The ever-present march toward better semiconductor devices warrants a fresh look at the forward vs. flyback debate.
In this article, we discuss the characteristics of active-clamp forward and continuous-conduction flyback isolated power supply topologies and demonstrate the design and performance trade-offs of each using two telecom-oriented power supplies as examples. Brief overviews of each topology are provided to aid in the understanding of their similarities and differences and of their strengths and weaknesses.
Stricter guidelines imposed by version 3 of the IEC standard for harmonic current emissions push designers to embrace power-factor-correction methodologies.
The flyback topology is a versatile, widely used, switched-mode power-supply design with some interesting characteristics that brings performance and BOM advantages to many applications...
