austriamicrosystems' 132 LED driver features industry’s highest efficiency and smallest size

UNTERPREMSTAETTEN, AUSTRIA: austriamicrosystems has announced the AS1130, the most advanced and smallest dot-matrix LED driver (channels vs. PCB space) available. The AS1130 drives 132 LEDs but requires only 5 mm² PCB space, reduces external component count, allows use of cheap connectors and requires fewer PCB (printed circuit board) layers. Benefits for end users include up to 80% longer battery lifetime, more colorful effects and smoother running animations.

Using a 12x11 cross-plexed technique, austriamicrosystems’ AS1130 LED driver is targeted for dot-matrix displays in mobile phones, toys, small LED displays in personal electronics, but also non-battery powered household goods, indoor public information displays, and industrial applications such as power meters.

The AS1130 drives 132 LEDs, each with an 8-bit dimming control and no external resistor required. Additionally, an 8-bit analog current control allows fine tuning of each current source to compensate for different brightness of different colors, or to adjust the white balance on RGB LEDs. austriamicrosystems’ AS1130 incorporates 36 frames of memory for small animations or for use as a buffer to reduce host processor load, saving energy and processing time. The AS1130 can also extend battery life by controlling an external power supply which is required when LEDs need a higher voltage than the battery can supply, allowing continuous operation even under low battery voltage conditions.

The AS1130 is also available in a gull winged SSOP-28 package. Only 12 lines are required to drive all 132 LEDs. This is accomplished with austriamicrosystems’ multiplexing technique called cross-plexing. It reduces line count on the PCB as well as pins on the connectors, saving space and costs.