AC/DC power factor correction using interleaved Boost & Cuk converters

The interleaving of modules in AC/DC switch mode power supply designs has been extended to the Cuk converter. The suitability of this topology has been compared with that of more established Boost converter. Simulation results have been used to determine whether the greater complexity of the Cuk converter outweighs its performance advantage over the Boost converter. The Cuk converter offers incorporation of isolation without extra active devices and so is attractive for mains operated equipment and reduces overall system complexity in such cases. The inclusion Of isolation opens up the possibility of having different input and output interleaving methods. For mains input and low voltage output it is possible to use series interleaving of the input and parallel interleaving of the output.