Dialog Semiconductor plc (FWB:DLG), a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC, solid state lighting and short-range wireless technologies, today introduced its latest single-stage LED driver to address dimming performance, heat and cost in high power, dimmable solid state lighting (SSL) applications. The new 45W output iW3600 seamlessly dims from 100% down to 1% of measured light with virtually no dead travel and offers low pop-on current to turn light on at very low dimmer levels (< 5% of light output).It also uses Dialog’s patented, configurable over-temperature protection (OTP) derating to tackle LED bulb lifetime issues caused by excessive heat, while its single-stage, digital design lowers Bill Of Material (BOM) costs for lighting OEMs.

Designed for retrofit bulbs including external, dimmable lighting ballast drivers and A19, PAR and T8 bulb replacements used in existing phase-cut dimmer installations, the iW3600 incorporates Dialog’s patented intelligent dimming control to provide compatibility with a wider range of dimmers, including TRIAC, digital and universal dimmers. This technology uses digital analytics to query the dimmer and applies algorithms that automatically adapt to the dimmer type.

Dialog’s patented over-temperature protection derating technology addresses LED bulb lifetime issues caused by excessive heat in retrofit bulb installations. Most power ICs are designed with thermal shutdown, which simply shuts the IC down in high temperature environments. This procedure protects the IC, but not the LED driver circuit, since most control IC shutdown occurs well above safe operating temperatures for electrolytic capacitors.

The iW3600’s built-in configurable temperature derating technology monitors the temperature inside the sealed SSL bulb and, in high temperatures, automatically reduces current drive to the LEDs in small, virtually imperceptible increments, then seamlessly restores brightness as temperature falls. This results in cooler operation in low airflow bulb installations, avoids exceeding the temperature rating of the electrolytic capacitors, and helps ensure a predictable and safer bulb operating life. See Dialog’s over-temperature protection derating video: www.iwatt.com/OTP.

The iW3600 meets or exceeds global regulations for power quality and efficiency with low total harmonic distortion (THD) 

iW3600 Key Features

• Output power: 45W
• Single-stage design for low BOM cost
• Built-in, configurable LED over-temperature protection derating
• Wide dimmer compatibility (TRIAC, digital), automatic detection of dimmer type
• Wide dimming range: 1% to 100%
• Lowest pop-on current < 5% of light output
• Configurable dimming curves compliant to NEMA SSL 6(1) dimming standard
• Meets global standards, including European Union IEC61000-3-2(2) current harmonics requirements
• Zhaga(3) hot-plug compliant
• Low total harmonic distortion < 20% with high PF > 0.92