An AC inverter circuit supplies power to multiple lamps in an LCD backlight. Conventional AC power is used as direct input into a full wave rectifier that converts the input from AC to a DC reference voltage. A transformer driver, including a chopper, converts the DC reference voltage to a higher voltage AC which drives a step up transformer to produce a voltage sufficient to drive as many as six fluorescent lamps. The components/circuitry associated with the transformer's primary windings is optically isolated from the rest of the circuit.