Isolated bidirectional DC–DC converters are becoming increasingly important in various applications, particularly in the electric vehicle sector, due to their ability to achieve bidirectional power flow and their safety features. This paper aims to review the switch strategies and topologies of isolated bidirectional DC–DC converters, with a specific focus on their applications in the field of electric vehicles. From the perspective of topology, PWM-type isolated bidirectional DC–DC converters, dual active bridge converters, and resonant-type isolated bidirectional DC–DC converters constitute the three main categories of these converters. The paper further examines the traditional switch strategies of these converters and discusses how specific switch technologies, such as single-phase shift, expanding-phase shift, double-phase shift, and triple-phase shift, can enhance the overall performance of isolated bidirectional DC–DC converters. The paper meticulously examines the characteristics of each topology and control scheme, as well as their typical use cases in practical applications. Particularly, the paper delves into the applications of isolated bidirectional DC–DC converters in the electric vehicle sector and draws conclusions regarding their potential and trends in future electric vehicle technology.

In this article, a new indirect matrix converter (IMC) topology with two insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) set in the upper and lower dc-link is proposed to suppress the common-mode voltage (CMV). Meanwhile, two new space vector modulation (SVM) strategies are redesigned to control this topology. The first strategy utilizes the equivalent zero voltage vectors to replace the zero voltage vectors for reducing the CMV, while the second strategy selects and utilizes specific active voltage vectors and equivalent zero voltage vectors to suppress the CMV based on the input current sector. Comparative simulation and experimental research for the two strategies are carried out for the new IMC topology, which validates that the CMV can be reduced to 57.7% or 37.1% of the one in the conventional IMC system. Besides, the proposed new IMC system is experimentally verified that it can keep a satisfied CMV suppression performance when feeding an induction motor. Moreover, the efficiency analysis also indicates that the new topology will not bring in obvious additional power loss under the proposed SVM strategies even though two IGBTs are added in the dc-link.