New Industry Products

Micrel Drives White LED Backlights

January 09, 2006 by Jeff Shepard

Micrel Inc. has launched the MIC3287, a 1.2MHz pulse width modulated (pwm) boost-switching regulator optimized for driving series white LEDs. The new IC targets backlighting applications in mobile phones, PDAs, GPS systems, digital cameras, MP3 players and IP phones.

"The white LED backlighting market remains one of the most competitive arenas in the industry," noted Ralf Muenster, Micrel's director of marketing for power products. "Our goal is to offer ever-higher levels of efficiency and functionality while bringing our customers the most value for their money. The MIC3287 integrates an over-voltage protection function that gives manufacturers real value because competitive solutions require a discrete circuit, which increases the size and cost of the solution."

With a maximum output voltage of 24V and a switch current of over 350mA, the MIC3287 drives a string of four white LEDs in series, ensuring uniform brightness and eliminating several ballast resistors.

The IC features 1.2MHz pwm operation for small output filter size, 250mV feedback for high efficiency and over-voltage and over-temperature protection for safety. The MIC3287 comes in low profile TSOT-5 and TSOT-6 packaging options as well as a 2.x 2 MLF™ 8L packaging for space-conscious applications.

The MIC3287 is currently available in volume and pricing starts at $0.75 for 1K quantities.