White Paper: Transformer Design For Charging Defibrillator Capacitors

By Kirby Creel, Datatronic

Generating high voltage by means of flyback topology is a common approach. Using the generated voltage to charge a capacitor for a high energy pulse are used in defibrillators, photoflashs, strobes and ignition circuits to name a few. The procedure outlined in this article is useful in the initial transformer design phase for charging a capacitor in a stated time. The procedure presented eliminates "cut and try" or over-design approaches. Selection of critical values can be made with confidence using the guidance provided.