ROHM's New 4ch Linear LED Drivers Ideal for 2-Wheel Rear Lamps

Two new technologies significantly reduce board area and design load in automotive LED lamp systems

Kyoto, Japan and Santa Clara, CA, April 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ROHM recently announced the availability of 4ch linear LED driver ICs with built-in MOSFET ideal for LED rear lamps (turn/stop), fog lamps and turn signals for automotive use.

In recent years the adoption of automotive-grade LED lamps is advancing from the viewpoint of power savings and design flexibility, while the number of lamps and brightness levels are increasing significantly. In the Asian region for example, where 2-wheeled vehicles are the main means of transportation for many, a number of vehicle manufacturers are demanding simpler circuit configurations for driving standard rear and license plate lamps in order to reduce costs and shorten development time. However, until now thermal design issues have made it difficult for LED drivers that power LEDs to meet all of the various requirements in terms of number of lamps, brightness, safety, and costs.

In response, by analyzing the demands in India, the largest market for 2-wheeled vehicles, ROHM was able to develop LED drivers that solve these issues utilizing 2 new technologies. The BD183x7EFV-M (BD18337EFV-M / BD18347EFV-M) series incorporates a proprietary thermal dissipation circuit and individual LED control function specifically developed to significantly reduce board area along with application design load for LED lamps.

To minimize board area, the original heat dissipation circuit consolidates the multiple heat dissipation terminals for conventional output channels into a single terminal, while allowing ROHM to configure a 4ch high output (150mA/ch) driver into a compact 16pin package. Furthermore, the individual LED control function makes it possible to drive vehicle LED lamps with different specifications using a single driver (instead of the 2 conventionally required).

To reduce design load, our heat dissipation circuit  allows thermal design typically required for each channel to be completed in a single step. In addition, the individual LED control function enable individual or collective control of LEDs in case of errors, ensuring compliance with worldwide motorcycle standards for license plate lighting and facilitating deployment invarious. Individual dimming function supports sequential lighting for greater design versatility along with protection functions to protect the LED driver and peripheral circuits.