A 16-channel PWM LED driver IC for 1:32 scan, with built-in fault detection and ghosting reduction.
Chipone · driver IC, 16-channel PWM constant current
Chipone ICND2153 LED wall component
The ICND2153 belongs to the driver ICs with built-in PWM control, the so-called scan type, used on modules with a denser pixel grid scanned at a 1:16 or 1:32 ratio. Its current accuracy between channels and between chips is under 2.0% according to the manufacturer, which matters for even brightness and colour matching on a larger wall made up of many modules.
The driver contains a built-in precharge circuit to reduce ghosting (a faint ghost image on dark pixels), and it can detect open-circuit faults on individual LEDs on its own, without external components — this latter function is what allows the control software (maintenance software of the NovaLCT type, for instance) to flag faulty pixels automatically during maintenance.
Where the ICND2153 sits in an LED wall system
In a scanned module the driver IC and the row selection circuit (decoder + switching MOSFET) work in pairs: the 1:32 ratio means that a given row is lit for only 1/32 of the time, and the eye sees the rapid alternation as a continuous picture. The receiving card adds the picture data and the grayscale clock; because of the built-in PWM the chip produces the brightness steps on its own, so the receiving card does not have to step through every grayscale level frame by frame.
WHEN IT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE
On fine-pitch, scan-type modules, where accurate grayscale and automatic fault pixel detection matter.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
Scan driving in itself gives a lower effective refresh rate than static (1:1) driving — with a camera or in live broadcast this can cause banding (flicker) if the module has no high refresh mode.
The ICND2153 in practice
LED open-circuit detection is the one function the customer feels immediately in servicing: the maintenance software can produce a fault pixel map, so the wall does not have to be searched by eye. Ask whether this is genuinely active on the module-plus-receiving-card pairing supplied. With the ghosting-reduction precharge set to the wrong voltage, a faint, blurred afterimage remains on a dark background — a typical complaint on cheaper modules using the same chip too, because the fault is in the setting, not in the IC. A 1:32 scan gets less light out of the same lamp bead than a 1:16 scan, so on a sunlit outdoor wall the scan rate is worth asking about separately.
Alternatives to the ICND2153
If price is decisive and the wall runs at full brightness viewed from a distance, the ICND2038S is cheaper. If it goes in front of a camera (broadcast, studio, virtual production), the higher effective refresh rate of the S-PWM Macroblock MBI5253 is the right step; if fine gradations and greater bit depth are needed, the MBI5153. On a very dense mini-LED grid, the 48-channel MBI5353 reduces the number of chips. Deciding factors: camera → S-PWM, close viewing → high bit depth, price → entry-level driver.
ICND2153 manual and datasheet
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