In the international lighting industry, the smart lighting market is heating up rapidly. In keeping with the traditional lighting system luminaire architecture, LED driver and packaging technology revolutions for smart lighting have already begun. Due to the limited design space of intelligent lighting system boards, LED drivers and packaging companies are accelerating the development of integrated driver circuits and LED light source optoelectronic integration solutions, as well as new packaging technologies such as DOB (DriveronBoard) and COB (ChiponBoard).
DOB technology selling point and inherent defect DOB refers to the solution that the driver chip is directly mounted on the heat sink substrate. MrEdward Chang, senior manager of Infineon Taiwan Technology Co., Ltd., told reporters.
He pointed out that many LED packaging companies are currently studying this technical solution, but basically there are only two ways to do this: the LED driver's switch is in an ultra-high switching frequency state, or there is no switch state. The latter solution is relatively mature and can be used as an AC-driven LED linear driver.
At the same time, he said that the main selling point of this integrated circuit IC is that there is no need for electrolytic capacitors, but there are inevitably some defects, such as:
- Low frequency 100Hz/120Hz flashing. All LEDs are turned off at the zero crossing of the AC line voltage, which results in very poor light quality. Studies have shown that it can cause headaches or eye strain.
- The input power varies greatly. Due to linear control, the current through the LED will vary depending on the AC line voltage. Higher AC line voltages will result in higher LED currents, so the LED driver will have to withstand more thermal energy, which means that the brightness will also change.
- Overdriving the LED. In order to achieve the same light output as a DC driven LED driver, this requires more LEDs (higher cost) or overdriving LEDs (low efficacy and low reliability).
MrEdwardChang pointed out that at present, many IC manufacturers in the market can provide similar solutions. Although some companies are trying to solve the problems mentioned above, there are still some side effects. He said that the trend in the market today is from B2C to B2B and commercial lighting, and usually has certain requirements for light quality.
Digital dimming into a new technology battlefield Intelligent lighting not only affects the LED driver architecture transformation, but also promotes new circuit layout and dimming technology, resulting in a more convenient and lower cost digital control solution. Some insiders expect that the next 12 years will be the key period for LED lighting to move towards digital dimming. The related LED driver chips and system solutions are expected to be released in large quantities, becoming a new technical battleground for supply chain operators.
It is understood that the digital lighting controller product line will solve many common problems faced by LED lighting, such as 100Hz/120Hz low frequency flicker related to light quality, dimmer compatibility, current accuracy under different line voltages and load conditions, and Different bins of LEDs, etc.
Flexible choice of different control schemes, parameters and protocols can further improve energy efficiency. This allows artificial light to be coordinated with environmental changes from dawn to night and from spring to winter. In this way, people can use mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablets to control the brightness and color temperature of LEDs at will, and create different atmospheres by changing the color of light. In addition, the bright lights can bring people a sense of security in the dark. Infineon's digital lighting controllers are designed to support intelligent lighting control solutions by connecting external microcontroller interfaces, such as ambient light sensing, enhanced dimming with daylight, and color temperature adjustment.
According to MrEdwardChang, at the recent Frankfurt show, Infineon has successfully demonstrated the next generation of digital power products and high-power LED systems. Infineon's next-generation AC/DC digital power products provide excellent current accuracy for LEDs, enabling 1-10V dimming over a wide range of input and output voltages without secondary feedback.
Infineon's DC/DCLED driver, the ILD6070/6150, offers a unique thermal management feature that allows the customer to freely set an overtemperature protection trip point with a resistor. In light management, Infineon introduces the ARM-based Coretex-M0XMC1000 series, including a dedicated BCCU, brightness and color control unit to provide customers with PDM (Pulse Density Modulation) patented flicker-free dimming control and color linear gradients. The brilliant color mix, while the 24GHz radar sensor provides customers with large-area and long-range coverage applications, such as high-bay or outdoor street lights.
MrEdwardChang also mentioned that smart lighting is part of the Internet of Things wave and cloud computing. Network security should be one of the most important issues. Infineon's OPTIGA security microcontroller is an expert in ensuring network security.
LED driver is moving toward cost-driven field. As the power of LED light source continues to rise, the price of terminal products continues to decline. The proportion of LED driver ICs in the overall cost of lighting fixtures is becoming more and more prominent. Chip vendors are also competing to develop more linear driving solutions with higher integration. To meet system manufacturers' reduced bill of materials (BOM) cost requirements.
On the one hand, LED drivers are moving in a smarter direction; on the other hand, LED drivers are moving into cost-driven applications such as the reloading market. MrEdwardChang told reporters.
MrEdwardChang said that costs may come from different sources. For example, LED products are increasingly focusing on the protection of surge voltages. Customers can decide if they are willing to spend money on surge protection devices or power supplies with surge protection and more added value, or to improve reliability. In addition, Infineon's next-generation digital power products will help customers not only reduce their BOM costs, but also save their development costs and inventory management costs.
Talking about the future product development direction of Infineon, MrEdwardChang told reporters that energy-saving lighting is the new blue ocean of LED driver IC and intelligent LED lighting. In order to achieve the goal of energy-saving lighting, a lot of work needs to be done, and LED driver is part of it. . Infineon's product roadmap for the next five years is the next generation of power semiconductor technology with LED driver ICs. Infineon will not only innovate from the design and concept of LED driver ICs, but also innovate from the product line. Infineon expects more complete technologies and products to cover the entire lighting market application.