Upscale lighting and automotive applications direct product development efforts.
Tightening competition in the LED driver IC line is spurring further product development in Taiwan amid widening adoption of the"green"technology in lighting and backlighting.Suppliers are shifting emphasis to high-end illumination and automotive applications to boost margins.
Lighting Device Technologies Corp.'s LD7101 model employs pulse width modulation to suit high-brightness diodes with 10 to 600VDC rating.The unit controls an external MOSFET at fixed switching frequencies up to 300kHz.The frequency can be programmed using a single resistor.To withstand up to 600V input voltage surge,the component utilizes a rugged high-voltage junction isolated process.
For elevated-voltage applications such as lamps and decorative lighting,the supplier offers bidirectional constant-current versions.Such devices are capable of providing stable current in two opposite directions to light up the LED,controlling brightness and protecting against burnout.These support a wide voltage range of±7 to±120V.
In the automotive electronics segment,makers are meeting display backlighting requirements.Princeton Technology Corp.offers a 4-channel constant-current LED driver with a DC-DC controller for navigation LCD panels.The product supports buck-boost topology,up to 36V output voltage and 2,500:1 PWM dimming ratio.For safety features,it includes overvoltage and thermal shutdown protection,and open-and short-fault detection.The model can also be used in desktop and notebook PC and PDA panels.
Taiwan manufacturers concentrate on major types such as AC/DC and DC/DC constant-current units.The former comes in non-and isolated versions for floating ground TRIAC dimming and flyback controllers.DC/DC kinds with PWM and high power multichip flood support analog dimming,step-up/down and buck-boost functions.In terms of packaging methods,companies use SOT,DIP,QFN,TSSOP,SOT,MSOP,SSOP,SOP and WQFN.
Taiwan is one of the world's major sources of LED driver ICs,owning more than 50 percent share.Its sales value is forecast to reach$100.1 million by year-end,from$87.9 million in 2011.The maker pool consists of design houses and IC foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor and United Microelectronics.
