AN1161

BCR430UW6 Application Information

This document details the application and use of the Diodes BCR430UW6 low dropout linear LED driver. It
should be used in conjunction with the BCR430UW6 data sheet which details the full electrical specification of
the BCR430UW6.
Sections of this document include external resistor selection, power dissipation and over temperature protection
(OTP), PWM dimming, SPICE modeling and the BCR430UW6 evaluation board which allows engineers to
appraise and evaluate the BCR430UW6 when designing reliable and robust LED driver solutions for LED
strings.

Applications for the BCR430UW6 include:

 Architectural lighting
 Retail lighting
 Automotive lighting
 Strip lighting

BCR430UW6

Figure 1: Typical Application

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Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. REXT calculation
3. Power Dissipation
4. Over Temperature Protection (OTP)
5. PWM dimming
6. ESD protection
7. SPICE model
8. Calculator
9. Evaluation Board
9.1 Technical specification
9.2 Circuit
9.3 PCB

1 Introduction
The BCR430U is a monolithically integrated linear LED controller designed to function as a Constant Current
Regulator (CCR) for linear LED driving. The device operates over a voltage range from 5V to 42V and regulates
the output LED current up to 100mA, set by an external resistor. It is designed for driving LEDs in strings and
will reduce current at increasing temperatures to self-protect. The low voltage drop during current regulation
allows efficient driving of LED strings with a range of forward voltages and supply voltage tolerances
Inbuilt Over Temperature Protection (OTP) gradually reduces the output current when the chip temperature
reaches 125 C.

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2 Rext Calculation
The LED current Iout is set by a resistor Rext connected from REXT to GND. The REXT pin is driven by a
900mV reference and the resultant REXT current is mirrored to the Driver and OTP stages.

Iout

Rext

Figure 2: Rext Calculation

There is an exponential relationship between Rext and Iout expressed by the formula:
-1.005632
Rext = ( ) where: Rext and Iout are expressed in kΩ and mA

Figure 3: Rext vs Iout

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3 Power Dissipation
Power dissipation occurs in several areas and varies according to the operating conditions, however the major
influence on power dissipation is the VDS voltage of the output stage.
An example of power dissipation and Junction temperature rise is shown below:

Typical Power Dissipation when VDS = 4V, Rext = 13kΩ

Typical Power Dissipation VDS = 4V, Rext = 13kΩ

refer to figure 2

Parameter Current Power

Quiescent Current 67µA 2.8mW

Reference Current 69µA 2.9mW

Regulation current 24µA 1mW

Operating Current 125µA 5.3mW

Output Current 50mA 211mW

Figure 4: Power Dissipation

The BCR430UW6.xlxs calculator tool can be used to easily set Rext value and show power consumption under
various operating conditions.

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4 Over Temperature Protection (OTP)

Over temperature protection is included to safeguard the device under fault conditions such as short circuit
LED’s or high ambient temperatures. As the chip temperature increases above 125 C the output is reduced at
a rate of Isetpoint / 30 mA per C rise. The smooth operation maximises LED current and removes flickering.

Figure 5: Over Temperature Protection

As VDS increases in the output stage, so will power dissipation and chip temperature. The effects of OTP can be
seen in the following simulation which also shows how the ambient temperature and thermal resistance RthJA
can be adjusted in the SPICE model.

Figure 6: Gradual reduction of output current as Rds losses increase

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5 PWM Dimming
Dimming is most efficiently carried out using PWM techniques. This can be achieved by switching either the
REXT pin or VS pin.
Switching the VS supply reduces the connection requirements in multiple device systems such as large signs
but requires attention to miller effect and transients during power connection.
Note that human visual light level perception and true optical power have a logarithmic relationship where the
perceived level is based on the output power ratio:

Perceived power = √ (Output power / Maximum power)

and
Perceived power (%) = 100 x √(Output power (%) / 100)

Converting this to a PWM dimming level:

Perceived power = √(Maximum power * Duty Cycle)

Transposing to solve for Output power ratio

2
Output power ratio = Perceived power

and for PWM

2
Duty Cycle = Perceived power / Maximum power

Perceived vs Actual Power

120

100

80
Actual Power

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Perceived Power
Figure 7: Perceived power vs Actual power

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5.1 PWM Safe operating area (SOA)

There are various safety standards for PWM dimming to prevent physiological and safety issues such as
IEEE1789. The safe operating area graph from IEEE1789 is reproduced below.

Figure 8: IEEE1789 safe operating area

5.2 PWM Frequency and pulse width

The maximum frequency of operation depends on the dimming requirements and the switching time.
The Datasheet specifies worst case tr = 14µs, tf = 3µs so we may consider a minimum duty cycle 40µs as
reasonable.

If we want to dim to a perceived level of 10% full brightness the actual level required is:
2
Actual Power = (Perceived Power) * Maximum Power
2
= 0.1 * Maximum Power

= 0.01 * Maximum Power

If the minimum duty cycle is 40µs then:

100% duty cycle time = 40µs / 0.01 = 4ms = 250Hz

The table below shows the exponential nature of perceived brightness dimming

Required Cycle Time to achieve Required Dimming at 40uS Duty cycle

Perceived Percieved Output Output Cycle Freq
% Ratio Ratio % Time(us) (Hz)
100 1 1 100 40.000 25000
90 0.9 0.81 81 49.383 20250
80 0.8 0.64 64 62.500 16000
70 0.7 0.49 49 81.633 12250
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60 0.6 0.36 36 111.111 9000

50 0.5 0.25 25 160.000 6250
40 0.4 0.16 16 250.000 4000
30 0.3 0.09 9 444.444 2250
20 0.2 0.04 4 1000.000 1000
10 0.1 0.01 1 4000.000 250
9 0.09 0.0081 0.81 4938.272 202.5
8 0.08 0.0064 0.64 6250.000 160
7 0.07 0.0049 0.49 8163.265 122.5
6 0.06 0.0036 0.36 11111.111 90
5 0.05 0.0025 0.25 16000.000 62.5
4 0.04 0.0016 0.16 25000.000 40
3 0.03 0.0009 0.09 44444.444 22.5
2 0.02 0.0004 0.04 100000.000 10
1 0.01 0.0001 0.01 400000.000 2.5

Figure 9: min frequencies and SOA

5.2 REXT Dimming

The most efficient dimming is by PWM of the REXT pin. The value of Rext is calculated for maximum current
requirement at 100% duty cycle. Using a GPIO to pull Rext low will turn on the output. The output impedance of
the GPIO will have some impact on the required value of Rext. When the GPIO is high (above 900mV) the
output will turn off. The REXT pin will clamp at 5V.

Figure 10: REXT Dimming by GPIO

5.3 Supply Voltage Dimming

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PWM dimming can be achieved by modulating the power supply. If the power supply has a fast rise time the
drain-gate capacitance of the output transistor may cause the transistor to turn on for ~ 650ns before the control
circuit has stabilized. This can be mitigated by increasing the rise time of the power supply to greater than 5µs.

Figure 11: Power Supply PWM Dimming

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6 ESD Protection
ESD protection is 2kV HBM. This can be extended to 6kV HBM by placing a 1kΩ resistor in series with the VCC
pin.

Figure 12: 6kV ESD Protection

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7 SPICE Model
A SPICE model BCR430UW6.spice.txt is available on the Diodes website. This is a behavioural model that
includes OTP modelling.

The model has extra inputs to set ambient temperature and junction-ambient thermal resistance (RthJA).

Model Pin Descriptions

PIN NAME FUNCTION
1 RthJA Input sets thermal resistance. 1V = 1 C/W
2 GND 0V
3 REXT Current setpoint resistor connection
4 VS V+ supply 0 - 42V
5 Tamb Input sets ambient temperature. 1 V = 1 C
6 OUT Output current sink

Figure 13: Spice Model

2
Figure 13: Example of OTP operation as I RDS losses increase with Vout

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8 Calculator
A calculator BCR430UW6.Calculator.xlsx is available on the Diodes website. The calculator enables quick
calculation of Rext, power dissipation, operating temperature and PWM ranges.

Figure 14: BCR430UW6 Calculator

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9 Evaluation Board
An evaluation board is available that allows evaluation of the BCR430UW6 with an onboard string of 8 Liteon
LEDs or external LEDs of your choice. Constant current or PWM is selectable. A testpoint is included to
facilitate Vout measurement to verify output losses ad LED performance.

9.1 Technical specification

Input Voltage 5 – 42 Vdc

Default Rext 12 kΩ

Default LED current 50 mA

Output Current Range 5 -100 mA

Dimensions 35 mm x 55 mm

9.2 Circuit

Figure 15: Circuit of BCR430UW6 Evaluation Board

P1 jumper is used to select on-board LED’s or external LED’s.

P2 jumper is used to select Rext resistor connected to GND (50mA) or to PWM pin for external dimming 5V dc.
max

ZD1 protects against over voltage or negative PWM signal

TP1 accepts oscilloscope spring probe to measure OUT voltage

R1 also has PTH pads and can be removed or replaced with a low value for current monitoring or ESD testing

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9.3 PCB

The PCB is 2 layer 1.5mm FR4 1oz copper. Thermal relief is provided for LED’s and BCR430UW6.

2
The LED’s and BCR430UW6 are connected to copper areas top and bottom of 200 mm per device for heat
dissipation.

Figure 16: Top layer Figure 17: Bottom layer Figure 18: 3D

9.4 Bill of Materials

Bill of Materials
Designator Quantity Value
C1 1 10n 0805 50V
D1-8 8 LTW-5630AQL30
P1, P2 2 3 pin header
R1 1 0R 1206 200V
Rext 1 12k 0805 1% 150V
U1 1 BCR430UW6
ZD1 N.F. BZX84C4V7-7-F

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AN1161 – Rev 1 15 of 15 March 2021

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