Reference design for an automotive LED tail light driver that can be controlled either directly in stand-alone mode or from a phone, tablet, or other mobile devices by using an Android application.
Tail lights are crucial for a vehicle’s safety as it lets the trailing driver about the presence in dark along with the braking of the vehicle moving ahead. This reference design from Microchip is for a stand-alone led driver for automotive tail-light. The reference design uses a step-up/step-down, switch-mode, DC/DC converter for LED driver applications. The board can demonstrate various applications that simulate a tail light.
Microchip’s MCP1633 is a stand-alone led driver controller for automotive tail-light with Bluetooth connectivity. The reference design is a DC/DC converter that provides a compact and efficient solution for taillight applications in vehicles. It can work in both step up (Boost mode) and step down (Buck mode) The design features a low quiescent current, and high efficiency. It offers adjustable output voltage to show different conditions such as braking, reversing, turning, etc. making it suitable for a variety of automotive lighting systems.
The automotive LED tail light driver can be controlled either directly in stand-alone mode or from a phone, tablet, or other mobile devices by using an Android application. The reference design can take input voltage from 8V to 16V with a surge voltage of up to 42V. MCP1633 features a Microchip’s MCP1633 high-speed Pulse-Width Modulator (PWM) to control the switching. To simplify the design, a factory-programmed source code is provided by the company but additional functionality can be added by modifying the source code. The reference design offers multiple protection features including configurable undervoltage lock-out circuit software, overvoltage protection, etc.
Microchip has tested this reference design. The company has also provided additional resources such as schematics, Gerber files, etc. You can find additional data about the reference design on the company’s website. To read more about this reference design click here.
