Texas-based electronics company Diodes has announced a linear current LED driver for smart home appliances, electric vehicle charging stations, infotainment displays, IoT information indicators and computing hardware.

The AL5887 provides a simple way of driving numerous LEDs to enable complex colour mixing and different lighting patterns. It delivers a wide colour range and dynamic range of brightness levels.

The device has 36 independent programmable channels and can drive up to 12 RGB LED modules or 36 single-colour emitters. It features internal 12bit pulse-width modulation (PWM) for colour and 6bit analogue brightness control, which can be accessed through either SPI or I²C interfacing.

There are three programmable banks for software control of each colour, making it easier to programme and set RGB lighting module patterns. Having an independent colour-mixing and brightness register per channel enables better colour-mixing schemes.

The dimming function relies on a PWM duty cycle from 3% to 100%. Once the duty cycle goes below 3%, internal circuitry converts the output to analogue dimming, maintaining linearity. By combining PWM and analogue dimming functions, a dimming ratio greater than 100,000 to one can be achieved.

The AL5887 incorporates diagnostics with fault-reporting functions. Its set of built-in protection capabilities ensures reliable operation and continued safety, including both short-circuit and open-LED protection, as well as overtemperature shutdown. The pre-event overtemperature shutdown warning also results in earlier system protection.

Using the two external hardware address pins, up to four of these devices can be connected together in I²C mode. Inclusion of an internal 16MHz oscillator avoids the need for an external high-precision clock, reducing the overall cost.

It is supplied in a 52-pin wettable QFN package, with exposed pad for better heat dissipation.

Diodes delivers semiconductor products to companies in the consumer electronics, computing, communications, industrial and automotive markets. It has a product portfolio of discrete, analogue and mixed-signal products.