Performance Analysis of SiC-Based DC/DC Converter for Solar Power Tower Heliostat Application

This paper proposes a modern approach to a DC/DC converter based on silicon carbide metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (SiC-MOSFET). In particular, SiC-based MOSFETs are designed and implemented as Class-E DC/DC converter. The converter is developed as part of a solar power tower (SPT) heliostat unit to supply DC motors under different operation loads. Simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the drive system under various scenarios using MATLAB/Simulink. A prototype experimental setup has been built and tested for the proposed converter. The proposed system for SPT converter reduces switching losses that reflect on drive system efficiency without affecting working drive performance. An identical silicon isolated-gate bipolar junction transistor (Si-IGBT)-based converter is designed and implemented to compare the proposed converter based on SiC-MOSFET. The outcomes demonstrated that the proposed converter is more capable and efficient under high temperatures saving 12% power losses at high operating frequencies. Further, the proposed system's switching frequency is higher than the traditional Si-IGBT converter, leading to a greater reduction of power losses and improved efficiency.