This post was written by Keith Dawson for UBM Tech’s community Web site All LED Lighting, sponsored by Philips Lumileds. It is archived here because the All LED Lighting site has gone dark. This material is Copyright 2013-2015 by UBM Americas.

2013-09-27

A Spate of LED Announcements

Call it Big Bang Week. After the doldrums of August, in the last 10 days Bridgelux, Cree, GE Lighting, and Osram all announced packaged LEDs, arrays, and module families.

There's nothing revolutionary here. Like the Philips Lumileds Luxeon Q introduction we covered here, these four announcements represent incremental advances.


(Image: Bridgelux)

Bridgelux announced the Bridgelux V Series COB LED array products (press release here) that "extend the technology and performance" of the company's Vero line. I couldn't find any other information about this series up on their website. It is targeted at "sub 1000 lumen applications" in commercial and residential markets such as "PAR lamps, MR-16 lamps, small aperture down lights, landscape spots and security lights, track lights, spots, and accent lights." Bridgelux says the arrays "can be efficiently driven at twice the nominal current"; doing so would lower the efficiency and increase the heat that would need to be dissipated.


(Image: Cree)

Cree unveiled XLamp XQ-E LEDs, which are a tiny 1.6×1.6 mm and come in white and colors. The white LEDs are available with CCT of 2700K to 6000K at minimum CRIs of 70 and 80. Cree says they deliver 287 lumens at 3 Watts, or 96 lm/W, characterized at 85°C. There's plenty more information on the website.


(Image: GE Lighting)

GE Lighting announced a third generation of its Infusion LED module family (details here). They are offered in spot light, down light, and "narrow punch" beam widths. Modules range from 850 to 4500 lumens with CRIs in the 80s; CRI above 90 is an option for some. Spotlight modules have an option for 2-step MacAdam ellipse color consistency. Efficacies are mostly in the range from 70 to 90 lumens per Watt.


Osram Ostar Headlamp Pro (left) and Oslon Black Flat (right). (Images: Osram)

Osram last week introduced two new LED families intended for use in automotive headlight applications. The Osram Ostar Headlamp Pro features up to five LEDs that can be controlled individually (via an onboard IC); each produces around 250 lm at 1A. It is designed for automobiles using Advanced Forward Lighting System headlights, such as high-end Mercedes and Audi models. The Oslon Black Flat is a two-chip package measuring 3.1×3.75 mm that produces 500 lm at 1A.

I doubt we have seen the last of the LED engine announcements this fall. One member of this community has requested that we wake him when someone announces 150 lm/W at 3000K with CRI above 80. What kind of announcement would get your attention?

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— Keith Dawson Circle me on Google+ Follow me on Twitter Visit my LinkedIn page, Editor-in-Chief, All LED Lighting