Adaptive holding current control for LED dimmer

A light emitting diode (LED) controller comprising:

• a current sensor coupled to a dimmer, the current sensor configured to detect a dimmer current;
• a current controller coupled to an output of the current sensor, the current controller comprising a dimmer control unit configured to:
• determine a dimmer operating mode based on the detected dimmer current, wherein a first dimmer operating mode corresponds to conditions at the beginning of operation after the dimmer is triggered and a second dimmer operating mode corresponds to conditions that the detected dimmer current is maintained within a predetermined tolerance range of a threshold dimmer current,
• compare the detected dimmer current to a threshold dimmer current value, and
• generate a control signal during the first dimmer operating mode and during the second dimmer operating mode for regulating the dimmer current based at least in part on a difference between the threshold current value and the detected dimmer current, and the determined dimmer operating mode;
• and
• a switch coupled to the current controller, the switch configured to receive the control signal generated by the dimmer control unit and regulate an amount of additional dimmer current to be supplied to the dimmer through an additional current path based on the control signal, the amount of additional current supplied to the dimmer based on the difference between the threshold dimmer current value and the detected dimmer current.