Converter Topologies
A structured reference for industrial power conversion — from buck, boost, and flyback stages to LLC, DAB, multilevel converters, MMCs, and solid-state transformers.
Navigate by conversion interface
The primary classification follows the electrical interface. Isolation, bidirectional operation, soft switching, phase count, and modularity then narrow the design space.
DC–DC conversion
Non-isolated, isolated, resonant, interleaved, and bidirectional power stages.
Explore topologies ↓ AC → DCRectifiers & PFC
Passive rectifiers, boost-derived PFC, totem-pole, Vienna, and active front ends.
Explore topologies ↓ DC → ACInverters
Single- and three-phase bridges, voltage-source inverters, and multilevel families.
Explore topologies ↓ AC → ACAC–AC conversion
Back-to-back conversion, AC controllers, cycloconverters, and matrix converters.
Explore topologies ↓ CELLS → SYSTEMModular & multistage
Parallel phases, cascaded cells, MMCs, and solid-state transformer architectures.
Explore architectures ↓DC–DC Converter Families
DC–DC stages regulate a DC bus, adapt voltage, provide galvanic isolation, or move energy bidirectionally between sources, storage, loads, and intermediate buses.
Non-isolated fundamentals
Buck · step-down conversion and point-of-load regulation.
Boost · step-up conversion, renewable interfaces, and PFC building blocks.
Buck–boost · inverting or non-inverting conversion when the input crosses the output range.
SEPIC, Ćuk & Zeta · extended step-up/down families with different ripple and polarity characteristics.
Interleaved & bidirectional
Synchronous buck/boost · reduced conduction loss at low voltage and high current.
Multiphase buck · parallel phases for current sharing and lower output ripple.
Interleaved boost or buck–boost · higher power with reduced input and output ripple.
Bidirectional buck–boost · battery, supercapacitor, and DC-bus energy exchange.
Isolated PWM converters
Flyback · simple isolated conversion for auxiliary and lower-power supplies.
Forward & active-clamp forward · transformer-isolated transfer with an output inductor.
Push–pull & half-bridge · double-ended transformer excitation for higher utilisation.
Full-bridge & PSFB · higher-power isolated conversion with phase-shift control and soft-switching potential.
Resonant & active-bridge
Series and parallel resonant · resonant-tank families for soft commutation.
LLC · high-efficiency isolated conversion around a designed resonant operating range.
CLLC · bidirectional resonant conversion with active bridges on both sides.
Dual active bridge (DAB) · isolated bidirectional power transfer using phase shift between two active bridges.
Rectifier and PFC Families
AC–DC selection depends on phase count, power factor, harmonic limits, DC-link voltage, bidirectional power flow, semiconductor stress, and the required efficiency.
Passive & controlled rectifiers
Single-phase diode bridge · robust front end for lower-power and cost-sensitive systems.
Three-phase six-pulse bridge · classical industrial rectification for drives and DC links.
Thyristor rectifier · controlled high-power conversion where line commutation is acceptable.
Single-phase PFC
Boost PFC · established active power-factor-correction stage.
Interleaved boost PFC · shares current across phases and reduces ripple at higher power.
Bridgeless / totem-pole PFC · removes bridge conduction loss for high-efficiency front ends.
Three-phase active front ends
Vienna rectifier · unidirectional three-level PFC with reduced device voltage stress.
Two-level active front end · controlled grid current and bidirectional power flow.
Three-level NPC, ANPC & T-type AFE · multilevel front ends for higher voltage and improved waveform quality.
Inverter Families
Inverters connect DC sources and buses to motors, grids, uninterruptible power supplies, renewable generation, and controlled AC loads.
Bridge inverters
Single-phase half-bridge · compact conversion with a split DC link.
Single-phase H-bridge · bipolar or unipolar modulation for full DC-bus utilisation.
Three-phase two-level VSI · the standard voltage-source stage for drives and grid converters.
Three-level & multilevel
NPC and ANPC · clamped multilevel conversion with lower device voltage stress.
T-type · three-level conversion with a different conduction-path trade-off.
Flying-capacitor · additional voltage levels using controlled capacitor voltages.
Cascaded H-bridge (CHB) · series-connected converter cells for modular voltage scaling.
Specialised inverter families
Current-source inverter (CSI) · current-fed conversion for selected drive and grid applications.
Z-source and quasi-Z-source · impedance networks that add shoot-through tolerance and buck–boost capability.
Parallel and interleaved inverters · scalable current capacity with coordinated modulation and current sharing.
AC–AC Converter Families
AC–AC systems change voltage, frequency, phase, or power flow either directly or through an intermediate DC link.
Indirect conversion
Rectifier–DC link–inverter · the established architecture for variable-speed drives, UPS systems, and grid interfaces.
Back-to-back active converters · bidirectional AC–DC–AC conversion with a controlled DC link.
Direct conversion
AC voltage controller · phase-angle or integral-cycle control for heating, lighting, and soft starting.
Cycloconverter · direct low-frequency conversion for very-high-power drives.
Matrix converter · bidirectional switch matrix without a large DC-link energy store.
From Converter Cells to Power Systems
High-power and medium-voltage systems are often built by coordinating repeated converter cells rather than scaling a single switching stage indefinitely.
Parallel & interleaved stages
Parallel converter legs or complete modules increase current capacity. Their design adds current sharing, phase interleaving, circulating-current control, phase shedding, and fault-management constraints.
Cascaded H-bridge (CHB)
Series-connected H-bridge cells synthesise a multilevel waveform and distribute the total voltage across modules. Cell-voltage balancing and isolated or independent DC sources become central design questions.
Modular multilevel converter (MMC)
Half-bridge or full-bridge submodules are inserted and bypassed within converter arms. Modulation, capacitor-energy balancing, circulating current, and distributed control shape the complete design.
Solid-state transformer (SST)
An SST is a multistage architecture rather than a single topology. It can combine an active or cascaded medium-voltage front end, isolated DAB or CLLC cells, DC links, and a low-voltage inverter.
What Each Topology Reference Will Contain
This page is the map. As the library grows, each topology will gain structured engineering material that a developer or coding agent can use to constrain, compare, and verify a design.
Design envelope
Input and output ranges, power level, conversion ratio, isolation, direction of power flow, operating modes, and representative applications.
Models & equations
Steady-state gain, current and voltage stress, ripple, soft-switching boundaries, small-signal behaviour, and documented assumptions.
Implementation constraints
Semiconductor selection, magnetics and filters, capacitors, thermal limits, EMI, modulation, sensing, protection, and control structure.
Evidence & validation
Simulation models, reference designs, test data, efficiency maps, loss breakdowns, BOM context, and links to the original sources.
Current Design References
These early references show how topology, devices, magnetics, modulation, and system requirements can be connected in one design workflow.
Dual Active Bridge Converter
A 2 kW DAB reference covering switching devices, high-frequency magnetics, phase-shift control, and design optimisation.
Open design reference → MODULAR MULTISTAGE SYSTEMSolid-State Transformer
A modular SST reference connecting cell-level power conversion with system integration and coordinated control.
Open design reference →