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Going green
21/11/2008 Email to a friend
 
Backlight driver helps automotive designers to meet environmental challenges.

Going greenThe world is going green, with some sectors moving ahead more quickly than others. Green technology is particularly relevant in the automotive sector, where issues such as emissions control and safety become ever more critical.
The automotive sector is now a major consumer of electronics devices – both ‘under the hood’ and in the cabin in the form of infotainment. The latter technology is a major consumer of lcds and it is here that Maxim Integrated Products has focused its efforts to create what it believes is a breakthrough device which not only increases efficiency, but also helps manufacturers to progress their green agendas.
According to Maxim, automotive OEMs are shifting from using cold cathode fluorescent (ccfl) to high brightness leds (hb led) for automotive backlighting applications. High brightness leds, the company notes, consume less power and do not contain hazardous materials, such as mercury in ccfls. Another benefit is the enhanced colour reproduction and longer life span of the hb led.
Yet, it continues, hb leds also pose challenges, particularly when used in the harsh automotive operating environment. It points to two main challenges: price/performance; and integration.
HB LED solutions need to be more cost competitive with ccfls, says Maxim. Because of this, there is ‘significant demand’ for integrated devices that reduce the bill of materials and implementation costs. “Automotive applications, in particular, require solutions that are highly flexible and scalable from low end cars to luxury vehicles with development costs dispersed over many different platforms and car models,” the company observes.
 
Author
Graham Pitcher
 
 
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Going Green.pdf
 
 
Supporting Information
http://www.maxim-ic.com/
 
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Downloads
Going Green.pdf