High Power Density Magnetic-Less DC–DC Converters

The very last paper of the conference showed a strong argument for completely eliminating magnetics from the product. The work, “Ultra-High Power Density Magnetic-Less dc–dc Converter Using GaN Transistors,” was presented by Dr. Georgios Kampitsis of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland. The device was certainly quite compact (Figure 6), and the claimed efficiency was excellent. The major drawback was a very high device count. Partially offsetting this was the fact that each device processes only a small portion of the total power. The economic viability of the proposed design is far from clear, but, if compactness and efficiency are at a premium, this converter in some cases may be worthy of serious consideration.