Two-Switch Forward Converter with an Integrated Buck Converter for High Bus Voltage in Satellites

As satellite missions become increasingly diverse, the power capacity of satellites continues to increase. Accordingly, the weight and loss of the electrical power system of the satellite must be reduced. Thus, a high bus voltage is required for the electrical power system of the satellite. However, most high-power dc/dc converter topologies, such as half-bridge and full-bridge dc/dc converters have leg-structures, which violate the heritage design characteristics of the dc/dc converters for satellites. To solve these problems, a two-switch forward converter with an integrated buck converter is proposed in this article. By integrating the buck converter into the two-switch forward converter, one switch and one diode are eliminated in the proposed converter, and consequently, its cost, weight, and volume can be greatly reduced. Moreover, the zero-voltage switching of the low-side switch can be achieved. Therefore, the proposed converter achieves a high efficiency under the entire load condition compared with conventional converters. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed converter were verified with a prototype of 300–330 V input and 600 W (150 V/100 V) output.