AC–DC Flyback Dimmable LED Driver with Low-Frequency Current Ripple Reduced and Power Dissipation in BJT Linearly Proportional to LED Current

• Main Authors: Yeu-Torng Yau, Kuo-Ing Hwu, Kun-Jie Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: bipolar junction transistor (BJT); current ripple; light-emitting diode (LED); dimmable; linear current regulator; output voltage automatic regulator
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4270

In this paper, a dimmable light-emitting diode (LED) driver, along with the low-frequency current ripple decreased and the bipolar junction transistor (BJT) power dissipation reduced, is developed. This driver is designed based on a single-stage flyback converter. On the one hand, the low-frequency output current ripple reduction is based on the physical behavior of the linear current regulator. On the other hand, when the voltage across the LED string is decreased/increased due to dimming or temperature, the output voltage of the flyback converter will be automatically regulated down/up, thereby making the power dissipation in the BJT linearly proportional to the LED current. By doing so, not only the power loss in the linear current regulator will be decreased as the LED current is decreased or the LED temperature rises, but also the output current ripple can be reduced. Furthermore, the corresponding power factor (PF) is almost not changed, and the total harmonic distortion (THD) is improved slightly. In addition, the LED dimming is based on voltage division. Eventually, a 30 W LED driver, with an input voltage range from 85 to 295 V_rms and with 24 LEDs in series used as a load, is developed, and accordingly, the feasibility of the proposed LED driver is validated by experimental results.