LED Matrix Manager IC for Adaptive Headlights

January 1, 2016

Ryan Gehm

Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced what it claims is the industry’s first fully integrated high-brightness LED matrix manager IC for adaptive automotive headlight systems. The TPS92661-Q1 is a scalable solution that enables automobile manufacturers to create LED headlamps that vary beam patterns and intensity dynamically for optimum roadway illumination and enhanced driver safety. The TPS92661-Q1 is a compact solution for shunt FET dimming arrays of high-brightness LEDs and includes 12 individually controlled MOSFET switches to steer current through or around the connected LEDs, thereby providing individual pixel-level light adjustment. A serial communication port facilitates control and diagnostic functions from a master microcontroller, such as TI’s AEC-Q100-qualified C2000 Piccolo. Headlamp beam forming and directional control in an adaptive system previously required considerable board space to house discrete circuits, including multiple transistors, gate drivers, and glue logic; a single TPS92661-Q1 replaces this complex design, reducing board space by 73%, and enables a headlamp system that is completely solid state with no moving parts that can wear out, such as motors or actuators. The TPS92661-Q1 controls up to 96 LEDs from a single serial port and offers individual 10-bit pulse-width modulation (PWM) brightness control.