Power Supply

Totem-Pole Critical-Conduction-Mode Controller Delivers Bridgeless PFC

March 30, 2022

Teaching switches new tricks: GaN-based totem-pole converters may be the key to practical V2G systems.

This video is part of our APEC 2022 coverage.

Improved switching characteristics of wide-bandgap semiconductors are giving rise to new bridge architectures and innovative variations on classic designs. I visited the onsemi booth, where we got to see a new take on the well-known totem-pole architecture that not only boosts efficiency, but also enables bidirectional operation. This includes the NCP168x family.

As the video demonstrates, single converters that can be driven in either direction can help reduce the cost of grid-tied solar inverters. They also help enable the widespread acceptance of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems, which let electric vehicles sell a portion of their capacity back to the grid during peak demand times.

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About the Author

Lee Goldberg | Contributing Editor

Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.

Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.

Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.

Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.

Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series.