Advanced Control Methods for Asymmetrical Half-Bridge Flyback

In this article, a power converter based on an asymmetrical half-bridge flyback topology is analyzed and optimized for small form factor and fast-charging power adaptors. Two resonant control methods, taking advantage of the forward and flyback characteristics of the converter, as well as the benefits of each of them depending of the operation point are discussed. The analysis is nourished with the equivalent circuits in each phase of operation and the equations that define them. Particularly innovative is the proposed zero voltage resonant valley switching control method for the mentioned converter; in this case, it is operated similarly to a flyback converter, allowing safe output voltage ramp up, which is one of the challenges that has limited the usage of this topology up to now. The manuscript also describes how to achieve high efficiency and power density using zero-voltage switching and zero-current switching techniques over the full range of the input voltage and the output load. Finally, the advantages of the proposed control methods are demonstrated in a 65-W adaptor prototype achieving a peak efficiency over 94.6% and an efficiency of 93.8% @ V
_ac
≥ 100 V at full load over the range of the input voltage, as well as a world-class power density of 35 W/in
³
uncased.