Austria Micro System(AMS), a leading provider of high performance analog ICs and sensors, yesterday launched an LED flash driver AS3630 that provides a photo flash light output at least four times brighter than flash systems commonly found in smart phones today.

Comparing to today's LED flash drivers in cell phones generally providing a maximum 2A output, the new AS3630 can drive up to 8A current, enabling cell phone cameras to take pin-sharp images of objects even in dark or in fast move. The AS3630 supports substantially faster shutter speeds. At the same time, glare and discomfort can be avoided because even short flash durations as low as 10ms provide sufficient light.

The AS3630 8A LED flash driver uses an innovative, patent-pending architecture that fully exploits the energy stored inside a super capacitor (Electric Double Layer Capacitor, or EDLC). Driving two LEDs in series, the output of the super capacitor is always boosted from 5.5V to typically higher than 9V, to match the forward voltage of the LEDs. The boost topology employed also keeps the flash illuminated longer when the output from the unassisted capacitor would fall below the LEDs' forward voltage. This architecture enables the use of the smallest capacitors.

The AS3630 photo flash driver also combines power from the EDLC with power from the phone battery, increasing the power available to the flash light system and supporting additional functions such as pre-flash and video light even when the super capacitor is discharged.

To optimize system performance, AMS has collaborated with passive component manufacturer Murata, matching the feature set of the AS3630 with thin, high-capacity EDLCs from Murata. “When the AS3630 is used in combination with a high-performance EDLC such as the DMF series from Murata, a smart phone's camera can achieve dramatic improvements in image quality while retaining the thin profile that consumers value so highly in mobile phones,” said Oliver Weber, Marketing Manager at AMS.