Application Report

SLVA474 – July 2011

High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an

Intelligent LED Backlight Driving Scheme
Jimmy Liu, Pony Ma, Yoshio Katsura ........................................................... Power Management Products

ABSTRACT
LCD televisions designed with LED backlight are continuing to grow in popularity compared to
conventional TV architectures that use cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) bulbs because of the
supreme feature set that these systems offer: greater brightness, higher contrast ratios, stylish thin
designs, and significantly lower power consumption. To derive the full potential of the LED-based LCD
backlight technology, however, it is important to achieve both good thermal design and precise backlight
ON-OFF control for good picture quality by using the greater color gamut and higher contrast ratio of the
LED, and suppressing LCD TV motion blur.
This application note presents novel power architectures with regard to the ac-dc total power supply for an
LCD TV design, achieving higher power efficiencies and lower cost. The revolutionary iHVM™ mechanism
enables intelligent LED bias control to minimize power loss. On the other hand, the fast LED drivers
provide precise LED ON-OFF control. In this report, two reference designs are discussed. The PMP4298
is the basic topology reference design; this design consists of a primary ac-dc stage, a secondary boost
dc-dc converter stage for the LED backlight, and a multi-channel LED driver. The PMP4298A is proposed
as an advanced reference design that achieves a much higher efficiency and an overall lower cost by
omitting the LED backlight dc-dc secondary stage. The LED driver is instead supplied directly from the
ac-dc primary power-based LED backlight solution. Performance results are also presented.

Contents
1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 2
2 Proposed LED Backlight TV Power Architectures ...................................................................... 3
3 iHVM Basics ................................................................................................................. 5
4 Advanced iHVM Feedback Design: Direct Feedback to Isolated AC-DC Power Stage ........................... 7
5 Protection Scheme ........................................................................................................ 11
6 Experimental Results ..................................................................................................... 13
7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 15
8 References ................................................................................................................. 16
Appendix A Schematics ........................................................................................................ 16

List of Figures
1 Edge-Type LED Backlight LCD TV Power Conversion Scheme ..................................................... 3
2 PMP4298: Basic Architecture for LED Backlight LCD TV Power Supply............................................ 4
3 PMP4298A: Advanced Power Architecture for LED Backlight LCD TV ............................................. 5
4 PMP4298: iHVM Feedback Loop Integration into DC-DC Primary Feedback Loop ............................... 6
5 TLC5960 Application Circuit with LLC Resonant Converter........................................................... 8
6 AC-DC Power-Stage Direct Feedback Loop Integrated with iHVM Secondary Feedback ........................ 9
7 PMP4298A: AC-DC Power Stage Startup and iHVM Optimization Sequence .................................... 10
8 TLC5960 Total iHVM and Protection Scheme ......................................................................... 11
9 LED Open Detection and VLED Optimization Through iHVM ......................................................... 12
10 LED Short Detection and VLED Optimization Through iHVM ......................................................... 12
11 PMP4298A Demonstration Fixture Test Setup ........................................................................ 14
iHVM is a trademark of Texas Instruments.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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12 Total Efficiency Comparison at Full Load on VLED, 24 V and 5 V.................................................... 14

13 Power Factor at Full Load for PMP4298A ............................................................................. 14
14 Output Headroom Voltage Waveforms for PMP4298A: LED ON to OFF .......................................... 15
15 Output Headroom Voltage Waveforms for PMP4298A: LED OFF to ON .......................................... 15
16 PFC Stage Schematic for PMP4298 and PMP4298A ................................................................ 17
17 Auxiliary Flyback Converter Stage Schematic for PMP4298 and PMP4298A .................................... 18
18 LLC Converter Stage Schematic for PMP4298 ....................................................................... 19
19 LLC Converter Stage Schematic for PMP4298A ...................................................................... 20
20 TLC5960 LED Driver Stage Schematic for PMP4298 ................................................................ 21
21 TLC5960 LED Driver Stage Schematic for PMP4298A .............................................................. 22

1 Introduction
Liquid crystal display (LCD) television has become a hot favorite for consumers worldwide, mostly as a
result of the superior technology adopted by the industry in the manufacturing processes for these
systems. Since it was first introduced to the market, periodic improvements have been made in response
to user comments and complaints. Many new techniques continue to improve the performance of these
units. Some of these techniques are unique to LCD television; light-emitting diode (or LED) backlighting is
one of these improvements.
This new backlight design has been acknowledged as having enormous potential for television technology
and architecture. Some experts even theorize that LED backlight will eventually replace all other backlight
techniques in the near future. LEDs are now widely used in many LCD televisions regardless of size. LED
implementation facilitates saturated colors and superior color reproduction. Compared to other methods
for backlights, LEDs are the most popular system because of these advantages, among others:
1. Long lifetime: With a life span of 50,000 hours or more, LED technology is the most durable backlight
system in the television industry.
2. Contrast ratio: The fast switching capability is one of the biggest advantages of solid-state backlight
compared to conventional backlight such as CCFL bulbs. In an LCD TV, this capability translates into a
dynamic contrast ratio, which is an important specification for an LCD TV set to achieve better picture
quality.
3. Wide color gamut: LED backlight has the potential to provide a superior, wide range color gamut,
especially with RGB LED backlight. Even with WLED backlight, color purity is much better than with
CCFL backlighting; this benefit also increases the overall system picture quality.
4. Brightness: The light efficacy of LED technology is continuously improving, almost at the rate of twice
per decade. LCD TV makes full use of this benefit, not only for picture quality improvement or lower
power consumption, but also in areas such as 3D-TV (theoretically, the brightness is halved to 2D-TV)
and using LCD TVs out-of-doors.
5. TV design flexibility: Because the LED itself has a smaller dimension compared to traditional CCFL
backlighting, stylish new TV designs are achievable; for example, an edge-lit, wall-mounted TV set has
a thickness of less than 10 mm. These types of innovations are promoting new styles in many homes.
6. Low power consumption: As noted earlier, the LED has much higher light efficacy compared to
conventional technologies. Therefore, an LED backlight TV set has lower power consumption.
EnergyStar v4.0/v5.0 and California Energy Commission (CEC) standards control power consumption
performance for LCD TVs with different size panels. For example, for a 42-inch panel, the EnergyStar
v4.0 (May 2010) regulation required that the maximum input power should be less than 115 W; the
CEC Tier1 (January 2011) standard requires a maximum input power of less than 183 W.
Conventional CCFL backlight technology is unable to meet these regulations; as a result, LED
backlight technology is the first choice for system designers.
7. Environmentally friendly TV: An LED backlight LCD TV set contains no mercury, so it is easier to
dispose of and more easily recycled than other types of LCD TVs. This is the primary reason that
many environmentalists also support LED TVs over other TV technologies.

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www.ti.com Proposed LED Backlight TV Power Architectures

Considering these benefits, as well as others, LED backlight has become the mainstream technology and
is quickly replacing conventional CCFL backlight designs for LCD TVs. Because of the low cost and easy
design, edge-type LED backlight structures have been widely used in recent LED backlight TVs. Figure 1
shows the typical power conversion architecture for edge-type LED backlight TVs.
LCD Panel

24 VDC
Isolated AC/DC DC/DC
AC
Power Board LED Driver

Figure 1. Edge-Type LED Backlight LCD TV Power Conversion Scheme

This topology uses a switching, high-voltage boost dc-dc converter for each LCD string. It is very common
for a switching boost dc-dc converter used in a multi-string configuration to generate electromagnetic
interference (EMI) problems, because multiple switching LED drivers generate additional high-frequency
switching, differential-mode (DM) noise at this stage, and therefore affect the measured results of both
conducted and radiated EMI in the TV power system. An increased EMI design effort—for example, an
RC snubber network at the switching node or an EMI filter at the output side—is then required in order to
comply with the EMI standards.
Instead of this additional constraint, a linear constant-current regulator topology is sometimes selected.
This topology does not generate any high-frequency switching noise; therefore, it is the perfect solution for
EMI designs with a reduced BOM cost target. However, the power dissipation of the conventional linear
driver approach is normally more excessive than the multiple dc-dc converter approach, because it lacks
an LED bias, dc-dc voltage optimization mechanism.
This document introduces several innovative topologies for LED backlight TV with two power reference
designs (the PMP4298 and PMP4298A) using the TLC5960, an eight-channel, intelligent linear LED driver
from Texas Instruments. The TLC5960 intelligent headroom voltage monitor creates a dedicated, closed
feedback loop to automatically optimize the LED bias voltage by using the forward voltage information of
the LED strings. This application note shows not only a dc-dc LED bias stage but also a direct LED bias
control from the primary side ac-dc LLC converter output, without any boost dc-dc required in front of the
LED driver. Both topologies can be selected based on the customer’s specific requirements, and
contribute to improved system efficiency while also reducing the total BOM cost.

2 Proposed LED Backlight TV Power Architectures

Two power architectures are proposed. First, the basic architecture of a LED backlight TV power supply is
analyzed (see Figure 2); then, a more advanced configuration specific to an ac-dc power supply LED
backlight architecture is discussed (refer to Figure 3). The PMP4298A should achieve a higher efficiency
and lower cost because it omits the unnecessary boost dc-dc stage for the LED backlight bias generation.
The PMP4298 also has an additional dc-dc stage, enabling users to easily set the ac-dc output voltage to
a certain preferred range. On the other hand, the PMP4298A has no additional stage; the ac-dc output
voltage should be set equal to the LED backlight bias voltage variable range, thus achieving higher
efficiency and lower cost.

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Table 1 presents a brief comparison of the two architectures.

Table 1. Comparison of Two Reference Designs

Reference Design
Characteristic/Feature PMP4298 PMP4298A
Primary stage ac-dc design TM PFC + LLC, Flyback TM PFC + LLC, Flyback
Secondary stage design DC-DC + LED Driver with iHVM LED Driver with iHVM
Front-end boost dc-dc converter Yes No
Efficiency 85% 87%
Cost Medium Low
Primary stage ac-dc output voltage 48 V 80 V ±10%

Figure 2 shows the basic architecture of a generic, edge-type LED backlight TV power supply. The stage
within the dashed line is the LED light bar driver stage. In this topology, the UCC28051 is a boost
transition mode (TM) power factor corrector (PFC), which can rectify an ac input line voltage to 380 VDC;
the resonant LLC stage UCC25600 regulates the output to 24 V/2 A for an audio amplifier with feedback
to the LLC controller, and 48 V for the LED driver input. The flyback with UCC28610 in parallel generates
5 V/3 A for the system board and 5 V/1 A for standby power. In the LED driver stage, the 48-V input
voltage requires another front-end boost stage to boost the output voltage to 80 V, which connects to the
eight-channel TLC5960 with 20 LEDs at 120 mA per string. This technique is the most common type of
current LED backlight; the LLC design is easily implemented. The intelligent headroom voltage monitor (or
iHVM™) automatically minimizes the power loss caused by the LED forward voltage change. Only a
single additional resistor regulates the boost dc-dc output voltage.

48 VDC 80 VDC
Boost DC/DC
LLC Control TPS40210
FB
TM PFC UCC25600
UCC28501 R1

Eight-Channel
24 V at R2 Light Bar
2 A for
audio and 20 LEDs
system in series
VREF

iHVM TLC5960 Constant Current LED Driver

System
Flyback
UCC28610
5 V at 1 A
for standby

5 V at 3 A
for system

Figure 2. PMP4298: Basic Architecture for LED Backlight LCD TV Power Supply

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Figure 3 shows the advanced configuration of an LED backlight LCD TV integrated power supply. The
PMP4298A does not have a boost dc-dc converter in front of the LED driver; the iHVM directly controls
the primary side ac-dc output voltage based on the feedback information of the headroom voltage on the
FETs that drive the LEDs. The voltage for the LLC converter is regulated by both the primary LLC
feedback loop and the iHVM feedback loop from the TLC5960 LED driver.
~80 VDC

LLC Control
TM PFC UCC25600
UCC28501 R1

VREF
Eight-Channel
R2 Light Bar

20 LEDs
24 V at 2 A for in series
audio and
system

iHVM

System
Flyback
UCC28610
5 V at 1 A
for standby

5 V at 3 A TLC5960 Constant Current LED Driver

for system

Figure 3. PMP4298A: Advanced Power Architecture for LED Backlight LCD TV

3 iHVM Basics
The LED forward voltage is subject to change depending on the forward current and the thermal resistivity
of a given package. For instance, the temperature within an LCD TV starts at room temperature, and soon
reaches approximately +70ºC. Assuming a typical LED component forward voltage reduction of ~5%, if
the backlight total wattage is 100 W, then 5 W is turned directly into additional heat after the system
powers on. Of course, this 5 W has an impact on the total power consumption of ~5%; however, a more
significant impact is made on the thermal design. Imagine the additional 5 W heat inside a state-of-the-art,
edge-lit TV with only 10-mm thickness. Even worse, this 5 W concentrates in some specific areas within
the TV unit. To suppress the heat, one method is to turn on the cooling fan to lower the overall
temperature. Or, a designer may be able to select an additional (larger) heatsink. However, keep in mind
that 5 W is only assumed as a typical case; you should consider a higher value for your worst-case
scenario in a real design.
The innovative iHVM design goal is to free engineers from this tiresome design task. If you want to
minimize additional costs such as a larger (or additional) heatsink, you must manage the LED bias voltage
according to the LED forward voltage change. The iHVM approach provides the perfect answer to that
situation. iHVM detects the LED forward voltage and automatically optimizes the LED bias voltage to
diminish the additional heat inside the system.

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Equation 1 shows the iHVM-based LED voltage calculation. The dc-dc converter provides the LED bias
voltage for all LED strings. The LED driver provides a fast linear switching capability as well as headroom
voltage sense feedback. The output voltage of the dc-dc stage is calculated according to Equation 1.
R1 + R2 R1
VLED = VREF + (V - VHVM)
R2 R3 REF (1)
The left side of Equation 1 describes the typical dc-dc converter output voltage. The right side of the
formula is the variable portion based on the iHVM additional feedback loop. The user can adjust the LED
voltage with an additional resistor, R3, to fit it to the system-required VLED bias voltage range within ±20%.
As Figure 4 shows, the total power system consists of two feedback loops: the primary loop and the
iHVM-based secondary loop. In general, careful feedback design is required if two feedback loops are
present on a single dc-dc converter to ensure stability. With the TLC5960, users do not need to
compensate the secondary loop because this adjustment is handled by the fully-integrated digital iHVM
control loop.

DC/DC
VLED

COUT
Primary Loop Secondary Loop

R1

VFB

VREF
Sinking
iHVM
Process
TPS40210 R3 Core
D1
Sourcing
iHVM G1
R2
S1
TLC5960 RS RS
LED Driver

Figure 4. PMP4298: iHVM Feedback Loop Integration into DC-DC Primary Feedback Loop

Some of the benefits of the additional closed-loop feedback with iHVM include:
• Freedom from concern about any LED forward voltage change with a temperature or current change;
the closed feedback loop always regulates the LED bias voltage to the appropriate level.
• Freedom from any additional feedback compensation design. The secondary closed-loop system has
the advantage of automatic LED voltage adjustment; in general, however, the user also must apply
careful feedback loop design to ensure stability. iHVM has the capability of intelligently adjusting the
secondary loop response, and therefore the user does not need to be concerned about phase
compensation design.
• Freedom from noise misdetection and retention when sampling the cathode node of LED strings for
detecting any LED forward voltage change. iHVM is a fully-developed digital processing technique, and
a noise guardband is already integrated for noise immunity in the extremely noisy environment within a
TV unit.
• An easily-applied, advanced LED switching sequence. iHVM memorizes the VLED bias voltage once
optimized. This feature is not so easy to realize in a conventional analog feedback loop, and it is very
beneficial for severe full-on, full-off light sequences that are intended to produce better brightness
profiles, which are often required for modern 3-D TV designs.
Design note: An iHVM-based system consists of an ideal secondary feedback loop. However, the
transient response of the total system depends on the primary loop design of the dc-dc converter or
the resonant converter stage.

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4 Advanced iHVM Feedback Design: Direct Feedback to Isolated AC-DC Power Stage
iHVM is designed to be flexible and to work well with various configurations of primary feedback loops.
iHVM can work with a non-isolated dc-dc power stage design (based on the PMP4298 and the
TPS40210), and is also easily configurable with an isolated ac-dc power stage (using the PMP4298A and
the UCC25600 directly). Figure 5 illustrates the PMP4298A application circuitry with an LLC resonant
controller with feedback through isolation. Up to four feedback connections can be controlled from
TLC5960 iHVM buffers; output levels are automatically adjusted through an internal iHVM mechanism to
improve the linear LED driver efficiency.
Here, the LLC resonant converter output with variable frequency is regulated based on the shunt current
through the TL431 voltage reference device. At the reference node of the TL431 (designated as the FB
node), the voltage divider R1 and R2 is connected to define the primary feedback loop voltage. The iHVM
mechanism feeds the LED forward voltage information back to the FB node through RHVM and adjusts the
LLC resonant converter output voltage according to the required LED forward voltage.
To sense the LED forward voltage in strings, the TLC5960 monitors the FET drain node voltage of each
string first. Next, the TLC5960 processes the obtained information in an intelligent digital power logic
block. Finally, the TLC5960 modulates the HVM pin output voltage, which adjusts the UCC25600
operating frequency to achieve an optimized output voltage, VLED.

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20 LEDs
in series

RS8

TLC5960
S8
Eight-Channel
Light Bar

D8 G8

-
iHVM Detection Ch 8
RS1

iHVM Detection Ch 1

D
C
S1

Q
~80 VDC

D1 G1

iHVM
Logic
iHVM

Buffer
RHVM
n:1:1
Isolation

ISOURCE
ISINK
R1

R2
LM

FB
LR

Feedback
CR

ROPTO

RP

CP

TL431
VG1
VGS1

VG2
VGS2

CZ
+

-
360 V

400 V
to

SS
OC
TD
RT
UCC25600
VCC

Gate1

Gate2
GND
VCC

CS
VGS1

VGS2
VG1

VG2

Figure 5. TLC5960 Application Circuit with LLC Resonant Converter

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Figure 6 shows a block diagram of a total system that consists of an isolated ac-dc primary feedback loop
and the iHVM secondary feedback loop. The primary feedback loop is the normal voltage feedback loop
for the LLC resonant converter with voltage-controlled oscillation (VCO). The LLC resonant converter is
based on a serial resonant converter (SRC) architecture. By using the transformer magnetizing
inductance, zero-voltage switching can be achieved over a wide range of input voltages and loads. As a
result of multiple resonances, zero-voltage switching can also be maintained when the switching
frequency of the LLC controller is higher or lower than the resonant frequency. As the switching frequency
is lowered, the voltage gain significantly increases. This characteristic allows the converter to maintain
regulation when the input voltage falls low or the output current increases.
400 V

VLED

Voltage COUT iHVM

Feedback LLC Feedback
Loop Controller Loop

R1
13 V

ISINK
VFB iHVM
Process
R3 Core
ISOURCE D1
VREF
HVM1 G1
R2
S1
TLC5960 RS RS
LED Driver

Figure 6. AC-DC Power-Stage Direct Feedback Loop Integrated with iHVM Secondary Feedback

The secondary feedback loop is intended to integrate the cathode node information of the LED string in
order to optimize the power dissipation caused by the LED string voltage change as a result of the
variance of the LED forward voltage. The VLED output voltage equation is the same as for the iHVM with
the non-isolated boost converter feedback loop (see Equation 1).

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4.1 PMP4298A Start-Up Sequence of LLC Direct Feedback Through iHVM

Figure 7 illustrates the start-up sequence of this system. When the ac line powers on, the LLC resonant
converter starts to work to output the initial VLED voltage. After the user enables the TLC5960, the iHVM
adjustment sequence kicks out the center value (0.7 V) of the HVM output control range (0.14 V to
1.25 V). Thus, the initial VLED voltage is also set to start from the center value (here, 70 V) after the initial
startup of the ac-dc power. Then, the TLC5960 begins to sense the LED string total forward voltage, and
the HVM output starts to modulate. The UCC25600 then regulates the operating frequency with the
voltage-controlled oscillation (VCO) to set the appropriate voltage of the VLED that corresponds to the LED
string total forward voltage.

iHVM
Optimization
start when
TLC5960 is iHVM
enabled Optimization
EN (V) hold at
EN = L
5
TLC5960/EN(I) LED VF Change iHVM Found
0 Detected Settling Point
iHVM Output iHVM Found
VHVM (V) Range Settling Point
1.25 V
1.2 TLC5960/iHVM(O)
0.7
Default 0.7-V Output
0.14 V
0

iHVM Output
VLED (V) Starts to Adjust
AC/DC Output
80 V

AC/DC Default
Output Level

70
R1 + R2
VREF
R2

60 V iHVM Adjustable
Range

R1
(VREF - VHVM)
R3

0
Initiated AC/DC iHVM Initialization iHVM Optimization iHVM Hold Time (s)
Power Supply (EN = L) (EN = H) (EN = L)

Figure 7. PMP4298A: AC-DC Power Stage Startup and iHVM Optimization Sequence

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www.ti.com Protection Scheme

5 Protection Scheme
Protection is one of the key design parameters required to keep the total system safe in case of an
abnormal situation. LED open detection and LED short detection are basic protection requirements in LED
backlight systems. In the PMP4298/A, these LED-related protections are handled intelligently by the
TLC5960. First, the TLC5960 monitors the Dn nodes (the cathode nodes of the LED strings) and
determines whether an abnormal voltage range is detected or not. Then, the TLC5960 tries to resolve any
abnormal situation by using the integrated iHVM feature. Finally, and only if the TLC5960 could not
resolve the situation with iHVM, the TLC5960 recognizes an error and automatically shuts off the error
string(s), separating them from normal working strings. The detection related diagram is shown in
Figure 8.
VIN

VLED

TPS40210 (PMP4298)
or R1
UCC25600 (PMP4298A) R3
FB

R2

TLC5960
HVM+

iHVM
Feedback
iHVM Logic
HVM-

On LED LED
Short Short

iHVM
LED LED
Status
Open Open
Info Dn

LED Short (LSD)

XFLT
Error Out

On

Protection
Logic
LED Open (LOD)

On

Figure 8. TLC5960 Total iHVM and Protection Scheme

For instance, an LED Open Detection (LOD) flag is triggered when the voltage Dn is lower than 0.8 V.
When the TLC5960 recognizes this low voltage, the device tries to resolve the abnormal situation by

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driving to higher Dn voltages by lowering the HVM output voltage. And when the VLED level reaches its
maximum value, the TLC5960 recognizes an actual error status. Figure 9 shows this sequence. The LED
short detection (LSD) sequence is also presented in Figure 10. In the case of an LED short, the TLC5960
also recognizes an abnormally higher voltage at Dx node. So, in this case, the iHVM mechanism tries to
set VLED at as low a voltage as possible. If this attempt fails, the TLC5960 recognizes this result as an
error and initiates a corrective action: shut off the error string.
iHVM
Detection
Range Dn Voltage Recovers Error String
Dn (V) (Normal Status) Shut Off
2.6
HVM Output 1.6
Range 0.8 LED VF Change LED VF
Drives HVM Lower Changes Dn Unable to
VHVM (V) Again Recover (Error Status)
1.25
HVM Output
0.7 Reaches Min

0.14
VLED Driven
XFLT (V) Higher
5 Error Output

0
iHVM VLED Settles
Controls Once VLED Reaches
VLED (V) VLED Max Value
80
VLED Range
70
Corresponding to
60 iHVM Range

Normal Status iHVM Normal iHVM Error

Optimize Optimize Status

Figure 9. LED Open Detection and VLED Optimization Through iHVM

Error String
Shut Off
Dn (V)
Dn Voltage Recovers
(Normal Status)
9.5
iHVM Dn Unable to
Detection Recover (Error Status)
Range

2.6 LED VF
1.6 Changes
LED VF Change Again HVM Output
VHVM (V) Drives HVM Higher Reaches Max
1.25

0.7

0.14
VLED Driven
XFLT (V) Low
Error Output
5

0 iHVM
Controls
VLED
VLED (V)
VLED Range
80 VLED Settles Corresponding to
Once iHVM Range
70
VLED Reaches
60 Min Value

Normal Status iHVM Normal iHVM Error

Optimize Optimize Status

Figure 10. LED Short Detection and VLED Optimization Through iHVM

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These are the basic schemes used by the TLC5960 LED driver, which integrates both iHVM and
protection features, to protect the LED backlight system intelligently. Table 2 summarizes the LED open
and short conditions. This table also describes the Dn node recognition internal circuitry and how the
iHVM information is integrated into the protection recognition routine.

Table 2. LED Open and Short Protection Conditions

iHVM Status to Trigger Error
LED Error Status Dn Error Detection Voltage Detection
VLED reaches the maximum value
LED Open Dn < 0.8 V
(HVM = 0.14 V)
VLED reaches the minimum value
LED Short Dn > 19.2 V (default)
(HVM = 1.25 V)

6 Experimental Results
In order to verify the proposed LED backlight TV power supply design using intelligent headroom voltage
control, two reference design demonstration fixtures are constructed using the PMP4298 and PMP4298A.
Typical specifications of the reference design include:
• Input: 150-W universal ac input power supply (85 VAC to 264 VAC, at 47 Hz to 63 Hz)
• Greater than 85% efficiency from ac to LED backlight at 220 VAC input
• Power output:
– LED strings: Eight channels x 80 V with 20 120-mA LEDs per string
– Audio and system: 24 V at 2 A
– System: 5 V at 3 A
– Standby power: 5 V at 1 A
• Minimum 20-ms hold-up time when the input line is shut off
• Input standby power Less than 500 mW with 5-V/30-mA output (onboard switch can trigger standby
mode)
• Printed circuit board (PCB) specifications:
– Single layer board
– X-Y dimensions (max):10 inches x 10 inches (25.40 cm x 25.40 cm)
– Height (max): .394 inches (10 mm)—not including PCB thickness
• Dimming range: 1% to 100% (250-Hz dimming frequency)
• LED current matching specification: Less than 3% for full dimming range
• Flyback stage output regulation tolerance: Less than ±5% over the load range
• LED protection (short, open, overcurrent, undercurrent, undervoltage, etc.)
• OCP and OVP protection for the Flyback stage
• In Standby mode, system disables PFC and LLC stages to reduce standby power
• TLC5960 headroom voltage mode (iHVM™) to control the UCC25600 LLC output and optimize
efficiency
• Meets IEC 61000-3-2 for total harmonic distortion
• Meets EN55022 Class B EMI requirements
• Operating temperature range: 0ºC to +50ºC; storage temperature range: –20ºC to +80ºC

SLVA474 – July 2011 High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED 13
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Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated
Experimental Results www.ti.com

Figure 11 shows the demonstration fixture PMP4298A configured with an eight-channel LED light bar in
the test setup.

5-V System Load

24-V DC Load

5-V Standby Load

PMP4298A Demo Board

Eight-String
LED Light Bar
Figure 11. PMP4298A Demonstration Fixture Test Setup

Figure 12 presents a total efficiency comparison with an input voltage range from 90 VAC to 264 VAC at a
full load for both the PMP4298 and PMP4298A designs. Overall, the PMP4298 shows good efficiency
(85%). Furthermore, by omitting the front-end boost dc-dc stage, the PMP4298A shows an 88% peak, or
2% superior performance than the PMP4298 in efficiency with a lower cost structure. The 3% power-loss
savings in a total 150-W design is equivalent to a 4.5-W saving for thermal components. For additional
improvements, the user must also consider appropriate transformer and MOSFET selection, because
most of the loss comes from the transformer core loss and the FET switching loss. Figure 13 shows the
power factor at a full load for the PMP4298A.
EFFICIENCY COMPARISON POWER FACTOR vs INPUT VOLTAGE
0.9
1
0.89 0.99
0.88 0.98
0.97
Efficiency (%)

0.87
Power Factor

0.96
0.86
0.95
0.85 0.94
0.84 0.93

0.83 PMP4298 0.92

PMP4298A 0.91
0.82
90 110 130 150 170 190 210 230 250 264 0.9
90 110 130 150 170 190 210 230 250 264
Input Voltage (V)
Input Voltage (V)
Figure 12. Total Efficiency Comparison at Full Load on Figure 13. Power Factor at Full Load for PMP4298A
VLED, 24 V and 5 V

14 High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED SLVA474 – July 2011
Backlight Driving Scheme Submit Documentation Feedback
Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated
www.ti.com Conclusion

Figure 14 shows the waveforms from the LED light bar ON to OFF at 50% and 90% PWM dimming for
VO_LED (blue line), iHVM (red line), and the output LED current (green line). After VLED turns ON, by the
heat of the LED itself, the LED forward voltage is lower; iHVM detects that change and controls VLED to be
a little lower, cycle by cycle, to achieve maximum total efficiency in power across the board.

(a) 50% PWM Dimming (b) 90% PWM Dimming

Figure 14. Output Headroom Voltage Waveforms for PMP4298A: LED ON to OFF

Figure 15 shows the waveforms from the LED light bar OFF to ON at 50% and 90% PWM dimming for
VO_LED (blue line), iHVM (red line), and the output LED current (green line).

(a) 50% PWM Dimming (b) 90% PWM Dimming

Figure 15. Output Headroom Voltage Waveforms for PMP4298A: LED OFF to ON

See Appendix A for schematics for the PMP4298 and PMP4298A.

7 Conclusion
This application note shows two reference designs, which are both applicable to various LED backlight
applications. One of the key features of these recommended designs is the VLED control methodology
(iHVM) that reduces power dissipation, additional costs, and overall design effort. The iHVM was originally
designed to work well not only for normal dc-dc converter stages (PMP4298), but also with slower
response ac-dc resonant converter stages (PMP4298A).
Another key feature is system safety. By combining the VLED control mechanism and the integrated
protection mechanisms, the total system is robust even in abnormal situations. Experimental results
confirmed 88% peak efficiency including total ac-dc TV power outputs while maintaining a 98% power
factor for a wide input range from 85 VAC to 264 VAC.

SLVA474 – July 2011 High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED 15
Submit Documentation Feedback Backlight Driving Scheme
Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated
References www.ti.com

8 References
Unless otherwise noted, these documents are available for download through the Texas Instruments
website (www.ti.com).
• TLC5960 8-channel LED driver controller with integrated intelligent thermal controller. Product data
sheet. Literature number SBVS147.
• UCC28610 Green-mode flyback controller. Product data sheet. Literature number SLUS888D.
• UCC25600 8-pin high-performance resonant mode controller. Product data sheet. Literature number
SLUS846A.
• UCC28051 PFC controller for low to medium power applications requiring compliance with IEC
1000-3-2. Product data sheet. Literature number SLUS515F.

Appendix A Schematics

Schematics for the PMP4298 and PMP4298A are given in Figure 16 to Figure 21.

16 High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED SLVA474 – July 2011
Backlight Driving Scheme Submit Documentation Feedback
Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated
www.ti.com Appendix A

+
+
+

>12.5V needed
Chassis
85VAC to 265VAC Input

L
N

Figure 16. PFC Stage Schematic for PMP4298 and PMP4298A

SLVA474 – July 2011 High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED 17
Submit Documentation Feedback Backlight Driving Scheme
Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated
Appendix A www.ti.com

+
+

+
+

Figure 17. Auxiliary Flyback Converter Stage Schematic for PMP4298 and PMP4298A

18 High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED SLVA474 – July 2011
Backlight Driving Scheme Submit Documentation Feedback
Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated
 L3
www.ti.com

C41 1 2 +24V@2.5A
0.1uF D22
N/A J2
T1 R123 D 1

Q7
1:1:1 G T3 2
4.7

C43

NA

SLVA474 – July 2011

C42
1.1mH:300uH 3

8.2nF/630V
+ +

SPP20N60C3
10K S 1 1
4

NA
R134
C20

C19
R72 2 2 5

NA
+

560uF/35V

R133
1 6
C21 2.2uF
560uF/35V

C18
2 7
8

560uF/35V

NA
C77

NA
C49

Submit Documentation Feedback

STPS20100CT

STPS20100CT
D25

D24
C88
R131 1nF/630V
4.7 48V@1.5A

R112
1.8M

1.8M
R107
D

Q11
G D29 + 1 C3 + 1 C4
NA

C50
R136

N/A
10K D23

NA
S 2330uF 2330uF

C51
SPP20N60C3
NA

8.2nF/630V
C73

R135
R84 1N4148W
2.2uF
NA
C78

47K
NA
MBR20200CT

R110
C69

MBR20200CT
D34

R111

D28
1N4148W 47K
D35 2.2nF
C54
BAT54 C117
D45 0.1uF NA 51
R87 R127 R128
0
3K C56
1u 12 U9 R88 R89 220pF 10K
C55 UCC25600D 10K 220 U10 R91 R94
R95 8 1 FOD817A
7 GD1 DT 2 R96 4 1 R92 43K
12 6 VCC RT 3 12K
R98 R99 C60
C57

5 GNDOC 4 3 2
GD2 SS R97 C59
1000pF

24K 10nF
C61 22k 22nF U11

2.2nF
1u
C63

Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated

R100

10K
C62
Ref

R109
.47u 3.9k TL431AIDBZR NA
R102
Hiccup OCP
R101
4.99k

C65
NA
2k R76
15K 8 R149

5.1k
R42 LM293AD C76

R71
3

Figure 18. LLC Converter Stage Schematic for PMP4298

1 0.1uF 11K
2 U1:A
R75 4

U6
C52 C33 R73 C53
1M 2u2
Ref 1uF 12K 0.1uF
R74 D27
11K BAS16

TL431AIDBZR
R14 OTP (NTC on Pri HS, 95C)
D33

5.1k
NTC

R13
5 U1:B BAT54
R47 6 7
R35
0 LM293AD 10K
D26
D13
BAT54

R24 C14 R25

BAS16
12K 12K R34

High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED

Backlight Driving Scheme
0.1uF 1.1M D12
BAS16
Appendix A

19
Appendix A www.ti.com

+
+

+
+

Figure 19. LLC Converter Stage Schematic for PMP4298A

20 High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED SLVA474 – July 2011
Backlight Driving Scheme Submit Documentation Feedback
Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated
 D1

L1 MBR10H100CT
47uH
www.ti.com

1 2 80V @ 1A
J3
+ C17 1
+
1 C16 1 C5 + 1 C6 + 1 C7 C1 2
2.2uF
2 330uF 100V R1 2.2uF 3
2100uF 2100uF 2100uF

SLVA474 – July 2011

100V 4
10 Q3 5
MMBT2222A 6
C8 3.9 D 7

Q1
0.33uF R39 R7 G 8
R6 50V 14
R8 R9 220K 100
Q4 S

Submit Documentation Feedback

IPP80CN10N
30.1k 30.1k
MMBT2907
Q6 R105
D3 MMBT2222 0
C10

1k
R10
24V J4
1uF 1

C9
220pF
2
D4 C12 R12 3

C11
7.5V 0.03 4

220pF
1uF

R15
100K
0.5W 5
C13 6
UVLO 0.1uF 7
8
R16

C15
470pF
24K R17 R21 R30 51K
R29

100K
optional

100K R2 optional R40

U4
R18 10 100K 1 TLC596xDA 38
43

R20 R44 R28 2 37

1.5K 13K 82K C23 R23
3 36 390K
0.33uF 4 35
50V R3 HVM1/HVM HVM4/REFLSD
C24 5 34
40

1uF 6 33 R148 R22

100K 10K 100K
7 32
8 XFLT 31
9 D5 30
10 G1 G5 29

R38
100K
R43
100K
S1

R65
100K
R90
100K 11 S5 28
D2 D6 D30 D31 12 D2 D6 27 R27

R31
200K
R36
200K
MURA120T3G MURA120T3G G2 100K

R70
200K
R93
200K

MURA120T3G MURA120T3G 13 G6 26
14 S2 S6 25
15 D3 D7 24
D 4 D 4 D 4 D 4 G3 R26
Q2 Q5 Q15 Q18 16 G7 23
100K
S3

Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated

FQT4N20L 1 FQT4N20L 1 1 1 17 S7 22
G FQT4N20L FQT4N20L D4
S3 G G G 18 D8 21
S3 S3 S3 19 G4 G8 20
S4 S8
R37 R41 R60 R86
4.99 4.99 4.99 4.99

R121
100K
R125
100K

R115
100K
R118
100K

Figure 20. TLC5960 LED Driver Stage Schematic for PMP4298

D32 D36 D37 D38
R122
200K
R129
200K

MURA120T3G MURA120T3G

R116
200K
MURA120T3G

R119
200K
MURA120T3G

D 4 D 4 D 4 D 4
Q19 Q20 Q21 Q22
FQT4N20L 1 1 FQT4N20L 1 FQT4N20L 1
FQT4N20L G G
G G S3 S3
S3 S3

R114 R117 R120 R124

4.99 4.99 4.99 4.99

High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED

Backlight Driving Scheme
Appendix A

21
Appendix A www.ti.com

+
+
+

Figure 21. TLC5960 LED Driver Stage Schematic for PMP4298A

22 High-Efficiency AC-DC TV Power Solutions: Proposing an Intelligent LED SLVA474 – July 2011
Backlight Driving Scheme Submit Documentation Feedback
Copyright © 2011, Texas Instruments Incorporated
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