High Efficiency Single-Stage Multi-Fluorescent Lamps Electronic Ballast

Hung-Ching Lu and Te-Lung Shih Department of Electrical Engineering, Tatung University, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Abstract- A single-stage electronic ballast topology with the properties of high efficiency and low stress is proposed in this paper. The ballast consists of a voltage fed half-bridge series-resonant series-parallel-load (SRSPL) inverter, playing the role of lamp driver, and a voltage boost converter, which shares low side switch device with half-bridge inverter and acts as power-factor-correction (PFC). The inverter of the ballast is loaded with resonant tanks which are designed and operated to be capacitive and inductive to theoretically achieve both of zero-voltage switching (ZVS) and zero-current switching (ZCS) that eliminate the reactive current circulating through the switches to prevent low switching and conduction losses. The boost converter of the ballast provides sufficient high voltage to ignite the lamp. In addition, prior to shaping the input current and reducing harmonic currents to ignite the lamp, a power factor correction stage is performed by the converter. The merit of a successive ignition of the lamps can be attained with proposed operation scheme so that current stress imposed on the switches can be reduced. The simulation results and experimental measurements are used to verify the theoretical prediction and analysis.

The cost has increased when PFC stage cascade in front of DC-AC inverter. In order to reduce the cost of the electronic ballast, one single stage converter is used to perform both function of the PFC and the DC-AC conversion simultaneously. In this paper, a circuit operation scheme for multiple fluorescent lamp lighting system is proposed. The scheme is to operate all of the resonances for each resonant tank. By properly selecting the component values of the overall tanks, an equivalent resistive impedance of the overall tank can be derived so as the switches can theoretically operate with both of zero-voltage switching (ZVS) and zero-current-switching (ZCS). Furthermore, conduction losses and current stress on the switches can be reduced significantly since no reactive current flows through switches. During startup transition, the lamps are subsequently ignited because of switching frequency is controlled to decrease monotonically. Hence, a small transition peak current, as compared to that in the conventional ballast system, will follow through switches during the glow-to-arc transition. The electronic ballast can be categorized systemically as dual stage and single stage. The dual stage electronic ballast compresses three switches and two controllers to consist of AC-DC boost converter as PFC stage in front and DC-AC half-bridge Inverter. However, dual stage electronic ballast has better performance of power factor and current factor, where cost increased by result of more complex circuitry. Therefore, single stage electronic ballast was introduced to prevent the cost drawback of dual stage electronic ballast, which has one switch and one PFC controller of the boost converter can be omitted [2-5]. Where the integrated boost converter and half-bridge resonant inverter as shown in Fig. 1, in which boost converter is operating in both of discontinue/continue modes with fixed frequency and fixed duty cycle. The operating behavior is boost inductance current follow phase of input voltage to archive high power factor [6, 7]. II. CIRCUIT OPERATION

Index Terms: Single-Stage electronic ballast topology, Half-bridge

Series-resonant series-parallel-load (SRSPL) Inverter, Power Factor Correction, Multi-Fluorescent Lamps Electronic Ballast

I.

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, electronic ballast has played a very important role in lighting gears. In fluorescent lamp applications, the electronic ballast is used widely because of its several advantages. At high frequency operation, luminous efficacy of fluorescent lamps is operated higher than 60Hz [1] and long lamp life can be sustained. Most of the electronic ballast is realized by resonant inverter operating at high frequency to provide a sufficient high voltage to ignite the lamp and limit the current. In conventional multiple fluorescent lamp lighting system, each lamp is equipped with its own LC network to constitute a resonant tank. When all of the resonant tanks are designed to operate at the same frequencies as the LC network, the switching losses can be reduced; nevertheless, where relatively large current will generated and flow through the switches. This would also result in considerable conduction losses and undesired current stress. In addition, a power-factor-correction (PFC) circuit is attached to the ballast, for the purpose of reducing the input line current harmonics.

In this paper, work has been selected with four lamps in the ballast; however, it could be three, five, six, etc. Next, the basic multi-lamp requirements can be simply stated as follows: (1) While a lamp is added; it should be ignited and kept in

978-1-4244-3557-9/09/$25.00 2009 IEEE

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operation independently and should not disturb the operation of other working lamps. (2) While a lamp is removed from the light system; other lamps should be kept in operation without interruption.

The half-bridge series-resonant series-parallel load resonant circuits take account of resonant frequency operating characters have both of capacitance and inductance, where parallel load being capacitance are provided voltage gain and generated high voltage with high equivalent lamp resistance to ignite the lamp. However, the series load has well current regulation with inductance characteristic, in which the voltage gain is reduced to decrease the output voltage. When the lamp has been successively ignited; the resonant frequency will be decreased monotonically. Thus, the current stress imposed on the switches can be reduced. The voltage transfer function of the resonant circuit is given as

Rlamp Vlamp ( j ) Vin ( j )

Fig 1. The proposed topology of Single-Stage Multi-Fluorescent Lamps Electronic Ballast

1 + jCP Rlamp Rlamp 1 + j L + jCS 1 + jCP Rlamp 1 CP 2 LC P + 1 + CS L 1 j Rlamp CS Rlamp (3)

With the above assumptions, that simplified electronic ballast, explained as a half-bridge inverter, is used to supply the four lamps, the connections between the lamps and the converter have to be determined. But, before this discussion, it is necessary to review the characteristics of the fluorescent lamp firstly. These lamps have a negative dynamic resistance behavior which makes it necessary as the use of a ballast to limit the current. A lamp modeling development which can predict the fluorescent lamp electrical characteristics is necessary to do the simulation of electronic ballasts due to the fluorescent lamp nonlinear behavior. The lamp equivalent resistance of a fluorescent can be expressed as

The series resonant frequency and CP more then CS derived as

S =
The quality factor with (1) is
L Q=

1 LCS

(4)

Rlamp

(5)

Rlamp = RS +

V R VH = O S I O VO VH

(1)

Take absolute value of (3) can be obtained as

where VO as well as IO are the rms lamp voltage and current, RS and VH are defined as the parameters in the plasma model of lamp. The resonant tank design basin in [8] the method consists of choosing the correct phase angle of the LCC resonant circuit that will concern the lamp starting and the correct lamp power in steady state. This analysis has just done for one of the lamps, and the found values are repeated for all other ballast lamps. Then, the phase angle is determined by
1 2 2 2 = tan 1 Rlamp ( L CS1 2 )(1 + CP Rlamp 2 ) Rlamp CP

Vlamp ( j ) Vin ( j )

1
2 2 C C 1 + P P + Q 2 S CS CS S S 2

(6) During lamp igniting with character of series parallel resonant, the lamp equivalent resistor can be considered as open circuit, (3) is used and the quality factor is close to zero, where ignite voltage can be determined as
2Vdc 1 CP 2 LCP 1+ CS

(2) where = 2 f S is the angular switching frequency, is resonant tank impedance phase angle.

Vstrike =

(7)

And the lamp stable voltage has been ignited can be derived

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as

With (11) the inductance of boost inductor can be derived as

Vlamp , rms =

2Vin

1 CP L 1 2 LCP + 1 + R CS lamp CS Rlamp

2

L=
III.

2 Vm D 2 4 fPin L

(13)

SIMULATION

Some simulations have been done in order to verify the Since operating frequency is 4 times of resonant frequency [5], multi-lamp arrangement behavior. To simulate, the fluorescent the resonant tank series inductor L and isolation capacitor CS lamp have been assumed same as the equivalent resistance with operating frequency is expressed as obtained from (1), the lamp as a resistor considered.

(8)

fS =

2 LCS

(9)

Additionally, the AC line voltage, rectifier bridge, and filter capacitor have been used as a DC source, once that our aim is to verify the multi-lamp arrangement behavior. Simulation results are shown in Fig. 2, voltage in the lamps 1, 2, 3, and 4, in relation to Fig. 1. We can see that the lamp voltage and switch voltage operation.

The capacitor CP on the resonant circuit is sustained the lamp voltage during the lamp ignition,

CP =

1 Rlamp

(10)

Therefore, with given stable lamp voltage Vlapm,rms, input DC voltage Vdc and lamp equivalent resister Rlamp; the equations as mention above can be solved to obtain resonator inductor L, capacitor CS and ignition capacitor CP. The ballast is obtained from the integration of the boost converter design which considers output voltage is higher than input voltage, which provides minimum ignition voltage and operating voltage after lamp has ignited. The boost inductance current into switch device on each switching cycle can be obtained as of the boost converter and the half-bridge series resonant parallel-loaded inverter. The operation of the boost converter is in discontinued-current mode (DCM) provides unity power factor with constant frequency. In case of operating partial lamps, a high power factor at the line input terminal will be always retained. Thus, once the boost PFC stage is designed to operate at DCM with fixed switching frequency, the input current naturally follows the sinusoidal waveform of the ac line source, that switching current of each cycle on the switch device can be derived as
I in (t ) = Vm D 2TS sin(2 ft ) 2L (11)

Fig 2. The lamp voltage and one of switch voltage operation.

IV.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Furthermore, the input current and input voltage are operating in same phase, which not only accomplish high input power factor but also constraint total harmonic distortion of input current, where the input power can be determined as

To verify the predicted operation principles and theoretical analysis of the proposed high efficiency single-stage ballast for multiple fluorescent lamps, a laboratory electronic ballast of Fig. 1 is designed and built. The input voltage is 110V at 60Hz, and this circuit uses a dedicated integrated circuit TL494 to do the high-frequency command, which switching frequency is fixed at 63kHz, and fixed duty 49.9%. Thus, the ballast can supply any number of lamps and its frequency will not suffer variation. The design parameters of circuit are shown in Table I. Some experimental results have been done in order to verify the experimental prototype behavior. The measured results are presented the input voltage and current waveforms under different operating conditions from single lamp, dual lamps and triple lamps to quad lamps are shown in Fig. 3. Experimental results are presented in Table. II. It is a prototype comparative table to the different lamp numbers (4, 3, 2, and 1). where results are illustrated of the input current is approximately sinusoidal and operating same phase with input voltage, the power factor

Pin =

1 2

Vm sin(2 ft ) I in (t )d (2 ft )

(12)

2 Vm D 2

4 fL

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measured shown in Table II, and conclude it over 0.95 for all lamps of experimental.
TABLE I. PARAMETER OF CIRCUIT Designed Parameters
Design Reference Designed Value 1.1mH 60nF 3.5nF 2.1mH

Vin 0 Iin

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6

Boost Inductor Isolate Capacitor CS Resonant Capacitor CP Resonant Inductor DC-link Capacitor TL Lamp T5

(d) Vin50 V/div Iin1 A/div time5 ms/div Fig. 3. The waveform of Input voltage and current, Driving (a) single lamp, (b)dual lamps, (c)triple lamps, and (d)quad lamps TABLE II. EXPERMINTAL RESULTS Dual lamps Triple lamps Quad lamps

120uF 28W

Vin 0 Iin

Number of lamps Power Factor

Single lamp

0.953

0.961

0.968

0.973

(a)

Vin 0 Iin

The total ignition current ia for all lamps is 2.7A which is shown in Fig. 4; with this current we can determine the minimum rating of semiconductor switch device is 2.7A. In order to prevent from destroying the device, the safe operation rating of the MOSFET should be 5A or above. Next, Fig. 5 shows voltage over one lamp during its ignition process, which maximum voltage is 827V. From these figures, it is possible to verify the correct operation of the proposed electronic ballast, during ignition and dimming control of the fluorescent lamps. Finally, Fig. 6.illustrates single lamp maximum start up current is 390mA.

(b)

Vin 0 Iin
Iin1A/div time1 s/div Fig. 4. Four Lamps ignited current waveform

(c)

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Vlamp1,2

Vlamp3,4
Vin200 V/div time5 ms/div Fig 5. Lamp ignited voltage waveform Vin100 V/div time5 us/div Fig 8. Lamp current and voltage are same phase driving High side switch Low side switch

Lamp current ia

0
Boost inductor voltage

Iin100 mA/div time1 s/div Fig 6. Single Lamp ignited current waveform

Vin50 V/div Iin200 mA/div time2 us/div Fig 9. Waveform driving signal and lamp current and boost inductor voltage zero current switching and zero voltage switching

Fig. 7 shows the voltage and current waveforms through one fluorescent lamp during operation at the maximum lighting output condition. And Fig. 8 is shown the lamp 1, 2 and 3, 4 are operating symmetrically and in 180o opposite phase. Fig. 9 is illustrates the voltage cross of the switches and current waveform of boost inductor and resonant tanks which is shown that the switching and conducting losses of the switches in the proposed system are less than those in the conventional system. In addition, the current stress imposed on the switches in the proposed system is reduced significantly as compared to that in the conventional one.

The solution to this problem is to determine an estimate of the overall efficiency, measuring the input active power and the active power of each lamp, one by one, using an oscilloscope. In the maximum lighting condition, the total active power processed through the lamps is approximately 112W, whereas input active power is about 122W. Thus, the overall efficiency of the proposed ballast is 91.8 0%, at the maximum lighting condition. V. CONCLUSION

Vlamp
0

Ilamp

Vin100 V/div Iin200 mA/div time5 us/div Fig 7. Lamp current and voltage are same phase driving

A circuit operation scheme for a multiple fluorescent lamp lighting system is proposed in this paper. The ballast is obtained from the integration of a boost dc-to-dc converter and single half-bridge series-resonant series-parallel loaded inverter. This inverter circuit operation scheme is implemented with the resonant tanks of the electronic ballast being capacitive and inductive, which can achieve lower switching losses, lower conduction losses and lower current stresses over conventional ballast with all inductive resonant tanks. The boost converter is operated in discontinuous conduction mode and at constant frequency providing an input power factor high enough to satisfy present standard requirements. The operation of the proposed ballast has also been investigated in detail in this paper. A prototype of the ballast with proposed circuit operation scheme for a four-lamp lighting system is implemented with

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practical considerations. In comparison with the conventional electronic ballast for multiple fluorescent lamps, the proposed electronic ballast for multiple fluorescent lamps presents a significant reduction of cost. This reduction becomes even more meaningful with larger number of lamps. The proposed topology works as a good solution to implement low-cost single-stage high efficiency electronic ballast for multiple fluorescent lamps. VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Financial support of this research by the National Science Council, Republic of China, under Grant NSC 97-2221-E-036-025 and Tatung University, Taipei, Taiwan, under the grant B97-E04-040 is gratefully acknowledged. VII. REFERENCES
[1] E. E. Hammer and C. Ferreira, F40 fluorescent lamp considerations for operation at high frequency, J. Illum. Eng. Soc., vol. 15, no. 1, 1985, pp. 63-74. [2] L. Huber and M. M. Jovanovic, Single-Stage Single-Switch Input-Current-Shaping Technique with Fast-Output-Voltage Regulation, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 13, No. 3, May 1998, pp. 476-486. [3] E. Deng, and S. Cuk, Single Stage, High Power Factor, Lamp Ballast, Proc IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference, 1994, pp. 441-449. [4] C. S. Moo, S. Y. Chan, and C. R. Lee, A Single-Stage High Power Factor Electronic Ballast with Duty-Ratio Controlled Series Resonant Inverter, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Vol. 46, No. 4, Aug. 1999, pp. 830-832. [5] J. A. Alves ,A. J. Perin, and I. Barbi,An electronic ballast with high power factor for compact fluorescent lamps, Proc in Conf. Rec. IEEE-IAS Annu. Meeting, 1996, pp.2129-2135. [6] M. A. Co, D. S. L. Simonetti and J. L. F. Vieira, High Power Factor Electronic Ballast Operating at Critical Conduction Mode, Proc PESC 96 Record. Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 1996 27th Annual IEEE, Vol. 2, June 1996, pp.962-968,. [7] J. Spangler and A. K. Behera, Power Factor Correction Techniques Used For Fluorescent Lamp Ballast, Proc Conference Record of the 1991 IEEE at Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, Vol.2, , Oct. 1991, pp. 1836-1841. [8] R. N. Prado, A. R. Seidel, F. E. Bisogno, and R. K. Pavo, Self-Oscillating Electronic Ballast Design based on Point of View of Control System, Thirty-Sixth IAS Annual Meeting. Conference Record of the 2001.

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