Power Supplies for LED Driving

Light-emitting diodes are being widely used due to their efficient use of power. The applications for power LEDs include traffic lights, street lamps, automotive lighting, architectural lights, household light replacements, signage lighting (replacing neon strip lights and fluorescent tubes), and many more.

Powering (driving) these LED's is not always simple. Linear driving is inefficient and generates far too much heat. With a switching supply, the main issues are EMI and efficiency, and of course cost. The problem is to get a design that meets legal requirements and is efficient, while costing the least. This book covers the design trade-offs involved in LED driving applications, from low-power to UB-LEDs and beyond.

* Practical, "hands-on" approach to power supply design for LED drivers;
* Detailed examples of what works and why, throughout the design process;
* Commentary on how the calculated component value compares with the actual value used, including a description of why the choice was made.

Steve Winder specializes in designing circuits for telecommunications applications, but has experience in a number of fields. As the current European Applications Engineer for Supertex Inc. Steve works alongside design engineers throughout Europe to design circuits using components made by Supertex, a U.S. based manufacturer of high voltage MOSFETs, CMOS integrated circuits and ASICs. Prior to joining Supertex, Steve was for many years a team leader for a group of analogue and digital design engineers at British Telecom's research and development laboratories, now known as Adastral Park, based near Ipswich, UK. Here, Steve applied his analytical skills to many technical areas but specialized in wideband analogue and digital transmission systems using copper pairs and optical fibre. In this role, Steve's strength was in radio frequency design, low-power design, low-noise design and systems engineering.