austriamicrosystems Funlight LED Driver Adds Fun and Functionality to Portable Applications

(Product News, 24 Nov 2009)

austriamicrosystems introduces the AS3665 enabling astounding lighting effects in mobile phones and a variety of other consumer applications. The AS3665 delivers sharper color, smoother color effects and superior brightness with a minimum amount of design effort. This new funlight LED driver turns any application such as mobile phones, MP3 players, mobile computers, portable game stations, speaker boxes, toys and any audio equipment into a true eyecatcher.

The AS3665 offers nine LED channels with up to 25mA per channel. A dedicated 12bit PWM for each of the nine channels delivers unchallenged smooth color effects allowing linear, logarithmic and ratiometric fading effects. The PWM generators have three sequencers and a 1.5kbit memory.
This allows storing and processing astonishing and complex light patterns without the need for external processors or interaction. The AS3665 allows easy command based programming of all light patterns. To ensure true color during operation the AS3665 implements several color correction features like automatic RGB color correction by temperature.

AS3665 audio synchronization feature enables colorful programmable light patterns. With this feature, the color LEDs blink, fade and change color smoothly in time with the device’s audio input like music or ring tones.

The AS3665 synchronizes the LEDs based on the music input. The audio synchronization of the light patterns can be freely adjusted giving a freedom to differentiate and define unique color response fitting any type of music from the heavy beat of hard rock to soft lyrics.

"The mobile phone market is fast moving and customers expect products that stand out. They want to put their own personal touch onto the phone,” the product planning team of Samsung Mobile Communication division commented.
“austriamicrosystems’ AS3665 LED Driver IC enables us to be faster to market by reducing development time and easily create light effects never seen before.”

To optimize battery lifetime the AS3665 design includes various power save features. Each channel operates with less than 50mV dropout voltage at 10mA powered by a high efficiency 150mA charge pump with automatic switching between 1:1, 1:1.5 and 1:2 mode. To optimize power consumption driving RGB LEDs, three of the nine channels offer programmable rail switching to choose between battery and CP voltage for higher efficiency allowing independent supply of red and blue/green LEDs.

To accelerate system implementation, the AS3665 offers easy design-in capability with minimal software programming. Additionally a software tool allows fast command based development of light patterns, which is as easy as drawing lines on paper. The software output is a compiled file which can be used immediately with the AS3665.

“austriamicrosystems has always been a step ahead in bringing exciting new functionality to market for mobile phone manufacturers and other consumer electronics. Our AS3665 funlight driver enables systems designers to offer users more fun and functionality than ever before. This new product truly brings light into the sound of portable devices,” said Bruce Ulrich Marketing Director of Consumer and Communication BU. “The AS3665 joins austriamicrosystems’ broad portfolio of lighting products of flashlight, backlight, funlight and dot matrix drivers, as well as powerful Lighting Management Units.”

The AS3665 is available in a small 2.6x2.6mm 25-bump WL-CSP requiring only minimum external components.