IMSTec LED CONTROLLER 

The new Dual Intelligent Constant Current LED Controller (ILC2008) from IMSTec GmbH is a LED controller especially designed for applications that require low noise on the optical output. The latter requires a constant current source which also has low noise properties. Any current change reflects in the light output since LEDs have a linear light-current dependency over a huge operational range. 

Many standard lightning controllers utilize efficient pulse width modulation (PWM) to tune the average current to the targeted value. This technique is very efficient regarding both cost and power but is limited to applications which integrate over many PWM cycles and therefore average out the high frequency components (like the human eye). When using faster imaging sensors appropriate parameters for PWM frequency and exposure times have to be chosen or synchronization mechanisms need to be established which may not be possible in all applications. The ILC2008 controller overcomes these difficulties by an alternative current source topology.

Many of today’s machine vision systems benefit from high performance digital cameras. However the appropriate illumination of the objects to be captured become equivalently demanding. Using high speed cameras with microsecond exposure times require illumination sources that provide repeatable light intensity from pulse to pulse and constant illumination over the exposure time. 

The ILC2008 from IMSTec GmbH targets applications where low ripple on the LED current, and the LED light output respectively, is a key success criteria. Two independent LED ports are supported by the ILC2008. The controller comes in two variants supporting output currents up to 1000mA with a resolution of 0.5mA or 4000m with 2mA resolution, respectively. 

For flash applications the pulse duration can be selected between 10µs and 999ms.   The trigger source can be either RS232 or an opto-isolated PLC interface. If required user selectable trigger delays give additional flexibility to cover an even wider range of applications.

Configuration of the ILC2008 can be done intuitively via four push buttons with instant feedback on a graphical LC display. Alternatively an intelligent RS232 interface can be used (e.g. connected to a host PC or PLC) for configuration. The configuration data can be stored in non-volatile memory for autonomous operation.

IMSTec’s intuitive and easy to integrate ILC2008 controller with its superior technical specifications make this product an ideal controller that seamlessly fit to the light sources in your demanding applications.