Dimmable integrated CMOS LED driver based on a resonant DC/DC hybrid-switched capacitor converter

This paper presents a 7.7-mm2 on-chip LED driver based on a DC/DC resonant hybrid-switched capacitor converter operating in the MHz range with and without output capacitor. The converter operation allows continuously dimming the LED while keeping control on both peak and average current. Also, it features no flickering even in the absence of output capacitor and for light dimmed down to 10% of the nominal value. The capacitors and switches of the LED driver are integrated on a single IC die fabricated in a low-cost 5 V 0.18-μm bulk CMOS technology. This LED driver uses a small (0.7 mm2) inductor of 100 nH, which is 10 times smaller value than prior art integrated inductive LED drivers, still showing a competitive peak efficiency of 93% and achieving a power density of 0.26 W/mm2 (0.34 W/mm3).