Frugal backlight power chip saves battery charge

A new full-bridge LCD backlight inverter/driver IC offers high efficiency and reliability in a small-footprint package to optimise portable backlighting designs.

New from Fairchild Semiconductor is the FAN7310, a full-bridge inverter/driver IC that integrates a pulsewidth modulation (PWM) controller in a 20-SSOP package.

This compact part offers an efficient, low-part-count solution for portable LCD backlighting applications.

The FAN7310 supports analogue, mixed, and burst-dimming modes of operation; has a wide input range (5-24V); and offers a variety of circuit protection features to increase reliability.

In addition to advanced phase shift control for improved thermal characteristics, the FAN7310 also offers alternate zero voltage switching (ZVS) and zero current switching (ZCS) full-bridge topology, while consuming less than 4mA (typical) operating current.

The FAN7310 is ideal for backlighting in notebook computers, LCD monitors and car navigation systems - applications that increasingly require both power and space savings.

Various protection features are integrated into the FAN7310, such as open lamp regulation (OLR) and open lamp protection (OLP), which shield the transformer from overvoltage during startup or when an open lamp occurs.

It also has an internal shunt regulator to allow the FAN7310 to operate across a wide input voltage range.

Other features include soft-start and feed forward functions, undervoltage lockout (UVLO), and a synchronisation circuit with an external signal.

The FAN7310 is complemented by Fairchild's low-on-resistance single and dual MOSFETs for achieving high efficiency and space-savings in backlight inverter designs.

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