Patent ID: 8334662

Claim:
A light-emitting diode (LED) driver for driving one or more LED strings, the LED driver comprising: a power converter configured to receive an input voltage and generate an output voltage applied to a first LED string; a first channel switch configured to switch the first LED string on or off according to a first duty cycle signal applied to the first channel switch; a first channel regulator configured to receive a first programmed current level signal and regulate current through the first LED string according to the first programmed current level signal; and a luminance controller configured to generate the first programmed current level signal for the first LED string to correspond to one of a limited set of programmable current levels, and generating the first duty cycle signal for driving the first channel switch as a function of the first programmed current level signal, wherein the first channel switch is coupled in between and in series with the first channel regulator and the first LED string.