Jun 30 2009
Micrel Inc., (NASDAQ: MCRL), an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet IC solutions, today rolled out the MIC3230/31/32, a new family of dedicated high brightness LED drivers. These devices are the first in a new series of high brightness LED drivers targeting solid-state lighting and general illumination applications. This LED driver provides the flexibility of driving 1W, 3W and higher power LEDs that are available on the market today. Featuring an EMI-lite capability in the MIC3231, all three ICs are currently available in volume quantities, with pricing starting at $1.20 for 1K quantities. Samples can now be ordered on Micrel's web site at: http://www.micrel.com/ProductList.do
"With the ever increasing concern regarding energy prices and resources, the world continues to seek out green technology and energy efficient solutions. High power LEDs provide much needed energy efficiency in lighting," noted Andrew Cowell, Micrel's vice president of Analog. "Micrel's LED drivers provide the flexibility and ease-of-use for efficiently powering this growing alternative lighting solution."
The MIC3230/31/32 series features a wide operating input voltage range from 6V to 45V. The MIC323x family of LED drivers has a feedback voltage of 250mV to reduce system level power dissipation and a programmable current control in order to drive the differing current levels available for a variety LEDs. The entire product family can boost up to a very high voltage and is capable of driving an output up to 70W. The MIC3230/31 has an adjustable operating frequency from 10kHz to 1MHz and the MIC3232 has a fixed frequency operation of 400kHz to allow flexibility in the design. The MIC3231 features a dithering capability which can reduce EMI by up to 12dB. All three products feature PWM dimming capability, an enable pin for very low power shutdown, OVP, over temperature protection and UVLO. In addition to enhanced power driving capability/reliability, the MIC3230/31 come in both a 12-lead MLF® and 16-lead exposed pad TSSOP package. The MIC3232 is available in a MSOP-10 package.