Synchronous rectifier control circuit for high-frequency
This technology solves a longstanding timing problem in flyback power converters—the compact switching circuits found in phone chargers, laptop adapters, and other small power supplies. Flyback converters use a synchronous rectifier (an efficient transistor switch) to convert power, but at high switching frequencies, parasitic electrical resonances cause that switch to turn on late or shut off early, wasting energy and generating heat. The invention adds a simple resistor-capacitor network in parallel with the synchronous rectifier; the voltage across the capacitor naturally mirrors the transformer's magnetizing current waveform, giving a clean, resonance-immune signal to control the switch with accurate timing. The result is better efficiency and more precise control without complex circuitry, directly enabling smaller, more efficient power adapters.
What you could build
A control circuit IP block or reference design licensable to power management IC vendors and adapter manufacturers for integration into USB-C chargers, laptop power bricks, and consumer electronics power supplies; buyers would be semiconductor companies like Texas Instruments, ON Semiconductor, or Navitas Semiconductor and their OEM customers.
Who in Virginia should care
Northern Virginia and Richmond-area defense electronics and data center power supply manufacturers, plus any Virginia-based consumer electronics ODM or power semiconductor design house, would have direct interest.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Xiucheng Huang, Fred C. Lee, Qiang Li
- Granted
- November 7, 2017
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 9812978
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.