PFC electronic ballast for xenon short arc lamps

An insulated PFC electronic ballast for a xenon short arc lamp is presented in this paper. The proposed two stage structure (flyback and buck) allows both particularities of the PFC and the lamp to be satisfied. The analysis method of the PFC ballast is presented in detail, permitting the design of the principal elements of the ballast. Lamp ignition is also studied. The experimental results have shown that the proposed system reliably achieves the high input power factor of the ballast and the low lamp current ripple necessary for the lamp operation.