INDUSTRY’S FIRST 3V MULTIPLEXED LED DISPLAY DRIVERS REDUCE POWER REQUIREMENT BY 65%
SUNNYVALE, CA-December 4, 2001-Maxim Integrated Products introduces the MAX6950/MAX6951 LED display drivers and controllers. Available in 16-pin QSOP packages, the MAX6950/MAX6951 are compact common-cathode display drivers that interface microprocessors to individual 7-segment LED digits, bar graphs, or discrete LEDs through SPI™-, QSPI™-, or MICROWIRE™-compatible serial interfaces.
The MAX6950 drives up to five 7-segment digits, or 40 discrete LEDs. The MAX6951 drives up to eight 7-segment digits or 64 discrete LEDs.
Included on-chip are a hexadecimal character decoder (0–9, A–F), multiplex scan circuitry, segment and digit drivers, and a static RAM that stores each digit. The user may select between hexadecimal decoding or no-decode for each digit to allow a mix of 7-segment digits, bar graphs, or discrete LEDs to be driven. A new "blink" function provides a simple way to configure any segments to turn on and off automatically at a user-adjustable rate (typically once or twice a second).
The segment driver for the LEDs is adjusted by an internal 16-step digital brightness control, and has a maximum current of up to 40mA set by a single external resistor. The segment drivers are slew-rate limited to reduce EMI.
Both devices feature low-power shutdown. Capable of operating from a supply between +2.7V and +5.5V, these LED drivers typically reduce power consumption by 510mW when operating from a 3.3V supply versus traditional 5V supplies. The devices shut down to a shutdown current of just 75µA (typ).
Prices start at $4.29 for the MAX6950 and $4.59 for the MAX6951 (1000-up, FOB USA).
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