Combination PFC/PWM controller simplifies power supply design

5 October 2005 Power Electronics / Power Management

ON Semiconductor's NCP1603 is a combo PFC/PWM controller with integrated standby and high voltage startup capabilities. It combines a power factor correction (PFC) controller chip and a pulse width modulation (PWM) control chip in a single, 16-pin SOIC package. This combination simplifies the task of designing an offline, AC-DC power supply that meets governmental requirements for both power factor correction and low standby power consumption.

PFC is typically required when a power supply is operating under normal load conditions. However, in light-load and no-load conditions, PFC is not required and generates losses that make it almost difficult to meet the limits on standby power consumption established by Energy Star, the California Energy Commission, and other organisations.

Under light load conditions, the NCP1603 PWM controller disables the PFC function, saving in the range of 200 mW of power. Currently, the most aggressive standards limit standby power consumption to 500 mW with plans to lower this limit to 300 mW in the future. Given those goals, the power saved by turning off the PFC is significant. Moreover, disabling the PFC ensures that the controller can meet even the future 300 mW limit for standby power.

Typically, when separate PFC and PWM controllers are used in a power supply design, additional circuitry is required to disable the PFC. To address this, engineers often used a bipolar transistor to pull down the VCC of the PFC controller. The circuit would also require a comparator with hysteresis and components for sensing the load conditions - up to 10 additional components in all. Using the NCP1603 simplifies this and reduces part count.

The NCP1603 is offered in an SOIC-16 package.

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