High Current LED Drive Application Note

Jim Spangler

ON Semiconductor
Phoenix, Arizona

Abstract. This application note describes the basics for powering high current light emitting diodes
(LEDs), to ensure optimal performance and long life. LED characteristics are explained, and
various constant DC current drive circuits are described, detailing the limitations associated with
each of the circuits. Several ac-to-DC circuits are presented, including those that utilize an isolation
transformer. The high voltage circuits, also called off-line, offer the advantage of isolation and a
constant voltage and constant current output, which may be needed for parallel applications.

Introduction
Light emitting diodes, called LEDs, have existed for many years. LEDs behave similarly
to normal diodes in that they have a forward voltage drop associated with the forward current.
Early LEDs emitted radiation only in the infrared (IR) spectrum. Later, visible red LEDs
emerged using various III-V compounds, such as aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs). Other
colors, such as yellow, amber and green came shortly thereafter. The breakthrough for more
colors came with the blue LED; originally, this was silicon carbide. The applications for these
early LEDs were largely limited to low power displays.

Breakthrough LED technology, which is now available, is opening the door to a wide variety of
high power illumination applications. This new generation utilizes an Aluminum-Indium-
Gallium-Phosphorus (AlInGaP) substrate to emit significantly higher power red or amber light.
Additional colors, such as green and blue, built on an Indium-Gallium-Nitrogen (InGaN)
substrate soon followed. The full color spectrum, including white, is now possible by using the
proper mixing and filtering of multiple colors. Today, the colors of amber, red-orange, and red
are typically from AlInGaP substrates, while royal blue, blue, cyan, green and white are from
InGaN substrates.
The conversion efficiency of electrical energy into light energy is very important.
Today’s LEDs vary between 10 and 20 percent efficiency. The rest of the energy is converted to
heat. This heat must be effectively dissipated, as the operating junction temperature of the LED
die must be maintained between –40O and +125OC.

1
 Incandescent lamps, including the tungsten-halogen type, have efficiencies of only about
4 to 10 percent for visible light. These emit a broad, almost continuous spectrum of energy,
including not only visible light, but also unusable IR heat and ultraviolet (UV). Technically,
only 15 to 20 percent of an incandescent lamp’s energy is converted directly into heat; a
surprisingly large amount of heat generated by them is caused by the IR radiation being absorbed
by the surrounding area. This heat can be reflected out away from the lamp, but if there is a lens
or filter in front of the lamp the heat is trapped.
The only practical way to obtain different colors with incandescent lamps is with a filter.
This is not the case with LEDs. LEDs produce a rather narrow spectrum of light and therefore
are intrinsically more efficient at converting electrical energy to a particular color than
incandescent lamps with a filter. There is less electrical energy is needed for the same lumen
output, as the filter will attenuate the light output substantially. Therefore color LEDs are the
most efficient way to obtain colored light.
White LEDs are as efficient as incandescent lamps, but are much less efficient than
fluorescent lamps. The white LEDs have a particular advantage over all white light sources; this
advantage is longer lifetime. Many incandescent lamps are rated between 750 hours and 2000
hours of life. A fluorescent lamp including like the compact incandescent type can offer between
8000 and 12,000 hours of life. All of these lamps have filaments. The greater number of on-off
cycles the shorter the lamp life due to filament breakage. White LEDs on the other hand do not
have filaments and do not have this failure mode.
LEDs, regardless of color, have an extremely long lifetime, if their current and
temperature limits are not exceeded. Lumileds Lighting LLC™ [1, 2] has published lifetime
data stating that after 50,000 hours the LEDs will have 70 percent or greater of the original light
output. Using an engineering rule of thumb with data already collected, and plotted, on semi-log
graph paper, LEDs are projected to have 50 percent or greater of the original light output after
100,000 hours. There are 8736 hours in a normal year and 8760 hours during a leap year, which
equates to 8742 hours per year. This calculates to over 11 years and 5 months of continuous
service with light greater than 50 percent of the initial output. Remember, in order to obtain
maximum life, the LEDs must be operated within the manufacturers specified limits of both
current and diode junction temperature. LEDs should be used where extremely long life is
desired and the cost of lamp replacement is very high.

2
Characterization
The maximum forward current varies with the different type, style, and manufacturer of
LEDs. Lumileds [1, 2], has specified the maximum forward currents at 30 mA, 75 mA, 150 mA,
350 mA, and 700 mA for differently constructed LEDs. The higher current devices have special
thermally designed packages to transfer the heat to a heat sink. This paper will concentrate on
circuits using the Lumileds 350 mA LED devices. The same rules can apply to devices having
other current ratings by simply scaling down the current and power designs.
The LED forward voltage drop varies between 2.50 VDC and 4.00 VDC at the rated
forward current; see Figure 1. This variation is due to material used, AlInGaP and InGaN, and
the various manufacturing tolerances. This variation in forward voltage drop must be taken into
account for each LED lamp design. Lumileds sorts their devices according to color, intensity,
and forward voltage drop at maximum rated current. The device forward voltage characteristics
provides a better match at maximum current than the match at lower current, see Figure 2.

Figure 1. Typical Forward Voltage of Different Colors [Courtesy: Lumileds]

3
 Wattage is the product of the forward voltage multiplied by the forward current. For
LEDs rated 350 mA DC, the total wattage is calculated by taking the minimum and maximum
forward voltage multiplied by 0.35 A.

0.350 * 2.50 = 0.88 Watts minimum

0.350 * 4.00 = 1.40 Watts maximum
For an average, LEDs rated 0.350 A (or 350 mA) are considered 1 watt devices. This makes
calculation easy for a first order approximation.
Because the amount of light is limited from a single LED, multiple LEDs are used to
increase the amount of light. LEDs are specified at their rated current. It is easy and
advantageous to place LEDs in series because LEDs in series have the same current. Since
LEDs are current devices a system of current control is used to limit the LED current to be
within the manufacturers specified limit.
LEDs can be operated in parallel. In order to operate LEDs in parallel, the devices must
be matched for a forward voltage drop. This matching should occur at the LED manufacturer.
The process of keeping the proper voltage and current through the LEDs is called ballasting.
Ballasting is used extensively in fluorescent lamp applications.

Figure 2. Forward Voltage Matching of LEDs at 350 mA DC [Courtesy: Lumileds]

4
Energy Supply Voltage Variation, AC Line Power
The first source considered is the ac power line. The ac power line normally varies
within five percent of the stated value. Like any other source, the variations can be much
greater. The ac line is considered to vary ten percent. In the United States and Canada, the
normal 120 Vac line can take on values between 108 Vac to 132 Vac. There is another condition
called ‘brown out’ where the ac line voltage drops another ten percent to 96 Vac. A ‘brown out’
condition occurs when the electrical utility company lowers the value of ac voltage generated.
This happens under extreme high demand conditions; the utility does this to keep the generating
equipment operational and within safe operating conditions while still providing some electrical
energy. Under this condition 120 incandescent lamps operate but at a reduced light output and
reduce wattage. Most electric motors operate in a more economical fashion. The ac line voltage
variation from the normal can be stated as +10/-20 for worst-case normal conditions.
Many products are sold both in North America and also in Europe. In Europe
there are two standards: 220 Vac-50 Hz for continental or mainland Europe and 240 Vac-50 Hz,
which is in the United Kingdom. The European Norm (EN) standards use 230 Vac-50 Hz as the
test voltage. One way to overcome all of the ac line voltage issues is to design a switching
power supply that can operate from as low as 85 Vac and as high as 270 Vac and produce a
constant DC voltage or constant DC current as the output. This is occurring today with battery
chargers for lap top computers and cellular phones; with only line cord changes. These are
called universal input.

Low Voltage AC
There are many applications where the ac voltage is considered low voltage. The
following are considered low voltage applications: 6 Vac, 12 Vac, 18 Vac and 24 Vac. The low
voltage is obtained from the 120 Vac through the use of a step-down isolation transformer.
Isolation is often required for use in outdoor application.

12 Volt Battery Operation

The automotive battery varies with its state of charge and temperature. The battery
voltage is between 14.0 and 14.5 VDC while the engine is operating and running. The upper

5
limit of the normal battery voltage has been taken to between 16.0 VDC and 16.5 VDC. The
lower limit of the battery voltage depends upon the loading of the battery. The battery voltage
can be between 12.0 VDC and 12.8 VDC when the engine is not operating. The battery voltage
can drop to as low as 4.0 VDC when the engine starter motor is first engaged. The original cold
cranking voltage specifications were taken to be the maximum current a fully charged battery
could draw for 10.0 seconds at 0OF. Many times there are no or few requirements during engine
starting for lighting.
The 12 VDC battery is available as a sealed unit. These are often used in ‘Emergency
Lighting’ applications to light up ‘EXIT’ signs and provide light when ac power is removed.
There are standards developed for these applications for light output and time which are beyond
the scope of this paper. What should be considered are the battery voltage and the range of
variation that is expected. The following are some considerations, which are believed to be
available from the battery manufacturer.

1. Type of battery (NiCd, Lead Acid, Lithium)

2. Number of cells in series
3. State of charge of the cells
4. Temperature of the battery

Constant Current Design for 12 VDC

The easiest constant current approach for 12 VDC systems is to use an adjustable linear
regulator such as the LM317 or the MC33269. The circuit is shown in Figure 3.

MC33269 3.6 ohms

Adjustable
Linear
Regulator 350 mA
1.25 V LED Current

Vin LED
0.1 uF

LED

Figure 3. Constant Current Regulator

Example 1. Two Blue LEDs

6
 As an example, an outdoor garden walkway at a resort hotel is lighted by blue LEDs.
Each light assembly has two LEDs, wired in series. The LEDs are the 350 mA type and the
power source is a 12 VDC power supply. The LEDs are to have the same intensity at the
beginning and at the end of the walkway and not vary with supply voltage; see Figure 4.

Utility
building with
power supply

Hotel
Garden
walkway

Figure 4. Hotel with Garden Walkway

Solution - 2 Blue LEDs

There are 21 lamp assemblies each drawing 350 mA. The total current draw is 21 * 0.35
= 7.35 Amps. There could be as much as 1.0 VDC difference between the first and last lamps.
Voltage drops
The maximum LED voltage is 4.0 VDC, 4.0 * 2 8.00 VDC
Sense Resistor for current feedback 1.25 1.25 VDC
Total Drop 9.25 VDC

Determine the headroom available by subtracting from the lowest supply voltage the
Total Drops. (12.0 – 1 .0) – 9.25 = 1.75 VDC of headroom. This headroom is also called the
“Dropout Voltage”. The LM317 has a dropout voltage of 2.25 VDC @ 1.5 A typical, while the
MC33269 has a dropout voltage of 1.1 V @ 0.8 Amps DC. The extra margin of voltage is 1.75 –
1.1 = 0.65 VDC. This margin needs to be considered if a reverse protection diode is added in
series.
Determine the value of the sense resistor by dividing the reference voltage of linear
regulator which is 1.25 VDC by the current desired. In this example 1.25 VDC/ 0.35 Amps =
3.5714 ohms. The closest standard value is 3.6 ohms. The final solution shown in Figure 5
would be a MC33269, an adjustable linear regulator with a 3.6 ohm sense resistor. There are two
additional pieces of protection added. The first is a reverse voltage diode, MBR140, which is a
low forward voltage device, 0.55 VDC @ 1 Amps DC, and capable of reverse blocking 40 VDC.
The second piece of protection is a forward voltage surge that might occur due to lightning
strikes in the area. Many times a metal oxide varistor (MOV) is added to the input for lightning
strikes. This is not shown in the schematic.
Each lamp assembly is independent and protected from reverse voltage operation and
voltage transients. The assemblies are all connected in parallel from the low voltage DC power
supply.

7
 Positive Lamp Assembly
MC33269 3.6 ohms
MBR140
Adjustable
Power Supply Linear
Negative Regulator 350 mA
1.25 V Lamp
LED Current Assembly
MC33269 3.6 ohms
MBR140
Adjustable
Vin Linear
Regulator LED 350 mA
SA22A 0.1 1.25
uF V LED Current

Vin LED
LED
SA22A 0.1 uF

LED Lamp Assembly

MC33269 3.6 ohms
MBR140
Adjustable
Linear
Regulator 350 mA
1.25 V LED Current

Vin
LED
SA22A 0.1 uF

LED

Figure 5. Multiple Lamp Assemblies Operating in Parallel Using a Constant Current

Supply

Constant Current Supply for 12 Vac

The 12 VDC supply approach can vary and can be modified for use with a 12 Vac
solution. This is accomplished using an isolation transformer, bridge rectifier and bulk
electrolytic capacitor, shown in Figure 6. To use this circuit, the following items must be
considered:

1. AC line variation
2. Voltage drop across the bridge rectifiers
3. Electrolytic capacitor selection
4. Electrolytic capacitor voltage ripple
5. Effective load resistance

This topology has the rectification inside the lamp module, eliminating the need for polarity
protection. In addition, the ac to DC rectification is very economical, by using cost effective

8
1N4004 or MRA4004 diodes in lieu of the larger bridge rectifier like the MDA2504, which must
be on a heat sink. Each item will now be discussed.
AC Line Variation: The normal ac line can fluctuate by 10 percent. The transformer
output can vary between 10.8 Vac and 13.2 Vac if the normal secondary voltage is 12.0 Vac.
There are many legacy systems and transformers where the output voltage is 12.6 Vac, can be a
benefit. If the transformer is 12.6 Vac the lower limit is 12.6 * 0.9 = 11.34 Vac and the upper
limit is 12.6 * 1.1 = 13.86 Vac.
Bridge Rectifier Voltage Drop: The typical forward voltage drop of a silicon diode is
considered to be between 0.6 and 0.7 volts. The maximum forward voltage drop is closer to 1.0
volts. It is easier to use 1.0 volt for the forward voltage drop of bridge rectifier diodes placed in
the ac to DC conversion process of the ac line. The bridge rectifier, shown in Figure 6, has two
forward conducting diodes and two reverse blocking diodes. Therefore, the bridge rectifier has a
2.0 volt burden that is subtracted from the peak of the ac line voltage.
Electrolytic Capacitor Selection: This capacitor has to be chosen for value in farads,
working voltage, and temperature operation. The working voltage is the lowest standard value
above the maximum peak rectified line voltage. For a 12.6 volt transformer at high line, the
minimum working voltage is 13.86 * 2 = 19.6 VDC. The standard capacitor voltage for this
system is 25 VDC electrolytic. There are two maximum temperature ratings: 85 OC and 105 OC.
The 105 OC devices have longer life and higher ripple current ratings. The value of the capacitor
in farads can be determined by using the equation developed by Savant [3].

VMAX
C= (1)
∆Vf R RL

C= Value of the capacitor is farad

VMAX = Peak ac line voltage
∆V = Peak-peak capacitor voltage normal 0.2VMAX
f R = Twice the ac line frequency (120 for a 60 Hz system)
RL = Effective load resistance

Electrolytic Capacitor Voltage Ripple: The ripple voltage and the ripple current are
related. It is the ripple current squared multiplied by the equivalent series resistance (esr) of the

9
capacitor that causes internal heating of the capacitor. The maximum ripple current should not
be exceeded for long product life. It is strongly recommended that the designer study the
technical literature from the various electrolytic capacitor manufacturers before making a final
decision.
Effective Load Resistance: The effective load resistance (elr) is a term used for
converting the LEDs and the linear pass regulator into an effective resistor. It is the value of this
resistance that is used in selecting the electrolytic capacitor. The elr is the input DC voltage at
low ac line input divided by the LED current.
Example 2 will be used to explain the above concepts.

Example 2. 12 Volt AC System for Two Amber LEDs

The resort hotel in Example 1 wants to light a walkway between the parking lot and side
entrance with amber colored LEDs. The housing will be the same as that used in the blue LED
lamp assembly except the PC board will change.
1. LED current is defined as 350 mA.
2. The LED maximum voltage is estimated to be 3.5 VDC.
3. The sense resistor voltage is 1.25 VDC, the same as in Example 1.
4. The low line condition is 108 volts.
5. The normal transformer output is 12.0 Vac at 120 Vac- 60Hz.
6. The transformer is a Class A, which is limited to 100 VA.
7. There are 20 lamp assemblies used for the project.

Design Procedure:
First, determine if there is sufficient voltage at low line for proper LED operation. Add
the following to determine the burden voltage of the system:
A. LED voltages
B. Sense resistor voltage
C. Dropout voltage of the linear regulator
D. 2 volts for the bridge rectifier
E. Subtract 20 percent of the normal ac voltage for valley of the electrolytic
capacitor. (This is an ‘engineering rule of thumb’.)
F. Subtract 1.5 volts for ac power line voltage drop. (This is an estimate.)

Second, compare the “burden voltage” to the peak of the ac line voltage. If the ac line
voltage peak is above the burden voltage of the system, continue with the design. If the burden
voltage is higher, another approach needs to be considered. This is discussed in Example 3.

Burden Voltage Determination

First LED 3.50 VDC
Second LED 3.50 VDC
Sense Resistor 1.25 VDC
Drop-Out Voltage 1.10 VDC
Bridge Rectifier Voltage 2.00 VDC

10
 Peak Capacitor Ripple Voltage 2.40 VDC
Power Supply Cable Drop 1.50 VDC
Total Burden Voltage 15.25 VDC

The peak of ac low line voltage is calculated by multiplying the ac rms voltage by 2 . In this
example 10.8 * 2 = 15.27 VDC. This is above the total burden voltage indicating the design
can proceed even though the numbers are very close (15.27-15.25 = 0.02). The amber colored
LED forward voltage drop is typically 3.0 volts, plus the LEDs have a negative temperature
coefficient causing them to reduce their forward voltage drop further as LED heats up.
Third, determine the effective load resistance (elr) in order to calculate the value of the
electrolytic capacitor. The effective load resistance is calculated as follows:

TotalBurde nVoltage
elr = (2)
LEDCURRENT

15.25 − Vdc
elr = 43.57 − ohms = (3)
0.350 − mAdc

The value of the electrolytic capacitor is estimated by using Equation 1. For this example the
capacitor value is:

VMAX
C= (1)
∆Vf R RL

15.27
C= = 1217uF (4)
2.4 ∗ 120 ∗ 43.57

One of the standard working voltages for electrolytic capacitors is 25 VDC. Using the Digi-Key
[4] catalog, 25 WVDC-105OC electrolytic capacitors are available with values 1000 uF, 2200 uF
and 3300 uF. It is better to start the design using the 2200 uF, 25V, 105OC electrolytic capacitor.
The 1000 uF capacitor would produce a larger value of ripple voltage that may cause the linear
regulator to come out of regulation at low line at the valley point. Rearranging Equation 1 and
solving for ∆V , the peak ripple voltage is estimated to be 1.32 V using the 2200 uF capacitor.
The 1N4004 is selected for diodes in the bridge rectifier for a through-hole design, while
a MRA4004 is chosen for a surface-mount design. The linear regulator needs to be checked for
power dissipation. This is required because the TO220 package device can only dissipate two
watts at 25OC without a heat sink.
At normal 120 Vac input the electrolytic capacitor is charges to 12* 2 - 2.0 = 15.0
VDC. Each LED has a typical forward voltage drop of 3.0 VDC. The linear regulator has to
support 7.75 VDC = 15.0-1.25-3.0-3.0, which is the electrolytic capacitor voltage minus the sum
of the sense resistor and the two LEDs. The power dissipation is the product of the linear
regulator voltage and the LED current, 7.75 * 0.35 = 2.71 watts. A heat sink is required. At
high line the power dissipation can be calculated by using Equation 5.

11
 ( )
WATTS = VACINPUT * 2 − 2 − VRSENSE − nVLED I LED (5)

WATTS Total power dissipation

V ACINPUT AC line input voltage in rms
2 Bridge rectifier voltage
VRSENSE Voltage across the current resistor (1.25 VDC)
n Number of LEDs in series
VLED LED forward voltage drop
I LED LED current

3.296W ATTS = (13.2 ∗ 2 − 2.0 − 2 ∗ 3.0) ∗ 0.35 (6)

A heat sink capable of dissipating 3.3 Watts is needed. The other factors needed to complete the
thermal design include obtaining the maximum ambient temperature. Because the LEDs
dissipate approximately 1 Watt each, the total thermal management is approaching 6.0 watts.
The 6.0 watts include bridge rectifier and sense resistor losses.
The last item to size is the isolation transformer. The transformer is rated in VAs.
Because there is a large electrolytic capacitor after the bridge rectifier, the power factor is
estimated to be near 0.60. The value of 0.5 is a worst-case number is used in this example. The
VA needed for the transformer is calculated using Equation 7.

V I 
VA = n ACRMS LED  (7)
 pf 
VA Volt-Amp product
n Number of units in parallel
V ACRMS Transformer Secondary Output Voltage
I LED LED current
pf Power Factor (0.5)

 12.0 ∗ 0.35 
Transformer VA rating = 168 = 20  (8)
 0 .5 

A 168 VA transformer may not be a standard item. The likely hood of finding a 175 or 200 VA
transformer is possible. The example schematic is shown with a 200 VA transformer. The final
design is shown in Figure 6.

12
 MC33269 3.6 ohms Lamp Assembly #1
Adjustable
Linear
Regulator
1.25 V LED

350 mA
LED LED Current

Low Voltage AC
2200 uF
Isolation 25V 0.1 uF
Transformer

120 Vac 12 Vac

60 Hz 60 Hz

200VA
MC33269 3.6 ohms Lamp Assembly #20
Adjustable
Linear
Regulator
1.25 V LED

350 mA
LED LED Current
2200 uF
25V 0.1 uF

Figure 6. Constant Current 12 Vac Input System

Boost System for 12 VDC Systems

In some applications up to 8 to 10 red or amber, LEDs need to be operated from a 12
VDC battery system. This could be an emergency lighting system, which includes an EXIT sign.
The LEDs could be operated in parallel but too much power is lost. Battery life is important. A
boost converter may be one approach. Jade Alberkrack [6] wrote one of the earlier application
notes, AN920, where the boost converter is described in detail. There are a number of ICs that
can perform the function of a pure boost, but this application is a little different. The converter is
in voltage boost mode, while the duty cycle is in current mode control. A current sense element
is needed to convert the current to a voltage. A system diagram is shown in Figure 7. The
control IC can have an integrated switch as shown in the gray area. Some PWM control ICs
have an external switch. This is indicated by the FET switch shown in Figure 7.
In any configuration, the total voltage necessary for the supply can be estimated by using
Equation 9. Equation 9 is used for a series string of LEDs where the feedback for current control
is a sense resistor. The headroom can be the dropout voltage of a linear regulator or any other
required voltage.

13
 VLED−SUPPLY = n ∗ v LED + VRSENSE + VHEADROOM (9)

VLED−SUPPLY Supply voltage needed for the LED at rated current

n Number of LEDs in series
vLED Maximum LED forward voltage drop at rated current.
Blue, White, Green use 4.00 VDC
Red, Amber, Yellow use 3.50 VDC
VRSENSE Voltage drop across the sense resistor
Adjustable linear regulators 1.25 VDC
PWM control ICs are 1.25 VDC or 2.5 VDC.
VHEADROOM Any additional voltage need for the circuit
Low dropout linear regulators use 1.0 VDC

D
L

Series String of 8 LEDs

LED Supply Voltage
FET
C
Control IC
12 Volt Battery

Feedback for control

1.25 V = 0.35 A

Figure 7. Boost Control Block Diagram

The minimum and maximum voltage needed for six, eight and ten LED in series is
presented in Table 1. Equation 9 was used for both white and red LEDs. The resistor sense
voltage was 1.25 VDC, in addition, a 1.0 VDC headroom is included.

Table 1
Number of LED White LEDs White LED Red LEDs Red LEDs
in series (4.0 Max VDC) (3.0 Min VDC) (3.5 Max VDC) (2.5 Min VDC)
6 26.25 VDC 20.25 VDC 23.25 VDC 17.25 VDC
8 34.25 VDC 26.25 VDC 30.25 VDC 22.25 VDC
10 42.25 VDC 32.25 VDC 37.25 VDC 27.25 VDC

14
 The breakdown voltage of the two other circuit elements, capacitor (C) and diode (D) is
the same as that needed for the LED supply voltage. The voltage is described by using Equation
9. The value of C will be described later. The average current rating needed for the diode is the
same as the LED forward current. The diode must handle a pulse current, which is defined by
Equation 10.
I LED− AVERAGE = I PULSE (1 − δ ) (10)
I LED− AVERAGE LED Current (0.35 Amps)
I PULSE Diode Current and Inductor Current
δ Duty cycle

VOUTPUT − VINPUT
δ = (11)
VOUTPUT

The more exact equation for δ MAX is given in Equation 12. Equation 11 provides simple
results. The difference between two equations is less than five percent.

VOUTPUT + VDIODE − VINPUT

δ = (12)
VOUTPUT + VSWITCH − VDIODE

VOUTPUT LED Supply voltage (See Table 1)

VINPUT Input supply voltage, usually minimum
VDIODE Forward diode conduction voltage
VSWITCH Saturation voltage of the transistor

A number of PWM control IC have an internal reference. The internal reference voltage
can be compared against a voltage developed by the LED current. The lower the internal
reference voltage the lower the value of the sense resistor. The power rating needed for the sense
resistor is described by using Equation 13.

2
PRSENSE = I LED RSENSE (13)
PRSENSE Power in watts dissipated by the sense resistor
I LED LED forward current
RSENSE Value of the sense resistor in ohms

15
The power, in watts, that the sense resistor must dissipate, can be calculated another way. The
reference voltage of the integrated circuit multiplied by the LED current produces the same
value. Therefore the lower the voltage across the sense resistor, the lower the power dissipation.
This becomes important when one LED is used, and a small battery supplies the LED energy
needed. This is where efficiency becomes very important.
The sense voltage is sometimes referred to as the reference voltage. The reference
voltage and breakdown voltage of various PWM ICs are listed in Table 2. When the supply
voltage needed to power a number of series LED exceeds 40 VDC, a pulse width modulator
(PWM) IC, along with a separate external FET or high voltage bipolar transistor, is the best
solution. Using an external FET, the LED supply voltage could be as high as 400 VDC.

16
 Table 2
IC Vsense IC Vbreakdown
MC33063 1.25 VDC 40 VDC
MC33163 1.25 VDC and 5.0 VDC 40 VDC
NCV33163 1.25 VDC and 5.0 VDC 55 VDC
CS5171 1.25 VDC 30 VDC
CS2841 2.5 VDC 30 VDC or FET VBR
UC3843 2.5 VDC 16 VDC or FET VBR
* FET VBR is the breakdown voltage of the power field effect transistor (FET).

Example 3. 12 VDC Supply Using a Boost Converter Operating 7 to 10 LEDs in Series

Between seven and ten 0.350 mA LEDs are to be lighted from a 12 VDC power source. The
LEDs could be any color including red, amber, green, blue and white. The power is to come
from a 12 VDC battery.

Solution. Determine the output voltage range and in the input supply voltage range.
1. Input voltage range: 10.0 VDC to 16.0 VDC
a. 10.0 VDC is end-of-battery life voltage.
b. 16.0 VDC is the battery voltage with a charger.
2. Output voltage range:
a. Low end: Red LEDs, 2.5 VDC*7 + 1.25 + 0.5 = 19.25 VDC
b. High end: White LEDs, 4.0 VDC*10 + 1.25 + 0.5 = 41.75 VDC

A single chip solution is possible, NVC33163; the schematic is shown in Figure 8. The output
voltage must be greater than the input voltage. The minimum output voltage should be at least 2
VDC above the maximum input voltage for this topology to operate properly. If the system must
power fewer than seven LEDs, another topology must be chosen. In this case, please see the
Boost-Boost solution.

17
 150 uH MMSZ5260,

Series String of LEDs

MMSZ43, or
1N5260

9 Drive Collector Switch Collector 10, 11

0.10 W
8 Ipk Sense Switch Emitter 14, 15 100uF
50V
+ Vdc 7 Vcc Timing Cap. 6
Input 1K
2 Feedback Ground 4, 5, 12, 13
NCV33163
0.1uF 3.6 W
470 pF 1000 pF

100uF
16V
Gnd

Figure 8. Boost Circuit With Values

Using the datasheet and the application note AN920, determine the duty cycle (δ), and the peak
switch current ( I PSW ). The duty cycle varies with the supply voltage, as indicated in Equation
12. The load current is constant, but the normal switch current is a function duty cycle and the
value of the inductor. The input short circuit resistor determines the maximum switch current.
Figure 9 show how the duty cycle, δ, varies with battery voltage and the number of
LEDs. There are four conditions:
1. 7 red LEDs with a forward voltage drop of 2.5 VDC
2. 8 amber LEDs with a forward voltage drop of 3.0 VDC
3. 9 blue LEDs with a forward voltage drop of 3.5 VDC
4. 10 white LEDs with a forward voltage drop of 4.0 VDC

The 2.5 VDC condition represents a low forward voltage LED that is hot. The 3.0 VDC is the
normal forward voltage drop of a red, yellow, amber LED at 25OC. The 3.5 VDC is the normal
25OC forward voltage drop of the blue, green and white LED. The last item, 4.0 VDC, is a
maximum forward voltage drop of the blue, green, and white LED from the manufacturer. This
would occur at –40OC conditions due to the – 2 mV/OC temperature coefficient.
Once the duty cycle, δ, is determined as shown in Figure 9, the ideal switch or inductor
current can be determined. This current is called I PULSE in Equation 10. This would be the ideal
current if the inductor were very large. The amplitude of this current varies with the supply
voltage and the number and type of LEDs. This is shown in Figure 10. The vertical scale is in
Amps.

18
 0.8

0.7

0.6 7 Red Low

8 Amber
0.5 9 Blue
Duty Cycle

10 White Cold
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 5 10 15 20
Battery voltage

Figure 9. Duty Cycle versus Battery Voltage

1.6

1.4

1.2
7 Red Low
Ideal Switch Current

1 8 Amber
9 Blue
0.8 10 White Cold

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Battery Voltage

Figure 10. Ideal Switch Current in Amps versus Battery Voltage

19
 All of this is leading up to the selection of the control IC. Each control IC has a specified
peak current capability. To determine whether an external switch is needed or another topology
is needed, the peak switch current must be determined. Equation 14 defines peak switch current;
the results are shown in Figure 11 for the four different LED cases.

VBATTERY
I PEAK − SWITCH = I PULSE + (14)
LF
I PEAK − SWITCH Peak current the transistor or FET switches
I PULSE Ideal pulse current reflected to the switch
VBATTERY Battery voltage
L Inductor (150 uH), in this example
F PWM frequency determined by timing capacitor

2.5

2
Peak Switch Current in Amps

1.5
7 Red Low
8 Amber
9 Blue
1
10 White Cold

0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Battery Voltage

Figure 11. Peak Switch Current versus Battery Voltage

The PWM controller produces a constant 0.35 Amps through the sense resistor, which is 3.6
ohms, the same value used in previous examples. The output voltage is a variable and can vary
between 19.25 VDC and 41.25 VDC. The duty cycle will vary to maintain the current. The duty
cycle has an estimated range from 0.16 to 0.76.
The output voltage of the boost converter can be uncontrolled if an open circuit occurs in
the LED diode string. To limit the output voltage, a zener diode is added to the circuit. The
breakdown of the zener is 43 volts. If there is an open circuit condition, the output voltage is
limited to the zener diode voltage plus 1.25 volts of the reference. To limit the input current

20
there is a 0.1 ohm resistor. This limits the input switch current to 2.5 Amps peak. The input
current must be set larger than the peak switch limit to ensure the LEDs start to emit light in less
than 5 milliseconds. The inductor must not saturate at the 2.5 Amp level.
Additional details can be obtained from the MC33163, and NCV33163 and Application
Note AN920 written by Alberkrack [6]. Please see the any number of textbooks written by
Rashid [5], Fisher [7], Mohand [8]. Pulse width modulation techniques are explained and
equations developed.

12 Vac Non-Inverting Buck-Boost.

In many cases, the 12 Vac circuit is identical to the 12 VDC approach. The voltage range of the
input is greater than that of a 12 VDC battery. Example 4 is the same case as example 3, but
with a wider number of LEDs. Example 4 is called a non-inverting buck-boost circuit approach.
A block diagram of a two-switch non-inverting buck-boost circuit is shown below in Figure 12.

D2
Q1 L

Series String of 8 LEDs

LED Supply Voltage
D1 C
Q2
Control IC
12 Volt Battery

Feedback for control

1.25 V = 0.35 A

Figure 12. Two Transistor Non-Inverting Buck-Boost Converter

The circuit operates as follows. During the ‘on-time’ (δ), both transistors or switches are
biased to conduct current. Energy is stored in the inductor ‘L’; this is identical to what occurs in
a boost converter. During the ‘off-time’ (1-δ), the stored energy in the inductor is released from
the inductor by flowing through the two diodes, D1 and D2, to the load and another storage
element capacitor C.
The maximum voltage for the semiconductors, is the larger of input or the output. The
non-inverting buck-boost circuit is described by Jade Alberkrack in an application note, AN954
in 1985 [9]. The math characteristic describing the input to output voltage is identical to the
invert circuit described by Alberkrack, without the minus sign. Many texts, Erickson [??], Fisher

21
[7], etc. call the invert circuit a buck-boost circuit. Equation 15 and Equation 16 describe the
functions.
−δ
VOUTPUT = VINPUT Inverting Buck-Boost (15)
1−δ

δ
VOUTPUT = VINPUT Non-Inverting Buck-Boost (16)
1− δ

The inverting buck-boost has a higher voltage requirement for the IC, the switch and the diode.
The voltage breakdown is the sum of the input and output voltages. The non-inverting buck-
boost has two additional items, an additional switch and diode. These are shown in Figure 12.
The duty cycle, δ, is described by Equation 17 and Equation 18. Equation 17 gives the ideal
switch version while Equation 18 includes forward voltage drops of the diodes and transistors.

VOUTPUT
δ = Ideal Non-Inverting Buck-Boost (17)
VOUTPUT + VINPUT

VO + 2VD
δ = Non-Invert Buck-Boost (18)
VO + VI + 2VD − 2VS

VO Output Voltage
VI Input Voltage
VD Diode Forward Voltage Drop
VS Switch Forward Voltage Drop

Example 4. 12 Vac Non-Inverting Buck-Boost.

Problem: Design a light sign using between four to ten LEDs, with either a 12 Vac source or a
12 VDC battery.

Solution: Use a non-inverting buck-boost converter.

The basic concept schematic with values is shown in Figure 13. The control integrated circuit,
NCV33163, has one internal darlington connected transistor. An additional transistor and
diodes must be added like that shown in Figure 12. The NCV33163 has a current limit that
should not be exceeded. If additional current is needed, two transistors, a PNP and a NPN must
be added. The internal darlington transistor is used as the base drive. To determine if the switch
can handle the current, the current must be determined for the entire range of LEDs and supply

22
voltage. To determine the peak switch current, several items must be known. The first is the
voltage developed. This varies with number of devices and the forward voltage of the different
colored LEDs. Table 3 is a summary table for LED voltages. Only red and white LEDs are
shown to demonstrate the variation. Each LED string has a 1.25 VDC sense resistor for current
control.

TABLE 3
Red 2.5 VDC Red 3.0 VDC White 3.5 VDC White 4.0 VDC
4 LEDs 11.25 VDC 13.25 VDC 15.25 VDC 17.25 VDC
6 LEDs 16.25 VDC 19.25 VDC 22.25 VDC 25.25 VDC
8 LEDs 21.25 VDC 25.25 VDC 29.25 VDC 33.25 VDC
10 LEDs 26.25 VDC 31.25 VDC 36.25 VDC 41.25 VDC

Using Equation 18, the variation of duty cycle can be seen for the different number of LEDs.
The variation is shown below in Figure 14. The diodes are taken to be Schottky and have a 0.5
VDC forward drop. The transistors were given 1.0 VDC forward voltage drop and could be 0.5
VDC.

(MJD210) MBRS360
MJD45H11 MBR360
150 uH

MBRS360
MBR360
MMSZ5260,

Series String of LEDs

MMSZ43, or
330
1N5260
33

9 Drive Collector Switch Collector 10, 11

8 Ipk Sense Switch Emitter 14, 15 100uF

50V
0.10 W
7 Vcc Timing Cap. 6
1K
4700 uF
2 Feedback Ground 4, 5, 12, 13
25 VDC
NCV33163
120 3.6 W
12.6 Vac 470 pF
Loss Control

Vac 1000 pF
Charger

0.1uF
100VA
transformer

Figure 13. Non-Inverting Two Transistor Buck-Boost

The LED current is constant at 0.35 Amps DC. If the inductor current was a constant with no
variation the peak value of the inductor current is obtain by Equation 19.

I LED
I IND _ PK = Ideal Peak Inductor Current (19)
1−δ

I LED = 0.35 Amps DC

δ = Duty cycle given in Figure 14

The ideal peak current for the entire series of between four and ten LEDs is shown in Figure 15.
The supply voltage is another variable.

23
 1

0.9

0.8
Duty Cycle (on-time ration)

0.7

0.6 4 Red Low(2.5)

6 Amber(3.0)
0.5 8 Blue(3.5)
0.4 10 White (4.0)

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Vdc Input Voltage

Figure 14. Duty Cycle versus Input Voltage

2.5
Ideal Inductor Current, Amps

2
4 Red Low(2.5)
1.5 6 Amber(3.0)
8 Blue(3.5)
1 10 White (4.0)

0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Vdc Input Voltage

Figure 15. Ideal Inductor Current for the Buck-Boost Converter

The peak switch current is determined by using Equation 14. This increase of current is
due to the value of the inductor. The smaller the value of the inductor, the larger will be the

24
value of the peak current. This is shown in Figure 16 below. An analysis of the graph shows at
low DC input voltage is where the largest peak inductor current occurs. If there is no thermal
shutdown, the design might have to change to allow for higher current. This will require the
addition of another NPN transistor (MJD44H11), which is the complement to the PNP transistor
(MJD45H11).
Internal to the NVC33162, MC33063, and MC33163 is a bipolar transistor and bipolar
transistor driver. These can be connected in a darlington configuration. The worst-case
condition is low line where the Vin or supply voltage after the bridge rectifier is 9.0 Volts. The
worst-case current demand is for driving 10 white or blue LEDs. The inductor current can reach
2.0 Amps DC. The use of 3.0 Amps DC is used for any tolerance. The base-emitter voltage is
taken to be 1.0 VDC worst-case for both the MJD44H11 (NPN) and MJD45H11 (PNP), see
MHD44H11 datasheet. A typical saturation voltage, VCE(SAT), of the darlington transistor is 1.0
VDC; see MC33163 datasheet.

3.5

3
Peak Inductor Current, Amps

2.5

2
4 Red Low(2.5)
1.5 6 Amber(3.0)
8 Blue(3.5)
1 10 White (4.0)

0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Vdc Input Voltage

Figure 16. Peak Inductor Current versus Supply Voltage and Number of LEDs

A study of Figure 17 shows there are silicon junction voltage drops: VBE (PNP
MJD45H110), VBE (NPN MJD44H11), and VCE(SAT) on the internal darlington inside the
MC33163 or NCV33163. The PNP and NPN transistors have a minimum DC current gain
(known as beta, β or hFE) of 100 when conducting current and a VCE of 1.0 VDC. As a safety
factor, beta is chosen to be 33. This is pushing the beta in order to obtain fast switching and to
keep the resistor losses down. The base current needed for both the NPN and PNP is defined by
Equation 20. The supply voltage is defined to be 9.0 VDC, the combined voltage drop across R2
and R3 is defined as 9.0 - 3.0 = 6.0 VDC. The resistors being of equal value, each have 3.0 VDC
and 0.090 Amps DC. The value of the resistors is shown in Equation 21.

25
 IC 3.0
IB = = = 0.090 Adc Base current for 3.0 Amps DC (20)
β 33

VR 3 .0
R1 = R 2 = = = 33 Base drive resistors (21)
I R 0.090

The power dissipation of the resistors, in a worst-case design, occurs at high line. This is
defined to be 17 VDC. Keeping the same voltage drops across the semiconductor devices of 3.0
VDC, the 14 VDC is divided equally between R2 and R3. Voltage is 7.0 VDC and the current is
defined in Equation 22. The wattage of R2 and R3 is shown in Equation 23. Because the
resistors are not constantly conducting current, the wattage is multiplied by the maximum duty
cycle (0.75) taken from Figure 14. This reduces the wattage as shown in Equation 24. In
production, two 1 watt resistors (68 ohms) might be more cost effective than one 2 watt resistor.
This is true when considering surface-mount designs.

V R 2 7 .0
I R2 = = = 0.212 Adc Base Drive Current High Line (22)
R2 33

V2
PowerR 2 = I 2 R = = 0.212 2 ∗ 33 = 1.48 Watts (23)
R

AveragePowerR 2 = PeakPower ∗ δ (duty − Cycle) = 1.48 ∗ 0.75 = 1.11 W (24)

MBRS360
MJD45H11 150 uH MBR360

MBRS360
MBR360
R1
MMSZ5260,

Series String of LEDs

100 MMSZ43, or
R2 1N5260
33

9
Drive Collector Switch Collector 10, 11
MJD44H11

Rsc 8 33
Ipk Sense Switch Emitter 14, 15 100uF
50V
0.05 W 7 R3
6
Vcc Timing Cap.
R4
2 100 1K
4, 5, 12, 13
4700 uF Feedback Ground
25 VDC
NCV33163 3.6 W
120
12.6 Vac 330 pF
Loss Control

Vac Rsense 1000 pF

Charger

0.1uF
100VA
transformer

Figure 17. High Current, Non-Inverting Two-Transistor Buck-Boost

The advantage of this high current two-transistor buck boost design is its ability to operate over a
wide input supply voltage range. In addition to the wide input voltage range, there is a wide

26
number of LEDs that can obtain 0.35 Amps DC. The maximum supply voltage at pin 7 of this
IC is defined as the maximum input voltage. This approach could handle automotive load dumps
because the NCV33163 has a maximum supply voltage of 60 VDC and the external transistors
have maximum voltage of 80 VDC. Another advantage of this approach is the use of a simple
inductor.

Off-Line Operation
This section discusses off-line applications. Off-line refers to operating from the utility
mains, such as 120 Vac-60 Hz or 230 Vac-50Hz. This is nearly the same as a switching power
supply. There are several applications presented just to be complete. This includes a capacitive
drop system, which is a non-isolated approach. For isolated conditions, two different circuits are
presented. The first is a ‘gated oscillator’ (NCV1055), which is a high voltage ripple regulator.
The other is a fixed frequency voltage mode controller, NCV1002. Both of these, NCV1002 and
the NVC1055 use an optocoupler to provide an isolated feedback.

Capacitive Drop
Capacitive drop supplies have been used in many consumer products, such as smoke
detectors. These types of supplies are accepted by regulator agencies, provided the product is
sealed, and the consumer can not touch any connections. A concept schematic is shown below in
Figure 18 for a half-wave. The capacitive drop supplies are only for one type of ac voltage. The
120 Vac, 60 Hz design is different than a 230 Vac, 50 Hz circuit. The rms input current is
defined by Equation 25. Equation 26 is the value for a 33 uF, 120 Vac design.

V AC V AC
I RMS = = = 2πFCV AC (25)
X AC _ CAPACITOR 1
2πFC

1.49 = 2 ∗ π ∗ 60 ∗ 33e − 6 ∗ 120 1.5 Amp ac in the 33uF cap (26)

1.24 = 2 ∗ π ∗ 60 ∗ 33e − 6 ∗ 100 1.25 Amp ac in the 33uF cap

Only half of the above current flows to the load, the remaining current is recirculated to
discharge the coupling capacitor.

27
 The half-wave circuit, Figure 18, operates in the following fashion. During the
positive portion of the ac voltage, ac current flows through the input resistor RF, C1, D, and the
parallel combination of RL and C2. When the input voltage has charged C2 to one diode drop
below the zener diode voltage, VZ, the current will have another parallel path in which to flow.
The excess current flows through the zener diode, Z, while capacitor C2 remains charged and the
voltage across the load RL remains effectively constant. During this time, C1 charges to a high
voltage state. The capacitor C1 is a high voltage ac rated capacitor. Once C1 is charged it must
be discharged in order to keep a charge on C2. During the negative half of the ac voltage, C1 is
discharged through the forward conduction of the zener diode, Z. As an engineering rule of
thumb, this approach can provide 10 mA DC for each 1 uF of ac capacitance. This means that a
10 uF, 125 VAC capacitor can supply about 100 mA DC of current, and a 33 uF 125 VAC
capacitor is needed to supply a 0.35 A LED. The following is the limit and purpose of each
component.

RF Fusible link resistor and additional current limit for ac line transients
C1 AC rated capacitor
Z Zener diode, 5.6 V device is used for a 5.0 VDC output
D Diode; e.g. 1N4004
C2 Electrolytic capacitor usually high in value
RL Load

RF C1 D
+
Vin AC Z RL
C2

Figure 18. Half-wave Capacitive Drop Supply

Figure 18 can be modified for LED operation by adding a constant current circuit, such
as LM317. This is shown in Figure 19, where the value of zener is defined to be an 18 volt, 5
Watt, device, 1N5355. This circuit can operate one, two, or three LEDs at 35 mA DC.

28
 33 uF
125 VAC
1N4004
AC Hot LM317
22 ohm + 360
1N5355
1000 uF
25Vdc LED
AC Neutral

Figure 19. Two LED, Half-Wave, Capacitive Drop Circuit

The full-wave version is shown in Figure 20. The engineering rule of thumb on this
approach is 20 mA DC for each 1 uF of AC coupling capacitor. The full bridge approach would
use only a 15 uF, 125 VAC rated capacitor. Figure 21 is a three LED, full-wave, capacitive drop
supply using an LM317 as the current limiting element.
In the full bridge version, the coupling capacitor, C1, is charged and discharged through
the full bridge. Depending upon the load, the value of the zener may vary and not be needed
except during high line conductions. This approach must be tested in the lab for various
operating conditions. The resistor, Rd, is mainly used as a filter, and to help keep regulation.

Rd
RF C1
+ Z + C3
RL
Vin AC C2

Figure 20. Full-wave Capacitive Drop Supply

10
LM317
10 uF
360
22 125VAC
1N5359

+ +
1000 uF
Vin AC 100uF
25 Vdc
50 Vdc

Figure 21. Three LED, Full-wave, Capacitive Drop

The current flowing through the coupling capacitor is determined by using Equation 25.
In the full bridge version, this is less than half the value of the half-wave capacitive drop

29
approach. The value of the coupling capacitor may be able to be reduced if the there are no
losses in the zener diode. The DC average value of the current flowing past the bridge rectifiers
is calculated as shown in Equation 27.

2 2
I DC − AVERAGE = I RMS 2 = 2π 2 FCV AC = 4 2 FCV AC (27)
π π

Making an assumption, all of the IDC-AVERAGE is used for the LED, and is equal to 0.35
Amps. The value of the coupling capacitor, C, can be calculated for low line, 100 Vac, 60 Hz.
This is shown in Equation 28. This is the value of the ac coupling capacitor used in Figure 21.

I LED 0.35
C= = = 10.3e − 6 = 10 uF (28)
4 2 FVAC 4 2 ∗ 60 ∗ 100

Universal Input, Isolated, 1 to 10 LED Power Supply

A small isolated power supply able to operate between one and ten LEDs is desired. The
wattage for one ‘red’ LED when it is hot can be as low as 0.7 Watts = (2.0 VDC * 0.35 Amps
DC). The wattage for ten blue, green, or white cold LEDs is 14 Watts = 10*(4.0 VDC * 0.35
Amps DC). This is a 20 to 1 range. The ac input voltage can be as low as 100 Vac, 60 Hz and as
high as 270 Vac, 50 Hz. The switching frequency is chosen to be 100 kHz. Because LEDs have
a life greater than 100,000 hours, additional care is taken to ensure extended electrolytic
capacitor life to at least 100,000 hours.
An engineering design issue that must be tackled is the range of the DC voltage that can
occur when operating between 1 and 10 LEDs. The DC voltage must also include a sense
resistor and the voltage across the sense resistor is taken to be 1.25 VDC. This allows the use of
a TLV431 as a reference driving an opto coupler. The output current is to remain 0.35 Amps.
Table 4 shows a possible listing of the DC voltages for a number of LEDs. The column called
‘Red 2.0 VDC’ shows the lowest forward voltage drop and therefore the lowest output voltage
that is expected. This occurs when the LED is thermally hot and the junction temperature is near
the maximum. The column labeled ‘White 4.0 VDC’ shows the highest voltage that could be
expected. This occurs under cold temperatures. The design is from a voltage of 3.25 volts to as
high as 41.25 VDC. This is effectively a large square loop design. The most difficult part about

30
this square loop design over most battery charger designs is the voltage range. Many square loop
battery chargers stop at 17 VDC for four lithium-ion batteries. There are many ICs having 35
VDC and 40 VDC capability. The upper limit of 41.25 VDC requires that some attention should
be paid to this high voltage.

Table 4

Red 2.0 Red 2.5 VDC Red 3.0 VDC White 3.5 White 4.0
VDC VDC VDC
1 LED 3.25 VDC 3.75 VDC 4.25 VDC 4.75 VDC 5.25 VDC
2 LEDs 5.25 VDC 6.25 VDC 7.25 VDC 8.25 VDC 9.25 VDC
4 LEDs 9.25 VDC 11.25 VDC 13.25 VDC 15.25 VDC 17.25 VDC
6 LEDs 13.25 VDC 16.25 VDC 19.25 VDC 22.25 VDC 25.25 VDC
8 LEDs 17.25 VDC 21.25 VDC 25.25 VDC 29.25 VDC 33.25 VDC
10 LEDs 21.25 VDC 26.25 VDC 31.25 VDC 36.25 VDC 41.25 VDC

A typical isolated flyback power supply is shown in Figure 22. There is only one
magnetic element, which provides the electrical isolation. Feedback is provided by an
optocoupler; sometimes called an optoisolator. In most power supply designs, the output voltage
is held constant while the output current is allowed to vary. For typical battery chargers, the
current is held constant while the voltage varies. The value of the voltage is from near zero to
maybe 17 volts. In the LED designs, the current is held constant while the voltage varies. The
upper limit of the voltage is 2.5 times of a battery. In Table 2, all the currents are at 0.35 Amps.
The schematic, shown in Figure 22, cannot limit the current, and the circuit cannot
operate correctly into a short on the secondary. The TL431 or the TLV431 requires a secondary
voltage to be able to operate. For a simple battery charger, this issue is solved with the addition
of a second diode. Application note AND8024 [14], written by the author and Larry Hayes, and
the MC33364 datasheet [15] describe this technique.
The circuit shown in Figure 23 has the additional diode and can operate over a wide
range of output secondary voltages. The secondary side has two diodes labeled Dforward and
Dflyback. The diode, Dforward, operates in the forward converter mode. This means it
conducts when the power switch is turned ‘ON’. The 2.2 K ohm series resistor limits the
forward current. The 5.1 V zener diode limits the voltage developed by this forward action.

31
There should always be 5.1 VDC on the secondary. This is an auxiliary supply on the secondary
side. This supply provides the electrical energy for the optocoupler and the TLV431 to operate.

Primary Side Secondary Side

Input
Output
DC
Voltage
Voltage

PWM

Opto
Coupler

Reference Voltage

Figure 22. Typical Isolated Flyback Design

MUR120 5.1Z
MURS120 MMSZ5V1 Secondary Side
Primary Side Transistor on Opto
Dforward 2.2K
Primary Side
Coupler
22 uF

Input TLV431 Reference

DC NCP100 3.6 Voltage
Voltage 100
Series Load LEDs

100u F
PWM MMSZ47
50 VDC
1N5261

Photo Transistor of
the Opto Coupler

MUR120
MURS120

D flyback

Figure 23. Isolated Flyback Circuit for LEDs

During the flyback time, the energy stored in the coupled inductor, called a transformer,
is released to the secondary load capacitor through the diode, Dflyback. The secondary load

32
capacitor, 100 of - 50 VDC, smoothes out the current pulses and establishes an effectively
constant DC voltage for the LEDs to use. The current is controlled, and limited, by using
feedback. The LED current is converted to a voltage by using a 3.6 ohm resistor. This is the
same technique throughout this paper. The control reference IC is a TLV431, which has a 1.25
VDC reference. Another reference available is the NCP100, which uses a 0.9 VDC reference.
Both the TLV431 and the NCP100 use the same approach with the optocoupler.
A open circuit condition occurs when there are no LEDs connected or no LED current is
allowed to flow. To limit the secondary voltage during this fault condition, an over-voltage
zener is added to the circuit. The secondary flyback voltage rises above 47 VDC. The zener
diode starts to conduct, and causes the optocoupler’s internal LED to conduct current, which
informs the PWM controller on the primary side to reduce the energy transferred through the
transformer. During this time, there is 47 VDC on the 100 uF electrolytic capacitor and 5.1 VDC
on the 22 uF electrolytic capacitor. This is approximately 52 volts on the total secondary.
If more than ten LEDs are in series, a unique condition occurs. Under this condition, the
LEDs could produce light but at a lower limit. The LEDs’ feedback current would be overridden
by the open circuit voltage condition. This circuit could support up to 15 “red” LEDs because
the typical forward voltage drop of a “red” LED is 3.0 VDC. The maximum number of LEDs
will vary according the forward voltage drop of the LEDs. This maximum voltage must be
verified with the regulator agencies like Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL), and the Canadian
Standards Authority (CSA).
The other fault condition that can occur is a short circuit. Under this fault, the LEDs are
all shorted out. This could occur using only one LED which shorts. The second condition short
circuit fault can occur if the LEDs are supplied current by a cable. The wires on the cable are
twisted together or become shorted together. The LED secondary current is limited by the 3.6
ohm resistor, which develops 1.25 VDC. When the voltage across the 3.6 ohm resistor goes
above 1.25 VDC reference inside the TLV431, the optocoupler’s internal LED conducts more
current and causes the PWM controller to limit or reduce the energy transferred to the secondary.
This is identical to the “open circuit” fault condition.

Off-Line NCP1055 100 kHz Design Example

This is a design example using the NCP1055 from ON Semiconductor. The NCP1055 is
a high voltage SMARTMOS gated oscillator IC not requiring any auxiliary primary supply

33
voltage. The primary side of this schematic is taken directly from the NCP1050 datasheet on
page 17. The secondary is taken from Figure 23 shown above. The inductance values for the
design are taken from an Excel spreadsheet “NCP105X_WORKSHEET.XLS” [17] found on the
ON Semiconductor web site www.onsemi.com. A block diagram schematic from the worksheet
is seen in Figure 24.

Vin Vout
D
Vcc FB

Figure 24. NCP1050 Worksheet Schematic

MUR120 Secondary Side

Primary Side Opto-Coupler
1.0 K 2.2K
5.1Z LED
MMSZ5V1
85-270 VAC Input 22 uF 0.01 uF
EE 24/25 MMSD914
Ferrite core
10 mH
2A
TLV431

Common
2.2 K

1 mH Reference
47 uF 400WV

Fuse Mode
70 T 14 T 3.6 Voltage
0.1 uF 220 100 Series Load LEDs
250 VAC pF
91 K

100u F
47 pF 50 VDC
4 -1N4006 1N5261
diodes in bridge MUR180

1 5
Photo Transistor of
the Opto Coupler

NCP1055
2 3, 6, 7, 8
10 uF
25 WV MUR120

Figure 25. NCP1055P100 Schematic for 350 mA LEDs

The complete schematic for operating between one and ten LEDs, where the LED current
is 0.35 mA is shown in Figure 25. Please note the primary inductance is 1 mH. The primary is
constructed using two layers of 35 turns each layer, with 30 AWG magnet wire. The secondary
is a single layer of 14 turns using 22 AWG magnet wire.

34
References
1. Lumiled, www.lumiled.com
2. Luxeon, www.luxeon.com
3. Savant, Roden, Carpenter, “Electronic Design, Circuits and Systems, 2nd Ed”,
Benjamin/Cummings Publishing, Redwood City, CA. 94065, © 1991,
ISBN 0-8053-0285-9, pp. 39-43.

4. Digi-Key, www.digikey.com

5. Rashid, Muhammad H., Power Electronics Circuits, Devices, and Applications

2nd.Ed,© 1988, 1993, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliff, NJ, 07632, ISBN 0-13-678996-
X

6. J. Alberkrack, Application Note AN920. www.onsemi.com

7. Fisher, Marvin J., Power Electronics,© 1991, PWS-Kent, Boston MA. 02116, ISBN
0-534-92360-7

8. Mohan, Ned, Power Electronics, © 19xx, ISBN

9. Alberkrack, Jade, Application Note, AN954, www.onsemi.com

10. MJD44H11, datasheet, www.onsemi.com

11. MC33063A, datasheet, www.onsemi.com

12. MC33163, datasheet, www.onsemi.com

13. NCV33163, datasheet, www.onsemi.com

14. Spangler J., Hayes L., Application Note, AND8024, www.onsemi.com

15. MC33364, datasheet, www.onsemi.com

16. NCP1050D, datasheet, www.onsemi.com

17. NCP105X_WORKSHEET.XLS, excel worksheet, www.onsemi.com

35