PhlatLight DK-414N-4 User manual

960031 Rev A © 2009 Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1
Introduction:
PhlatLight LEDs, from Luminus Devices, have been
designed from the ground up to enable a new class of
illumination and projection systems. Benefiting from a
suite of innovations in chip technology, packaging, and
thermal management, PhlatLight LEDs allow designers to
achieve efficient light engine designs and deliver high
brightness solutions.
The DK-414N series of PhlatLight Development Kits was
designed for fast and simple evaluation of PhlatLight
products. The included electrical and thermal solutions
enable customers to easily breadboard or prototype their
system without time consuming and costly development
of driver boards and heat sinks.
Designed to work with CBM-290-RGB and CBM-380-RGBW
parts and capable of providing up to 14A per channel,
the DK-414N development kits support various different
drive conditions and use scenarios.
This plug and play solution can easily be connected to
common laboratory equipment through standard
connectors and allows system designers to save weeks in
their development cycles.
Table of Contents:
Key Features
Development Kit Contents
Heat sink
Driver boards
Holding board
Cable assembly
Thermal interface materials and mounting hardware
User instructions
Additional required lab equipment
PhlatLight Device Mounting Instructions
Electrical Setup Instructions
Operating Instructions
PhlatLight LED
Development Kit Manual
DK-414N-4
DK-314N-3

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 2
1. Key Features
• Drive each color of CBM-290 or CBM-380 to full power
• Pulse frequencies of greater than 40kHz possible
• Analog current control via on-board potentiometers or external voltage
• Simple current and voltage measurements
• Fast rise and fall times - less than 1 microsecond
• Fast current level switching - less than 5 microseconds
2. Development Kit Contents
As seen in Figure 1, the content of each PhlatLight DK-414N Development Kit includes the following
components:
• Heat sink
• Driver boards
• Cable assemblies
• Thermal interface materials and mounting hardware
• User manual
This development kit was designed with flexible features to allow for easy evaluation of PhlatLight LEDs.
It was not optimized for size or for direct integration in end products. However, the underlying circuit
and thermal design can be used as a reference by system designers. To this effect, the complete design
files including schematics, mechanical drawings, and bills of materials are available upon request.
Figure 1: Single Channel Evaluation Kit Contents

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 3
2.1 Heat Sink
The heat sink is a high performance, low cost and compact air cooled copper sub mount with copper fins.
Measuring 82 mm x 65 mm x 38mm, the heat sink occupies a very small volume. The typical thermal
resistance from heat sink to ambient with the fan in operation is 0.3 ºC/W, thereby enabling significant
power dissipation.
The bolt pattern on the front face of the sink allows for easy mounting of all CBM series modules.
2.2 Driver Board
The driver circuit, designed around National Semiconductor’s LM3433 IC, is designed to provide up to 14A
of current to a CBM-290 or CBM-380 PhlatLight LED.
The driver board is fully capable of driving the LEDs in either CW or pulsed mode. An external function
generator is required for generating the pulse trains in PWM mode. Frequencies up to 40 kHz are
supported.
The driver requires a 12VDC input from an external AC/DC source. The external PWM voltage input range
is between 0 – 5V. Care must be taken to not exceed these voltages as it may cause permanent damage to
the driver board.
2.3 Cable Assembly
Each development kit includes all of the cables necessary for proper setup. The primary cables included
are as follows:
• Power supply to driver board
• Driver board to LED
• Driver control interface cable
For optimum performance, it is not recommended to increase the length of the driver to LED cable. A
longer cable can result in increased inductance and noise when pulsing the LEDs.
2.4 Thermal Interface Material (TIMs) and Mounting Hardware
Also included in the kit are precut sheets of a high performance thermal interface material (eGraf
HiTherm 1205) and the required mounting hardware for the devices.
M2.5x6 screws are provided for attachment of CBM package types.
Figure 2: TIM cut for CBM package types.

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 4
3. User Instructions
CAUTION: DO NOT SET ALL DRIVERS AT MAXIMUM CURRENT OUTPUT! DOING SO WILL CAUSE DAMAGE TO
THE LED MODULE.
The following procedure explains how to setup the PhlatLight Evaluation Kit. It is recommended that the
table be equipped with ESD protection.
Important Note: The driver board is capable of providing 14A of current to any color. Each color has
different drive limitations. Care must be taken to ensure the proper current is applied to each color.
Consult the product data sheets for current limitations of specific devices.
Equipment Required by User
In order to power and use the development kit, some additional equipment is required. Table 1 lists the
type of equipment as well as a suggested part. An additional list of other compatible power supplies is
provided in Appendix B.
Lab Equipment Recommended Part
12V Lab Power Supply Lambda ZUP20-20
Oscilloscope Tektronix TDS 3024B
Waveform Generator Agilent 33220A
Multimeter Fluke 187
Photodetector Thorlabs PDA10A
Table 1: Additional Lab Equipment
3.1 PhlatLight Device Mounting Instructions
1. Use a thermal pad of an area slightly larger than the area of the core-board (Figure 6).
Figure 3: PhlatLight device and an appropriate thermal interface material

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 5
2. Prepare the heat sink surface by dusting or removing any particulates that have accumulated on
the surface. Place the thermal pad on the heat sink with pre-drilled holes matching the hole
pattern on the core board of the device (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Thermal interface material placed on heat sink
3. Place the device on the thermal pad, taking care that the hole patterns match.
4. Insert screws in the holes of the coreboard and tighten. To ensure equal pressure is exerted by all
screws, alternate tightening each screw until the board is securely fastened. The device is now
mounted and ready for electrical connections.
3.2 Electrical Connections
The following sections assume that the user has all of the equipment listed in Table 1.
1.Prepare the power supply and ensure the power supply being used is capable of providing enough
power to the devices. A fully powered CBM-290 or CBM-380 module can draw >90W, thus the power
supply should be set to a minimum of 8A at 12V. Power off the supply until all connections are
established and the board settings are ready.
2. Attach all of the wiring included in the kit. The black, 12” ERNI cable connects the LED to the
driver boards at P10. Consult Appendix E to view the electrical pinout and determine what color
the driver boards will be controlling. Thermistors can be left unconnected or connected to the
thermistor test points located at THERM1 and THERM2 on any driver board. Check to be sure the
short 2-pin fan cable is connected to a driver board at the J10 position. It can connect to any of
the boards.
Note: The DK-414N-4 will be connected to 4 driver boards using all 4 connectors. The DK-414N-3 will
only use 3 driver boards so 1 connector (for white LED in DK-414N-4) will be not be connected to
anything.

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 6
Figure 5: Completed electrical connections on DK-414N-4
3. Info about input power cable and signal cable.
4. Operating Instructions
There are multiple different ways the PhlatLight DK-414N Development Kit can be operated. The LEDs can
be driven in continuous, current controlled mode via on board POTs or through an external analog
voltage. Additionally, each channel has inputs for an external function generator signal to pulse the LEDs
and is capable of pulsing at frequencies of greater than 40kHz.
1. To change the current when either the interface board or driver board is enabled, rotate the on
board POT. Clockwise rotation increases the current, while counter-clockwise rotation will
decrease the current.
2. To change the current externally, attach a 0-5V signal to the ADJ pins on the signal cable. When
hooking up the 0-5V signal, ensure that the ground cable is attached to the “GND” pin and the
positive cable is attached to the “ADJ” pin. The current to the LED will adjust with the voltage
signal. A higher voltage corresponds with a higher current. It is recommended not to exceed a 5V
signal, as components may overheat.
3. To measure the current going to the LED, use a volt meter and measure the voltage across the
sense resistor on the driver board. For ease of probing, two test studs have been placed to the left
and right of “R15”. Figure 6 shows the location of the test studs on the driver board. Figure 7
shows a conversion plot between the sense resistor voltage and the current going to the LED. The
current can also be calculated by the following formula:
Sense
Sense
LED R
V
I=Equation 1
where VSense is the voltage measured across the sense resistor in Volts (V) and RSense is the value of
the sense resistor in Ohms. The sense resistor value is 0.005Ω. The output value will the be current
going to the LED in amps (A).

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 7
Figure 6: Sense resistor location on driver board
Figure 7: LED Current vs. Vsense voltage
4. To modulate the LEDs through PWM, connect a function generator to the PWM pins on the signal
cable. The pulse output should be set to 0-5V, where 5V represents off and 0V represents on.
Proper operation is best monitored by using a photo detector to observe the light output from the
LED

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 8
Appendix A: Electrical Design Considerations
It is important to note that the CBM-290 and CBM-380 PhlatLight LEDs are built in a common anode
configuration. That is, the copper core-board is at a positive electrical potential in operation. If this is not
factored into the design, it becomes difficult to properly control each color. The DK-414N development
kit addresses this by configuring the devices in a grounded common anode topology. As a result, the LED
anode is kept at ground and the cathode is at a negative potential. The LED anode can be in direct
electrical contact with the heat sink without concern of electrical contact with other LEDs. A basic
schematic is shown below in figure 8. It is important to note that while the heat sink is at ground, there
is still power passing through it. For further information, please contact Luminus.
Figure 8: Grounded common anode topology
Appendix B: Isolated AC-DC Power Supplies
Table 2 shows a list of isolated AC-DC power supplies. A power supply with isolated outputs is required to
properly drive the DK-414N drivers. Failure to use a similar power supply will result in a malfunctioning
board. Various different power supplies are listed in the table. For best efficiency, it is recommended to
select a power supply that closely matches the required power.

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 9
Table 2: List of AC/DC power supplies with an isolated output
Appendix C: Driver Specification
Table 3: Driver board Specifications

PhlatLight®DK-414N Series Development Kit Manual
960031 Rev A © Luminus Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 10
Appendix D: Driver Board Schematic and Pinout
Figure 9: Driver board schematic and pinout
Appendix E: Cable and Connector Pinout Info
Pinout for CBM-290:
Pinout for CBM-380:
Figure 10: CBM-290 pinout Figure 11: CBM-380 pinout