Robust and flexible automotive LED drivers for interior and exterior lighting

Diodes Incorporated has introduced two automotive LED drivers that consolidate robust performance, simplified design, and flexibility to fit internal and external lighting applications, such as position lamps, fog lamps, rear lamps, and door lamps.

The AL8860Q and AL8861Q have a wide-operating voltage range from 4.5V to 40V to endure load-dump events and work correctly at low-cranking voltages in stop-start applications. Leveraging hysteretic-mode buck control simplifies the design of the feedback loop, allowing inherent stability with only four external components. Authors can save real estate and reduce the electronic bill of materials due to the integrated, main power MOSFET and a programmable switching frequency up to 1MHz that enables a small output inductor.

Comprehensive built-in protection features assure reliability and safety, incorporating short-circuit and open-LED protection as well as overtemperature shutdown. The AL8861Q also features current-sense resistor, short-circuit protection.

Both drivers are packaged in the high-power density MSOP-8EP with support for analog and PWM dimming via one control pin. This control pin, with its analog dimming function, can be employed for soft-start of the LED current with only one capacitor.

The devices are automotive-compliant and support PPAP documents. AL8860Q and AL8861Q are qualified to AEC-Q100 Grade 1.