El Segundo, Calif. - The IR2156, from International Rectifier Corp., embeds ballast half-bridge driver and timing circuits into one IC for application with compact fluorescent lamps. "The IR2156 is based on the IR2153, which simplified fluorescent ballast design," said David Tam, vice president for power integrated-circuit products. "The IR2156 takes the design simplification concept one step further and decreases the external component count by 25 percent." The IC includes all core ballast and safety functions, such as protection from failure to strike and from filament failure. An external shutdown ...