High Power DC-DC Conversion Applications of Disk-Type Radial Mode Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 Ceramic Transducer

In this paper, a new application of magnetic-less high-power DC-DC switching converter with an Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 Ceramic transducer is described. For the full elimination of magnetic devices from the high power application, this paper presents a resonant-type step-down DC-DC power converter employing a disk-type piezoelectric transducer, along with the demonstration of the design process and the hardware-experiment results. For validation of the feasibility, a 10W output DC-DC power converter hardware was implemented. The experimental result shows an excellent output control capability under switching frequency variation with a high power-efficiency greater than 95%. The thermal distribution image of the transducer under the high power operation was also measured. The result shows that the transducer has very stable thermal operation even under the full load condition. (C) 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics