LED Application Design Guide Using Half-Bridge LLC
Resonant Converter for 100W Street Lighting
Introduction
This application note describes the LED driving system
using a half-bridge LLC resonant converter for high
power LED lighting applications, such as outdoor or street
lighting. Due to the existence of the non-isolation DC-DC
converter to control the LED current and the light
intensity, the conventional PWM DC-DC converter has
the problem of low-power conversion efficiency. The halfbridge LLC converter can perform the LED current
control and the efficiency can be significantly improved.
Moreover, the cost and the volume of the whole LED
driving system can be reduced.
Consideration of LED Drive
LED lighting is rapidly replacing conventional lighting
sources like incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, and
halogens because LED lighting reduces energy
consumption. LED lighting has greater longevity, contains
no toxic materials, and emits no harmful UV rays, which
are 5 ~ 20 times longer than fluorescent tubes and
incandescent bulbs. All metal halide and fluorescent
lamps, including CFLs, n contain mercury.
The amount of current through an LED determines the
light it emits. The LED characteristics determine the
forward voltage necessary to achieve the required level of
current. Due to the variation in LED voltage versus
current characteristics, controlling only the voltage across
the LED leads to variability in light output. Therefore,
most LED drivers use current regulation to support
brightness control. Brightness can be controlled directly
by changing the LED current.
Consideration of LLC Resonant
Converter
The attempt to obtain ever-increasing power density of
switched-mode power supplies has been limited by the
size of passive components. Operation at higher
frequencies considerably reduces the size of passive
components, such as transformers and filters; however,
switching losses have been an obstacle to high-frequency
operation. To reduce switching losses and allow highfrequency operation, resonant switching techniques have
been developed. These techniques process power in a
sinusoidal manner and the switching devices are softly
commutated. Therefore, the switching losses and noise
can be dramatically reduced
Among various kinds of resonant converters, the simplest
and most popular is the LC series resonant converter, where
the rectifier-load network is placed in series with the L-C
resonant network, as depicted in Figure 1
configuration, the resonant network and the load act as a
voltage divider. By changing the frequency of driving
voltage Vd, the impedance of the resonant network changes.
The input voltage is split between this impedance and the
reflected load. Since it is a voltage divider, the DC gain of a
LC series resonant converter is always <1. At light-load
condition, the impedance of the load is large compared to
the impedance of the resonant network; all the input voltage
is imposed on the load. This makes it difficult to regulate
the output at light load. Theoretically, frequency should be
infinite to regulate the output at no load.
Figure 1. Half-Bridge, LC Series Resonant Converter
To overcome the limitation of series resonant converters,
the LLC resonant converter has been proposed
LLC resonant converter is a modified LC series resonant
converter implemented by placing a shunt inductor across
the transformer primary winding, as depicted in Figure 2.
When this topology was first presented, it did not receive
much attention due to the counterintuitive concept that
increasing the circulating current in the primary side with
a shunt inductor can be beneficial to circuit operation.
However, it can be very effective in improving efficiency
for high-input voltage applications where the switching
loss is more dominant than the conduction loss.
In most practical designs, this shunt inductor is realized
using the magnetizing inductance of the transformer. The
circuit diagram of LLC resonant converter looks much the
same as the LC series resonant converter: the only
difference is the value of the magnetizing inductor. While
the series resonant converter has a magnetizing inductance
larger than the LC series resonant inductor (Lr), the
magnetizing inductance in an LLC resonant converter is
just 3~8 times Lr, which is usually implemented by
introducing an air gap in the transformer.
[2-4].
In this
[8-12]
. The
AN-9729 APPLICATION NOTE
network even though a square-wave voltage is
applied to the resonant network. The current (Ip) lags
the voltage applied to the resonant network (that is,
the fundamental component of the square-wave
voltage (Vd) applied to the half-bridge totem pole),
which allows the MOSFETs to be turned on with zero
voltage. As shown in Figure 4, the MOSFET turns on
while the voltage across the MOSFET is zero by
Figure 2. Half-Bridge LLC Resonant Converter
An LLC resonant converter has many advantages over a
series resonant converter. It can regulate the output over
wide line and load variations with a relatively small
variation of switching frequency. It can achieve zero
flowing current through the anti-parallel diode.
The rectifier network produces DC voltage by
rectifying the AC current with rectifier diodes and a
capacitor. The rectifier network can be implemented
as a full-wave bridge or center-tapped configuration
with capacitive output filter.
voltage switching (ZVS) over the entire operating range.
All essential parasitic elements, including junction
capacitances of all semiconductor devices and the leakage
inductance and magnetizing inductance of the transformer,
are utilized to achieve soft switching.
This application note presents design considerations of an
LLC resonant half-bridge converter employing Fairchild’s
FLS-XS series. It includes explanation of the LLC
resonant converter operation principles, designing the
transformer and resonant network, and selecting the
components. The step-by-step design procedure,
explained with a design example, helps design the LLC
resonant converter.
Figure 3. Schematic of Half-Bridge LLC
Resonant Converter
LLC Resonant Converter and
Fundamental Approximation
Figure 3 shows a simplified schematic of a half-bridge
LLC resonant converter, where Lm is the magnetizing
inductance that acts as a shunt inductor, Lr is the series
resonant inductor, and Cr is the resonant capacitor.
Figure 4 illustrates the typical waveforms of the LLC
resonant converter. It is assumed that the operation
frequency is same as the resonance frequency, determined
by the resonance between Lr and Cr. Since the
magnetizing inductor is relatively small, a considerable
amount of magnetizing current (Im) exists, which
freewheels in the primary side without being involved in
the power transfer. The primary-side current (Ip) is sum of
the magnetizing current and the secondary-side current
referred to the primary.
In general, the LLC resonant topology consists of three
stages shown in Figure 3; square-wave generator, resonant
network, and rectifier network.
The square-wave generator produces a square-wave
voltage, Vd, by driving switches Q1 and Q2 alternately
with 50% duty cycle for each switch. A small dead
time is usually introduced between the consecutive
transitions. The square-wave generator stage can be
built as a full-bridge or half-bridge type.
The resonant network consists of a capacitor, leakage
inductances, and the magnetizing inductance of the
transformer. The resonant network filters the higher
harmonic currents. Essentially, only sinusoidal
current is allowed to flow through the resonant
I
p
I
m
I
DS1
I
D
V
IN
V
d
V
gs1
V
gs2
Figure 4. Typical Waveforms of Half-Bridge LLC
Resonant Converter
The filtering action of the resonant network allows use of
the fundamental approximation to obtain the voltage gain
of the resonant converter, which assumes that only the
fundamental component of the square-wave voltage input
to the resonant network contributes to the power transfer
to the output. Because the rectifier circuit in the secondary
side acts as an impedance transformer, the equivalent load
resistance is different from actual load resistance. Figure 5
shows how this equivalent load resistance is derived. The
primary-side circuit is replaced by a sinusoidal current
source, Iac, and a square wave of voltage, VRI, appears at
the input to the rectifier. Since the average of |Iac| is the
output current, Io, Iac, is obtained as:
I
o
=
ac
(1)
and VRI is given as:
VVift
RIo
VVift
RIo
ω
(2)
where Vo is the output voltage.
The fundamental component of VRI is given as:
4
V
F
o
=
RI
π
(3)
Since harmonic components of VRI are not involved in the
power transfer, AC equivalent load resistance can be
calculated by dividing V
F
by Iac as:
RI
F
88
VV
RI
===
II
aco
o
22
ππ
(4)
Considering the transformer turns ratio (n=Np/Ns), the
equivalent load resistance shown in the primary side is
obtained as:
2
8
n
=
2
π
(5)
By using the equivalent load resistance, the AC
equivalent circuit is obtained, as illustrated in Figure 6,
where V
F
and V
d
F
are the fundamental components of
RO
the driving voltage, Vd, and reflected output voltage,
VRO (nVRI), respectively.
pk
I
ac
V
IN
n=Np/N
Figure 6. AC Equivalent Circuit for LLC
With the equivalent load resistance obtained in Equation
5, the characteristics of the LLC resonant converter can be
derived. Using the AC equivalent circuit of Figure 6, the
voltage gain, M, is obtained as:
M
====
VVV
ddin
=
22
ωω ω
(1)(1)(1)
22
ωω ω
poo
where:
LLLRRm
=+==
pmraco
L
Q
===
C R
C
r
L
V
d
+
-
s
F
V
d
r
L
m
Np:N
s
2
8
n
=
2
π
L
C
r
r
L
m
Resonant Converter
4
n V
o
FF
FF
ω
2
() (1)
m
ω
o
jmQ
− +−−
8
,,
π
111
r
,,
ωω
r ac
op
sin( )
π
4
V
in
sin( )
2
π
−
2
n
2
r rp r
+
V
V
(nV
O
R
o
-
F
Ro
F
)
RI
+
V
RI
-
R
ac
t
ω
2
t
ω
(6)
L
p
L
r
As can be seen in Equation (6), there are two resonant
frequencies. One is determined by Lr and Cr, while the
other is determined by Lp and Cr.
Equation (6) shows the gain is unity at resonant frequency
(ωo), regardless of the load variation, which is given as:
(1)
m
o
−⋅
ωω
2
n V
Mat
I
o
I
=
ac
)sin(2wt
The gain of Equation (6) is plotted in Figure 7 for
different Q values with m=3, fo=100kHz, and fp=57kHz.
⋅
V
inop
ω
22
−
2
p
1
(7)
As observed in Figure 7, the LLC resonant converter
4
V
F
o
=
RI
Figure 5. Derivation of Equivalent Load Resistance Rac
shows gain characteristics that are almost independent of
the load when the switching frequency is around the
resonant frequency, fo. This is a distinct advantage of
LLC-type resonant converter over the conventional series
resonant converter. Therefore, it is natural to operate the
converter around the resonant frequency to minimize the
switching frequency variation.
The operating range of the LLC resonant converter is
limited by the peak gain (attainable maximum gain),
which is indicated with ‘*’ in Figure 7. Note that the peak
voltage gain does not occur at fo or fp. The peak gain
frequency where the peak gain is obtained exists between
fp and fo, as shown in Figure 7. As Q decreases (as load
decreases), the peak gain frequency moves to fp and higher
peak gain is obtained. Meanwhile, as Q increases (as load
increases), the peak gain frequency moves to fo and the
peak gain drops; the full load condition should be worst
case for the resonant network design.
1
f
=
p
2
π
1
f
=
o
2
π
QR=
ac
In Figure 8, the effective series inductor (Lp) and shunt
inductor (Lp-Lr) are obtained by assuming n2L
lks=Llkp
and
referring the secondary-side leakage inductance to the
primary side as:
LLL
pmlkp
=+=+
2
(8)
When handling an actual transformer, equivalent circuit
with Lp and Lr is preferred since these values can be
measured with a given transformer. In an actual
transformer, Lp and Lr can be measured in the primary side
with the secondary-side winding open circuited and short
circuited, respectively.
In Figure 9, notice that a virtual gain MV is introduced,
which is caused by the secondary-side leakage inductance.
By adjusting the gain equation of Equation (6) using the
modified equivalent circuit of Figure 9, the gain equation
M
@
f
o
Figure 7. Typical Gain Curves of LLC Resonant
Converter (m=3)
Consideration for Integrated
Transformer
For practical design, it is common to implement the
magnetic components (series inductor and shunt inductor)
using an integrated transformer; where the leakage
inductance is used as a series inductor, while the
magnetizing inductor is used as a shunt inductor. When
building the magnetizing components in this way, the
equivalent circuit in Figure 6 should be modified as shown
in Figure 8 because leakage inductance exists, not only in
the primary side, but also in the secondary side. Not
considering the leakage inductance in the transformer
secondary side generally results in an ineffective design.
for integrated transformer is obtained by:
ω
2
() (1)
mM
2
n V
⋅
M
Oo
==
V
in
22
ωωω
(1)() (1) (1)
− +⋅− ⋅−
22
ωωω
poo
=
22
ωωω
(1)() (1) (1)
22
ωωω
poo
where:
2
RL
8
n
e
Rm
ac
e
Q
===
o
==
C R
,
22
ML
π
Vr
111
L
r
,,
ωω
op
e
r ac
⋅− ⋅
ω
jmQ
2
ω
()(1)
2
ω
o
p
r rp r
m m
V
e
−
(9)
The gain at the resonant frequency (ωo) is fixed regardless
of the load variation, which is given as:
L
MMat
p
LLm
−−
pr
m
1
(10)
The gain at the resonant frequency (ωo) is unity when
using individual core for series inductor, as shown in
Equation 7. However, when implementing the magnetic
components with integrated transformer, the gain at the
resonant frequency (ωo) is larger than unity due to the
=+
LLL
=+
lkpmlkp
2
//
L
p
M
=
V
−
virtual gain caused by the leakage inductance in the
transformer secondary side.
The gain of Equation (9) is plotted in Figure 10 for different
Qe values with m=3, fo=100kHz, and fp=57kHz. As
observed in Figure 9, the LLC resonant converter shows
gain characteristics almost independent of the load when the
switching frequency is around the resonant frequency, fo.
Consideration of Operation Mode
and Attainable Maximum Gain
Operation Mode
The LLC resonant converter can operate at frequency
below or above the resonance frequency (fo), as illustrated
in Figure 10. Figure 11 shows the waveforms of the
currents in the transformer primary side and secondary
side for each operation mode. Operation below the
resonant frequency (case I) allows the soft commutation of
the rectifier diodes in the secondary side, while the
circulating current is relatively large. The circulating
current increases more as the operation frequency moves
downward from the resonant frequency. Meanwhile,
operation above the resonant frequency (case II) allows
the circulating current to be minimized, but the rectifier
diodes are not softly commutated. Below-resonance
operation is preferred for high output voltage applications,
such as street LED lighting systems where the reverserecovery loss in the rectifier diode is severe. Belowresonance operation has a narrow frequency range with
respect to the load variation since the frequency is limited
below the resonance frequency even at no-load condition.
On the other hand, above-resonance operation has less
conduction loss than the below-resonance operation. It
can show better efficiency for low output voltage
applications, such as Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TV or
laptop adaptor, where Schottky diodes are available for
the secondary-side rectifiers and reverse-recovery
problems are insignificant. However, operation above the
resonant frequency may cause too much frequency
increase at light-load condition. Above-frequency
operation requires frequency skipping to prevent too much
increase of the switching frequency.
A
Loa d Increase
I
II
Below
Res onance
(fs<fo)
Figure 10. Operation Modes According to the
Operation Frequency
I
p
I
DS1
I
D
I
p
I
DS1
I
D
I
m
I
m
Figure 11. Waveforms of Each Operation Mode
Above
Res onance
f
o
(fs>fo)
Required Maximum Gain and Peak Gain
Above the peak gain frequency, the input impedance of
the resonant network is inductive and the input current of
the resonant network (Ip) lags the voltage applied to the
resonant network (Vd). This permits the MOSFETs to turn
on with zero voltage (ZVS), as illustrated in Figure 12.
Meanwhile, the input impedance of the resonant network
becomes capacitive and Ip leads Vd below the peak gain
frequency. When operating in capacitive region, the
MOSFET body diode is reverse recovered during the
switching transition, which results in severe noise.
Another problem of entering the capacitive region is that
the output voltage becomes out of control since the slope
of the gain is reversed. The minimum switching frequency
should be limited above the peak gain frequency.
Even though the peak gain at a given condition can be
M
Capacitive
Region
Peak Gain
Inductive
Region
obtained using the gain in Equation (6), it is difficult to
express the peak gain in explicit form. To simplify the
analysis and design, the peak gains are obtained using
simulation tools and depicted in Figure 14, which shows
how the peak gain (attainable maximum gain) varies with
Q for different m values. It appears that higher peak gain
f
s
V
d
V
d
can be obtained by reducing m or Q values. With a given
resonant frequency (fo) and Q value, decreasing m means
reducing the magnetizing inductance, which results in
increased circulating current. There is a trade-off between
the available gain range and conduction loss.
2.2
2.1
2
I
I
p
DS1
I
I
p
DS1
Reverse Recovery ZVS
Figure 12. Operation Waveforms for Capacitive
and Inductive Regions
The available input voltage range of the LLC resonant
converter is determined by the peak voltage gain. Thus,
the resonant network should be designed so that the gain
curve has an enough peak gain to cover the input voltage
range. However, ZVS condition is lost below the peak
gain point, as depicted in Figure 12. Therefore, some
margin is required when determining the maximum gain to
guarantee stable ZVS operation during the load transient
and startup. Typically 10~20% of the maximum gain is
used as a margin, as shown in Figure 13.
FLS-XS series is an integrated Pulse Frequency
Modulation (PFM) controller and MOSFETs specifically
designed for Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) half-bridge
converters with minimal external components. The
internal controller includes an under-voltage lockout,
optimized high-side / low-side gate driver, temperaturecompensated precise current controlled oscillator, and
self-protection circuitry. Compared with discrete
MOSFET and PWM controller solutions, FLS-XS series
can reduce total cost, component count, size, and weight;
while simultaneously increasing efficiency, productivity,
and system reliability.
Figure 15. Package Diagram
Table 1. Pin Description
Pin# Name Description
1 VDL
2 AR
3 RT
4 CS
5 SG This pin is the control ground.
6 PG
7 LVCC
8 NC No connection.
9 HVCC
10 V
This pin is the drain of the high-side
MOSFET, typically connected to the
input DC link voltage.
This pin is for discharging the external
soft-start capacitor when any
protections are triggered. When the
voltage of this pin drops to 0.2V, all
protections are reset and the controller
starts to operate again.
This pin is to program the switching
frequency. Typically, opto-coupler and
resistor are connected to this pin to
regulate the output voltage.
This pin is to sense the current flowing
through the low-side MOSFET.
Typically negative voltage is applied
on this pin.
This pin is the power ground. This pin
is connected to the source of the lowside MOSFET.
This pin is the supply voltage of the
control IC.
This pin is the supply voltage of the
high-side drive circuit.
This pin is the drain of the low-side
MOSFET. Typically transformer is
CTR
connected to this pin.
Figure 16. Functional Block Diagram of FSFR-Series
Figure 17. Reference Circuit for Design Example of LLC Resonant Half-Bridge Converter
Design Procedure
In this section, a design procedure is presented using the
schematic in Figure 17 as a reference. An integrated
transformer with center tap, secondary side is used and
input is supplied from Power Factor Correction (PFC) preregulator. A DC-DC converter with 100W/100V output has
been selected as a design example. The design
specifications are as follows:
Nominal input voltage: 400VDC (output of PFC stage)
Output: 100V/1A (100W)
Hold-up time requirement: 30ms (50Hz line freq.)
DC link capacitor of PFC output: 240µF
[STEP-1] Define System Specifications
Estimated Efficiency (Eff): The power conversion
efficiency must be estimated to calculate the maximum
input power with a given maximum output power. If no
reference data is available, use Eff = 0.88~0.92 for lowvoltage output applications and Eff = 0.92~0.96 for highvoltage output applications. With the estimated efficiency,
the maximum input power is given as:
PE=
in
Input Voltage Range (V
input voltage would be the nominal PFC output voltage as:
VV=
max
min
and V
in
.
max
): The maximum
in
(11)
(12)
Even though the input voltage is regulated as constant by
PFC pre-regulator, it drops during the hold-up time. The
minimum input voltage considering the hold-up time
requirement is given as:
min2
VV
=−
inO PFC
where V
O.PFC
2
.
C
DL
(13)
is the nominal PFC output voltage, THU is
a hold-up time, and CDL is the DC link bulk capacitor.
(Design Example)
P
o
P
in
E
ff
max
==
min
400
.
2
−=
inO PFC
Assuming the efficiency is 92%,
100
92.0
W
109
===
TPVV2
2
PFCOin
.
×⋅⋅
10240
×
HUin
−=
−
10301092
6
−
C
DL
3
V364
=
[STEP-2] Determine Maximum and Minimum
Voltage Gains of the Resonant Network
As discussed in the previous section, it is typical to operate
the LLC resonant converter around the resonant frequency
(fo) to minimize switching frequency variation. Since the
input of the LLC resonant converter is supplied from PFC
output voltage, the converter should be designed to operate
at fo for the nominal PFC output voltage.
As observed in Equation (10), the gain at fo is a function of
m (m=Lp/Lr). The gain at fo is determined by choosing that
value of m. While a higher peak gain can be obtained with
a small m value, too small m value results in poor coupling
of the transformer and deteriorates the efficiency. It is
typical to set m to be 3~7, which results in a voltage gain
of 1.1~1.2 at the resonant frequency (fo).
With the chosen m value, the voltage gain for the nominal
PFC output voltage is obtained as:
min
Mm=
@f=fo
(14)
[STEP-4] Calculate Equivalent Load Resistance
With the transformer turns ratio obtained from Equation
(16), the equivalent load resistance is obtained as:
8
R
=
ac
(Design Example)
8
=405
R
ac
2
π
2
n
2
2
+
)(
VV
Fo
=
P
o
2
⋅
ππ
⋅⋅
100
22
9.10022.28
(17)
Ω=
[STEP-5] Design the Resonant Network
With m value chosen in STEP-2, read proper Q value from
which would be the minimum gain because the nominal
PFC output voltage is the maximum input voltage (V
max
in
The maximum voltage gain is given as:
max
V
MM
in
=
min
V
in
(Design Example)
(15)
The ratio (m) between Lp and Lr is
chosen as 5. The minimum and maximum gains are
obtained as:
V
min
M
max
M
V
in
max
V
in
min
V
in
Gain (M)
max
M
min
M
RO
max
2
min
400
364
Mm==
5
m
=
1
−==m
=⋅==m
(Available Maximum Gain)
1.23
m
1
−
−
23.112.1
=
15
Peak Gain
12.1
1.12
for V
V
( V
IN
for
max
IN
O.PFC
min
)
the peak gain curves in Figure 14 that allows enough peak
).
gain. Considering the load transient and stable zerovoltage-switching (ZVS) operation, 10~20% margin should
be introduced on the maximum gain when determining the
peak gain. Once the Q value is determined, the resonant
parameters are obtained as:
C
=
r
L
=
r
2
π
1
(2)
π
1
2
(Design Example)
From STEP-2, the maximum voltage gain (M
minimum input voltage (V
min
) is 1.23. With 15% margin, a
in
peak gain of 1.41 is required. m has been chosen as 5 in
STEP-2 and Q is obtained as 0.42 from the peak gain curves in
Figure 19. By selecting the resonant frequency as 100kHz, the
resonant components are determined as:
C35.9
=
r
L
r
1
2
π
1
)2(
rp
=
RofQ
⋅⋅
π
ac
==
Cf
ππ
ro
HLmL
µ
1355=⋅=
1
1010042.02
=
3
405
⋅×⋅⋅
1
9232
−
1035.9)101002(
×⋅××
=
max
) for the
nF
µ
271
(18)
(19)
(20)
H
f
f
o
s
Figure 18. Maximum Gain / Minimum Gain
[STEP-3] Determine the Transformer Turns
Ratio (n=Np/Ns)
With the minimum gain (M
transformer turns ratio is given as:
N
p
nM
==⋅
NVV
soF
max
V
in
2()
+
where VF is the secondary-side rectifier diode voltage
drop.
Figure 19. Resonant Network Design Using the Peak Gain
(Attainable Maximum Gain) Curve for m=5
22.212.1
=⋅
AN-9729 APPLICATION NOTE
sVe
fMB A
+
⋅⋅ ∆ ⋅
B
∆
min
10
10711.14.01080
2
[STEP-6] Design the Transformer
The worst case for the transformer design is the minimum
switching frequency condition, which occurs at the
minimum input voltage and full-load condition. To obtain
the minimum switching frequency, plot the gain curve
using gain Equation 9 and read the minimum switching
frequency. The minimum number of turns for the
transformer primary-side is obtained as:
()
min
N
p
n VV
min
oF
=
2
(21)
where Ae is the cross-sectional area of the transformer
core in m2 and ∆B is the maximum flux density swing in
Tesla, as shown in Figure 20. If there is no reference
data, use ∆B =0.3~0.4 T.
V
1/(2fs)
RI
n (Vo+VF)/M
V
Figure 21. Gain Curve
[STEP-7] Transformer Construction
Parameters Lp and Lr of the transformer were determined in
-n (Vo+VF)/M
V
B
Figure 20. Flux Density Swing
Choose the proper number of turns for the secondary side
that results in primary-side turns larger than N
Nn NN= ⋅>
psp
(Design Example)
EER3542 core (Ae=107mm2) is
selected for the transformer. From the gain curve of Figure
21, the minimum switching frequency is obtained as
70KHz. The minimum primary-side turns of the
transformer is given as:
VVn
+
min
N
=
p
min
=
)(
Fo
ABf
⋅⋅∆
11.12
es
9.10022.2
×
=
63
−
×⋅⋅⋅××
Choose Ns so that the resultant Np is larger than N
min
291322.2
NNnN
<=×=⋅=
psp
min
311422.2
NNnN
>=×=⋅=
psp
min
331522.2
NNnN
>=×=⋅=
361622.2
>=×=⋅=
381722.2
>=×=⋅=
psp
min
NNnN
psp
min
NNnN
psp
min
as:
p
(22)
turns30
min
:
p
STEP-5. Lp and Lr can be measured in the primary side
with the secondary-side winding open circuited and short
circuited, respectively. Since LLC converter design
requires a relatively large Lr, a sectional bobbin is typically
used, as shown in Figure 22, to obtain the desired Lr value.
For a sectional bobbin, the number of turns and winding
configuration are the major factors determining the value
of Lr, while the gap length of the core does not affect Lr
much. Lp can be controlled by adjusting the gap length.
Table 2 shows measured Lp and Lr values with different
gap lengths. A gap length of 0.05mm obtains values for Lp
and Lr closest to the designed parameters.
Even though the integrated transformer approach in LLC
resonant converter design can implement the magnetic
components in a single core and save one magnetic
component, the value of Lr is not easy to control in real
transformer design. Resonant network design sometimes
requires iteration with a resultant Lr value after the
transformer is built. The resonant capacitor value is also
changed since it should be selected among off-the-shelf
capacitors. The final resonant network design is
summarized in Table 3 and the new gain curves are shown
in Figure 23.
Table 3.
Final Resonant Network Design Parameters
Parameters Initial Design Final Design
Lp 1365µH
Lr 273H
Cr 9.3nF
fo 100kHz
m 5
Q 0.42 0.26
M@fo 1.12
Minimum
Frequency
80kHz
850µH
170µH
15nF
99.7kHz
5
1.12
80kHz
Gain
The nominal voltage of the resonant capacitor in normal
operation is given as:
V
nom
C
r
max
VI
inCr
≅+
22
2
⋅
f C
π
⋅ ⋅⋅
RMS
or
(24)
However, the resonant capacitor voltage increases much
higher at overload condition or load transient. Actual
capacitor selection should be based on the Over-Current
Protection (OCP) trip point. With the OCP level, I
OCP
, the
maximum resonant capacitor voltage is obtained as:
max
VI
nom
V
C
r
(Design Example)
RMS
I
C
r
1
=
92.0
inOCP
≅+
22
1
[
E
ff
1
⋅
π
[
22.222
⋅
I
π
π
⋅ ⋅⋅
22
n
[2]
+
f C
or
[]
+≅
)(
VVn
+
FoO
LLMf
−
)9.0100(22.2
+
3
109924
(25)
22
]
)(24
rpvo
2
]
6
−
1068012.1
×⋅⋅×⋅
=0.78A
The peak current in the primary side in normal operation is:
peak
C
OCP level is set to 1.75A with 50% margin on I
nom
V
C
r
400
+=
2
max
V
C
r
400
+=
2
rms
C
rr
max
V
in
+≅
2
2
⋅
π
max
+≅
22
75.1
π
AII
103.12=⋅=
peak
:
RMS
I
⋅
2
C
r
Cf
⋅⋅⋅
π
ro
78.02
101510992
×⋅×⋅⋅
IV
OCPin
Cf
⋅⋅⋅
π
101510992
×⋅×⋅⋅
V318
=
93
−
ro
V7.387
=
93
−
Cr
A 630V rated low-ESR film capacitor is selected for the
resonant capacitor.
Figure 23. Gain Curve of the Final Resonant
[STEP-8] Select the Resonant Capacitor
When choosing the resonant capacitor, the current rating
should be considered because a considerable amount of
current flows through the capacitor. The RMS current
through the resonant capacitor is given as:
When the center tap winding is used in the transformer
+
−
secondary side, the diode voltage stress is twice of the
output voltage expressed as:
The RMS value of the current flowing through each
rectifier diode is given as:
RMS
=
Meanwhile, the ripple current flowing through output
capacitor is given as:
(23)
I
RMS
ππ
o
()
=−=
2 2
22
2
−
8
(26)
(27)
(28)
AN-9729 APPLICATION NOTE
2
ooC
VIR
π
∆=⋅
Loss CoCoC
PIR
=⋅
=+=+=
100()
fkHz
Ω
() 100 ()
fkHz
ΩΩ
() 100 40 ()
fkHz
ΩΩ
SSSSSS
Ttimes of RC
=⋅
The voltage ripple of the output capacitor is:
(29)
where RC is the effective series resistance (ESR) of the
output capacitor and the power dissipation is the output
capacitor is:
2
RMS
()
.
(Design Example)
(30)
The voltage stress and current stress of
the rectifier diode are:
VVVV
FoD
π
RMS
D
o
AII
785.04==
8.201)9.0100(2)(2
The 600V/8A Ultra fast recovery diode is selected for the
rectifier, considering the voltage overshoot caused by the
stray inductance.
The RMS current of the output capacitor is:
I
RMS
I
C
o
π
2
o
)
(
22
2
8
−
π
2
=−=
8
AII
48.0
=
oo
When two electrolytic capacitors with ESR of 100mΩ are
used in parallel, the output voltage ripple is given as:
1.0
ππ
Coo
(1
2
22
VRIV
079.0)
=⋅⋅=⋅=∆
The loss in electrolytic capacitors is:
RMS
CCLoss
,
oo
22
C
WRIP
01.005.048.0)(
==⋅=⋅=
Figure 24. Typical Circuit Configuration for RT Pin
Soft-Start To prevent excessive inrush current and
overshoot of output voltage during startup, increase the
voltage gain of the resonant converter progressively. Since
the voltage gain of the resonant converter is reversely
proportional to the switching frequency, soft-start is
implemented by sweeping down the switching frequency
from an initial high frequency (f
ISS
) until the output voltage
is established, as illustrated in Figure 25. The soft-start
circuit is made by connecting RC series network on the RT
pin as shown in Figure 24. FLS-XS series also has an
internal soft-start for 3ms to reduce the current overshoot
during the initial cycles, which adds 40KHz to the initial
frequency of the external soft-start circuit, as shown in
Figure 25. The actual initial frequency of the soft-start is
given as:
[STEP-10] Control Circuit Configuration
Figure 24 shows the typical circuit configuration for the RT
pin of FLS-XS series, where the opto-coupler transistor is
connected to the RT pin to control the switching frequency.
The minimum switching frequency occurs when the optocoupler transistor is fully tuned off, which is given as:
5.2
k
=×
min
R
min
Assuming the saturation voltage of the opto-coupler
transistor is 0.2V, the maximum switching frequency is
determined as:
5.24.68
kk
=+×
max
RR
minmax
(31)
(32)
5.25.2
ISS
It is typical to set the initial frequency of soft-start (f
kk
=+×+
RR
min
SS
ISS
(33)
) as
2~3 times of the resonant frequency (fo).
The soft-start time is determined by the RC time constant:
Considering the output voltage overshoot during transient
The minimum frequency is 80kHz in
is determined as:
Ω=Ω×=KK
(Design Example)
Since the OCP level is determined as
1.75A in STEP-8 and the OCP threshold voltage is -0.6V, a
sensing resistor of 0.33Ω is used. The RC time constant is
set to 100ns (1/100 of switching period) with 1kΩ resistor
and 100pF capacitor.
(10%) and the controllability of the feedback loop, the
maximum frequency is set as 140kHz. R
68.4
K
R
=
max
f
o
(
100
=K
×
KHz
(
KHz
100
×
KHz
68.4
Ω
40.1
−
Ω
K
40.199
−
2.5
K
Ω
)
R
min
8.7
Ω
K
2.5
)
Ω
K
5.6
is determined as:
max
Ω=
Setting the initial frequency of soft-start as 250kHz (2.5
times of the resonant frequency), the soft-start resistor RSS
is given as:
2.5
K
R
=
SS
ISS
(
100
=K
(
100
−
KHz
−
40
KHz
40250
Ω
KHzf
−
Ω
K
2.5
KHzKHz
−
2.5
K
Ω
)
R
min
Ω=
4
Ω
K
2.5
)
Ω
K
5.6
[STEP-11] Current Sensing and Protection
FLS-XS series senses low-side MOSFET drain current as a
negative voltage, as shown in Figure 26 and Figure 27.
Half-wave sensing allows low-power dissipation in the
sensing resistor, while full-wave sensing has less switching
noise in the sensing signal. Typically, RC low-pass filter is
used to filter out the switching noise in the sensing signal.
The RC time constant of the low-pass filter should be
1/100~1/20 of the switching period.
C
r
Np
Ns
Control
IC
V
CS
CS
SGPG
R
sense
I
DS
Ns
I
DS
V
CS
[STEP-12] Voltage and Current Feedback
Power supplies for LED lighting must be controlled by
Constant Current (CC) Mode as well as a Constant Voltage
(CV) Mode. Because the forward-voltage drop of LED
varies with the junction temperature and the current also
increases greatly consequently, devices can be damaged.
Figure 28 shows an example of a CC and CV Mode
feedback circuit for single output LED power supply.
During normal operation, CC Mode is dominant and CV
control circuit does not activate as long as the feedback
voltage is lower than reference voltage, which means that
CV control circuit only acts as OVP for abnormal modes.
(Design Example)
design target. VO is determined as:
V+=
o
Set the upper-side feedback resistance (RFU) as 330KΩ.
RFL is determined as:
5.2
=K
R
FL
−
V
o
The output voltage of op-amp is given as:
V
sense
R
0
=
V
OC
sC
Actually, the V
resistors have the same value for simplification;
V−
−=
The output voltage of the op-amp for CC control keeps zero
voltage as long as the sensing voltages are lower than the
reference voltage.
Figure 29 shows another example of a CC and OverVoltage Regulation (OVR) Mode feedback circuit for
multi-output LED power supply. The FAN7346 is a LED
current-balance controller that controls four LED arrays to
maintain equal LED current. To prevent LED driving
voltage being over the withstanding voltage of component,
the FAN7346 controls LED driving voltage. The OVR
control circuit activates when the ENA pin is in HIGH
state. If OVR pin voltage is lower than 1.5V, the Feedback
Control (FB) pin voltage follows headroom control to
maintain minimum voltage of drain voltages as 1V. If OVR
pin voltage is higher than 1.5V, the FAN7346 controls FB
(FB is pulled LOW) through FB regulation so the OVR pin
voltage is not over 1.5V.
LED current is controlled by FBx pin voltage. The external
current balance switch is operating in linear region to
control LED current. Sensed voltage at the FBx pin is
compared with internal reference voltage and controller
stress problems in the other channel. OLP function has
auto-recovery: As soon as drain voltage is higher than
0.3V, OLP is finished and drain voltage feedback system is
restored.
To sense over-current condition, the FAN7346 monitors
FBx pin voltage. If FBx voltage is higher than 1V for 20µs,
CHx is considered in over-current condition. After sensing
OCP condition, individual channel switch is latched off.
So, even if a channel is in OCP condition, other channels
keep operating. Any OCP channel is restarted after UVLO
is reset.
(Design Example)
The output voltage (VO) is 100V in
design target. VO is determined as:
V
o
+=
10
R
8
R
)
1(5.1
Set the upper-side feedback resistance (R8) as 1MΩ. R10
is determined as:
signals the gate (or base) for external current balance
switch. Internal reference voltage is made from ADIM
voltage. The LED current is determined as:
V
10
ADIM
R
SENSE
(35)
I×=
LED
ADIM voltage is clamped internally from 0.5V to 4V. The
protections; such as open LED Protection (OLP), Short
LED Protection (SLP), and Over-Current Protection
(OCP); which increase system reliability, are applied in
individual string protection method.
To sense a short LED condition, the FAN7346 senses drain
voltage level. If LEDs are shorted, the LED forward
voltage is lower than other LED strings, so its drain voltage
of external balance switch is higher than other drain
voltage. The SLP condition detection threshold voltage can
be programmed by SLPR voltage. The internal short LED
protection reference is determined as:
VV
10
_
SLPRTHSLP
(36)
Minimum SLP threshold voltage is 0V and maximum SLP
threshold voltage is 45V. If any string is in SLP condition,
SLP string is turned off and other string is operated
normally. If the sensed drain voltage (CHx voltage) is
higher than the programmed threshold voltage for 20µs,
CHx goes to short LED protection. As soon as
encountering SLP, the corresponding channel is forced off.
To sense an open LED condition, the FAN7346 senses
drain voltage level. If LED string is opened, its drain
voltage of external balance switch is grounded, so the
FAN7346 detects the open-LED condition. The detection
threshold voltage is 0.3V. If CHx voltage is lower than
×
R
85.1
=K
R
10
V
=
−
)5.1(
o
The output channel current (I
Setting the V
ADIM
determined as:
SENSE
×
10mA
I
V
ADIM
=6.1
R
Choose the sense resistor (R29, R30, R31, and R32) is
1.5Ω, the OCP level is determined as:
V
THOCP
I
OCP
V
LED
RS21RS24
RS20
CS12
RS28
_
R
SENSE
CS6
RS12
PC101
RS22
RS18
RS17
RS15
RS14
RS19RS27
RS13 CS 9
CS14
CS15
CS8
Ω×
M
15.1
−
)5.1100(
Ω=
23.15
) is 250mA in design target.
LED
is above 4V, the current sense R
4
LED
V
=
×
25010
V
1
666
=
==
5.1
Ω
mA
Ω=
RS8
RS10
OVR
REF
CH1
RS11
FB
PWM1
PWM2
PWM3
PWM4
PWM5
ENA
SLPR
ADIM
CMP
OUT3
OUT4
OUT1
OUT2
CH4
FB4
GND
FB1
CH2
FB2
CH3
FB3
V
DD
V
CC
Q1
RS16
RS23
RS25
CS7
V
CC
Q2
CS10
CS11
RS30
RS29
Q3
RS31
SENSE
CS13
is
0.3V for 20µs, its drain voltage feedback is pulled up to
5V. This means the opened LED string is eliminated from
drain feedback loop. Without OLP, minimum drain voltage
Figure 29. Example of CC and OVR Feedback Circuit
is 0V, so drain voltage feedback forces the FB signal to
increase output power. This can cause SLP or thermal
To show the validity of the design procedure presented in
this application note, the converter of the design example
was built and tested. All the circuit components are used as
designed in the design example.
V
Figure 32 and Figure 33 show the operation waveforms at
full-load and no-load conditions for nominal input voltage.
As observed, the MOSFET drain-to-source voltage (VDS)
drops to zero by resonance before the MOSFET is turned
on and zero voltage switching is achieved.
Figure 34 shows the waveforms of the resonant capacitor
voltage and primary-side current at full-load condition. The
peak values of the resonant capacitor voltage and primaryside current are 300V and 1.1A, respectively, which are
well matched with the calculated values in STEP-8 of
design procedure section.
Figure 35 shows the rectifier diode voltage and current
waveforms at full-load condition. Due to the voltage
overshoot caused by stray inductance, the voltage stress is
a little bit higher than the value calculated in STEP-9.
Figure 36 shows the output load current and output voltage
of op-amp waveforms for constant-current control when
output load is step changed from 140mA to 1000mA at t0.
Figure 37 shows the operation waveform when LED string
is opened and restored condition
IP [1A/div]
[200V/div]
IP [1A/div]
1.1A
Time (5µs/div)
Figure 34. Resonant Capacitor Voltage and Primary-
Side Current Waveforms at Full-Load Condition
IP [1A/div]
ID [1A/div]
VD [100V/div]
257V
Time (5µs/div)
Figure 35. Rectifier Diode Voltage and Current
Waveforms at Full-Load Condition
IDS [1A/div]
VDS [200V/div]
Time (5µs/div)
Figure 32. Operation Waveforms at Full-Load Condition
IP [2A/div]
IDS [1A/div]
VDS [200V/div]
Time (5µs/div)
Figure 33. Operation Waveforms at No-Load Condition
[1] Robert L. Steigerwald, “A Comparison of Half-bridge
resonant converter topologies,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 3, No. 2, April 1988.
[2] A. F. Witulski and R. W. Erickson, “Design of the series
resonant converter for minimum stress,” IEEE Transactions on Aerosp. Electron. Syst., Vol. AES-22, pp. 356-363,
July 1986.
[3] R. Oruganti, J. Yang, and F.C. Lee, “Implementation of
Optimal Trajectory Control of Series Resonant Converters,”
Proc. IEEE PESC ’87, 1987.
[4] V. Vorperian and S. Cuk, “A Complete DC Analysis of the
Series Resonant Converter,” Proc. IEEE PESC’82, 1982.
[5] Y. G. Kang, A. K. Upadhyay, D. L. Stephens, “Analysis and
design of a half-bridge parallel resonant converter operating
above resonance,” IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 27, March-April 1991, pp. 386 – 395.
[6] R. Oruganti, J. Yang, and F.C. Lee, “State Plane Analysis of
Parallel Resonant Converters,” Proc. IEEE PESC ’85, 1985.
This application note written based on Fairchild Semiconductor Application Note AN-4137.
[7] M. Emsermann, “An Approximate Steady State and Small
Signal Analysis of the Parallel Resonant Converter Running
Above Resonance,” Proc. Power Electronics and Variable Speed Drives ’91, 1991, pp. 9-14.
[8] Yan Liang, Wenduo Liu, Bing Lu, van Wyk, J.D, “Design
of integrated passive component for a 1MHz 1kW halfbridge LLC resonant converter,” IAS 2005, pp. 2223-2228.
[9] B. Yang, F.C. Lee, M. Concannon, “Over-current protection
methods for LLC resonant converter” APEC 2003, pp. 605 - 609.
Guisong Huang, “Three-level LLC series resonant DC/DC
converter,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
Vol.20, July 2005, pp.781 – 789.
[11] Bo Yang, Lee, F.C, A.J Zhang, Guisong Huang, “LLC
resonant converter for front-end DC/DC conversion,” APEC
2002. pp.1108 – 1112.
[12] Bing Lu, Wenduo Liu, Yan Liang, Fred C. Lee, Jacobus D.
Van Wyk, “Optimal design methodology for LLC Resonant
Converter,” APEC, 2006, pp.533-538.
Related Datasheets
FLS1800XS — Half-Bridge LLC Resonant Control IC for Lighting
FLS2100XS — Half-Bridge LLC Resonant Control IC for Lighting
FAN7346 — 4-Channel LED Current Balance Control IC
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which, (a) are intended for surgical implant into the body,
or (b) support or sustain life, or (c) whose failure to perform
when properly used in accordance with instructions for use
provided in the labeling, can be reasonably expected to
result in significant injury to the user.
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reasonably expected to cause the failure of the life support
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