ST semiconductor monolithic digital power controller simplifies LED lighting application design and improves design flexibility

      STNRG012 of ST Semiconductor is a highly integrated and space saving digital power controller with advanced distortion suppression function, which is an ideal solution for developing LED lighting applications.

     The device integrates a multi-mode power factor correction (PFC) controller, a resonant half bridge controller, an 800V starting circuit, and a digital engine to manage the three modules. PFC controller can dynamically switch between transition mode, discontinuous current mode (DCM) and bottom jump to achieve optimal energy efficiency. The half bridge controller implements the time shift control (TSC) patented technology of STC to achieve accurate soft switching operation.

     The maximum input voltage of STNRG012 is 305VAC, and it also supports DC working power supply. The target application is the product equipment with two power supply modes of up to 300W battery and mains power.

     The digital engine runs on an 8-bit microprocessor core and is responsible for executing optimized control algorithms. The algorithm manages PFC and half bridge circuits through event driven high-speed state machine (SMED) peripherals. Additional dedicated hardware IP modules, including power manager and burst mode engine, ensure that the power control chip operates stably in idle mode and minimize power consumption. The built-in system security functions of the chip, including half bridge surge protection and capacitive resistance protection, are implemented in hardware. Therefore, the security protection starts quickly and has excellent reliability.

     STNRG012 saves operating parameters and calibration coefficients in the on-chip nonvolatile memory (NVM), so that users can customize parameter settings during production and write software code into the chip. The digital programming method also saves the external components required by the previous controller configuration, and reduces the bill of materials cost and circuit size. UART monitoring communication port can simplify the detection process, realize real-time monitoring and improve reliability.