Leadis Technology, Inc., an analog and mixed-signal semiconductor developer of LED drivers and Touch ICs for mobile consumer electronic devices, announced that its proprietary LED-Sense Temperature Sensing and Compensation Engine, implemented in the LDS8160, is now available for licensing to third parties as an embedded, stand-alone IP block. This IP engine, suitable for enhancing the performance of LED Driver, Light Management Unit and Power Management Unit ICs, directly measures the junction temperature of an LED in the system at its precise physical location. Based on the measurement, the LED drive current is then optimized according to a user-programmed profile. The engine continuously monitors the LED, with each measurement cycle taking less than 200 microseconds per LED.

Because the engine directly measures the junction temperature of the diode, it achieves accuracies up to +/- 1C, which roughly doubles the accuracy obtainable with incumbent indirect solutions that measure the junction temperature of the silicon in the IC and then extrapolate the temperature at the LED. Alternatively, for solutions that rely on an external temperature sensor, the LED-Sense(TM) reduces system cost and complexity.

In today’s power-hungry environment, LEDs are growing as a green, higher-efficiency alternative used to light our world. Regardless of the application, a critical factor to the adoption of LEDs is its reliability, which degrades with self-heating. Preventing excessive heating on the device is one of the most significant challenges system designers face today. This is especially the case for high brightness LEDs in automotive and general illumination. The first step in preventing excessive self-heating of LEDs is to accurately and continuously monitor their junction temperature and quickly react to changes. In this context, Leadis’ LED-Sense Temperature Sensing and Compensation Engine is a unique tool that can be added to every system designer’s tool box.

“We are pleased to bring to the market our patent pending LED-Sense Temperature Sensing and Compensation Engine IP,” said Donato Montanari, vice president at Leadis Technology. “The modular structure of this IP engine and its small gate count of approximately twenty thousand gates make it economical and flexible for system designers to adopt. Our IP can be used in systems where the LEDs are connected in either series or parallel.”