A fluorescent lamp electronic ballast for railway applications based on low-cost microcontroller

This paper deals with the use of microprocessor-based control circuits in automotive and railway lighting applications. Thus, the design and implementation of an electronic ballast for fluorescent lamps using a low-cost microcontroller (μC) is presented. The ballast has been especially developed for lighting applications in railways, where the International Union of Railways (UIC) 555 Code must be fulfilled. The μC is used to optimize the lamp ignition and supply, and to regulate lamp power against line voltage, thus fulfilling UIC 555 requirements. Also, protection features such as lamp soft reignition, overcurrent, and undervoltage are included using the μC.