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Driving LEDs versus CCFLs for LCD backlighting

Understand the electrical drive and thermal issues when using light-emitting
diodes versus cold-cathode fluorescent lamps to backlight liquid-crystal
displays
By Tom Novitsky and Bill Abbott, Endicott Research Group, Inc.

Courtesy of Planet Analog

(11/12/2007 6:52 PM EST)

After the liquid crystal display (LCD) itself, the backlight is the most
important element affecting quality and consistency of the displayed image.
The LCD backlight can be one or more cold-cathode fluorescent lamps
(CCFLs) mounted along the edges of the LCD or spaced uniformly over the
back of the display, or it can be a string of light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
arranged along the edges of the LCD or as a matrix over the back of the LCD
assembly. The typical LCD backlight has traditionally been CCFL.

Increasingly, however, LEDs are becoming the backlighting technology of

choice in LCDs used in industrial, military, medical, marine, ATM, gas pump,
and a wide variety of other applications. This article addresses the factors that
need to be taken into consideration when driving LED backlights in order to
achieve the benefits (such as higher brightness and longer life) while avoiding
the pitfalls such as overheating the LEDs, or replacing the CCF lamps and
inverter, without having to redesign everything.

LEDs are already commonly used to backlight LCDs used in a wide range of
smaller displays, such as portables, handheld devices and notebook PCs.
Today, the use of LEDs in LCD backlights is rapidly growing from the
smaller LCD panels to applications across the entire spectrum of LCD sizes,
such as industrial LCDs in the 5.7" to 23" size range. LEDs are being
increasingly used in place of CCFLs for reasons including CCFLs' higher
power consumption and, in some cases, mercury content.

Switching from CCFL to LED backlighting raises a number of issues which

need to be addressed, such as input voltage, operating temperature, thermal
management, and dimming. This article addresses selection criteria for drivers
for LED-based LCD backlights, or backlighting units (BLUs), versus the
familiar CCFL backlights, and what to be on the lookout for as the transition
is made.

The new generation of high-bright LEDs (HBLEDs) provides higher

brightness, as well as higher reliability, higher efficiency (lumens/watt), better
dimming, longer life, and operation over a wider temperature range than do
CCFLs. However, CCFLs are still the backlight of choice for a wide range of
applications that do not require the advantages of LEDs or for those whose
users do not need or want to make the capital investment of switching to LED
BLUs at this time.

This can also be true of applications demanding absolutely high reliability,

where vacuum-encapsulated inverters can be used to ensure reliable CCFL
ignition, even in harsh environments where shock, vibration, humidity and
extreme cold or heat are present. LED and CCFL backlights can and will co-
exist for some time yet, and predictions that use of CCFLs may decline as
rapidly as CRTs are probably somewhat overstated. Nonetheless, LCD
backlighting is becoming a hot area of business opportunity for LED and
LED BLU manufacturers and will gradually gain ground over CCFLs as the
price/performance ratio of LEDs continues to improve.

LEDs create new challenges for the backlight driver, challenges that cannot
always be completely met by the many single-chip IC solutions available on
the market, despite wishes to the contrary. Getting optimum performance
from LED BLUs often requires a full-function LED driver board, Figure 1.

Figure 1: LED driver boards are now available as standard product that can
be used with virtually all major OEM LCD panels.
(Click on image to enlarge)

In such a board, the dc/dc converter portion supplies power while the rest of
the on-board circuitry provides wide-range dimming, wide input voltage, and
full brightness and enable control, while maintaining constant current over a
wide input range to ensure brightness stability. It's more than a chip, and it's
more than a power supply. It's an integrated, plug-and-play driver solution.

The LED Backlight

LEDs for LCD backlighting may be arranged along the edges of the LCD, or
as a matrix over the back of the LCD assembly. The LEDs may be electrically
connected in series or parallel; either configuration will provide uniform LCD
lighting. LED strings arranged in parallel using a series resistor in each string
provide string-to-string current balancing as well as lighting redundancy.

Unlike a CCFL, LED backlights don't require high ac voltages; therefore, they
don't require an inverter. The basic LED driver is powered by 5 to 48 Vdc and
uses a dc/dc boost converter to provide voltage to a constant-current driver
that drives the LED string. For quality performance, a constant-current driver
is required to compensate for LED voltage drops and changes with
temperature, to ensure stable light output.

Selecting a LED Driver

LEDs are semiconductors with light-emitting junctions that are designed to
use low-voltage, constant-current dc power to produce light; .since LEDs
have polarity, the current only flows in one direction. Unlike fluorescent or
discharge lamps, LEDs do not require an ignition voltage to start. However,
too little current will result in little or no light, and too much current can
damage the light-emitting junction of the LED diode.

For a given temperature, a small change in forward voltage produces a

disproportionately large change in forward current. In addition, the forward
voltage required to achieve a desired light output can vary with LED die size,
LED die material, LED die lot variations, and temperature.

An IC-chip-based driver may seem to be a good choice for powering a LED

backlight, but consider the voltage the device needs across it to accurately
regulate current. Is there enough voltage across the device remaining to light
the LED rail and provide proper current regulation? At what temperature are
the LED voltages specified?

Let's say it is 25° C, or approximately 77° F (LED die wavelength

characteristics are commonly reported at 25° C junction temperatures). If you
were to take the LED string below 25° C (unlit) and then power the string, the
LEDs may not light at all because the LED string voltage is greater.

It is important to select a LED driver that is designed to account for this

voltage change and can light across the entire normal operating range of
temperatures, with no time or expense devoted to designing a boost circuit. As
with dc/ac inverters used for CCFL or EL backlights (or any other power
supply), properly selecting a LED driver during the design phase of the
display will help to avoid common pitfalls such as brightness instability.

Application Considerations
Operating Temperature: The ambient temperature in which the LCD operates
is a key consideration in the selection of the backlight driver. Although the
performance of LED backlights is less sensitive to low temperatures, the high
application temperatures have the most significant impact on LED function
and reliability, compared all other variables. Recent advances in LED
technology, packaging and materials have provided dramatic increases in
LED brightness which, in turn, leads to increased LED temperature.

As LEDs heat up, the forward voltage drops and the current passing through
the LED increases. The increased current generates additional heating of the
junction. If nothing limits the current, the junction will fail due to the heat, a
phenomenon referred to as thermal runaway, Figure 2.

Figure 2: Recent advances in LED technology have provided dramatic

increases in brightness which, in turn, has led to HBLEDs running hotter.

By driving LED light sources with a regulated, constant-current driver, the

light output variation and lifetime issues resulting from voltage variation and
voltage changes can be eliminated. Therefore, constant-current drivers are
generally recommended for powering LED light sources.

Thermal Management: The major challenge for HBLED backlights is to get

the heat out of the LED device itself and then out of the display assembly.
The key design point is to keep the LED junction temperature below its
specified maximum junction temperature, to ensure reliability for the
increasingly stringent demands of most LCD applications.

Removing the heat from LEDs is more difficult than removing heat from
CCFLs because the heat is concentrated in the LED footprint which, at about
1/3 the size of a pencil eraser, is very small compared to external surface area
of a CCFL. CCFL heat is simply radiated from the CCFL surface into the air.
In contrast, heat removal from LEDs must be done by conducting the heat
through the LED structure and through other materials to the metal display
case, which will radiate the heat into the air.

Thus, LED cooling is more complex and the thermal design must include
materials with good thermal conductivity, in proper physical contact with
each other. Essentially, the PCB to which the LEDs are mounted, the rail to
which the PCB is mounted, and the display case to which the rail is mounted
must all operate efficiently to get the heat out. The efficiency with which the
heat is removed (to stay below the specified maximum junction temperature
of the LED) limits the amount of power with which LEDs can be driven and,
consequently, limits brightness to some extent.

Some users are simply driving the LEDs as hard as they want to without
regard for the junction temperature control and thus are running their
backlights very hot. One customer reported that his LEDs had "turned
brown", i.e., he fried them. Not a good thing! One solution for heat
management is to use an LED rail which incorporates integral thermal
management, Figure 3.
 Figure 3: Special rails with efficient thermal management that gets the heat
out of the LEDs are available as drop-in replacements for CCFL rails
(Click on image to enlarge)

These special rails use a design where the LEDs are put on a long, narrow PC
board that fits into a metal channel or "rail" that is similar to the channel into
which CCFLs are commonly fitted. The thermal management technology
used inside the rails addresses the challenge of keeping the LEDs cool and
preventing overheating. It is a technologically more efficient way to conduct
heat from the LEDs and keep the junction temperature at or below
specification, which is critical to preventing overheating and ensuring cool,
high-brightness, long-life operation of the LED BLU.
Dimming: LCD applications requiring a wide range of brightness are
constantly increasing. The driver must be capable of providing high
brightness for daylight vision and low brightness for night vision. This again
points to the need in many cases for a full-function driver board, not just a
driver IC. Brightness control across this wide requirement range must be
smooth and flicker-free.

Much higher dimming ratios can be achieved with LED backlights than with
CCFLs because the basic switching time of an LED is measured in
nanoseconds as compared to milliseconds for a CCFL. Although acceptable at
one time, the limitations of analog dimming no longer meet most application
requirements for LED BLUs. LED backlights can be analog dimmed, but this
dimming scheme will not provide the high dimming ratios required by many
of the more-demanding LCD applications, and also will produce varying
color temperatures.

LED backlights are best dimmed using PWM (pulse width modulation)
dimming, which provides significantly better dimming control where the duty
cycle of the light source (in this case the LED) is modulated. In this type of
dimming, the LED is pulsed ON and OFF at a fixed frequency, and the
modulation of the duty cycle provides the variable brightness.

Mechanical Considerations: Since the driver board is proportionately similar

to an inverter board, and the LED rail can fit down the same stock channel
that the CCFL tube does, this is really not a major issue in terms of physically
replacing a CCFL backlight and inverter with an LED driver board and rail.
To put it another way, you don't have to re-invent the wheel here, which is
always a nice thing!

The Driver Board

Figure 4 shows a constant-current chopper-driver schematic, which provides
a dc current with 10% ripple to a LED string used to edge-light an LCD.
 Figure 4: LED driver-board schematic diagram.
(Click on image to enlarge)

The pass-switching device is a P-channel FET which provides the current to

the LED string and, in conjunction with the inductor, sense resistor, and boost
voltage, establishes the chopping current and frequency.

The dc/dc boost stage is a closed-loop boost supply which provides sufficient
voltage to drive current to the LED string with at least 2 V of headroom. The
part of the diagram designated Section A shows a comparator and associated
resistors which form a positive hysteresis circuit. It compares the voltage
across the sense resistor to a known reference. Section B shows another
comparator and associated resistors that buffer the Section A output to ensure
proper hysteresis and provide drive to the pass device.

Section C supplies LED on/off and dimming control. The +ENABLE input
turns the backlight on or off, and +PW pulse-width modulates the chopper
driver on and off for dimming.

So, why a driver board and not an IC alone? The basic reasons are:

 The ability to handle wide input-voltage ranges (typically 8 to 24 V)

and wide operating-temperature ranges in order to account for voltage
changes and accurately regulate current to maintain brightness
stability and reliability
  Separate brightness and enable controls
 The capability to provide on-board PWM dimming ratios of 1,000:1
and external PWM dimming to a ratio of 5,000:1 or, for higher-power
HBLED arrays, as high as 20,000:1
 Design flexibility and ease of integration which permits use with
existing OEM LED backlights or LED rails with integral thermal
management

Beyond backlighting
The driver board operates entirely on dc, performing dc/dc conversion
onboard, with no ac involved. Therefore, it can take the input power of
virtually any dc power source, whether regulated or unregulated voltage, from
whatever power bus is available, and regulate the output power. This opens
the door to applications beyond backlighting, such as general lighting or
illumination, architectural lighting, automotive and aircraft lighting or
anywhere an LED string or array can be used.