Power Integrations Combines Resonant Controller With High Voltage Drivers & Power Factor Correction In Single IC
Power Integrations announced the launch of its HiperPLC (high power, power factor corrected, LLC, controller) power supply controller IC. HiperPLC is the first member of the Hiper™ family of highly integrated, high efficiency, high power products. It combines a Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) PFC controller, an LLC resonant converter and high voltage (800V) half-bridge drivers in a single IC package. It is Power Integrations’ first product targeted at applications for high efficiency offline power converters in the power range of 200 to 600W such as flat-panel TVs, so-called 80+% efficiency Bronze, 85+% efficiency Silver and 90+% efficiency Gold PC main power and workstation power supplies, and the latest generations of high-brightness LED streetlights.
The new device is said to save costs by combining the PFC (Power Factor Correction) LLC control, high voltage drive functions and a substantial amount of supporting circuitry into a single IC package. Further savings are achieved by leveraging the communication between the PFC and LLC controllers, reducing external component count, the cost of magnetic components and the size of the expensive high-voltage bulk-storage capacitors. The combined PFC and LLC control also ensures a single switching frequency for the entire power supply, reducing differential mode noise and EMI harmonic spectrum components to reduce input filter cost. Moreover, the HiperPLC is said to enable rapid development of highly efficient designs due to the fundamental benefits of the LLC architecture, the high level of integration of the device and PI’s convenient, designer-friendly support tools.
HiperPLC combines a continuous-mode power factor correction stage with an LLC half-bridge controller with built-in high voltage (800V) high-side/low-side driver circuitry. The device is also said to provide the necessary protection features for both power stages, increasing reliability and cutting parts count.
Continuous-mode PFC minimizes the cost of PFC magnetics by limiting ac flux, obviating the need for expensive Litz wire in the input choke and reducing ripple current delivered to the PFC bulk capacitor. Including both PFC and LLC controllers within a single IC enables numerous cost savings such as locked frequency and phase which promotes ripple current cancelation with less harmonic content, reducing EMI filter requirements. This locked-phase relationship prevents "edge collision" and reduces noise sensitivity, greatly simplifying PCB layout and speeding up design.
Other features include: comprehensive PFC and LLC fault handling and current limiting as well as short-circuit protection designed to protect power components; high-efficiency Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) LLC; off-time PFC control to eliminate ac input sensing components; configurable, precise dead-time control and frequency limits that prevent hard MOSFET switching; tight LLC duty cycle symmetry for balanced output diode currents; and an internal PFC current sense low pass filter.
Doug Bailey, Vice President of Marketing at Power Integrations, commented, "HiperPLC embodies at high power all the benefits that our customers have come to expect from Power Integrations’ low-power product lines. This includes a very high level of integration with minimal external components, easy system design, high-quality manufacturing, integrated safety and self-protection features and high operating efficiency. To simplify the design process, we are also offering downloadable design tools which considerably reduce LLC transformer iterations and development time."
Power Integrations is releasing a Reference Design Kit (RDK-189) describing a 300W power supply for LCD TVs using the HiperPLC device. HiperPLC is available immediately at $2.00/ea in 10,000 piece quantities. RDK-189 will be available from December 15 at $100/ea.
