A 16-channel Active-Matrix Mini-LED Driver with an USI-B for EMI noise reduction

Abstract

It is presented the first active-matrix (AM) mini light-emitting diode (LED) driver system for a back-light unit (BLU) that uses a newly proposed 1-pair clock-embedding unified standard interface (USI-B) to reduce EMI and power consumption. The system consists of a pixel driver IC (PDIC) and a pixel IC (PIC). The PDIC transmits 20-bit brightness data to the PIC to control the mini-LEDs. The USI-B, based on clock and data recovery (CDR), has been applied to enhance high-level noise tolerance, long-distance transmission, and EMI reduction. Self-current calibration and offset cancellation in the PIC allow for current accuracy of up to ±1% between PICs. This system can support 16,128 LED local-dimming zones (LDZ) using two PDIC and has a measured EMI level of less than 30dB($\mu$V/m). The PDIC and PIC were fabricated using a 65nm and 130nm CMOS process, respectively.