“Z” and “qZ” Source Inverters as Electronic Ballast

Electronic ballasts are implemented for obtaining a high power factor and a good operation of the lamp; these goals are reached traditionally by implementing multiple stages. On the first stage, a unity power factor is obtained and the second stage is designed in order to feed properly the lamp. Different topologies have been studied not only for decreasing the number of employed controllers and stages, but also reducing the number of components and active switches. Electronic ballasts, which are based on the “Z” and “qZ” source inverters, are considered in this paper, where the proposed systems have a single stage. Two topologies are illustrated: the first one for the fluorescent lamps and the second one for the high intensity discharge lamps, where electronic ballasts with a high power factor are obtained. The operation, analysis, and experimental results are shown.