Original Post by John Clauson, Dec. 3, 2008

Endicott Research Group (ERG), specialist in power solutions for LCD backlights since 1979, has releasedtwo new high-efficiency, low-profile Smart Force™ LED driver boards as standard products for a wide range of industrial and medical LCDs.The SFDE (Economical) and SFDM (Mini) Series provide full function power supplies with optimum power for high brightness as well as lower power consumption and lower cost in an exceptionally compact size. Both driver boards are less than 5 mm in height, and both provide brightness stability over a wide input voltage and can power up to 6 LED strings. 

“We designed these driver boards to provide a more compact and more economical solution for customers who are backlighting LCDs up to 15 inches diagonal and who don’t need all of the full-function performance features of our existing SFDL and SFDC Series driver boards, such as wide-range onboard PWM dimming ratio,” said ERG Sales & Marketing Director Bill Abbott. “The SFDE and SFDM Series provide a lot of bang for the buck, with built-in compatibility for a wide range of OEM LED-backlit displays.”

The SFDE Series provides a plug-and-play solution with an outstanding cost/performance ratio. It measures only 1.11” (28.2 mm) x 3.10” (78.7 mm), and is less than 5 mm high. It provides an input voltage range of 10-20 V, with external PWM dimming to 500:1.

The SFDM is the most compact LED driver board ERG has developed to date, measuring only 0.96” (24.4 mm) x 2.19” (55.6 mm, with a height less than 5 mm. It provides an input voltage range of 8-20 V, with external PWM dimming to 250:1.

Both driver boards can be used with ERG’s new and improved Smart Force™ LED rails as a drop-in replacement for CCFL rails for a number of OEM LCDs. Smart Force™ LED rails feature a proprietary ERG design that provides exceptionally good thermal management to keep the LEDs from overheating. ERG’s new Smart Force™ SFDE and SFDM LED driver boards are available as standalone products from stock, or as kits that include the driver boards and LED rails, also available from stock.

For more information, please email Ask.LCD@avnet.com.