User and Programming Manual – Rev P California Instruments5. Principle of Operation5.1. GeneralAn explanation of the circuits in the AC Source is given in this section. Refer to Figure 5-1for a block diagram of the system.AC Power Factor DC - DC DC - AC ACInput Corrector (PFC) Converter Converter OutputOscillator &ControlsFigure 5-1: AC Source block diagram5.2. Overall DescriptionThe AC input is fed to the power factor correction, boost type converter. The converter stepsthe voltage to 385 VDC while drawing near sinusoidal current from the input power line.The DC to DC converter provides isolation and changes the voltage to 250 VDC or 400 VDCdepending on whether the low output range or high output range is selected.The DC to AC converter develops an AC sine wave voltage at the output frequency andamplitude programmed by the oscillator.The oscillator board provides the reference signal to the DC to AC converter and has thefront panel shuttles and switches to control and view the setting of voltage, frequency andcurrent limit.5.3. Power Factor Correction Module (PFC)The PFC consists of the boost converter circuitry. The boost converter is PWM controlled bya single chip that adjusts the pulse width during the cycle so that near sine wave current isdrawn from the supply. An auxiliary winding on the boost inductor provides “bootstrap”power to the logic circuits and is self sustaining.RP Series October 2005 19