Comparative study of two-quadrant DC/DC stage in power supply for superconducting magnets

To improve the performances of the present European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a new family of power supplies for Superconducting Magnets (SCM) is being designed to enhance the operating cycle and recover magnetic-stored energy. Those specific magnets require low-voltage high-current high-precision isolated power supplies. This paper compares different modes of operation for 4-quadrant full-bridge DC/DC converter and its reduced 2-quadrant variant, with emphasis placed on semiconductor losses and overall electrical performances. From the presented comparative study, it can be seen that 2-quadrant topology combined with synchronous rectification offers the most interesting characteristics for considered application.