Flyboost power factor correction cell and a new family of single-stage AC/DC converters

A novel power factor correction (PFC) cell, called flyboost, is presented. The proposed PFC cell combines power conversion characteristics of conventional flyback and boost converters. Based on the flyboost PFC cell, a new family of single-stage (S/sup 2/) ac/dc converters can be derived. Prominent features of newly derived S/sup 2/ converters include: three power conversions, i.e., boost, flyback, and another isolated dc/dc power conversions are simultaneously realized that typically uses only one power switch and one simple controller; part of the power delivered to the load is processed only once; bulk capacitor voltage can be clamped to the desired level; and capable of operating under continuous current mode. Experimental results on example converters verify that while still achieving high power factor and tight output regulation, the flyboost PFC cell substantially improve the efficiency of the converter.