derivative voltage switching on PA with optimization method was also discussed

Design and development of safety systems for high frequency inductive power transfer

As wireless charging is gaining its popularity among consumer electronics, e.g., phones, smart wearables, electric toothbrushes, etc., there has been a trend of expanding this technology into a wider range of applications e.g. drones, robots, electric vehicles etc.. To achieve this, both the charging power and range need to be increased. This thesis discusses the limitations of widely used kHz inductive power transfer systems and emphasises the challenge of deploying into a wider range of applications. High-frequency inductive power transfer (HF-IPT) systems are then discussed with two real-world applications presented to showcase HF-IPT’s potential over kHz IPT systems. Some of the benefits of the HF-IPT, e.g., the large air gap and tolerance to misalignment, could increase the chances for live or other unintended objects to be coupled into the wireless charging system, which could cause safety hazards if the system was not designed carefully. This thesis, therefore, focuses on the safety systems design and development for HF-IPT systems. A number of existing and potential foreign and live object detection methods (FOD/LOD) including a new FOD/LOD method based on reflected impedance are introduced. The proposed method can operate without additional sensors, and without a communication link between IPT transmitter and receiver. A detection accuracy of 95% is achieved by implementing such FOD/LOD method. In addition, a FOD/LOD technique based on a mmWave radar sensor is also introduced. Differing from typical radar applications, the proposed method leverages machine learning techniques to perform object recognition to reduce the false detection rate. The developed FOD/LOD system could classify six different charging scenarios with an average accuracy of 96%. For applications that do not involve any live or unintended objects, this thesis also introduces a localisation technique based on the IPT system to help guide a drone or robot to a specific location e.g. a wireless charging point. Such a system was designed to reduce the risk of charging by minimising human’s involvement.Open Acces

8-Plate Multi-Resonant Coupling Using a Class-E\u3csup\u3e2\u3c/sup\u3e Power Converter For Misalignments in Capacitive Wireless Power Transfer

Misalignment is a common issue in wireless power transfer systems. It shifts the resonant frequency away from the operating frequency that affects the power flow and efficiency from the charging station to the load. This work proposes a novel capacitive wireless power transfer (CPT) using an 8-plate multi-resonant capacitive coupling to minimize the effect of misalignments. A single-active switch class-E2 power converter is utilized to achieve multi-resonance through the selection of different resonant inductors. Simulations show a widening of the resonant frequency band which offers better performance than a regular 4-plate capacitive coupling for misalignments. The hardware results of the 8-plate multi-resonant coupling show an efficiency of 88.5% for the 20.8 W test, which is 18.3% higher than that of the regular 4-plate coupling. Because of the wider resonant frequency band {455–485 kHz}, compared with the regular 4-plate coupling, the proposed design minimized the output voltage drop by 15% for a 10% misalignment. Even for large misalignments, the 8-plate performance improved by 40% compared with the 4-plate coupling