Automotive LED controller provides fast response time and low EMI

In advanced lighting applications such as matrix lighting, LED drivers and controllers have challenges when switching LEDs at high speeds which can cause overshoots and undershoots in current. These applications are not easy to design, as they require numerous LEDs located in a densely-concentrated area and EMI can be especially difficult to eliminate. Automakers spend time, money, and effort trying to achieve low EMI as they experiment with different layouts and filtering methods.

The MAX20078 provides ultra-fast response times enabling smoother transient responses. While eliminating the need for external compensation components, it also offers a wide dimming ratio and features both integrated fault protection and monitoring circuitry. The MAX20078 allows for fast LED switching and low EMI so that designers no longer need to sacrifice one for the other. These benefits, along with simplified design and flexible switching frequencies, allow designers to achieve faster time-to-market.

Key features:

• High performance: Ultra-fast response times enable advanced lighting designs
• Ease of design: Low EMI; no compensation components required; can be programmed using switching frequencies from 100kHz up to 1MHz
• Fast time-to-market: Integration of components and programmable switching frequency for a simple, flexible design

“We are enabling our customers to create faster, brighter, and more stylish lighting with our latest products,” said Yin Wu, Business Manager, Automotive, Maxim Integrated. “The MAX20078 LED controller is a testament to our continued innovation, as it is the only solution in the market that combines the speed of a hysteretic buck controller with the low switching noise of a fixed-frequency buck controller.”