LED Driver Delivers constant Current To Large Displays

Expanding the company’s line of LED drivers for large video and other indoor/outdoor displays, the CAT4008 eight-channel, constant-current sink LED driver operates with an output voltage on the LED pins as low as 0.4V for 2-mA to 100-mA LED drives. Nominal LED current is set via an external resistor. A four-wire serial interface operating at a clock frequency up to 25MHz clock frequency controls each channel using a shift-register and latch configuration. A serial output data pin allows the cascading of multiple devices, all programmable via one serial interface. Other features include a blanking control pin, which can disable all channels independently of the interface, and thermal-shutdown protection. Available in a 16-lead, 150-mil SOIC package, price is $0.49 each/10,000. CATALYST SEMICONDUCTOR INC., Sunnyvale, CA. (800) 258-5991.