Hopf bifurcation as an Intermediate-Scale Instability in Single-Stage Power-Factor-Correction Power supplies: Analysis, Simulations and Experimental Verification

This paper reports intermediate-scale instability in a single-stage power-factor-correction (PFC) power supply that employs a cascade configuration of a boost stage operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) and a forward stage operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM). The two stages combine into a single stage by sharing one main switch and one control loop to achieve input PFC and tight output regulation. The main results are given by "exact" cycle-by-cycle circuit simulations. The effect of the intermediate-scale instability on the attainable power factor is illustrated in terms of total harmonic distortion (THD) which is found by taking the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the input current. The intermediate-scale instability usually manifests itself as local oscillations within a line cycle. Based on the stability analysis of a buck converter operating in CCM, the underlying mechanism of such instability can be attributed to the Hopf bifurcation that occurred in CCM forward stage. Finally, experimental results are presented for verification purposes.