Gadget Freak

It seems the stage is set for world domination from the humble LED.

LEDs have grown from their modest beginnings, just being little red dots to tell you the stereo was on, to become capable of illuminating a whole room or lighting the road ahead on the chilliest and darkest of British drives.

High-performance LEDs are now being churned out like they’re going out of fashion from many manufacturers around the world. White LEDs have already replaced applications that have usually been the domain of traditional lights.

Many LED drivers, using both charge pumps and inductors, are available to boost the 1.2 to 2.4V available from single and dual-cell NiMH (nickel-metal-hydride) batteries to the 3.6V that thirsty white LEDs require.

Thanks to our sister publication Electronics Weekly, here is the circuit schematic for a white-LED driver.