Renesas Electronics Announces LED Driver IC Design Support Tool to Simplify Design of LED Lamp Control Circuits

Renesas Electronics plans to increase production of the R2A20134 LED driver IC to 10 million units per month in 2014, backed by the system design support provided by the new R2A20134EVB design support tool.

The use of LED lighting is becoming more widespread due to increasing awareness of the need to conserve electricity and preserve the environment by, for example, improving power efficiency and reducing emissions of carbon dioxide. The market for LED lighting is expected to grow substantially moving forward, with the replacement of incandescent light bulbs playing a central role. With this market in mind Renesas Electronics launched development work on LED driver IC devices that are designed to be incorporated into LED lamps and perform functions such as on-off switching and dimming of the LEDs. The R2A20134, which was announced in December 2010 and entered mass production in March 2011, achieves improved conversion efficiency when commercial AC power is converted to DC and used to drive the LEDs while also helping reduce the overall system cost. The new R2A20134EVB design support tool for the R2A20134 simplifies the design of complex LED drive IC control circuits, enabling customers to realize highly efficient control circuits that extract the full potential of the R2A20134.

Key features of the R2A20134EVB design support tool:
(1) Six product versions to match a variety of circuit configurations
A variety of circuit configurations can be used for DC drive of LEDs, but they can generally be divided into the following broad categories: electrically isolated configurations employing transformers, non-isolated configurations employing inductors, and configurations with or without support for TRIAC dimmers. The six product versions of the R2A20134EVB correspond to these various configurations, so the customer can choose the one that matches the intended application.

(2) Explanatory materials for improved usability
For improved usability, the new design support tool come bundled with application notes containing board description and evaluation files, parts lists, etc., and a supplementary tool for setting external constants.

The features of the R2A20134 LED driver IC, which is mounted on the design support tool, are as follows:
- Contributes to reduced system cost
LED driver MOSFETs typically have a voltage tolerance of 700 V, but the R2A20134 enables use of MOSFETs with tolerances in the 500 V to 300 V range. This contributes to lower system cost overall.

- High efficiency and high power factor
The R2A20134 delivers efficiency of 92 percent (Note 1) and a power factor (Note 2) of 0.94, both among the highest in the industry, contributing to greater power savings.

Renesas Electronics intends to continue to supply products and solutions that contribute to the realization of a more eco-friendly society.

Renesas Electronics is exhibiting its new design support tool at Techno-Frontier 2011, which runs from today through July 22 at Tokyo Big Sight and will also present its full lighting portfolio at Strategies in Light Europe 2011 in September in Milan.

Please refer to the separate sheet for the main specifications of the new design support tool and the R2A20134SP LED Driver IC.

(Note 1) Value obtained under Renesas Electronics measurement conditions
(8 W, Vac = 100 V).
(Note 2) Power factor: This value is defined as the ratio of the real power flowing to the load to the apparent power in the circuit, and it expresses the efficiency of an AC electric power system.

Remarks:
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About Renesas Electronics Europe:
Renesas Electronics Europe with its Business Operations Centre located in Dusseldorf, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), the world’s number one supplier of microcontrollers and a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions, secure MCU applications and a broad-range of analog and power devices. Renesas Electronics’ European structure is comprised of four dedicated business groups serving the region’s key markets: automotive, communications & consumer, industrial, and mobile platforms. The business groups are supported by the Engineering Group, which itself includes the Engineering Design Centre; the European Quality Centre that provides technical support to local customers in Europe; and the European Technology Centre to design leading-edge products specifically for the European market. Further information about Renesas Electronics Europe can be found at: www.renesas.eu.