Synchronous Boost Converter Powers High-Current LEDs Even at Low Input Voltages (.PDF Download)
This article is part of the Power Management Series: Driving LED Designs
High-power LEDs continue to proliferate in modern lighting systems, spanning automotive headlights, industrial/commercial signage, architectural lighting, and a variety of consumer electronics applications. The industry’s transition toward LED technology is driven by the distinct advantages that solid-state lighting offers over conventional light sources—the high-efficiency conversion of electrical power to light output, as well as long operational life spans.
As LED lighting is incorporated into an expanding array of applications, the demand for higher LED currents for increased light output also grows. One of the biggest challenges for powering strings of high-current LEDs is maintaining high efficiency in the power-converter stage that’s responsible for providing a well-regulated LED current. Inefficiency in the power converter presents itself in the form of unwanted heat, which originates from the switching elements of the current regulator circuitry.