Future Lighting Solutions & NEC Introduce Intelligent Constant High-Current Driver With Microcontroller

Future Lighting Solutions, a division of Future Electronics, Inc., with NEC Electronics America, Inc., introduced what they claim is the world’s first intelligent constant High-Current Driver (HCD) with microcontroller (MCU). The new HCD/LED MCU can be used in lighting applications that employ multiple LEDs, in addition to industrial control applications such as stepping motors, solenoid drives, and switch-mode power supplies.

"Future Lighting Solutions and NEC Electronics America have developed a ‘smart’ design approach to support the growing performance demands of LED lighting and other applications," said Bart Ladd, General Manager, Account Development and Applications, NEC Electronics America. "We have combined NEC Electronics’ extensive experience in MCUs with Future Lighting Solutions’ power LED applications knowledge, to produce this new HCD/LED MCU. The solution offers higher integration and greater intelligence, and is supported with a robust design environment that helps designers bring products to market faster and more cost effectively."

The new device combines an NEC Electronics’ 8-bit All Flash™ microcontroller with a four-channel HCD that is said to help reduce device size and system costs. This solution is said to deliver efficient power management capability in street illumination, architecture, entertainment, emergency vehicle and display lighting systems.

"Customers will value the flexibility that the µPD78F8024 solution provides, such as providing output current support to drive the full range of our LUXEON® high-power LEDs," said Patrick Durand, Worldwide Applications Manager for Future Lighting Solutions. "Engineers who want to maximize control, reliability and power savings for their solid-state lighting applications can also leverage this new MCU’s ability to dynamically change the average current for an LED by communicating with a temperature or ambient light sensor."

The product’s high level of integration allows for a smaller number of external components to open up board space for other components. In addition to supporting a wide input voltage range from 9 to 38V, the flexible four-channel architecture also enables designs using both buck and boost regulator topologies.

The µPD78F8024 HCD/LED MCU is available in a 64-pin LQFP. Samples are available now, starting at US$3.50 per 1000 unit quantities. Evaluation boards will be available in early May.