Fast CMOS current driver for IrDA - applications

Infrared data transmission is a good solution for high speed wireless communication over short distances. Standards for short range half-duplex transmission links have been set by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA). Low cost transceivers with a data rate up to 1.152 Mb/s are widely used in portable applications like laptops and mobiles. The demand for higher bit rates at reduced power consumption and lower system costs required a new approach for the implementation of the current driver for the IR-diode in the transmitter. The former bipolar transistor solution which used an external resistor as a current limiter was replaced by a fully integrated CMOS current driver.