austriamicrosystems Introduces Small LED Driver With Error Detection for 8 x 8 Matrix Displays
austriamicrosystems AG announced an expansion of its LED driver portfolio with the AS1116, an ultra small multiplexed LED driver. The AS1116 operates from a single 2.7 to 5.5V supply while requiring lowest supply current of 0.6mA during operation and 200nA in shutdown mode.
The AS1116 can drive either eight 7-segment digits or 64 individual LEDs with 47mA per digit or 5.5mA per LED. The current can be easily adjusted by an external resistor. With an accuracy of +/-3%, the AS1116 improves picture quality of LED displays since intensity variations between LEDs and LED modules are minimized. For either global digital brightness control or separate dimming of each single digit in 16 steps a 4-bit PWM is implemented.
According to the company, a unique feature of the AS1116 is the built-in LED error detection. Simple and intuitive to use, the user-friendly software interface allows the feature to be easily invoked during normal operation ensuring rapid error detection. The AS1116 can detect any open- or short-circuit within the multiplexed 8 x 8 LED array and a detailed error report can be read out with the exact position of the broken LED.
"As the resolution of LED displays increases the market demands more accurate LED drivers in smaller packages which are able to drive quite a number of LEDs. Additionally, LED error detection is a very important factor in commercial applications to reduce test, production and maintenance cost," said Bruce Ulrich, Director Marketing Standard Linear at austriamicrosystems. "Coming in a small package and offering extremely high performance together with unique LED error detection, the AS1116 addresses all these needs."
The AS1116 is suitable for operating environments ranging from -40 to +85°C and requires a small external resistor and a single capacitor reducing the required PCB space to a minimum. Optimized for space restricted application and offering excellent thermal performance, the AS1116 is available in a 0.6mm thin TQFN (4 x 4mm) package. For easier handling a QSOP 24-pin package is also available.
