by Gregory Mirsky, Vitesco Technologies, A Spinoff Of Continental Automotive Systems, Deer Park, Ill., How2Power Today, Aug 14 2020
Focus:
This article describes the design of a very efficient current source for supplying a pre-
determined current to LEDs, which can be connected in various configurations. It has no
expensive current sensors like conventional LED drivers. Output voltage is defined by the
overall voltage drop across the series-connected LEDs and can be higher than the supply
voltage. Operation of this current source is based on series resonance, which makes the MOSFETs
switch at zero current, reducing power loss. The author designed this current source to power
UV-C LEDs used to kill bacteria and viruses but this circuit can also be used to power LEDs in
conventional lighting applications. The article explains the principles of operation of a
resonant current source; derives an expression for output current at resonance; presents a
practical circuit implementation based on the LM5046 phase-shift PWM controller, explains its
operation and calculates component values for a selected LED array. Since an adequate model is
not available for the LM5046, it is replaced with the LT1160, and circuit performance is
simulated.
What you’ll learn:
View this Source (requires a PDF Viewer installed on your device)