Infineon Introduces Low-Cost Driver Family for Half Watt LEDs

Infineon Technologies is extending its portfolio of energy efficient lighting ICs with a new family of low cost linear LED drivers. The new BCR320 and BCR420 product families address the burgeoning market for energy-saving and environmentally friendly light-emitting diode (LED) lighting solutions. Specifically designed for driving 0.5W LEDs with a typical current of 150mA to 200mA, these LED drivers feature a negative thermal coefficient contributing to a long lifetime of LEDs and a digital interface for a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal for dimming.

With the recent introduction of higher efficiency 0.5W LEDs this class of products is expected to be adopted in a wider range of applications. However, currently available resistor solutions for biasing LED current have significant disadvantages such as inhomogeneous light output and reduced lifetime of LEDs. Alternatively, switch mode drivers do not meet the required price point for 0.5W LED applications, and drive up the number of parts and the complexity of driver circuit.

The new BCR320 and BCR420 LED drivers are tailored to address these deficiencies for 0.5W LED applications, providing a very low cost and simple solution with a small form factor.

With both devices, the usage of inductors, capacitors and free-wheeling diode can be avoided resulting in cost savings and a very small PCB space requirement. The elimination of electrolytic capacitors can also contribute to the extended lifetime of the LED system.