New Industry Products

Sipex Unveils SP4491, a New Electroluminescent Lamp Driver

January 21, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

Sipex Corp. (Billerica, MA) announced the availability of its new SP4491, an independent, dual-electroluminescent (EL) lamp driver offered in a 10-pin MSOP package that provides an integrated solution for driving two EL lamps separately or concurrently. Sipex's single-IC solution uses one coil and one resistor, and operates within a 2.2V to 6.0V range. The driver is suitable for application in cellular phones, PDAs and other small portable devices that require multiple user interface combinations.

The SP4491 is an independent, dual-EL lamp driver specifically designed for use in alkaline and lithium-ion battery-powered handheld devices. Sipex claims that the device operates in opposite phase and can be implemented into applications driving multi-color or multi-segment EL lamps. A single external inductor is required to generate the high-voltage A outputs to drive the EL lamps. The device's temperature range spans from -40 to 85 degrees C. The Sp4491 features a low-power standby mode that draws less than 1uA. All input pins are ESD-protected, with internal diodes to VDD and VSS.

“The availability of the new SP4491 strengthens Sipex's leadership position in EL backlighting solutions," stated Jack Olson, manager of Sipex's analog display product line. “The SP4491 can be implemented with 50 percent less board space and 50 percent fewer components for 40 percent of the cost of other discrete dual-driver solutions. In addition, Sipex's SP4491 is fully supported by our EL team."

The SP4491 is currently available for $1.02 each in 10,000-piece quantities.