Diodes Inc.'s linear constant current driver provides versatile control for LED apps

DALLAS, USA: Diodes Inc. has introduced the AL8400 linear LED driver controller. The AL8400 is designed to tightly regulate LED current via an external transistor across wide variations of high brightness LEDs.

Suiting a broad range of LED chains in illumination, indication or signage systems, the controller can directly operate from 2.2V to 18V and will drive either N-channel MOSFET or NPN Bipolar transistors.

The AL8400 has a very low 200mV current sense voltage which reduces operating voltage overhead and increases efficiency compared with traditional solutions. Its open collector output drives the external pass transistor allowing it to regulate LED current from tens of mA to above an amp.

Using an external pass transistor allows power dissipation and maximum drive capability to be optimized. Longer LED chains needing significantly more than 18V can be driven with minimal additional external components.

The LED driver’s low temperature drift and 3% reference voltage at 25ºC outperforms most existing linear solutions while keeping system costs down at the same time. The AL8400 linear controller in its small footprint, low profile SOT353 package, delivers power density that is superior to many common package alternatives and provides a low EMI solution.