March 23, 2026 /SemiMedia/ — Diodes Incorporated has released a multi-phase boost controller aimed at front-end power stages in automotive lighting systems.

The device, AL8859Q, is positioned as a constant-voltage pre-regulator for LED drivers. In many designs, one power stage now supports multiple lighting functions, which increases demand for higher output power and better thermal control.

It supports an input range of 4.5V to 60V, covering common automotive rails. One device runs two phases, and more phases can be added by syncing multiple chips. This approach helps spread heat and reduce ripple in designs around 100W to 400W.

The controller uses an SPI interface to set output voltage, switching frequency and current limits. This allows engineers to reuse the same hardware across different platforms with only parameter changes. One-time programmable memory is included for production setup, which can reduce MCU usage in some cases.

Basic protections such as overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent and thermal shutdown are built in. The device also provides status signals for system monitoring.

For EMI, spread-spectrum control is used to help meet automotive requirements and reduce external filtering effort.

The AL8859Q is priced at $0.60 in 10,000-piece quantities. For more information, please visit https://www.diodes.com/products/power-management/dc-dc-converters/external-power-stage/boost-controller#.