A switching power supply is disclosed for improving the no-load power
drain of low-power mains operated supplies. The power converter utilizes
a cascoded switch arrangement with a conventional high voltage power
MOSFET and a low voltage, low gate charge MOSFET. Driving only the small
low voltage device reduces the power required for gate drive. The
disclosed configuration is also capable of generating a non-isolated
auxiliary rail for powering its control circuitry utilizing the parasitic
capacitance of the high voltage power devices as an element in a charge
pump. The resulting power supply requires significantly fewer components.