LED driver ICs

An LED driver IC is the control chip on a driver board that regulates the current through an LED string. Haiben, founded in Shenzhen in 2013, supplies these chips from its own Weforsemi line for board-level lighting designs, alongside the wider power management IC portfolio covered under the LED Drivers catalogue category. This page is written for purchasing staff and hardware engineers who need to select a driver chip by specification rather than by part number alone.

LED driver ICs: what the chip does

An LED driver IC is not the lamp it powers. It is the semiconductor device that sits between an input rail and the LED load, holding the string current at a defined level and, where the application needs it, translating a dimming signal into current or pulse-width modulation. In most lighting boards the driver IC works together with an inductor, a sense resistor, a switching transistor and a handful of passive parts; the chip sets the behaviour, the surrounding components carry the power.

LED driver ICs are commonly split into three architecture families. Linear drivers regulate current by dropping voltage across a pass element — simple, low-EMI, but only practical when the input sits slightly above the LED string voltage. Switching drivers use an inductor and are divided into boost (step-up), buck (step-down) and buck-boost topologies depending on how the LED string voltage compares with the input. Charge-pump and other switched-capacitor variants occupy a small niche for low-power backlighting.

Depending on where they sit in the system, these chips overlap with the wider catalogue of power management ICs. A board may use an LED driver IC for the light source and separate regulators for its own logic supply.

An IC is not a finished LED driver unit

Searches for “LED driver” often target finished, enclosed driver units — the metal- or plastic-cased power supplies that sit outside a luminaire and connect directly to mains. This page covers the driver chip only: the component a hardware engineer places on a PCB and designs around. Haiben supplies the IC; it does not manufacture finished driver units.

Buyers looking for complete driver units or other finished power supplies can be routed through the company's sourcing service, which handles procurement to a stated specification. If the design uses a switching stage rather than a linear regulator, the relevant topology pages — for example boost converters — set out the general behaviour of step-up control and what to define before requesting a quote.

Constant-current drive and dimming

LED output is set by forward current, not forward voltage, so a driver IC regulates current: a sense resistor typically sets the target value, and the chip adjusts its switching duty cycle or pass-element drive to hold it. Voltage compliance — the maximum LED string voltage the output can sustain — is the second defining figure, and it must cover the string at both temperature extremes.

Dimming arrives in two basic forms. Analog dimming scales the reference, so the current level itself changes. PWM dimming switches the output at a set frequency with variable duty cycle; the LED current is constant during on-time, which keeps colour point stable. Dimming ratio, minimum on-time and dimming frequency all shape the choice.

Topologies follow the application: a battery-driven lamp whose string voltage exceeds the supply calls for a step-up stage; a string below the rail calls for a step-down; a display backlight may use a dedicated backlight regulator. Haiben's catalogue lists dedicated backlight driver ICs as a separate category from general LED driver ICs, and the Weforsemi line covers both plus boost, buck, LDO and charging ICs.

Specifying an LED driver IC

For a clean quotation, define the operating envelope rather than a single voltage: input range, LED string voltage at worst-case temperature, target current and tolerance, dimming method and range, switching frequency limits, thermal environment, package preference and the applicable standards for the end product.

• Input voltage range and transient tolerance
• LED string voltage, minimum and maximum
• Output current and accuracy class
• Dimming interface and required ratio
• Switching frequency and EMI constraints
• Package, thermal path and board area
• Protection needs (open/short string, thermal foldback, input OVP)

Haiben publishes model-level data where it is confirmed. One example is the VCP14C13P-A overvoltage protection IC in a SOT23-3 package, a 1.3 A class device used on the input side of a lighting board. For the LED driver ICs themselves, exact part numbers and datasheet values are confirmed at quotation against the specifications you provide; the Weforsemi line is listed by function — LED driver, backlight driver, boost, buck, LDO, charger and protection — without published numeric claims beyond those stated here.

Frequently asked questions

Can Haiben supply a complete LED driver unit, not just the IC?

No. Haiben supplies driver chips and other electronic components. Finished driver units can be sourced through the company's sourcing service, which procures to a buyer's specification.

Do you offer LED driver ICs outside the Weforsemi line?

Haiben supplies both its own Weforsemi line and broad-market components through sourcing. Third-party brands are offered as sourced components, not as an authorised distribution channel, so availability is confirmed per enquiry.

How do I get exact specifications for a driver IC?

Send the input range, LED string voltage, target current, dimming method and package preference. Haiben replies with part numbers and datasheet values that meet the requirement, confirmed at quotation.