0.9V-White LED Driver Requires Just One External Component

21st June 2006

ES Admin

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PREMA has introduced a white LED driver designed for a variety of applications. The core of the new driver PR4401 consists of a step-up converter with current output, that provides an output voltage of typically 3.6V for white LEDs. The input voltage can be as low as 0.9V, thus allowing a single cell battery operation.

Only an inductor is required to operate up to three LEDs in series. A regulated current of up to 23mA depending on the inductor value provides a constant LED brightness independent of the supply voltage.
The PR4401 offers a high efficiency of about 80% over the whole supply voltage range from 0.9V up to 2V. Thus the typical lifetime is more than 55 hours with an AA alkaline battery. An inductor value of 22µH is recommended for a maximum battery life, while with a 10µH coil higher currents are achieved for maximum brightness of the white LEDs.

When the supply voltage drops, the battery current will be reduced to less than 10µA to avoid a deep discharge of the battery. The PR4401 is available in a compact SOT23-3 package as well as dice on inked wafers. This way size-sensitive applications can be realised with chip-on-board solutions. This LED driver offers a low-cost two-component-solution (plus LEDs) for small LED flashlights or small-sized torches. Further applications for the PR4401 are LCD backlighting, for example in MP3 players operated with only one alkaline battery cell.