This project focused on the design and implementation of a DC to DC Boost Converter with an input voltage of 100 to 150 volts and a constant output of 280 volts. To increase the efficiency of the boost converter zero voltage transition (ZVT) soft switching techniques were used. The diagram [1] below shows the basic circuit.

The above diagram shows a ZVT DC to DC Boost Converter with an active snubber cell as a turn on aid. The following elements form the snubber cell:

• snubber inductor, Lr
• resonant capacitor,Cb
• auxiliary transistor, T1
• auxiliary diodes, D1, D2

The rest of the circuit elements make up the basic boost converter and are as follows:

• output capacitor, Cf
• main inductor, Lf
• main diode, Df
• main switch, T2

.There are seven operational stages for this circuit. These stages are analyzed here. Gating Signals for the switches T1 and T2 were generated from the Atmel AVR atmega8 microcontroller. Details of the software program can be found here.

[1] Diagrams and operation of the circuit taken from IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, "A New ZVT-PWM DC-DC Converter" by H. Bodur and A.F. Bakan.