TIDUCL3 February   2017

 

  1. 1 Overview
  2. 2 Resources
  3. 3 Features
  4. 4 Applications
  5. 5 Design Images
  6. 6 System Overview
    1. 6.1 System Description
    2. 6.2 Key System Specifications
    3. 6.3 Block Diagram
    4. 6.4 Highlighted Products
      1. 6.4.1 LMT87-Q1
      2. 6.4.2 TLC555-Q1
      3. 6.4.3 OPA2377-Q1
      4. 6.4.4 TL431-Q1
      5. 6.4.5 TPS92691-Q1
  7. 7 System Design Theory
    1. 7.1  PCB and Form Factor
    2. 7.2  Optimizing Board Performance Based on LED String Voltage and Current
    3. 7.3  Switching Frequency
    4. 7.4  Output Overvoltage Protection (OVP)
    5. 7.5  Current Monitoring (IMON)
    6. 7.6  Thermal Foldback
      1. 7.6.1 Changing Thermal Foldback Response
        1. 7.6.1.1 Changing Starting Point for Thermal Foldback
        2. 7.6.1.2 Changing Slope of Thermal Foldback
        3. 7.6.1.3 Constant Current at High Temperatures
      2. 7.6.2 Thermal Foldback Without PWM Dimming
    7. 7.7  Clock Generation (PWM)
    8. 7.8  Onboard Supply and Setting Duty Cycle
    9. 7.9  Buffering, Averaging, and Filtering
    10. 7.10 Boost Converter
  8. 8 Getting Started Hardware
    1. 8.1 Hardware
    2. 8.2 LED Selection
    3. 8.3 J3, LED+, LED– (Boost)
    4. 8.4 J1, POS(+), NEG(–)
    5. 8.5 J4, Temperature Sensor Connection
    6. 8.6 Duty Cycle Adjust
  9. 9 Testing and Results
    1. 9.1 Duty Cycle Accuracy
    2. 9.2 Thermal Foldback Testing
    3. 9.3 EMI Testing
    4. 9.4 Accuracy Calculation
  10. 10Design Files
    1. 10.1 Schematics
    2. 10.2 Bill of Materials
    3. 10.3 PCB Layout Recommendations
      1. 10.3.1 Layout Prints
    4. 10.4 Altium Project
    5. 10.5 Gerber Files
    6. 10.6 Assembly Drawings
  11. 11Related Documentation
    1. 11.1 Trademarks
  12. 12About the Author

7.6.1.3 Constant Current at High Temperatures

The current design will derate the current according to temperature across the entire temperature range. However, in many applications, thermal foldback needs to clamp the current through the LEDs at a certain point to ensure there is a minimum current through the LEDs regardless of the temperature. This clamp will ensure that the brightness does not decrease past the required minimum brightness as in SAE J1383. The easiest way to achieve this is by diode OR-ing the output voltage from the LMT87-Q1 and a fixed voltage as shown in Figure 13.

TIDA-01382 current_clamp_schematic.gifFigure 13. Current Clamp for High Temperatures

This would allow the thermal foldback to occur as intended until it reaches a specified threshold where it keeps the current through the LEDs constant. This threshold allows the graph of current versus temperature to look like Figure 14.

TIDA-01382 thermal_foldback_clamp.gifFigure 14. Current versus Temperature With Clamp

Equation 13 show how to calculate the resistor values needed to clamp at a given current.

Equation 13. TIDA-01382 tida-01382-equation-11.gif

Equation 14 shows at what temperature it is going to clamp.

Equation 14. TIDA-01382 tida-01382-equation-12.gif