Drivers & Control

Latest

Philips acquires emergency ballast manufacturer Bodine (Jul 06)
Philips has acquired The Bodine Company, which specializes in ballasts for emergency lighting including drivers for LED systems.

Introductory Articles

Microcontrollers provide connectivity of HB-LED lighting products (Dec 05)
The combination of HB-LED lighting with a reliable connectivity interface such as DALI or DMX512 will bring additional compelling features to household lighting, writes Dugald Campbell of Freescale Semiconductor.

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Microcontroller-based LED drivers: topologies and trade-offs
Drivers based around microcontrollers can be simple to design and offer a number of advantages for controlling high-intensity LEDs. However, some limitations remain, as Pedro Pachuca and Rod Borras of Freescale Semiconductor discuss.

Protecting high brightness LEDs from thermal stress
Simple and low-cost electronics can protect costly high-brightness LEDs from adverse thermal conditions, write Alan Buxton and Ho Wong of Zetex Semiconductors.

Constant-current drivers provide power for automotive LED lighting In automotive lighting and signaling applications, high-brightness LEDs require specialized power converters that deliver constant-current output. Ahmed Masood of Supertex explains that it is crucial to ensure that the LED driver is immune to conducted electrical disturbances.

Controlling LED lighting systems: introducing the LED driverAs engineers become more familiar with LEDs, they will also need to also familiarize themselves with another component of the LED system that is getting less attention - the LED driver. Craig DiLouie of the Lighting Controls Association explains.

Selected Features

Running LEDs from an AC supply (May 06)
In most applications, LEDs are driven by a DC power supply, but AC offers several significant advantages. Lynk Labs has developed technology that allows LEDs to be driven directly from an AC supply, as Tim Whitaker reports.

Closed-loop electronic controllers drive LED systems (Feb 06)
A patented driver technique combines closed-loop control with pulse-amplitude modulation.

Wide-input voltage SEPIC drives high-power white LEDs
An article written by Linear Technology and published in EE Times Asia describes a circuit for driving a Luxeon V white LED with 700mA constant current and 7 percent efficiency.

Stepdown switching regulator drives high-brightness LEDs
A simple circuit for regulating the current through high-brightness LEDs using a highly integrated stepdown switching regulator is described by Mehmet Nalbant and Tarlton Fleming of Maxim Integrated Products.

New drive technology addresses LED efficiency issues
An alternative approach to driving LEDs should ultimately lead to more cost-efficient and reliable LED lighting systems, writes Stewart Hough of Lynk Labs.

Design considerations for implementating low-cost integrated LED drivers for lighting applications
LEDs need to be driven properly to ensure optimal performance and long life, and designing and implementing an effective driver is key to obtain all the benefits of LEDs, according to Alejandro Lara of ON Semiconductor.

Charge pumps drive battery-powered devices
Regulated charge pump solutions are very popular for applications in handheld devices where the total output current is less than 100 mA, due to their simplicity and low cost, writes Fabien Franc of Catalyst Semiconductor.

Selected News

Lynk Labs collaborates to promote AC LED applications (Jun 06)
AC LED developer Lynk Labs has unveiled collaborations with Optek and American Bright on AC LED systems, while Brillianz will distribute AC LED replacements for fluorescent lamps in the UK.

CAP-XX supercapacitors power super-bright LED flash (Mar 06)
An Australian company has unveiled its BriteFlash power architecture for high-resolution LED flash in camera phones.

Fairchild applies SEPIC topology to automotive LED lighting
Fairchild has developed new driver designs to address expected European automotive daylight headlight regulations.

Catalyst, TAOS jointly promote LED system solutions

Seoul Semiconductor unveils LED for AC technology

III-N Technology unveils single-chip power AC-LEDs

Selected Products

Supertex inductorless EL driver simplifies circuitry (Jul 06)

Sipex SP7685 high-power flash LED driver supplies 1.2A output (Jul 06)

Zetex high-power mini LED driver is easy to use (Jul 06)

Maxim 350 mA driver targets automotive, display and lighting applications (Jul 06)

ON Semiconductor adds charge pump and inductive solutions to LED driver portfolio (Jun 06)

National drivers control up to 20 series-connected LEDs (Jun 06)

Supertex constant-current LED drivers deliver fixed 100 mA output (Jun 06)

Catalyst boost converter drives up to 10 LEDs (Jun 06)