High Efficiency White LED Driver with Integrated Schottky in SC70

MILPITAS, CA - March 1, 2006 - Linear Technology Corporation announces the LT3491, a high efficiency, constant current white LED driver packaged in an SC70. The LT3491 features an integrated Schottky diode on-chip, eliminating both the added cost and space required with an external diode. A unique high-side LED current sense topology enables the LED cathode to be connected directly to ground, creating a single wire current source. The LT3491 is designed to drive up to six white LEDs from a single Li-Ion cell at efficiencies over 75%. It switches at 2.3MHz, allowing the use of a tiny inductor and capacitors while keeping switching noise out of critical RF frequency bands. The combination of the LT3491's high efficiency, low noise, and extremely small "total solution" footprint make it ideal for handheld applications requiring up to six white LEDs.

The LT3491 acts as a constant current source, delivering the same current to each white LED, regardless of fluctuations in the LED's forward voltage drop which varies with temperature, manufacturing tolerances and age. This ensures uniform LED brightness. The LT3491 utilizes True Color PWM™ Dimming to offer wide dimming ranges of up to 300:1. Internal over-voltage circuitry protects the part when LEDs are disconnected.

The LT3491 is available from stock in an 8-lead SC70 package. Pricing starts at $1.25 for 1,000-piece quantities.

Company Background

Linear Technology Corporation, a manufacturer of high performance linear integrated circuits, was founded in 1981, became a public company in 1986 and joined the S&P 500 index of major public companies in 2000. Linear Technology products include high performance amplifiers, comparators, voltage references, monolithic filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, battery chargers, data converters, communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, and many other analog functions. Applications for Linear Technology's high performance circuits include telecommunications, cellular telephones, networking products such as optical switches, notebook and desktop computers, computer peripherals, video/multimedia, industrial instrumentation, security monitoring devices, high-end consumer products such as digital cameras and MP3 players, complex medical devices, automotive electronics, factory automation, process control, and military and space systems. For more information, visit www.linear.com.

LT and LTC are registered trademarks and True Color PWM is a trademark of Linear Technology Corp.
 

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