Phase-Shifted LED Backlight Drive

Oct 7, 2011 11:58 AM

Semtech Corp. launched the first device in its platform of phase-shifted boost LED drivers. The new SC5010 is an 8-channel white LED driver with an innovative PWM phase-shift dimming control that uses very low-profile inductors, allowing LED drivers to be built directly into the LCD panel in Ultrabook PCs and ultra-mobile PCs (UMPC) for displays as thin as 4mm. It also enables ultra-thin LCD displays with longer battery life in tablet, automotive, and other mid-size display applications.

The SC5010 delivers higher efficiency when using the same size inductors as existing phase-shifted LED drivers, but unlike these devices, the SC5010 can operate with inductors that are up to 10X smaller while maintaining high efficiency. This enables LED drivers to be designed directly into the panel, even in ultra-thin applications. This is due to the sophisticated control loop architecture, which allows the use of inductors as small as 2.2µH (1mm height). The phase-shifted technology in the SC5010 also minimizes demand on the input and output capacitance offering the high efficiency of conventional non-phase shifted switching regulators, with significantly lower noise, less EMI (electromagnetic interference), and no need for noise filtering components.

The SC5010 is an 8--channel boost LED driver that can power up to 112 LEDs, with currents up to 30mA per channel. The integrated control loop architecture of the device allows programmable switching frequencies as fast as 2.2MHz and is the key to enabling phase-shifted dimming using very small, low-profile inductors. Additionally, this approach reduces BOM size and cost by eliminating external compensation and noise filtering components.

The SC5010 LED driver brings to market a rich feature set for the next generation of displays, including the flexibility of I2C and three PWM dimming control modes. It features a wide PWM input dimming range of 5000:1 at 200Hz and a dimming frequency range from 100Hz to 30kHz. The SC5010 also provides user-selectable 9 or 10 bit dimming resolution and a 5-bit analog dimming register that can be used in conjunction with PWM to increase the dimming resolution.

The SC5010 delivers accurate backlight color temperature and uniform brightness across the entire display, with +/-1% channel-to-channel current matching and accuracy of +/-1.5%. Full protection functions include open LED and programmable shorted LED, adjustable over-voltage (OVP), and over-temperature protections; as well as under-voltage lock out (UVLO) shutdown.

Semtech
Part Number: SC5010

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