Texas Instruments Inc. of Dallas, Texas USA, has introduced a six-channel, 40-V white light emitting diode (LED) driver with a built-in, high-efficiency boost regulator and 1.5-A FET. TI boasts that the TPS61181 is the smallest LED driver to manage up to 60 white LEDs at once.
According to TI, it provides high power efficiency and accurate current regulation for medium-sized displays for notebooks, portable GPS, industrial, and medical applications. The company points out that conventional notebook and other LCD displays have relied on CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamps) technology to backlight the display, but many portable electronics makers have switched from CCFL to white LEDs for backlighting. TI says that LED backlighting allows for greater power savings and thinner panels compared to CCFL backlighting. TI explains that such conversion has already taken place in most smaller LCD applications including mobile phones and portable media players.
