Protecting a cold cathode fluorescent lamp from a large transient current when voltage supply transitions from a low to a high voltage

A circuit comprising:

• a controller;
• a plurality of transistors coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to generate switching signals used to control the switching of the plurality of transistors;
• a transformer coupled to the plurality of transistors, wherein a square wave voltage signal is generated across a primary winding of the transformer, wherein a sinusoidal voltage signal is generated across a secondary winding of the transformer;
• a lamp coupled to the secondary winding of the transformer;
• and
• a compensation circuit coupled to the lamp, wherein the compensation circuit comprises:
• a saw tooth generator configured to generate a saw tooth signal with an amplitude corresponding to a supply voltage of the lamp;
• an amplifier configured to generate a Direct Current (DC) baseline signal;
• and
• a comparator coupled to the saw tooth generator and the amplifier, wherein the comparator outputs a pulse width modulated signal based on the saw tooth signal and the DC baseline signal, wherein a duty cycle of the pulse width modulated signal is a function of the amplitude of the saw tooth signal.