Eggtronic announces high efficiency AC/DC ZVS flyback converter with non-PFC 70W output power

Eggtronic has just introduced a novel addition to its ‘QuarEgg’ ZVS Flyback series of power conversion solutions, known as the ‘QuarEgg’ ZVS Flyback. This new addition features an ultra-high-efficiency architecture, which enhances the power output accessible to designers prior to the need for power factor correction (PFC).

The European standard EN61000-3-2 mandates that Power Factor Correction (PFC) is mandatory for power supplies with a rating over 75 W. As a consequence, the market is mostly controlled by 65 W AC/DC converters in order to minimize the consumption of less than 75 W from the mains input. The recent advancement of Eggtronic’s QuarEgg enables engineers to create systems that can accommodate a power output of 70 W, hence enabling the utilization of non-Power Factor Correction (PFC) designs in applications that previously necessitated correction.

The new 70 W version of QuarEgg utilizes Eggtronic’s unique and validated low-loss, forced zero voltage switching (ZVS) flyback architecture. This version achieves efficiencies above 94.5% throughout the whole range from no-load to full-load. The aforementioned efficiency is attained even when employing a low input voltage of 90 V and operating at full load, which is commonly regarded as the most unfavorable situation for a switched mode power supply (SMPS).

Designers can achieve substantial reductions in total operating losses, as well as simplify circuit design and thermal management, and decrease component count, form factor, and cost, by employing the architecture in comparison to standard active clamp flyback (ACF) and quasi-resonant (QR) topologies.

03.21.2024

03.18.2024

03.18.2024

Eggtronic’s EPIC QuarEgg IC is the central component of the current QuarEgg development. It is a low-power controller that operates in several modes and provides synchronous rectification control. This controller is capable of regulating the primary side without requiring an optocoupler. This compact 5 x 5 mm device features a streamlined low-power mode that improves performance at zero and light loads. It also includes built-in safeguards against overvoltage, overcurrent, brownout, and severe temperatures.

Eggtronic has constructed a prototype of the innovative QuarEgg technology, which delivers a power output of 70 W while occupying a compact size of 72.6 mm x 39.1 mm x 17.5 mm. The design will enable the development of smaller form factors, catering to various target applications such as portable equipment chargers, set-top boxes, routers, Bluetooth speakers, IoT devices, small consumer gadgets, and high-brightness LED lighting.

Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio holds a Ph. D. in Physics and is a Telecommunications Engineer. He has worked on various international projects in the field of gravitational waves research, designing a thermal compensation system (TCS) and data acquisition and control systems, and on others about x-ray microbeams in collaboration with Columbia University, high voltage systems and space technologies for communications and motor control with ESA/INFN. TCS has been applied to the Virgo and LIGO experiments, which detected gravitational waves for the first time and earned the Nobel Prize in 2017. Since 2007, he has been a reviewer for scientific publications for academics such as Microelectronics Journal and IEEE journals. Moreover, he has collaborated with different electronic industry companies and several Italian and English blogs and magazines, such as Electronics World, Elektor, Mouser, Automazione Industriale, Electronic Design, All About Circuits, Fare Elettronica, Elettronica Oggi, and PCB Magazine, as a technical writer/editor, specializing in several topics of electronics and technology. From 2015 to 2018, he was the editor-in-chief of Firmware and Elettronica Open Source, which are technical blogs and magazines for the electronics industry. He participated in many conferences as a speaker of keynotes for different topics such as x-ray, space technologies, and power supplies. Maurizio enjoys writing and telling stories about Power Electronics, Wide Bandgap Semiconductors, Automotive, IoT, Embedded, Energy, and Quantum Computing. Maurizio has been an AspenCore content editor since 2019. He is currently editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News and EEWeb and a correspondent for EE Times. He is the host of PowerUP, a podcast about power electronics, and the promoter and organizer of the PowerUP Virtual Conference, a summit where each year great speakers talk about the power electronics design trends. Moreover, he has contributed to a number of technical and scientific articles as well as a couple of Springer books on energy harvesting and data acquisition and control systems.