LAUSR

The use of renewable resources for low power generation has led to extensive research on power converters for reliable and efficient power conversion. Though conventional boost converter (CBC) remains the widely used topology, its operating range is limited due to constraints on voltage gain and degree of freedom of control (DoFoC). This paper presents a two-switch boost converter (TSBC) which improves the voltage gain and DoFoC by cascading an additional switch-diode pair to the CBC circuit. The additional switch enhances the range of voltage gain without operating CBC at high duty ratios. Additionally, TSBC offers more choices to adjust voltage gain, which enhances DoFoC. The switching interval selection is detailed considering the voltage gain and constraints on circuit variables. The design formulations of TSBC are examined to facilitate optimal choice of components. The features of TSBC are theoretically established with mathematical derivations and are validated by simulations and experiments. The experimental results indicate that for a duty ratio of 0.7 for the existing switch of CBC, an increase in voltage gain from 3.2 to 4.3 is achieved when the duty ratio of the additional switch in TSBC is varied from 0 to 0.1. Similarly, improved DoFoC is demonstrated with inductor current control as well as with constant ripple ratios while maintaining the required output voltage. The proposed converter can easily replace the commonly CBC to improve the gain and DoFoC by simply cascading a switch-diode pair at the input-side of CBC.