A Low Flicker TRIAC Dimmable Direct AC LED Driver for Always-on LED Arrays
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Laboratory bench prototype and hardware experiment (graded by design analogy).
OpenAlex W3095186496 · doi:10.1109/access.2020.3034334
What was done
The authors designed and tested a direct AC LED driver intended to achieve TRIAC dimmer compatibility and low percent flicker without inductive components or a dedicated integrated circuit. The driver topology consists of a phase-cut/DC converter, a switch controller, a current regulator, and three always-on LED arrays. Performance was evaluated experimentally using commercial 15W LEDs at 120 V.
What was found
The experimental setup with commercial 15W LEDs achieved a percent flicker of 18.6% at 120 Hz, an efficiency of 84.7%, and a power factor of 97.3% at 120 V.
Why it matters
Direct AC LED drivers reduce size and cost by eliminating bulky inductors, but typically suffer from severe flicker when dimmed. This circuit design demonstrates simultaneous dimmer compatibility and reduced flicker using simple discrete circuitry.
Limits
This is a single engineering bench experiment. The abstract provides results only for a single operating point (15W at 120 V) and does not report total harmonic distortion, thermal stability, component lifespan, or performance across the full range of phase-cut dimming angles.
Cited by
- supports The 60 Hz AC electrical grid causes standard LED bulbs to flicker on and off at a frequency of 120 Hz.