National Semiconductor Presents LM4970 LED Driver

National Semiconductor Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) introduced its new LM4970 'no-programming-required' Boomer audio-synchronized light-emitting diode (LED) driver, which gives designers the option of using I2C-compatible pattern control or choosing automatic audio-synchronized pattern generation. Previous designs required pre-programmed I2C-compatible code-to-control lighting patterns. If the automatic mode is used, no software or memory storage is needed for pattern control, freeing up memory storage space for other features. The I2C compatible control bus is also used to turn each driver on or off. The internal control features reduce the number of external components, optimizing board space in small form factor applications such as cell phones, MP3 players, PDAs and other portable devices.

The LM4970 is an audio-synchronized LED driver that eliminates the need for real-time software processing for LED lighting effects. The audio-synchronization mode allows three audio inputs to be mixed and filtered into three frequency bands, with each frequency band assigned to a specific pulse-width-modulated (PWM) LED driver. It includes three individual PWM color LED drivers that provide up to 42 mA of current drive for each LED output. The drivers can also be directly programmed through an I2C-compatible interface for applications.

Available now in a 14-pin LLP package, the LM4970 is priced at $0.90 in 1,000-unit quantities.