Microsemi Unveils Revolutionary Driver for LED Street Light Fixtures

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.–Nov.02, 2011–Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, today unveiled a new LED driver designed specifically for North American street light installations. The efficient LXMG221D-0700040-D2F(TM) LED driver eliminates bulky step-down transformers typically used in street light fixtures in these markets, providing a single-step conversion from 347VAC or 480VAC down to less than 57VDC as typically required by LED fixtures. This allows manufacturers to design lighter fixtures, which can lower product development and transportation costs. Unique features include integrated fault detection and management functionality which enable operators to respond more quickly to light fixture failures.

According to estimates from industry analyst firm Strategies Unlimited, the LED street and area lighting market in 2010 was $327 million. The market is expected to increase at a compound annual unit growth rate of approximately 26 percent from 2010 to 2015. North America, Europe and China lead in the deployment of LED lighting technology.

“The deployment of high-performance solid state lighting fixtures is accelerating and customers are beginning to benefit from the improved efficiency and longer lifetimes these products deliver,” stated Roger Holliday, vice president of Marketing for Microsemi’s Analog Mixed Signal Group. “Microsemi’s leadership in power conversion and light management, combined with our analog mixed-signal design expertise and unique supply chain setup, is why fixture manufacturers globally are choosing us as their lighting solutions technology partner.”

“Street lights often represent one of the highest operating expenses for municipalities because of electricity, maintenance and replacement costs,” said Irene Signorino, director of Marketing for Microsemi’s Analog Mixed Signal Group. “LEDs help solve this issue by minimizing energy consumption and reducing replacement frequency. If dimming and thermal protection are supported in conjunction with the elimination of the step-down transformer losses as in our new driver, operating costs can be decreased even further.”

Solving Street Light Fixture Issues

In Canada and in the United States, power is often distributed to an outdoor lighting fixture at 347V or 480V. The fixture must then convert the power to much lower voltages (often less than 60V in the U.S.) to properly drive the LED. Until now, this conversion was accomplished using bulky and inefficient step-down transformers. Microsemi’s LXMG221D-0700040-D2F eliminates the need for these transformers, accomplishing the voltage conversion in one step. In addition, since multiple power supplies can be used in a modular fashion, many models of street lights (40W, 80W and more) are supported.

Undetected and unreported non-functioning fixtures are a key issue for municipalities responsible for the illumination of public areas. Microsemi’s new LED driver includes fault detection and management capabilities, which can allow operators to address this issue and respond more quickly to light fixture failures.

Key features and benefits include:

High-voltage AC input (347-480 VAC) for North America installations
UL1310 Class 2 isolated compact driver solution converting 347-480VAC to 40 to 57VDC
Constant current single 700mA string applications using ~12-17 LEDs without flickering (up to 40W output)
High power factor (PF > 0.9) and low total harmonic distortion (THD < 15 percent) across the entire input voltage range at full load to meet or exceed standard requirements
Dimmable to 10 percent via 0-10V, PWM controls or potentiometers for additional energy savings
FCC Title 47, part 15 Class B compliant
Multiple protection features: over voltage, over current protection and automatic over-temperature shutdown to help protect the fixture investment
Fault management feature to sense and manage failed (short and open) LED situations

Availability and Pricing

The LXMG221D-0700040-D2F is in production. The datasheet is available at http://www.microsemi.com/en/sites/default/files/datasheets/LXMG221D-0700040-D2F.pdf. For volume OEM pricing, please contact your Microsemi sales representative.

About Microsemi

Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor solutions for: aerospace, defense and security; enterprise and communications; and industrial and alternative energy markets. Products include high-performance, high-reliability analog and RF devices, mixed-signal and RF integrated circuits, customizable SoCs, FPGAs, and complete subsystems. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and has approximately 3,000 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.