Series IC constant current LED drive to help reduce the number of processors

Maxim (Maxim) days before the launch of MAX6972/MAX6973 (Port 16) and MAX6974/MAX6975 (port 24) series of constant current LED driver. The drive series incorporates many features that simplify the design of large outdoor / indoor RGB LED displays. Maxim's EZCascade smart cascade technology coupled with a low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface allows thousands of drivers to be connected over a long distance. This approach reduces the cost of a large number of processors, thus reducing the cost and simplifying the design of the display screen.

MAX6972 to MAX6975 chip integrates a 8 bit DAC, can provide a programmable output of 256 programmable constant current. The current matching accuracy between ports is 1%, which allows the LED of different batches from the same vendor or LED of different suppliers to be easily applied to the same system. In addition, a total of 19 bit global and separate PWM control can provide high resolution brightness and chrominance adjustment.

The drive also includes a slew rate output feature that reduces the EMI. The use of 35Mbps LVDS serial interface for data transmission, can support up to 65 frames / sec refresh rate, allowing the implementation of a smooth video display on the giant LED display. In addition, the chip also integrates the watchdog timer and LED fault detection capabilities, so that the designer can simply read the MAX6972/MAX6973 or MAX6974/MAX6975 output serial data stream to locate all faults LED.

The new devices are operating in an extended -45 to +125 DEG C temperature range, respectively, to provide 32 pin and 40 pin TQFN package. MAX6972/MAX6973 starts at $4.12, MAX6974/MAX6975 starts at $5.55 (more than $1000).