Soft-switching multi-level energy recovery circuit of single driver for plasma display panel

The power source of an AC-PDP for sustainer circuit is operated in high-voltage and high frequency switching during the process required to achieve the gas discharge current to generate light in a PDP panel. Since PDP has the characteristics of a pure capacitive load, the displacement current that occurs during charge and discharge generates considerable reactive power. An auxiliary circuitry called Energy Recovery Circuit (ERC) reduces the capacitive displacement current adopting a LC resonant technique. However, this auxiliary topology also bears high stress in its components. In this paper, a multilevel voltage wave shaping sustainer circuit with auxiliary ERC characteristics for an AC-PDP driver is proposed. The use of commutation devices connected in series allows the distribution of the voltage, reducing power losses. A comparative analysis and experimental results are presented.