In 2005, Catalyst Semiconductor expanded its family of solid state illumination products with the introduction of a new white LED driver targeted at LED indicator and interior lighting applications. The CAT310 drives up to 10 color, or white, LEDs and safely handles load dump transients to 40V, making it ideal for automotive systems.
A serial to parallel shift register accepts up to a 10-bit data stream, stores the state condition of each output channel, and upon command, latches the input data to enable, or disable, the outputs. This provides LED blanking and pattern control for signal indication in applications such as diagnostic tools or control panels. A serial output allows the user to cascade multiple CAT310 drivers to illuminate systems of LEDs in applications such as sign boards or interior lighting systems.
Each channel is comprised of a low on-resistance open drain FET which can sink up to 50mA, with the current through each LED being set by a series resistor. Manufactured on high-voltage CMOS technology, the CAT310 operates with input voltages as high as 17V. Over voltage detection, under voltage lockout and over current detection each serve to protect the device and output LEDs during fault conditions.
"The CAT310 offers a robust solution for driving multi-color LEDs across the full automotive temperature range in harsh system environments. The integrated suite of features reduces external component count and minimizes the traditional reliance on upstream protection devices, simplifying the overall system design," said Jamie White of Catalyst.
Product Features
- Global on/off control of all LEDs
- Drives ten LEDs in parallel at 50mA per channel
- Operates over automotive temperature range
- Operating voltage up to 17V
- Output channels can drive combination of white or color LEDs
- Output drivers withstand load-dump transients up to 40V
- Over voltage protection
- Serial output allows cascading of multiple CAT310's to drive greater than ten LEDs
- Simple LED pattern programming through the 10 MHz serial interface
- Under voltage lockout
CAT310 Applications
- Automotive lighting
- Diagnostic equipment
- Instrumentation panels
- Interior home lighting
- LED sign boards
- Traffic signal lighting
The CAT310 is available in a 20-pin SOIC package; price in 1000 piece quantities is $0.95.