Regulatory moves in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere mandate high power factor for many electronic products with power requirements over 75 W and for lighting products over 5 W. These rules are combined with numerous application-specific standards that require high power supply efficiency across the entire load range, from full load to as low as 10% load. High efficiency at light load is a challenge for traditional PFC approaches in which fixed MOSFET switching frequencies cause fixed switching losses on each cycle, even at light loads.
HiperPFS simplifies compliance with new and emerging energy-efficiency standards over a broad market space in applications such as PCs, LCD TVs, notebooks, appliances, pumps, motors, fans, printers, and LED lighting. Power Integrations’ innovative variable-frequency continuous conduction mode of operation (VF-CCM) minimizes switching losses by maintaining a low average switching frequency, while also varying the switching frequency in order to suppress EMI, the traditional challenge with continuous-conduction-mode solutions. Systems using HiperPFS typically save a core size on both the boost choke and common-mode EMI noise suppression choke, reducing overall system size and cost.
Comments product marketing manager David New: “Our innovative variable-frequency, continuous conduction mode controller enables the HiperPFS to realize all of the benefits of continuous-conduction mode operation while leveraging low-cost, small, simple EMI filters. Devices in the HiperPFS family are clearly leading the industry in light-load efficiency performance. HiperPFS provides a highly integrated PFC solution that significantly reduces the number of components on a BOM. Some benchmarked designs have reduced the parts count by 50.”
In common with Power Integrations’ other power conversion product families, HiperPFS includes comprehensive protection features such as integrated soft-start, fault and over-load protection, and hysteretic thermal shutdown.