Marvell Announces the 88EM8801, the World’s First Dual-String Smart LED Controller Chip

 

Marvell is currently sampling the 88EM8801 and the evaluation boards to key OEMs.

Marvell announced the 88EM8801, the world’s first dual-string smart LED controller chip, which uses the company’s unique power technology to enable superior lighting performance. Using high-levels of integration and advanced mixed-signal technology, Marvell is able to pack high-end lighting features into a single chip that would otherwise require multiple driver chips, a micro-controller and many discrete components to implement. The on-chip intelligent digital controls and ultra-small form factor of the Marvell® new 88EM8801 chip enables customers to introduce superior lighting features and controls into mainstream professional and consumer lighting products, such as down lights, Zhaga-compliant LED modules, PAR lamps, AR lamps, A19 lamps and MR bulbs.

The 88EM8801 is the first offering in the new Marvell 8800 LED lighting controller family, which offers intelligent digital controls to drastically reduce system design complexity and the engineering effort required to implement high-end lighting features. The unique current tuning capability of the new 8800 series enables the use of loosely binned, lower-cost LEDs to deliver uniform light output and constant color temperature during the manufacturing process and throughout the long lifespan of the LED lamps themselves. Additionally, the 8800 family leverages intelligent pulse width modulation (PWM) dimming controller circuitry and other digital controls to achieve deep dimming levels up to 0.1 percent.

The intelligence of the 88EM8801 chip significantly enhances light quality while reducing LED component expenses, which accounts for up to 60 percent of the total cost of typical LED light bulbs. Leveraging Marvell’s dual-string driver technology, the 88EM8801 offers an unparalleled solution for mixing and controlling different color LED strings to achieve high color rendering index (CRI) and high lumens per watt. Lastly, the 8801 solution delivers up to 95 percent efficiency while providing an on-chip communication interface for wireless lighting controls.