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Fundamentals of LED Dimming
Sponsored by National Semiconductor Corp., Presented by Bill Schweber, Site Editor, Planet Analog and RF DesignLine
Module
Launch Course
 
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DESCRIPTION

LEDs are "hot" because they run cool. They offer high efficiency and flexibility, require just a basic current source for drive, and used for indicators, displays and, now, even large-area illumination. Dimming them in illumination applications, so their intensity matches the situation as well as to save energy, should be no problem, right?

But it's not so simple. There are issues of power supply and dimming circuitry, LED color shifts, EMI/RFI, visual flicker, and even thermal and mechanical stress to consider. In this course, you'll learn about:

  • The basic approaches to driving single and multiple LEDs, including analog- and switching-power sources and output control
  • Issues of dimming range, resolution, color shift, and human perception
  • Tradeoffs and alternatives to solving dimming design problems
  • Using the standard Triac-based dimmer with LEDs
  • How targeted ICs can overcome limitations of conventional dimming approaches

PREREQUISITES
None

INTENDED AUDIENCE
Circuit-design and power-supply engineers charged with developing dimmable LED illumination.

ESTIMATED TIME
35 min.

AUTHOR

Sponsored by National Semiconductor Corp., Presented by Bill Schweber, Site Editor, Planet Analog and RF DesignLine

Bill Schweber is editor for TechInsights' Planet Analog and RF DesignLine web sites, and a regular contributor to EETimes. Prior to joining the company, he was the Analog Editor and later Executive Editor at Reed's EDN magazine. He has Bachelor's and Master's degrees in electronic engineering, and worked as an analog-circuit designer and system integrator at Instron Corp. At Analog Devices Inc., he was in applications engineering, product marketing, and corporate marketing communications. Bill is the author of three textbooks related to electronics and communication systems and a Registered Professional Engineer.

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National Semiconductor