Buck-Boost-Based DC–DC Converters, a Comprehensive Review on Topologies, Control Strategies, Performance Evaluations, and Emerging Utilizations in Last Decade
Abstract
Buck-boost-based DC-DC converters are frequently used in power-electronics-based systems, covering a wide range from low voltages and power levels up to thousands of volts and megawatt-scale power in industrial applications. With the growing penetration of renewable energy systems featuring wide input-voltage ranges, battery-supported power units, electric vehicle charging stations, electrified transportation systems, on-grid and off-grid integrations, industrial applications, and high-performance electronic systems, the use of buck-boost converters has significantly increased. These converters represent an important research topic in modern power electronics due to their step-up/step-down performance capability and their structural flexibility across different power levels. In recent years, in addition to Single-Ended Primary-Inductor Converter (SEPIC), Ćuk, Zeta, and classical buck-boost configurations, extensive research has focused on high-efficiency switching Technologies. Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor-based topologies, interleaved operation techniques, synchronous rectification architectures, isolated and non-isolated configurations, soft-switching methods, and sensorless control strategies are samples of these designs. These studies generally concentrate on specific subcategories; however, the overall trends, technological developments, and design variations within the broader topology family need to be addressed in a more holistic manner to enable fair comparison across different applications and power levels. Besides the converter topologies themselves, the control of these converters is also an important topic, and various model-based and model-free based controllers, dual voltage–current control systems, and artificial intelligent-based methods have been widely considered. This review study aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation of current approaches and recent advances in the literature focusing on renewable energy sources integration by classifying buck-boost converters from topology structures to control methods, considering on developments over the last decade. The advantages and disadvantages of different topologies and control systems, along with comparative perspectives, are presented.