Provided is a carrier assembly for an integrated circuit. User friendly on-board circuitry and controls are provided to set the desired Meds distribution times. The treated pigment is rendered comparatively soluble in water-based inks, thereby eliminating the need for any dispersant to disperse the pigment. The control unit is adapted to determine the output current in response to a comparison between a dim reference signal representing phase-modulating information of the AC power and a feedback signal representing an average value of the output current.