Digital signal controller based control of high-brightness LED switching converters

Switch mode power converters otter an efficient solution for driving high-brightness LEDs in an enormous range of applications. These driving converters usually rely on analog control techniques to ensure the optimal flow of current through the LEDs and provide dimming features. However, due to their inflexibility and non-configurability analog control schemes are not a good option especially in high end applications such as backlighting and automotive lighting. Recently, digital power management of high-brightness LED systems based on microprocessors and digital signal controllers (DSC) has emerged as an alternative to traditional analog control. These control schemes can actually improve overall system performance by adding some extra features like low power consumption, increased system reliability and better design flexibility for a specific application. This paper presents a digital signal controller based control scheme of switching power converter for high-brightness LED applications. A design example based on dc-dc boost topology is presented to provide a useful guide for control design engineers with the perspective of digital power control.