Active PFC stage based on synchronous inverse Watkins-Johnson topology

Abstract

Active power factor correction (PFC) technique is effectively used to improve the power factor and reduce the power exchanging loss, which behaves as a PWM-controlled emulated resistance to the ac power line. The boost topology and its derivatives are commonly applied for PFC stage. In this letter, from a topological point of view, an improved inverse Watkins-Johnson (IWJ) topology-based PFC stage is proposed, which holds several merits including ease of driving, synchronous mode, high efficiency, extra control dimension, and so forth. Theoretical analysis is conducted and an experimental prototype has been constructed to prove the feasibility of the proposed concept.