Power supply for silent discharge type load

Since silent discharge in gas has been recognized as one of the most effective ways for ozone, ultraviolet and excimer laser generation, development of low cost and high effective driver for silent discharge load becomes a task of great importance. This paper presents a switched-mode power supply designed for such a type of load. A voltage source type resonant inverter operating under ZVS (zero voltage switching) principle and developed for driving a silent discharge (SD) type high-frequency ozone generation tube is introduced. PDM (pulse density modulation) and PFM (pulse frequency modulation) hybrid control strategy applied in this inverter allows achievement of zero voltage switching in all power regulating ranges (10-100%) that reduces total switching losses and EMI noises and increases total system efficiency. The developed inverter type ozonizer system has superior performances, simple power regulating scheme and appears to be promising in industrial ozone generation applications, however the same principles can be applied in the domestic units with lower power, which will be widely applied in the near future. The developed scheme has proven high performances for the ozone generation system both by simulation and experiment and now it is under implementation for the ultraviolet generating system. This paper introduces the design principles of such a power supply along with its structure, regulation method and operating performances.