| MAX25610A and MAX25610B LED Drivers Released
| Power up to 8 HBLEDs with vehicle battery power
| Brightness control with PWM dimming without a separate MCU

As automotive lighting rapidly transitions to LEDs, designers face new challenges: increasing efficiency, simplifying designs, and reducing system costs while meeting stringent EMI requirements. Previously, designers had to add multiple components to their systems to meet EMI standards. This meant sacrificing space and system efficiency for improved performance, while also addressing heat generation issues and high costs.

Accordingly, Maxim Integrated released the 'MAX25610A' and 'MAX25610B' LED drivers on the 17th.

Designers of high-performance automotive lighting applications can drive high-brightness LEDs (HBLEDs) more simply and efficiently with the MAX25610A/B.

Maxim also introduced the MAX25600, a 60V synchronous high-voltage 4-switch buck-boost LED controller that seamlessly transitions between buck, buck-boost, and boost modes. This IC is suitable for LED load switching in high-power lighting applications for automotive, commercial, and industrial applications.

The MAX25610A/B synchronous buck/buck-boost LED driver/DC-DC converters provide a solution that suppresses electromagnetic interference (EMI) without sacrificing efficiency or size. They drive up to eight HBLEDs from a vehicle's battery and integrate multiple external components, reducing overall cost and space. These solutions are ideal for automotive lighting systems as well as industrial and commercial lighting applications.

The MAX25610A/B LED drivers address these challenges by combining solution size, high efficiency, and EMI performance in a single package. The EMI performance allows designers to meet CISPR25 EMI standards. They support a variety of LED configurations and topologies in high-performance exterior and front lighting, operating in buck, buck-boost, and boost modes, and deliver up to 90% efficiency.

The MAX25610A/B LED drivers feature a wide 5V to 36V input voltage range and simple design, reducing overall cost and improving power efficiency. The 5mm x 5mm TQFN package, which integrates internal current sensing and high- and low-side switching MOSFETs, reduces solution size and cost. On-chip PWM dimming allows for precise brightness control without a separate MCU. The MAX25610B offers a 2.2MHz switching frequency option for a more compact solution.

“The automotive industry is transitioning to full LED lighting as more innovative and powerful technologies become available,” said Kevin Mak, an analyst at Strategy Analytics. “Vehicle system suppliers are grappling with the high costs and complex design challenges that come with making this transition.”

“Maxim’s MAX25610A/B drivers provide automotive lighting designers with a simple, efficient, noise-immune solution that accommodates a wide range of LED voltages and power topologies,” said Yin Wu, business manager for Maxim’s Automotive Business Unit. “By delivering all these benefits in a compact solution, designers can integrate higher-performance LEDs into their systems while achieving flexibility, cost, and space savings.”