A6262
Automotive LED Array Driver
Application Information
Note that the voltage drop across the regulator, VREG , is always
greater than the specified minimum drop-out voltage, VDO. The
output current is regulated by making this voltage large enough
to provide the voltage drop from the supply voltage to the total
Power Dissipation
The most critical design considerations when using a linear regu-
lator such as the A6262 are the power produced internally as heat
and the rate at which that heat can be dissipated.
forward voltage of all LEDs in series, VLED
.
There are three sources of power dissipation in the A6262:
The total power dissipated in the A6262 is the sum of the quies-
cent power, the reference power, and the power in each of the our
regulators:
• The quiescent power to run the control circuits
• The power in the reference circuit
• The power due to the regulator voltage drop
PDIS
PQ + PREF
+ PREGA + PREGB + PREGC + PREGD
=
The elements relating to these dissipation sources are illustrated
in figure 4.
(7)
The power that is dissipated in each string of LEDs is:
PLEDx
Quiescent Power The quiescent power is the product of the
quiescent current, IINQ, and the supply voltage, VIN , and is not
related to the regulated current. The quiescent power, PQ, is there-
fore defined as:
VLEDx × ILEDx
=
(8)
where x is A, B, C, or D, and VLEDx is the voltage across all
LEDs in the string.
PQ = VIN × IINQ
(4)
Reference Power The reference circuit draws the reference
current from the supply and passes it through the reference resis-
tor to ground. The reference current is 8% of the output current
on any one active output. The reference circuit power is the prod-
uct of the reference current and the difference between the supply
voltage and the reference voltage, typically 1.2 V. The reference
power, PREF , is therefore defined as:
VIN
A6262
VREG
ILAx
(VIN – VREF) × VREF
LAx
PREF
(5)
=
RREF
Regulator Power In most application circuits the largest dis-
sipation will be produced by the output current regulators. The
power dissipated in each current regulator is simply the product
of the output current and the voltage drop across the regulator.
VIN
IREF
IINQ
VLED
IREF
The total current regulator dissipation is the sum of the dissipa-
tion in each output regulator. The regulator power for each output
is defined as:
VREF
RREF
GND
PREGx
(VIN – VLEDx ) × ILEDx
=
(6)
Figure 4. Internal power dissipation sources.
where x is 1, 2, 3, or 4.
Allegro MicroSystems, Inc.
115 Northeast Cutoff
8
Worcester, Massachusetts 01615-0036 U.S.A.
1.508.853.5000; www.allegromicro.com