IC simulation vendors meet again opportunities

With the accelerating process of China's urban modernization and the introduction of various government lighting standards, the optoelectronics industry has been receiving extensive attention from all walks of life. The development of information display technology has also become more rapid. Some IC manufacturers have great strength and influence. The LED industry was included as an important part of the business development strategy, and they have entered the LED market.

According to LED professional research institutions, China's LED lighting market in 2013 was approximately 32.4 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of 36%. In the face of the huge business opportunities in the LED market, Analog Devices, a global leader in high-performance signal processing solutions, is particularly concerned about this. Under the great pressure of health, environmental protection and energy crisis around the world, the future development trend of the lighting industry will be towards energy conservation, health, environmental protection and green development. Because with the acceleration of the urbanization process, the market demand for LED lighting will continue to show a growing trend, while the acceleration of urbanization and the sustainable development of the city will require higher and higher levels of LED lighting products. Mr. Zhang Jing, sales manager of ADI Central China, commented on the current development trend of the LED market.

In the development of LED lighting technology and products, IC simulation vendors face many design challenges. In this regard, Mr. Zhang Jing said that the current LED process caused by the different batches and different forward voltage, ambient temperature and drive current changes, different LED connection (parallel or in series), will result in LED brightness and color Variety. Therefore, in the design of LED driver power supply, the precise control of the current flowing through the LED is critical for high-end design applications. In addition, in the case of high power output, especially for a capacitive light source such as LED, driver isolation and high voltage AC-DC conversion is also an important challenge. Constant current drive (consistent brightness of light), brightness adjustment, and PWM drive modulation techniques are also technical difficulties for today's LED driver ICs.

Thanks to its excellent shock resistance, power saving, and environmental protection advantages, LED has won the favor of many automobile manufacturers and lighting equipment manufacturers at home and abroad. Mr. Zhang Jing said that ADI has long noticed the market prospects of the two major application areas, and has been providing industry-leading LED components for related manufacturers. Mr. Zhang Jing also cited related products developed by Analog Devices to illustrate, such as AD8240, suitable for automotive applications, driving and monitoring LED components. The AD8240 reduces system cost by reducing the complexity associated with LED driving. It includes overcurrent protection and is MSOP packaged. In addition, there is an ADM8845 charge pump suitable for driving up to 6 white LEDs in parallel, which guarantees a uniform brightness of backlighted liquid crystal displays. It achieves excellent matching performance by individually monitoring the current of each LED. The ADM8845 can automatically switch between the three charge pump operating modes based on the input voltage, so it is also used to maximize power efficiency. In addition, the ADP8866 programmable LED driver supports independent control of the 9 LED currents, with a programmable LED flash sequence and low power consumption. The built-in charge pump automatically adjusts its gain to efficiently power the LED under all conditions. This low power consumption and simplified software interface make it an excellent choice for portable systems that require a large number of independently controlled LEDs. Applications include keyboard lighting, LCD lighting, and analytical lighting.