Control ic offered as magnetic replacement ballast solution
International Rectifier has introduced a new control ic for magnetic ballasts used in fluorescent lamps.
The IRS2538DS emulates the behavior of a magnetic ballast control system, leveraging IR's patented ballast and high voltage technologies to offer an easy to use, one chip magnetic replacement ballast solution.
Available in a compact SO8 package, the ic utilises a novel control method to achieve high power factor with ultra low THD to eliminate the need for a Power Factor Correction (PFC) stage and electrolytic capacitor at the input.
It also integrates a 600V half bridge control circuit, bootstrap mosfet and comprehensive set of protection features to further reduce component count and pcb area and increase reliability.
Additional features include preheat, ignition and running lamp modes, closed loop lamp current control, fixed pre-heat time, adaptive deadtime, lamp insert auto restart, micropower start up and an internal 15.6V Zener diode clamp on Vcc.
