Infineon Technologies AG has recently introduced the low cost LED driver IC BCR 450 which was specifically designed for driving high power LEDs. As BCR 450 produces no electromagnetic radiation, it is well-suited for applications sensitive against electromagnetic interference (EMI) as well as medical applications with communication bus systems, and wide range of other applications, according to the company.

The application circuit with BCR 450 has low component count and is free of inductors, capacitors and free-wheeling diode resulting in a very small PCB space requirement. This includes the elimination of electrolytic capacitors which limit the lifetime of switch-mode driver solutions. Infineon also implemented an effective thermal shut down feature and over-voltage as well as over-current protection into the device.

Additionally, the BCR 450 with its output current precision varying only +/-10 percent over the entire operating temperature range strongly supports the homogenous light output requirement for LED lighting fixtures.

Volume production of the new product has already started. It is available in a small 6-pin SC74 package. In quantities of 50,000 units, pricing for the BCR 450 ranges between approximately Euro 0.25 and Euro 0.30 (U.S. dollar 0.30 and U.S. dollar 0.35) per unit.