Marvell announces industry’s first intelligent LED controller

TAIWAN: Marvell announced its new AC/DC LED driver Integrated Circuit (IC), the Marvell 88EM8189 featuring I2C compatible digital interface integration to connect with a networking microcontroller that runs a lighting control protocol, such as Zigbee, for Smart wireless bulbs, providing premium dimming performance with a full dimming range from 100 percent to 1 percent.

Marvell's 88EM8189 chip integrates a separate high efficiency AC to DC power supply circuit providing standby power dedicated to the networking chip; therefore, lowering the bill-of-materials (BOM) for the electronics and drastically driving down the price point. This implementation enables the lowest standby power consumption by the networking circuit in a Smart wireless bulb while the light is turned off, allowing the system solution to meet today's ENERGY STAR requirements.

Built on the same technology as Marvell's industry-leading phase cut LED driver chip the 88EM8187, Smart bulbs using the intelligent 88EM8189 chip are backward compatible with existing phase cut wall dimmers as a system level option. The Marvell 88EM8189 LED driver currently is sampling with global customers.