Charge pump saves space in white LED driving

The NCP5603 is a white LED driver designed to drive high brightness LEDs in torch or flash applications for camera phones and other portable consumer electronic devices.

ON Semiconductor has introduced the NCP5603 - a white LED driver designed to drive high brightness LEDs in torch or flash applications for camera phones and other portable consumer electronic devices.

The NCP5603 provides power conversion by means of a charge pump structure, using two external ceramic capacitors, and eliminates the need for a bulky inductor to implement the power conversion.

Offered in a DFN-10 package measuring only 3 x 3 x 0.9mm, the device uses limited surface area and fits well into thin-profile portable consumer electronics applications.

This new LED driver supplies a constant voltage to the load from battery voltage ranges between 2.7 to 5.5V.

Thanks to the automatic operating modes of 1x, 1.5x and 2x, it operates at up to 90% efficiency.

This makes it particularly well suited to drive the high current LEDs used in low cost, low power applications that demand extended battery life.

Because the device allows a high output current pulse of up to 35mA, it is suitable to drive a high brightness 1W power LED, thus enabling improved camera flash and delivering better picture quality.

The device also features a PWM/EN input, suitable for dimming requirements.

Because the NCP5603 does not require an external inductor for energy storage, it can also function as a low cost, small boost DC/DC convertor that supplies a constant voltage of either 4.5 or 5V in applications such as biasing audio amplifier in cellphones, MP3 players or digital still cameras where space is at a premium.

"With the NCP5603, ON Semiconductor is expanding its white LED driver portfolio, offering the first in a series of high efficiency charge pump-based solutions targeted at cellphone form factors that have critical space constraints", said Andy Williams, Vice President of ON Semiconductor's Power Conversion Division.

"This series offers engineers high efficiency charge pump solutions with maximum flexibility in terms of output current control, short circuit protection, highly accurate current matching for backlighting and camera flash, while house in small, low profile DFN packages".

The NCP5603 is offered in standard and lead free DFN-10 packages and priced at $0.70 per unit in 1000 unit quantities.

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