New Industry Products

Microsemi Unveils Ultra-fast-startup LED Driver for Linear Lighting Fixtures

May 10, 2012 by Jeff Shepard

Microsemi Corp. unveiled a new dimmable LED driver module optimized for worldwide residential, commercial and industrial light fixtures. The 30W LXMG221W-0700030-D0((TM)) LED driver enables start up times of 150ms or faster, closely emulating the "lights-on" performance of a typical incandescent lamp. This is important for home and business applications where light start-up delays are unacceptable. Microsemi’s new ENERGY STAR-compliant, solid state LED driver provides over voltage and current protection, as well as automatic over-temperature shutdown to facilitate reliable and safe operation.

"The adoption of regulations imposing a phase-out of inefficient incandescent lamps is driving the growth of alternative light sources including energy-efficient LEDs globally," stated Irene Signorino, director of business development at Microsemi. "Our new LED driver allows light fixture manufacturers to capitalize on this growing market opportunity. As always, we remain committed to applying our expertise in lighting and power matters to solving challenging industry issues."

Power-efficient LED lights are becoming increasingly popular for use in homes and businesses alike. However, the energy-savings benefits often don’t outweigh the instant-lighting performance that people have come to expect from incandescent lights in such applications. Microsemi’s new LED driver solves this issue by delivering a 150ms or shorter startup time that is not noticeable by the human eye. This attribute, coupled with the device’s form factor and power/current levels, makes it well suited for use in areas where "instant-on" lighting is required or expected.

Microsemi’s new LED driver is compatible with 50 Hz and 60 Hz ac power sources worldwide with standard voltages ranging from 120Vac ±10 percent to 277Vac ±10 percent. The output is a 700mA dimmable constant current source. It complies with UL, CUL, CE and EMC industry standards. Additional features include:

-- High-voltage ac input (90-305Vac) for worldwide installations

-- Constant current single 700mA string applications using ~5-12 LEDs without flickering (up to 30W output)

-- High power factor (PF > 0.9) and low total harmonic distortion (THD < 15 percent) across the entire input voltage range at full load to meet or exceed standard requirements

-- Dimmable to 10 percent via 0-10Vdc (compliant to IEC 60929), PWM controls or potentiometers for additional energy savings

-- FCC Title 47, part 15 Class B compliant

The LXMG221W-0700030-D0 is available in production quantities now.

More news and information regarding the latest developments in Smart Grid electronics can be found at Darnell’s SmartGridElectronics.Net.