Electronic ballast for fluorescent lamps with the PFC stage integrated with the resonant inverter

Studies and practical results regarding the integration of the PFC stage with the DC-AC conversion in electronic ballasts for fluorescent lamps are presented in this paper. The extension of the Moisin's topology is presented to allow the use of a full-bridge rectifier stage. The design procedures developed are extended to the continuous input current charge pump power factor correction (CIC-CPPFC). A performance comparison obtained through several integrations applied on commercial electronic ballasts is presented. One topological variation, where the charge-pump capacitors are connected directly on the rectifier stage, is presented. Both structures can improve the reliability, simplicity and lower the component count for electronic ballasts. Experimental results from a prototype designed using the methodology developed in this work are also shown.