Single-stage electronic ballast using single-coupled inductor

Abstract

This paper proposes a single-stage half-bridge electronic ballast with a high power factor using only a single coupled inductor. Compared to conventional high power factor electronic ballasts, the proposed ballast is a simpler circuit with a low cost and a high reliability. The proposed ballast is made up of a power-factor-correction (PFC) circuit and a self-oscillating class-D inverter. The PFC and inverter stages of the proposed ballast are simplified by sharing only a single coupled inductor and two common switches. The proposed PFC circuit can achieve a high power factor and low voltage stresses of the switches. A saturable transformer in the self-oscillating class-D inverter determines the switching frequency of the ballast. Experimental results obtained on a 30W fluorescent lamp are discussed.