A Secondary-Resonance MHz Active-Clamp Flyback Converter With Partial Power Processing

A 1 MHz active-clamp flyback converter for solar street-lighting applications, featuring a partial power processing, is proposed in this article. The secondary-side resonance between the output capacitor and transformer leakage inductor is utilized to reduce rms current and conduction losses. In comparison with the traditional light-emitting diode drivers based on full power converters (FPCs), the proposed approach that uses partial power converters (PPCs) can significantly improve the overall system efficiency by eliminating the redundant power handling process. The universal schemes are discussed and the optimal solution is eventually determined by the partial power ratio. The advantages of PPC compared with FPC in device stress, losses, and regulation capability are demonstrated by simulation. With GaN devices, a 100 W/1 MHz prototype was built to verify the analysis. The experimental results show that the proposed topology can reduce the power rating of the converter by up to about 80% while increasing the system efficiency by up to 95.8%.