The ICL8105 is a digitally configurable flyback controller with Power Factor Correction (PFC) for constant power LED drivers from 10 to 80 W. (Photo Courtesy of Infineon)

Every fifth kilowatt hour of electricity around the world is used for artificial light. LED technology, however, is making significant savings possible. About 13 million tons of CO ₂ could be saved in Germany alone, equaling the emission of about seven million cars; in German office buildings, the electricity bill could be reduced by more than Euro 500 million. But how can we make introducing the technology easier for industry and end users? With  .dp digital power 2.0™ Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) has developed a digital platform for power supply with which the LED lighting systems can be controlled intelligently, thus making maximum energy savings possible.

The step into the digital world with all its advantages is made possible by digital controllers and a special software that the manufacturers of lighting systems can use to configure individual parameters according to their requirements. “This allows our customers greater flexibility because it eliminates the need for costly development of new designs for product variants, since specifications can be defined at the end of the production line,” says Ulrich vom Bauer, who is in charge of Marketing for Lighting ICs at Infineon. “With .dp digital power 2.0, the development time can be reduced by up to 70 percent – therefore, the customer can bring new products to the market significantly faster.” In addition, the digital approach makes innovations possible that can’t be realized using analog components.

Infineon will be presenting two new members of the new platform, the ICL8105 and ILD2111 controllers, for the first time during the “International LED Professional Symposium + Expo”. This will be held in Bregenz, Austria from September 22-24th.

The ICL8105 is a digitally configurable flyback controller with Power Factor Correction (PFC) for constant power LED drivers from 10 to 80 W. Thanks to the high level of integration and the control on the primary side, only a few external components are required. This allows for a cost reduction of up to ten percent. The controller has powerful algorithms and supports multiple operating modes. Advantages are a high efficiency and power factor correction plus low distortion. This produces a high quality of light with no flickering. The controller has an input for 0 to 10 V dimming; there is no need for an oscillator including power supply. An active burst mode significantly extends the dimming range, while preventing undesirable effects such as flickering or shimmering. To protect the LED driver in case of overtemperature, the ICL8105 automatically reduces the output current in case of overload.

The ILD2111 is a digitally configurable buck controller and is designed as a constant current source with output current control (backlash) for LED drivers in the range from 10 to 150 W. Thus, the regulator addresses diverse commercial LED applications. The ILD2111, too, requires only a few external components. The output current can be set easily and accurately by a resistor, and is also compatible with the LEDset interface. The IC provides flicker-free PWM dimming down to one percent. The component automatically selects an operating window in order to optimally regulate different loads, depending on the switching frequency and the ripple of the output current. The output voltage is specified with 15 to 55 VDC. Extensive, user-configurable features protect the component at undervoltage and overvoltage, short circuits, overcurrent or high temperatures.

Both driver ICs offer the advantages of the digital world which includes the ability of the LED power supply to be configured by the customer on site using software. In addition to high flexibility, this also means savings in material costs. This plays a big role in today’s highly fragmented lighting market.