The ecological impact of our technologically-driven society is getting a great deal of attention these days - regularly grabbing press headlines, as well as influencing government policy. The demands being placed on available energy resources continue to rise, and the associated costs keep on spiralling upwards. Making electronic systems that exhibit greater power efficiency is consequently a major concern and fundamental design decisions are now based on this objective. Rather than just being applicable to specific operational scenarios, the latest industry standards mandate a much more accurate reflection of efficiency levels across the whole range of loads - from light load use cases right through to full load conditions.
This whitepaper explores how better implementation of power factor correction (PFC) will enable dramatic improvements in efficiency to be realised. It also discusses the next generation of PFC controller ICs that are emerging to support such endeavours.