Low flicker universal power converter for filament-based heating processes

For filament-based heating processes, a minimum-component power converter topology with a universal line voltage interface virtually eliminates flicker. It provides asynchronous linear power control, with unity power factor and low harmonic content over a wide range of power levels. With common control methods, it exploits the natural behavior of filament-based heating processes. The topology is derived, its linear power control is developed and simulated and its experimental performance is presented.