A comparative study of a family of charge pump power factor correction electronic ballasts

The charge pump power factor correction (CPPFC) electronic ballast circuit has become an attractive topological family for ballasting fluorescent lamps because it employs a charging capacitor instead of bulky inductor to implement the power factor correction (PFC). Several topologies have been previously proposed. Based on the different mechanism to achieve PFC, three types, namely, voltage source type CPPFC (VS-CPPFC), current source type CPPFC (CS-CPPFC), and combined voltage source and current source type CPPFC (VSCS-CPPFC) electronic ballast can be classified. These three types of CPPFC electronic ballast have different electrical characteristics, such as different start-up bus voltages, etc. Mathematical analysis is given in this paper based on the study of six typical CPPFC electronic ballast circuits. Then a comparison among these circuits in terms of power factor, DC bus voltage stress at preheat, start-up, and steady state modes, current stress at steady state, and lamp current crest factor is presented. The experimental results are provided for verification.