Products, Materials + Tools | Jul 20, 2010

Micrel Is Bringing The Power To Light™ With New Step Down High Brightness LED Driver IC

Micrel Inc., (Nasdaq:MCRL), an industry leader in analog, high bandwidth communications and Ethernet IC solutions, today rolled out the MIC3201, a new Step-Down High Brightness LED (HBLED) driver with high-side current sense.

This device is the first in a new series of high brightness LED drivers targeting MR-16 lamps and other general illumination applications. This device reduces the size, complexity and cost of the driver solutions for various lighting applications. The MIC3201 is currently available in volume quantities, with pricing starting at $1.11 for 1K quantities.

"With the ever increasing concern regarding carbon emissions and energy costs, high-efficiency lighting has become one of the highest growth segments of the electronics market," noted Doyle Slack, senior marketing director of Analog Power, Linear and RF at Micrel. "Micrel's LED driver products provide the performance, flexibility and ease-of-use required by LED lighting system designers to meet these challenges."

The MIC3201 is capable of driving up to four, 1A HBLEDs in series at more than 90 percent efficiency with ±5 percent current accuracy from input voltages of 4.5V to 20V. With its hysteretic control architecture and high-side current sense scheme, the MIC3201 is well positioned to provide constant current with changes in input voltage and output load. The MIC3201 operating frequency is adjustable up to 1MHz to allow flexibility in the design. The MIC3201 features a dedicated PWM dimming pin, an enable pin for very low power shutdown, over temperature protection and UVLO. The MIC3201 has an internal power switch and requires no external compensation. In addition to enhanced power driving capability/reliability, the MIC3201 comes in an exposed pad SOIC-8L package.

Features:
• 6V to 45V input supply range
• Capable of driving up to 70W
• Ultra Iow EMI via dithering on the MIC3231
• Programmable LED drive current
• Feedback voltage = 250mV ±3%
• Programmable switching frequency (MIC3230/1) or 400kHz fixed frequency Operation (MIC3232)
• PWM Dimming and separate enable shutdown
• Frequency synchronization with other MIC3230s
• Protection features:
Over Voltage Protection (OVP) Over temperature protection Under-voltage Lock-out (UVLO)

Applications:
• Street lighting
• Solid State lighting
• General illumination
• Architectural lighting
• Constant current power supplies

About Micrel:
Micrel Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of high performance analog and high-speed mixed signal solutions. The Company's products include advanced mixed-signal, analog and power semiconductors; high performance communication, clock management, Ethernet switch and physical layer transceiver ICs. Company customers include leading manufacturers of enterprise, consumer, industrial, mobile, telecommunications, automotive, and computer products. Corporation headquarters and state-of-the-art wafer fabrication facilities are located in San Jose, CA, with regional sales and support offices and advanced technology design centers situated throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. In addition, the Company maintains an extensive network of distributors and sales representatives worldwide.

For further information, contact Julieanne DiBene at: Micrel, Incorporated, 2180 Fortune Drive, San Jose, California 95131, (408) 944-0800; or visit the Micrel website at: www.micrel.com