I am designing a circuit to independently control (ON/OFF) up to 8 LED strips. So 8 independent channels
The LEDs are of a single color (Not RGB). LED’s are also rated 12V.
The controlling signal is from a 5V Microcontroller (maybe 3.3V later on).
The maximum continuous current possible for a single channel is 2A (1A is an option). A major constraint is the size of the final PCB layout. As such I have chosen to use N channel MOSFETS as the switching device.
Another constraint is that all parts will have to be sourced from ALIEXPRESS, with a low Bill of Materials cost.
NOW TO MY QUESTION:
Most of the low cost mosfets need a gate voltage of about 10V or greater to efficiently turn on the MOSFET (archive low Rds).
I found an Ideal product from Microchip (MIC4468) that fits the application. However, it seems to be on the high side in terms of cost.
Another solution I was looking at was to use level shifter circuits. I found CD40109B which I can design around. I will like to know if it is good practice to use a generic level shifter IC like the CD40109B to drive MOSFET gates.
Also any recommendations and alternate solutions are welcome.