New Tool Draws from Extensive Library of LEDs, Drivers and Heat Sinks to Create Complete Systems up to 100,000 Lumens in Minutes

National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:NSM) announced the addition of WEBENCH LED Architect to its award-winning portfolio of online WEBENCH® Designer tools. The first of its kind, WEBENCH LED Architect enables both novice and expert designers to perform real-time comparisons and optimize complex lighting systems for performance, size and cost in minutes.

To start a design, the designer enters desired light output (lumens) and adjusts the design with the unique WEBENCH Optimizer Dial, evaluating size, conversion efficiency and cost trade-offs. The designer can order components for prototyping, share the complete system with others, or easily print a complete project report including schematics, bill of materials (BOM) and performance characteristics. 

Watch a video demonstration at http://bit.ly/LEDvideo.

Find out more about National’s WEBENCH LED Architect at these upcoming events:
•Strategies in Light Europe, Frankfurt, Germany – Sept. 27-29, 2010
•EDN Designing with LEDs, Chicago, IL – Sept. 29, 2010
•China Solid-State Lighting Conference, Shanghai, China – Oct. 14-16, 2010

“We are enabling creative designers to compare a hundred different topologies for a lighting system in a few minutes,” said Phil Gibson, vice president of Technical Sales Tools at National Semiconductor. “WEBENCH LED Architect frees their imagination, so they can deliver brilliant lighting designs at the lowest possible cost.”

About National’s WEBENCH LED Architect
WEBENCH LED Architect is a quick visual tool for complete lighting system design up to 100,000 lumens in output. LED performance, electronic drive current and heat compensation are balanced in seconds. The tool analyzes 350 of the latest LEDs from 12 leading manufacturers, 30 heat sinks, 35 LED drivers, and a library of 21,000 electronic passive components. Users can focus on system level results and leave the burden of complex electrical and thermal mathematics to the tool. Electrical simulation is included as an option for additional testing, validation or component selection. Try out WEBENCH LED Architect at www.national.com/LEDarchitect.

About National’s LED Drivers
National Semiconductor's PowerWise® energy-efficient LED drivers provide constant current to arrays of LEDs, enabling color and brightness matching over a wide temperature range. Through dimming, thermal management and fault protection, National’s drivers improve performance in a variety of applications. WEBENCH LED Architect features National’s entire line of LED drivers, including the LM3464 with Dynamic Headroom Control, the LM3424 with configured thermal control, and the LM3409HV high current MOSFET controller for AECQ-100 auto grade applications. For more information about National’s LED drivers, visit http://www.national.com/led.

About National’s WEBENCH Designer Tools
National Semiconductor’s online and offline power, lighting, and sensing application design tools are used by expert and novice electronic and mechanical engineers worldwide to create over 400,000 electronic designs each year. Available in English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese languages, the tools enable the design engineer to simultaneously compare the performance of different implementations across vendors and devices in multiple circuit requirements in one easy-to-use application. To begin a design, visit http://www.national.com/webench.

About National Semiconductor
Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., National Semiconductor is a leader in power management technology.  Known for its easy-to-use analog integrated circuits and world-class supply chain, National’s high-performance analog products enable its customers’ systems to be more energy efficient. Additional information is available at www.national.com.