Diodes' dimmable LED driver delivers wide triac compatibility

The AL1696 LED driver introduced by Diodes Incorporated is designed to fit a wide range of triac-dimmable lighting applications, especially retrofit lamps. An integrated MOSFET, which also eliminates the need for an auxiliary winding, reduces BOM cost and component count while the option of three MOSFET voltage/current ratings provides design flexibility for meeting manufacturing requirements for residential lighting.

The AL1696 is based on buck or buck-boost topology and implements constant current conversion with a high power factor by operating in boundary conduction mode. This also reduces switching noise, easing EMI/EMC testing and qualification. The design only requires a single winding inductor and achieves a tight current sense tolerance of ±3%. The device features a low operating current of 120μA, with a 150μA startup current, and is compatible with a wide of leading-edge and trailing-edge dimmers, providing compliance with the NEMA SSL6 dimming curve.

MOSFET options for 3A at 300V, 2A at 500V and 2A at 600V enable the AL1696 to be matched to end-market line-input voltage requirements and allow it to be used in LED lamps up to 12W. The AL1696 is offered in a small outline SO-7 package that is configured with an extra pin space between the high-voltage MOSFET drain and its low-voltage pins to increase electrical isolation. The device also features internal protection for output short circuit, over-temperature, under-voltage lockout, leading-edge blanking and cycle-by-cycle over-current protection.

In 10k quantities, unit pricing for the three MOSFET options of the AL1696 is as follows:
AL1696-30AS7-13 (3A/300V) … $0.18 USD

AL1696-20BS7-13 (2A/500V) … $0.21 USD
AL1696-20CS7-13 (2A/600V) … $0.24 USD

Diodes Incorporated