Compact fluorescent lamp ballast IC reference designs
22 September 2004
Power Electronics / Power Management
International Rectifier offers three complete reference designs for the company's IR2520D compact fluorescent lamp ballast IC. The designs are complete solutions for CFL ballasts. 
They feature programmable run frequency and preheat time as well as safety and circuit protection functions such as low AC line, open filament and failure-to-strike. 
A key feature of the IR2520D chip is its adaptive zero voltage switching control. During each half-bridge switching cycle, half-bridge voltage slews to the opposite rail during deadtime. If the voltage has not completely slewed to the opposite rail so that there is zero voltage across the appropriate switch before turn-on, then the operating frequency is too close to resonance and the frequency increases. The built-in adaptive zero voltage switching (ZVS) and zero current switching (ZCS) closed-loop control matches operating frequency as close as possible to the half-bridge output stage resonance.
Operating ballasts in ZVS/ZCS mode minimises switching losses in the half-bridge MOSFETs, ensuring maximum efficiency and lifetime, regardless of component and lamp tolerances as well as line voltage variations.
	
 
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