LED驱动需要不需要电容.docx

Driving LEDs: To Cap or Not to CapIntroductionHigh-brightness LEDs are available today with forward currents more than 100 times greater than their predecessors. These new devices are not just high brightness, but are high power as well. Single die with dissipations of 5W and multi-die modules with power in excess of 25W are now available. The requirements of high efficiency and low dissipation dictate a switching power supply for this new generation of High-Brightness (HB), High-Power (HP) LEDs, as a voltage regulator and a current limiting resistor are no longer appropriate. High-brightness, high-power LEDs require a constant-current source to take full advantage of their ever-increasing luminous efficiency and vibrant, pure color. The topology of choice for this new breed of switching constant current sources is the basic buck converter. The most convincing argument for using a buck converter is the ease with which this simple DC-DC converter can be turned into a constant-current source. This article will explain the selection of, or possible exclusion of, an output capacitor when designing a buck regulator for constant-current drive of HB LEDs.Controlled CurrentThe buck regulator is uniquely suited to be a constant current driver because the output inductor is in series with the load. Regardless of whether a buck regulator is used as a voltage source or a current source, selection of the inductor forms the cornerstone of the system design. With an inductor in series with the output, the average inductor current is always equal to the average output current, and the buck converter naturally maintains control of the AC-current ripple. By definition, the LED drive is a constant load system; hence a large amount of output capacitance is not necessary to maintain VOduring load transients.No Output Cap Yields High Output ImpedanceIn theory, a perfect current source has infinite output impedance, allowing the voltage to slew infinitely fast in order to maintain a c