ON Semi IC drives LEDs directly

ON Semiconductor's NLSF995 8-segment tri-color LED driver features an overvoltage tolerance at its output, allowing the IC to drive LEDs directly - even if they are connected to a supply voltage as high as 7 V - thus eliminating the need for discrete drivers.

Designed for use in keyboard illumination and special lighting in wireless handsets, digital-still and digital-video cameras and MP3 players, the driver operates from 2V to 5.5V and consumes 15A at standby. It supports data rates >25MHz. Data maybe put into a 50MHz rate when operating at 3.3V.

Sitting on an existing SPI bus interface, the NLSF595 holds the data and provides all the drive needed for two tri-color LEDs. The device can be cascaded so that two units can drive five tri-color LEDs. Cascading the device allows more tri-color LEDs to be driven without increasing the number of control lines.

It is offered in a 3-by-3mm, 16-lead QFN package and priced at 22 cents per unit in 10,000-unit quantities.