**6. Conclusions**

This paper proposed a DC-DC converter based on the Cuk converter, namely the Mahafzah converter. The proposed converter maintains the same component counts, duty cycle, voltage gain, and inverted output voltage as the Cuk converter, but with a different arrangement and new design. The new configuration of the proposed converter offers the advantage of reducing the rating voltage of the coupling capacitor, resulting in a smaller size and lower cost. Additionally, it operates at a lower rated voltage of the coupling capacitor. Moreover, the currents of the semiconductor devices are reduced compared to those in the devices in the Cuk converter. As a result, the losses in the proposed converter are reduced, leading to improved efficiency. The operating modes and mathematical equations governing the currents and voltages of the inductors, coupling capacitor, switch, and diode are thoroughly discussed in this paper. A design example is presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed configuration. The design is validated through simulation

to evaluate the operation, performance, and efficiency of the converter. Experimental tests are also conducted to validate the simulation results. For this purpose, a low voltage– low power prototype (12/−18 V, 3.24 W) is built to verify the operation and validate the proposed converter waveforms. The results demonstrate the excellent performance of the new converter, as evidenced by the matching between the simulation and design calculation results. Furthermore, the proposed converter exhibits higher efficiency than the Cuk converter under load variations, with an efficiency of 88% at rated load conditions, surpassing the Cuk converter by 1%. All the highlighted insights of this new design will hopefully lead to increased efforts toward the development of advanced energy conversion for electric vehicles and hybrid renewable energy systems.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, K.A.M.; methodology, K.A.M. and A.Q.A.-S.; software, K.A.M. and N.N.; validation, M.A.H. and A.Q.A.-S.; formal analysis, K.A.M., A.Q.A.-S., T.S.B. and N.N.; experiment, K.A.M. and A.Q.A.-S.; investigation, K.A.M. and A.Q.A.-S.; writing—original draft preparation, K.A.M. and A.Q.A.-S.; writing—review and editing, K.A.M., T.S.B., N.N., A.Q.A.-S. and M.A.H.; project administration, M.A.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**


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