New technologies reduce board area in automotive LED lamp systems

ROHM recently announced the its new 4ch linear LED driver ICs with built-in MOSFET for LED rear lamps (turn/stop), fog lamps and turn signals for automotive use.

In response to the demands in India, the largest market for two-wheeled vehicles, the company has been able to develop LED drivers that solve power savings and design flexibility, using two new technologies. The BD183x7EFV-M series include a proprietary thermal dissipation circuit and individual LED control function especially created to significantly decrease board area as well as application design load for LED lamps.

To decrease board area, the original heat dissipation circuit combines the multiple heat dissipation terminals for conventional output channels into a single terminal, while enabling the company to the configure a 4ch high output (150mA/ch) driver into a compact 16-pin package. Moreover, the individual LED control function makes it conceivable to drive vehicle LED lamps with different specifications employing a single driver (instead of the two conventionally needed).

To decrease the design load, the heat dissipation circuit enables thermal design typically needed for each channel to be performed in a single step. Also, the individual LED control function facilitate individual or collective control of LEDs in the event of errors, assuring compliance with global motorcycle standards for license plate lighting and aiding deployment in various applications. Different dimming function supports sequential lighting for more comprehensive design versatility along with protection functions to guard the LED driver and peripheral circuits.