Recently, Littelfuse Inc. has introduced the PLED 6 series, an open LED protector that provides a switching electronic shunt path when a single LED in an LED array fails as an open circuit. This ensures that the entire array of LEDs will continue to function even if a single LED in the array does not.

The Littelfuse PLED 6 series open LED protector helps LED lighting manufacturers design for critical-reliability, hostile-environment applications such as automotive headlights, traffic lights, bridge lighting, and aircraft runway lighting.

The LED open circuit protector features a current range of 300mA to 1.0A, and a low on-state voltage of 1.5V. Low off-state current lowers power dissipation and reduces the impact of heating on LEDs, which are delicate solid-state devices that can be easily damaged by current surges and transients. The PLED 6 series open LED protector uses a 4-layered thyristor structure that automatically resets if the LED heals itself or is replaced and also features built-in surge immunity. Its environmentally friendly package is RoHS compliant and halogen free as well. The PLED 6 series open LED protector is available in two surface mount packages: DO-214 and QFN.