Professional Documents
Culture Documents
+
LEDsmagazine.com
Tunable lighting
Human-centric
science Q&A P. 31
Financing
LEDs shine and save
in car parks P. 55
Components
TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS OF LIGHT EMITTING DIODES Driver ICs deliver SSL
system features P. 61
Sports
lighting
SSL challenges
legacy sources with
uniformity P. 9
2014
September Cover Story
SSL fixtures replace metal halide lighting
to deliver energy and maintenance
savings and a more uniformly-lit athletic
environment. (See p. 9; courtesy of GE
Lighting)
features
31 INTERVIEW
columns/departments
Potential exists for SSL to positively impact health
and wellbeing, but science lags
Maury Wright with Terry Clark, Finelite 5 COMMENTARY Maury Wright
Lighting-centric wellbeing claims
41 STANDARDS need more science
LED automotive lighting applications require unique
SAE standards 9 NEWS +ANALYSIS
Jianzhong Jiao, Osram Opto Semiconductors GE Lightings Albeo lights
Boston University athletic
49 PREVIEW center with LED high bays
SIL/LED Japan will examine epitaxy to SSL Terralux delivers an LED light engine
applications Ella Shum and Manami Konishi and flat driver for sconce retrofits
LED lighting advances in horticulture
55 OUTDOOR LIGHTING
Vizio increases LED zones in
SSL lightens the burden of the urban car park
backlighting for LCD HDTVs
Caroline Hayes
Schrder lights Nevada Interstate tunnel
61 FOCUS ON with LEDs, adds adaptive controls
Driver circuits deliver diverse features for solid- Richmond home developer installs
state lighting applications Maury Wright LED-based solar street lighting
67 MANUFACTURING
25 FUNDING + PROGRAMS
New LED architectures and phosphor technologies
EPA announces results of LED
lower costs and boost quality Julian Carey, Intematix lamp push, plans new initiative
Lighting-centric
EDITOR Maury Wright
mauryw@pennwell.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Carrie Meadows
carriem@pennwell.com
C
lpeters40@gmail.com
MARKETING MANAGER Kimberly Ayer
ART DIRECTORKelli Mylchreest
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Mari Rodriguez
ompanies in the LED and solid-state lished appear at first glance hard to refute. SENIOR ILLUSTRATORChristopher Hipp
lighting (SSL) sectors have promoted There is likely some amount of legitimate AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Debbie Bouley
numerous research case studies in the past data in those studies, but the topic is way
few years that attribute tuned spectral more complex than the published stud-
power distribution (SPD) to human bene- ies have acknowledged. As Terry Clark EDITORIAL OFFICES PennWell Corporation,
fits in terms of increased productivity, bet- points out, none of the work accounts for LEDs Magazine
98 Spit Brook Road, LL-1
ter rest, and even accelerated healing. We the state of the test subject prior to expo- Nashua, NH 03062-5737
Tel: +1 603 891-0123
have published articles about many of the sure to light. Proper study would require Fax: +1 603 891-0574
studies and arguably have been a propo- an adaptation period to bring the collec- www.ledsmagazine.com
nent of what is often called human-cen- tive set of test subjects to a steady state. SALES OFFICES
SALES MANAGER Kelly Barker
tric lighting (HCL). But we and the indus- I thought deeply about what Id hope (US EAST COAST) kellybarker@pennwell.com
Tel. +1 603 891 9186
try have almost assuredly stepped ahead to accomplish in publishing the interview
SALES MANAGER Allison OConnor
of the science that would support benefits and in writing this column. I think the (US WEST COAST) allison@jagmediasales.com
Tel. +1 480 991 9109
of lighting, at a certain CCT and SPD, pos- SSL industry needs to continue and pur-
SALES MANAGER Jim Ajayi
itively impacting our wellbeing. sue the topic of HCL. There appears to be (UK/REST OF EUROPE) jima@pennwell.com
Tel. +44(0) 1992 656657
Dont misunderstand. I firmly believe great potential to favorably impact soci-
SALES MANAGER Johann Bylek
that researchers will discover a variety ety and to create opportunity for busi- (GERMANY/ johannb@pennwell.com
AUSTRIA/SWITZERLAND) Tel. +49 89 90480 143
of useful ways to apply light that might nesses in the LED-lighting sector. But
SALES MANAGER Masaki Mori
impact our wellbeing. We know light clearly the industry needs to move a bit (JAPAN) mori-masaki@ex-press.jp
Tel: +81 3 3219 3641
exposure can impact the human circa- more carefully in making claims about
SALES MANAGER Mark Mak
dian rhythm. But no one right now fully the benefits of lighting. (CHINA & HONG KONG) markm@actintl.com.hk
Tel: +852 2838 6298
understands the science behind the inter- Funding for proper research is going to
SALES MANAGER Monica Liu
action of lighting and human physiologi- be an issue for sure. The lighting indus- (TAIWAN) monica@arco.com.tw
Tel: +886 2 2396 5128 ext: 270
cal systems. try cant likely afford the study required.
SALES MANAGER Young Baek
We cover some of the facts about light Fortunately, as Terry Clark has pointed (KOREA) ymedia@chol.com
and its impact on humans in our interview out, brain researchers will have funding Tel: +82 2 2273 4818
SALES MANAGER Dan Aronovic
with Finelite CEO Terry Clark (p. 31). That to study the impact of light. The LED and (ISRAEL) aronovic@actcom.co.il
interview and this column were prompted SSL sectors need to partner and partici- Tel: +39 972 9899 5813
would be responsible for any link between Maury Wright, Copyright 2014 PennWell Corp (ISSN 2156-633X). All rights
reserved. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any
light and human health. EDITOR form without prior written consent of Publishers.
Still, some of the studies we have pub- mauryw@pennwell.com
with polymers for next generation LEDs: The SSL Ecosystem 2014
September 2224, 2014
LED luminaires Cambridge, MA
http://bit.ly/1sCHbD3
LightShow Southwest 2014
September 2425, 2014
Advances in direct AC Dallas, TX
ADVERTISERS index
Aamsco Lighting .........................................16 Henkel ........................................................13 Philips Lumileds ..........................................23
American Standard Circuits .........................50 Indium Corporation .....................................17 Plessey Semiconductors Ltd. ......................35
Semicon .....................................................59 Instruments Systems GmbH .......................51 Proto Labs, Inc. ...........................................37
Citizen Electronics Ltd. ..................................8 International Led Core Radiant Zemax LLC .....................................14
Cooledge Lighting .......................................11 Technology Seminar .................................57 Samsung LED America ..................................2
Cree Inc. ...................................................CV4 Inventronics (Hangzhou) Inc.........................24 Sapa Industrial ...........................................60
E-Lite Semiconductor ..................................26 LED Consultancy BV ....................................45 Seoul Semiconductor Co. Ltd. .......................7
Electrolube .................................................46 Ledlink Optics Inc........................................21 Shanxi Guangyu LED Lighting Co. Ltd. .........27
Eptronics ....................................................75 Linear Technology .....................................CV3 Shenzhen OKT Lighting Co., Ltd...................69
ERG ............................................................34 LTF LLC .......................................................18 Shenzhen Refond
Exponation..................................................48 Lumens Co. Ltd..................................... 38-39 Optoelectronics Co. Ltd. ...........................47
Future Electronics Inc..............................4, 54 Luminus Devices.........................................44 Shin-Etsu Silicones of America Inc. .............42
G-S Plastic Optics .......................................50 Maruwa Co. Ltd...........................................20 Signcomplex Limited ...................................43
Gooch & Housego PLC ................................68 Matrix Lighting Limited, Hong Kong ...........CV2 The Bergquist Company ..............................19
Green Inova Lighting Technology MBN GmbH.................................................22 The Korean Consulate General ....................12
(Shenzhen) Limited ...................................70 Mean Well USA Inc. .....................................33 The Home Appliances, Lighting & Electronics
Guangzhou Hongli Nichifu America Inc. ....................................75 Exhibition ................................................. 74
Opto-Electronic Co., Ltd. ...........................36 ORB Optronix ..............................................58 Thomas Research Products ..........................1
Hangzhou Everfine Photo-E-Info Co. Ltd. ......29 OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH ..........15 Underwriters Laboratories ...........................30
Helio Optoelectronics Corp. .........................58 Otsuka Electronics Co. Ltd. .........................32 Zhejiang Baikang Technological Co. Ltd. ......40
RETROFITS HORTICULTURE
Zemax broke the mold with OpticStudio 14, combining a new, easy-to-use interface with time-tested core
analytics. The new OpticStudio 14.2 sets an even higher standard for optical and illumination design software
by maximizing operation performance while minimizing the learning curve for unbeatable productivity.
prototyping costs and enabling innovation.
news+views
The Lighting Quotient said that the L805 design will meet all rel-
evant energy-efficiency codes including California Title 24 that will
take effect this summer and require integrated control support.
MORE: http://bit.ly/1qxYW5r
OUTDOOR LIGHTING
LEDsmagazine.com
news+views
source. Philips Research Asia and the Phil- designers to predict the level of discomfort cations. The design does rely on TIR lenses
ips Research Laboratorie in the Netherlands glare experienced by a person in various and smaller LEDs, but the company says the
also participated in the project. The research positions relative to the source. design is optimized for minimal glare. Eye
team created a laboratory setup that mim- asserts that the optical efficiency allows
ics visual conditions on a roadway and sim- Outdoor luminaires specifiers to install luminaires with lower
ulated 72 different lighting conditions work- One of the issues that contributes to glare lumen output, which would reduce glare.
ing with volunteer observers. is the high-intensity directional light pro-
Discomfort glare is notoriously difficult duced by small LED sources that are often LEDS & SOURCES
to characterize. Indeed, Mark Rea, direc- only covered by small total internal reflec-
tor of the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at tion (TIR) lenses placed directly on the LED. Seoul AC-LED light engine enables
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, discussed The TIR lenses focus the beam as we covered omnidirectional SSL lamps
the issue in an interview with LEDs Maga- in a lengthy feature a few years back (http:// Seoul Semiconductor has announced an
zine late last year (http://bit.ly/MXrc0s). Rea bit.ly/1k4eF5T). Acrich LED light engine based on the Acrich
said that neither LRC metrics for discomfort Luminaire makers are taking different 3 AC-LED driver IC and Acrich MJT 2525
glare, nor others proposed in the industry, do approaches to reducing glare. We recently mid-power LEDs. The company is supplying
a good job characterizing the problem espe- covered a Bridgelux modular light engine for the SSL module along with a reflector optic
cially as a person nears the light source. street light applications that uses larger chip- that can enable retrofit lamp designs that
The recent research, however, was able on-board (COB) LEDs and a combination of deliver the omnidirectional beams required
to focus on luminous intensity, background lens and reflector optics to form the beam in market transformation programs such as
luminance, source size, and the angle (http://bit.ly/1BcbeEd). The larger source Energy Star.
between the source and a test subject in and reflector could serve to minimize glare. The new Acrich A19 light engine consists
evaluating glare. A model resulting from Eye Lighting, meanwhile, just announced of a round modular circuit board with the
the work, which was validated in an actual an extension of the Aphos family of LED MJT 2525 LEDs mounted around the circum-
street light installation, can allow lighting luminaires for street and area lighting appli- ference of the board. The Acrich 3 driver IC
NEW!
DIMMABLE HYBRID LED
INTRODUCING THE FIRST DIMMABLE HYBRID LED!
You asked for it and we listened!
This LED is the solution for all your lighting needs.
It looks so close to an incandescent that you wont believe its an LED.
NO VISIBLE HEAT SINK
UNIQUE FILAMENT DESIGN
HIGH CRI >80
>100 LUMENS PER WATT
15,000 HOURS LIFE
2700K WARM WHITE
AVAILABLE IN VARIOUS GLASS SHAPES
IMAGINE
ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES
Electronic
Ideal for Dimming LED Strips
! !
!
!
!
!
!
SIMPLY.THE.BEST.SOLUTION
www.LTFtechnology.com
L.T.F., L.L.C. PHONE: (847) 498 5832 FAX: (773) 337 5628 EMAIL: sales@ltftechnology.com
Companys Address: 2905 MacArthur Blvd Northbrook, IL 60062 U.S.A. www.ltftechnology.com
news+views
TUNNEL LIGHTING isfies the IES RP-22-11 tunnel
lighting standard at all times,
Schrder lights Nevada said Justin Snowden, Schrders
Interstate tunnel with LEDs, tunnel and transit manager for
adds adaptive controls North America. NDOT was
The Belgium-based Schrder Group has able to realize these goals using
announced a US tunnel lighting project Schrders FV32 LED.
on Interstate 80 in northeastern Nevada. The 1394-ft tunnel bores were
Solid-state lighting fixtures have already previously lit with 1253 high-
been installed in the eastbound bore of the pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures
Carlin Tunnel, and the westbound bore will with a mix of 100W, 150W, and
be completed later this year. The project also 400W sources. The retrofitted
includes adaptive controls that allow the The transportation authorities were spe- bores will house about 789 LED luminaires.
lighting to respond to ambient light levels cifically concerned with improved safety in The fixture mentioned was specifically
and dim portions of the lighting when pos- the Carlin Tunnel. The parties sought to find designed for tunnel applications. The team
sible for maximum energy savings. a lighting system that could deliver the req- selected both 131W fixtures that integrate
The tunnel project is part of a larger uisite light levels but that also could be con- 120 LEDs, and 266W fixtures with 240 LEDS.
freeway improvement project that is being trolled in a manner to allow drivers a safe Schrder has touted the project as the first
jointly pursued by the Nevada Department transition into the artificial light even at all-LED-lit freeway tunnel in the US. That
of Transportation (NDOT) and the US Fed- freeway speeds. may be technically true, but the LED tunnel
eral Highway Administration. The $31mil- The Nevada Department of Transpor- project under the Los Angeles International
lion project that covers the Carlin Canyon tations objectives for the lighting solution Airport (LAX) is more complex and drivers
area will include seismic bridge retrofits, were a lower energy consumption, an effec- certainly hit freeway speeds in that tunnel
new pavement, and new LED-based lighting. tive control system, and a tunnel that sat- (http://bit.ly/1AbIBW4).
news+views
Tunnel lighting will surely be a growing identified Sols commercial
area for LED lighting because of both the effi- solar outdoor lighting as the
ciency of LED lighting and the technologys ideal solution.
affinity for controls (http://bit.ly/1h6yasK). The builder avoided the cost
MORE: http://bit.ly/1ArVOdE of trenching, wire installation,
and electrical infrastructure
OUTDOOR LIGHTING connections that are common
in roadway lighting. And the
Richmond home developer installs city suffered less impact to traf-
LED-based solar street lighting fic and parking in the neighbor-
In new construction, the cost of connecting hood, along with less noise.
outdoor SSL to the AC grid can be significant. As demonstrated by the
We covered a number of examples includ- Randolph West project, solar-
ing LED trail lighting in Massachusetts and technology have made solar a viable option. powered outdoor street lighting brings sig-
street lighting in Abu Dhabi in an article on Such a situation arose at the Premiere nificant value to our community and helps
presentations made at February's Strategies Homes LLC (PHL) Randolph West commu- us meet our sustainability, social, and eco-
in Light conference (http://bit.ly/1kXzh1e). nity of 70 new single-family homes. As we nomic goals, said Christopher Beschler,
Solar has not been the best match for were developing the infrastructure for Ran- chief administrative officer of operations
street lighting because of the high light levels dolph West, it soon became clear that grid- for Richmond. For this project, solar light-
required for safety and long operating hours. tied street lighting would be much less effi- ing was far more effective than traditional
Solar panels, with efficiency just over 10%, cient and would add significant time to grid-tied street lighting, enabling us to pro-
couldnt power legacy light sources without the project, said Sean Bowers, chief oper- vide our residents with visible proof of our
large panels and expensive batteries. The effi- ating officer at PHL. Once we began to citys commitment to sustainability.
ciency of LED sources and improving battery value-engineer possible options, we quickly MORE: http://bit.ly/1oUxZ5E
PROLED INGROUNDS
WITH LED TECHNOLOGY
IP67
funding programs+
DOE publishes LED outdoor lighting report, charts performance gains
The DOE has released a Caliper Snapshot The DOE said outdoor area lighting prod- quality attributes that typically result in
Report on outdoor LED area lighting prod- ucts now comprise 30% of the agencys Light- efficacy penalties. For example, seven of the
ucts, based on the Lighting Facts program, ing Facts database with roadway products products have a CRI above 80 and only one
one year after the release has a CRI below 70. Such light-
of the last outdoor-centric Mean luminous effcacy (lm/W) ing delivers far superior color
report (http://bit.ly/1uiS62u). 100 rendering compared to HPS
That report from August 2013 lighting and makes recogniz-
80
noted that LED lighting could ing objects and pedestrians
not yet match high-pressure 60 much easier for drivers.
Area/roadway
sodium (HPS) sources at the Canopy
The 400W-HPS-equivalent
40
400W level, but SSL manufac- Garage LED products still fall at the
turers have now delivered such 20 Directional lower end of the lumen-output
products. Moreover, efficacy 0
range of HPS luminaires. But
continues to escalate while Quarter: 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 the LED products offer supe-
light quality is also improved. Year: 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 rior efficacy. Research has pre-
The new DOE report is avail- viously shown that the broader-
able for download on the agencys SSL web- accounting for 23%. The remaining 7% is spectrum LED lighting delivers better visibility
site (http://1.usa.gov/1l3cNNM). The high- spread among parking garage, canopy, and at lower lumen-output levels. Indeed, tests
level trends include a move to 4000K CCTs for directional luminaires. at a Seattle LED roadway site two years ago
a slightly warmer look relative to the predom- The DOE noted that sixteen products in revealed little decrease in object-recognition
inant 6500K LED lighting from prior years. At the database now feature efficacy above 120 capabilities even as LED lights were dimmed
the top end, efficacy has hit 150 lm/W. lm/W. And that gain has come with light- considerably (http://bit.ly/1saaZU6).
funding programs+
DOE Caliper report identifies
shortcomings of LED MR16 lamps
The DOE has released a Caliper Application relative to MR16 lamps tested previously, but product stood out at 69 lm/W. The remain-
Summary report focused specifically the LED lamps still trail legacy lamps by a der of the lamps tested in Series 22 had a
on LED-based MR16 directional lamps significant margin. mean efficacy of 64 lm/W.
(http://1.usa.gov/1qVjSVg). The The DOE was only able to
Color rendering index
agency tested 27 lamps with a buy five lamps with a beam
focus on attributes required in 100 angle of 15 or less. But the DOE
95
applications such as hospitality reported that none of the tested
90
and retail as opposed to usage in lamps could match the Energy
85
general ambient lighting applica- Energy Star minimum Star-predicted CBCP of 50W
80
tions. The new report finds that the halogen lamps. Moreover, the
75
SSL alternatives generally fall short agency speculated that light-
70
of legacy halogen lamps in areas ing specifiers would prefer
65
including total lumen output and LED lamps with even narrower
60
center beam candle power (CBCP). 55
beam angles in the 4 range.
The new report is part of the 50 Clearly, the industry has a
DOEs Series 22 set of reports that 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 way to go to deliver suitable
are evaluating different lamp Correlated color temperature (K) SSL alternatives for MR16
types. The Caliper process includes Series 22 LED MR16 lamps (January 2014) Halogen benchmarks lamps. The DOE noted that
purchasing products anonymously 90+ CRI 500+ Im or =50 W 15o it had selected the MR16 cat-
LED Lighting Facts data (June 2014)
from commercial suppliers just as Energy Star data for qualifed LED products (June 2014)
egory for test specifically
any lighting designer/specifier because of the challenge
would, and testing the products in a labo- The four high-CRI products tested also incurred in packing the LED and driver elec-
ratory setting. exhibited significant efficacy penalties in tronics in such a small lamp form factor. The
The shortcomings in the LED MR16 space delivering better color performance. The tested lamps do deliver a significant efficacy
have certainly been foreshadowed. In a Cali- mean of the four was 51 lm/W, although one advantage relative to halogen alternatives.
per report released earlier this year focused
on products for retail applications, the MR16
category lagged the performance of other EPA further clarifies Energy Star V1.1
directional LED lamps including PAR30
products (http://bit.ly/1p7PQuF). lamp requirements, adds CBCP tool
The new Caliper report covers far more The EPA has distributed yet another let- dont deliver an omnidirectional beam
products than the prior study on multiple ter regarding proposed changes to the distribution.
lamp types. The DOE set out to purchase Energy Star Lamps specification that will The EPA is adding explicit verbiage spec-
3000K-CCT lamps with flux output of at be adopted in the transition from V1.0 to ifying that the exclusion includes lamps
least 500 lm or an equivalency claim to 50W V1.1 specifications due this fall. The clari- with diameters between 41 and 78 mm
or greater halogen lamps. The agency also fications impact decorative lamps. (similar to A-lamps) with the exception of
sought to purchase 90-CRI lamps, although We covered some proposed changes in G16.5- and G25-based lamps. The agency
the DOE only found four manufacturers the decorative lamp category along with will add further detail in section 14 of the
offering such products when the lamps some changes in line-powered MR16 lamps specification on lamp dimensions regard-
were purchased in the early part of 2014. The back in late May (http://bit.ly/1y1O9Qc). ing acceptable length-to-diameter ratios.
agency further sought a set of lamps with Based on comments on the May proposal, Separately, the EPA also has posted a
a specified beam angle of 15 or less an the EPA will add further details on lamps CBCP calculation tool in the form of a
attribute desired in retail lighting applica- that will not be listed in Energy Star. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that manu-
tions where the beam is focused on a spe- The agency has approached the changes facturers can use in characterizing MR16
cific product. because some consumers could miscon- directional SSL products (available at
Of the group of 18 lamps that either were strue the energy-efficiency and light-dis- http://1.usa.gov/1tSmeVg). The tool is
rated at greater than 500 lm or featured an tribution benefits of some decorative prod- designed for use with the line-voltage GU-
equivalency claim of 50W halogen lamps, ucts that look much like omnidirectional 10-base MR16 lamps that were part of a
most failed to deliver the output or CBCP of A-lamps. The EPA will simply not recog- prior story on changes to the Energy Star
a 35W halogen lamp. The DOE noted that nize lamps with G18.5 and G19 bases that specification (see above link).
performance has improved across the board
L
EDs Magazine has published numerous cludes that for now LEDs should not be con- is a healing thing or a tangible benefit to our
articles over the past several years that sidered more beneficial or harmful than con- wellbeing. We have published, and even more
would indicate that lighting with a ventional sources but cautioned the industry so companies have published, research on the
specific spectral power distri- on health claims. benefits of the right spectrum to increase stu-
bution (SPD) could yield tan- The recent escalation in dis- dent productivity, accelerate healing in hos-
gible benefits to human health cussion on HCL led us to seek pitals, eliminate jet lag on overnight interna-
and wellbeing. For example, more input on the topic. Terry tional flights, and similar scenarios. Is any of
blue energy in light is said to Clark, CEO of early LED light- that research valid?
increase alertness and produc- ing player Finelite, has both
tivity in the morning. Warmer a personal and professional Clark: Regarding that question and certainly
light is thought to prepare us interest on the topic of HCL. companies that have published research on
for a restful night. The claimed Clark is a pioneer in LED light- the benefits of the right spectrum increas-
benefits have ranged from ing and a regular speaker at ing student productivity, I have never seen a
simply better rest to accel- industry conferences. He has properly vetted article that says the color tem-
erated healing and more productive work been researching HCL so we asked for his perature or spectrum of light improves stu-
forces. Often called human-centric lighting insight on the topic and the recent research. dent test scores over any measurable period.
(HCL), the application is particularly symbi- The only one thats ever been done in the US
otic with LED-based lighting because of the LEDs Magazine: Lets start at perhaps where was one international firm did one study of
ease with which LEDs can be used to pro- we should finish. Can lighting positively one school I believe in the South, in Kentucky
duce specific SPDs, even in fixtures that can impact our health and wellbeing? Based on maybe; and we asked the school coordinator
be tuned dynamically based on the time of the recent research, I know there are many did he think the results were expandable to
day, or other criteria. But does science sup- issues that need further scientific study. But other districts, to other schools, and he said
port the HCL claims? are you of the opinion at least that lighting absolutely not. There were no controls; there
Recently, there have been questions raised can positively impact health and wellbeing? were no long-term studies; there was no con-
about the scientific evidence of real health trol of any of the outside variables. They mea-
benefits attributable to lighting. Indeed, a Terry Clark: I absolutely believe it. There is sured preference. The teacher said, Hey, I
panel of top researchers from leading orga- absolutely no doubt. But I may surprise you like this. But there was no documentation.
nizations around the globe authored an why I believe that. When I think of every Consider even Finelites work. Ive got 80 mil-
article in the academic Trends in Neurosci- good architectural site that Ive ever visited lion data points that cant tie spectrum to bet-
ences publication entitled Measuring and in my life, that lighting and that encom- ter test scores.
using light in the melanopsin age (http:// passes daylight and artificial light has
bit.ly/1opWQDW) The article discuss the always been an important, maybe even crit- LEDs Magazine: We have also seen a Philips
non-visual photoreceptive cells that might ical element that makes it great, memora- school study in Germany and studies from
be the key to health benefits from light expo- ble experience. You just dont get a great, medical facilities in Europe that would
sures. But the paper points out more ques- architectural emotional experience without indicate faster healing attributable to light
tions that need to be answered rather than great lighting so its been for centuries. Its spectrum.
answering questions about HCL. Indeed, nothing new with light properly applied; it
the paper led the US Department of Energy literally touches your soul. Clark: It is not a well-vetted study. The one in
(DOE) to publish the fact sheet Lighting for Europe really doesnt look at the students long
health: LEDs in the new age of illumination LEDs Magazine: So the touching your soul is enough. And the teaching moment comes
(http://1.usa.gov/XANXwf) The DOE con- nice to have. What were starting to talk about from the number one industrial engineer
in the old AT&T Electric and what is called articles that proper lighting is a major fac- sity over that whole expression versus the
the Hawthorne Study. People made a change tor in assisting in dealing with jet lag. And receptivity of the rod. And then we are trying
in lighting and the productivity on the line thats the light and circadian rhythm tie to figure out how it integrates because the
went up, and AT&T got really excited Ah, with the intrinsically photosensitive reti- article says the cell is one millionth as sensi-
we have found the Holy Grail. And they went nal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) covered in the tive as your rods and cones. So to get one pho-
in and took out the temporary lighting and neuroscience research. We know there is a ton into that little cell, you need a million hit-
productivity went up again. What they found direct tie between lighting and any number ting rods and cones.
they were measuring was the employees loved of chemical regulators that come out of your Its kind of like the brain is cheated. It
the attention. They loved the fact that they brain, the hormonal secretions. And yeah, knows its got a sensitivity, but its not very
were being recognized and they were being so there is a tie. But the benefits of the right good so its literally stealing information
treated and groomed over. It wasnt the differ- spectrum again have not been fully vetted. from the rods and cones. So some of the cir-
ent light temperature at all. So if there is a tie Then your question is, does the research cadian rhythm, they have found, if you just
of spectrum and student productivity, abso- described in that complex article on the mela- put enough red light intensity into that red
lutely Ive never seen it. The tie between spec- nopsin age negate all these things or support rod you can trigger the circadian rhythm
trum and accelerated healing in a hospital I them? I sort of see them differently. The article to wake it up with a red light. Because you
have not seen properly vetted by any health- to me explains why it is so incredibly challeng- actually fire that red spot, which ties into
care facility and I will come back to that. I ing, and we as an industry if we care about the ipRGC cell; and it says OK, so whatever
havent seen that study. this have to link in literally with brain it is, maybe its a fire, maybe its something
researchers. The reason why is when you take but wake up, weve never seen this much red
LEDs Magazine: We did cover research from those ipRGCs cells they have very, very com- in our life! and the hormones start scream-
Philips on the Maastricht University Medical plex interconnections with your rods, with ing through the brain.
Center that revealed patients healing better your cones, and with their own sensing, so So when it comes to things like jet lag, is
when exposed to tunable lighting relative to they are actually reading five different wave- it the 480-nm light required or what mix can
patients under legacy lighting. The benefits lengths of light at the same time. Page 2 of I do it with just blue and 535 nm? And
were primarily attributed to patients sleep- that article has a diagram, and the rods keep thats where the dosing thing comes in. So
ing better because the lighting matched their responses at 507 nm. People respond to light you need a one-millionth time dose of 480
circadian rhythm. Likewise, there was a study both above and below that wavelength your nm thats pipelined in; and the one com-
that indicated international airline passen- color is 535 nm, your melanopsin is at 480 nm, ing in at 420 nm, the deep blue, thats got
gers rested better and were more productive and the other colors are at 565 nm. You are get- chokes and throttles on it where it gets in.
after a long flight based on tunable lighting. ting a dose into those various sensor elements What the article is saying is that the dose is
kind of, though, to your point, the whole spec- really important and its a tough mathemat-
Clark: And that goes to the third point, if trum. You have an extraordinary, complex ical thing, especially when the sensitivity of
there is any jet lag and certainly there are relationship that would take the exact inten- that blue drops off so fast.
So you can do it; the math will get done in we will be working more in the area of pref-
some creative time. You know, just look at erence rather than trying to claim health.
what Googles done with self-driving cars. There is very strong evidence that certain
But the math has not been done yet. And people prefer warmer or cooler colors, and
why its going to take brain researchers is it is pretty well documented that sometimes
the next thing the article says Oh, and by people get into a change of interior colors in
the way, it really depends on your state com- their space; if they had the ability to shift
ing into the light exposure. Were you tired? the color spectrum one way or another they
Were you jet lagged? Did you have too much would find the space definitely more appeal-
alcohol? What other states come into play? ing under one set of color. So giving users
There was a Light + Behavior conference control, I think, is the first step and you will
presented by the IES in Cleveland. They had see Finelite promoting that.
for the first time Ive seen in a real pub- And you will probably see Finelite under-
lic event three distinctly lit areas. One had take some research in certain specific areas
an incandescent A-lamp. The second was a to say okay, if you give people control like
magenta-saturated room and the next room that: One, do they use it, because its one
was deep saturated in blue. You walked into it thing to give them control but youve got to
and you looked at the incandescent light, and have a vetted study; do they use it? Two, do
it was just like youd expect any 2700K lamp they use it to set their own preferred level
to look like, beautiful warm yellow light. And and then leave it there forever, or do they
then they escort you into the magenta room change it during the day or do they change it
and they talk to you for two to three min- seasonally? To do that you need to take data
utes. Then you go back and look at the incan- readings almost every minute of the day for
descent and it is green. You would swear you at least a calendar year to get the data set.
are in Wizard of Oz. They claimed that your And Ill tell you weve done that in edu-
brain is desperately trying to get back to the cation and you get real quickly 80 million
black-body curve and literally changes your data points. And all that says is preference.
color perception on that magenta, and there- Maybe it doesnt even say preference. It just
fore normal white light looks green. When says do they use it, and if so, how frequently
you went into the blue room, you see it com- do they use it?
pletely differently again.
Thats an example of whats happening in LEDs Magazine: And then in the applica-
the canonical visual cortex. They say what is tions it might be different. For example, an
going on in the chemical engine is somewhat office environment would be different from
similar. Where you come from completely a medical environment or even retail.
impacts how the brain is going to get that
signal out of the nerves. So Ive got five dif- Clark: I think where we might expect to see it
ferent inputs. Ive got the early state Im com- used, for example, is in very high-end execu-
ing from that is very important, and theres tive meetings where you have lots of interna-
why they say to be careful, just really, really tional customers or very high-end hospitality
be careful. where anecdotally certain people like warm
colors and want it down to the 2700K area,
LEDs Magazine: Does that imply that you then others anecdotally like the cooler tem-
as a company, Finelite, would not offer a peratures. So wouldnt it be great if you were
product today that was promoted as being having a meeting with very important guests
human-centric or that was promoted as and you could ask them not only would they
maybe having a spectrum where you should like to adjust the intensity level so that it is
use this setting for late night, this setting most pleasant for them but also color. That
for early morning? Would you offer such can add significantly to the comfort of my
luminaires for maybe hospital applications? important guests or visitors or executives.
Clark: We are very actively participating in LEDs Magazine: When you talk about some-
the area of light color tuning. However, our thing like that executive conference room,
approach will be very carefully stated that and you approach it from saying this is really
a preference thing, but that doesnt prevent my God, brain researchers are working on the brightening agents. Luminus Devices had
somebody from saying, Well, if I move this the brain thing and when we figure it out a similar type of LED. But what I think you
toward the cool end of the spectrum, it may were going to get smart. But we got to take said to me at LightFair was that such prefer-
help me with my jet lag. The preference thing that deep dive and understand its going to ence tests may not be valid research because
is clear and the true jet lag benefits are kind be complex before we can claim were smart. it depends on what the test subject was look-
of loosely supported at this point. ing at before, or as we discussed earlier, the
LEDs Magazine: Regarding the brain test subjects state before the exposure.
Clark: Thats right. If they do come up with researchers, when we talked previously you
a good integrating meter as the melanopsin made the point that yeah, we need to be Clark: Yeah, and thats the thing they were
article sort of pleaded, you could put it in involved with them, but we dont want them teaching at the Light + Behavior event that
the room. And if we are building luminaires to take over our lighting world. But it does I mentioned. The perception of the white
that can adjust intensity and spectrum the have to be a partnership at some point, right? glare, how your brain perceives that color
research ultimately says, Hey, if youre at is absolutely dependent on the color it just
this intensity and this color spectrum then Clark: I think so. I think they need our exper- came from. There is very good research that
that will help jet lag. Then we will have tise on how to move the photons around and documents how people like white relative to
built a very affordable, easy-to-use system we need their expertise on how the brain the black-body curve. It is an excellent piece
where somebody could punch in the CCT works and so thats two parts of the brain. but it takes so long per student. Its some-
and adjust the intensity level and say, If you A lot of brain researchers that we were talk- thing like four hours to go through the pref-
just sit in this for 10 minutes, youll feel bet- ing to in light and behavior are dealing with erence testing because youve got to adapt,
ter. But we wont claim it. We will not claim the visual cortex part of the brain. A lot of and then once youre adapted you are asked,
that we can characterize every one of those the people in HCL are saying, I want to Do you like this color or that color better?
five spectrums and exactly how the ipRGC deal with the chemical part and they liter- and then youve got to re-adapt and ask, Do
cells are going to work. ally ignore the conscious part of the brain, you like this color or that color better? The
I dont know if you saw the area in that which is very important on color preference, room required for testing is like $50,000. We
article that said oh, by the way The doc- color fidelity, and the flicker is impacting the desperately need that rerun again and there
tors or brain researchers have already found cognitive part of the brain. just isnt budget to do it. We didnt deal with
there are at least five types of ipRGCs so the age and we didnt deal with the cultural ele-
brain chemical isnt driven by warm; there LEDs Magazine: Two years ago the LRC pre- ments. Were there more Asians in that study
are five separate chemical paths. We dont sented their study on white preference at or more Europeans? The researchers were
even know if jet lag is controlled by two of Strategies in Light that revealed most pre- amazed to find the results but have never
the five, or one of the five, or if all five have ferred white located below the black-body been able to deep-dive back into it.
to fire. So this is why I take a deep breath and curve. At LightFair we saw Philips with their
why Im also absolutely so energized. This is CrispWhite LED below the black-body curve EXTRA! Read the full version of this inter-
the best industry in the world to be in, and and also with some deep blue energy to excite view at ledsmagazine.com.
T
he development of AlInGaP (alu- product is referred to as a lamp as opposed tometry test is conducted when the lamp is
minum gallium indium phosphide) to a luminaire). The system-level standards thermally stabilized.
materials technology in the early only address lamp testing and performance Furthermore, most automotive lamps
1990s led to higher efficiency and better when LED sources are used. Other source have both minimum and maximum pho-
reliability in yellow-to-red light-emitting requirements are not included. tometric level requirements (light inten-
diodes (LEDs). Around the same time, LED sity values at angular test points). There
technology for various illumination appli- Auto signaling applications is an intensity ratio requirement for com-
cations was on the rise. Automotive exte- The first established LED automotive light- bined function lamps as well. For example,
rior lighting was one of the first such appli- ing standard was SAE J1889, a standard for the intensity ratio between a stop function
cations starting with center high-mounted LED signal devices including all signal- versus a tail function must have levels dis-
stop lamps (CHMSLs). In the late 1980s, ing and marking lamps such as stop lamps, tinguishable by the human eye. These func-
the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) tail lamps, turn signals, and daytime run- tional intensity ratio requirements are cap-
International Lighting Committee started to ning lamps (DRLs). This standard has been tured in the various SAE lamp documents.
develop LED automotive lighting standards updated several times over the years. Also, SAE J1889 addresses the areas of initial
and their work continues today. Most auto- A key item in SAE J1889 addresses how light intensity output, stabilized light inten-
motive exterior lighting lamps are consid- procedures should differ when sity output, device performance
ered safety devices, and as such, these lamps testing a signaling lamp using of minimum and maximum val-
are regulated at a federal or state level. Due LEDs versus a signaling lamp ues, as well as light intensity ratio
to the nature of safety requirements, the using incandescent sources, as requirements.
introduction of LEDs brought together sev- LED lamps include electronic
eral different perspectives that became the components while incandes- Forward lighting standards
central focus of LED lighting standard devel- cent lamps do not. Since LEDs In the early 2000s, after break-
opment with the SAE Lighting Committee. are a temperature-dependent throughs in white LED technol-
SAE LED lighting standards have two cat- light source and the light out- ogy made LED headlamps possi-
egories: component or packaged LED-level put reduces as the junction temperature ble, the SAE Lighting Committee developed
(LED package) standards and system-level increases, the testing requirements must and established an additional LED lighting
standards including the entire lamp, i.e., a capture this characteristic to ensure the standard, SAE J2650, which addresses the
signaling lamp or headlamp. (Note that in lamp installed on a vehicle fulfills the pho- need for LED forward illumination devices
the auto industry the system-level lighting tometric performance requirements. A pho- such as headlamps and fog lamps.
The tests to determine maximum and
DR. JIANZHONG JIAO, director of regulations and emerging technologies at OSRAM Opto minimum photometry level ratios and ther-
Semiconductors, Inc., is an internationally recognized lighting expert. He has been actively mal stability are similar to those of SAE
involved in LED and SSL standard development activities. He serves as the past chairman of the J1889; however, two additional performance
SAE Lighting Committee, past chairman of NGLIA, past chairman of the NEMA SSL Technical requirements have been added for LED for-
Committee, active member of IESNA Testing Procedure Committee, Roadway Lighting Committee, ward lighting devices. The first addition
and Computer Committee, ANSI SSL Working Groups, Standard Technical Panel of UL8750, is the red color content test because it is
standard committees in IEEE, CIE USA, SEMI, JEDEC and other organizations. He can be reached important to effectively render the color
at jianzhong.jiao@osram-os.com. red in the roadway environment including
Illuminating Diffuser
in Silicone. Reector
LED Chip
PCB
Shin-Etsu Silicones propels vital silicone material Highly Reective Dam Materials:
solutions to provide innovative advantages that KER-2000-DAM
drive advanced LED display and lighting module KER-2010-DAM Heat Sink
performance including: Die Attach Adhesives:
Weatherability / Cycle Time Reduction / Environmental KER-3000 / KER-3100 / KER-3200
Durability / High Clarity / High Refractive Index Over Time SMP-2800 Driver
Driver Potting Compounds:
Shin-Etsus wide spectrum of LED application materials KET-132 / KET-132-H
includes:
Base
High Refractive Index (1.38-1.57) Encapsulants: Shin-Etsu Silicones illuminates pioneering solutions
ASP Series / SCR Series / KER-6xxx Series that drive LED productivity, innovation, and the evolving
KER-2xxx Series demands of the industry.
Technology
T h l that Xceeds your Xpectations.
Full line-up from 20 lm to 14,000 lm.
Visit us at Hong Kong International Fair 2014:
Booth 1B-B28 Hall of Aurora
standards | AUTOMOTIVE
T
he LED Japan 2014/Strategies in Science and Engineering at Yamaguchi dent of lighting products, Frank Shum led
Light (SIL) Japan conference will University, will cover the latest GaN-on- the creation of the lamp products at Soraa.
take place October 1517, 2014 in GaN work. Yokogawa was with Panasonic He will be speaking about the multiple
Yokohama with the theme The search until March 2014. innovations in driver, optical, and thermal
beyond lumens per watt. At the packaged compo- technologies resulting in lamp-level per-
The world of solid-state light- nent level, we will have Nori- formance that is in many cases superior to
ing (SSL) has moved on from hide Yamada, vice president of integral fixtures.
extracting the last lumen per Japanese Business at Philips
watt to focusing on applica- Lumileds Lighting Company, Innovative SSL applications
tions such as human-centric presenting Whats next in At the lighting level, we have innovative
lighting and how to make SSL LED innovation? While the startup TeleLumen who will discuss how
affordable. Lumileds presentation will we can record and play back light just like
We search for ways to focus on LEDs for traditional we play iTunes music on smart devices.
understand and make SSL DC-driven SSL systems, AC- Imagine playing back Californian sun-
more beautiful, pleasant, LED driver techniques are shine on your playback luminaire in your
acceptable, and healthy for quickly moving into the main- house on a rainy day. It would certainly
people. What are the differ- Ella Shum stream. Seoul Semiconductor cheer you up. For the aging population,
ences in how we perceive light CTO Kibum Nam will present Waldmann Lighting will be discussing
by age? How about by cultural background? The evolution of AC LED technology. He biodynamic lighting focusing on the care
How do we achieve these goals technically will detail the improvements in luminous of the elderly, with particular emphasis on
and within cost parameters? Speakers at efficacy, total harmonic distortion (THD), the lighting needs of the elderly in Asia.
the Japan conference will try to answer power factor (PF), and flicker In architectural lighting
these questions. at the SSL system level. design, we look to China,
probably the most innovative
LED sources Modules and lamps region on earth. We have one
At the fundamental level, we have the war Moving to the module level, of their top award-winning
of epi (epitaxial) technology as demon- Xicato CTO Gerald Harbers outdoor lighting designers,
strated by the newcomers focusing on gal- will discuss technology inte- XU Dong Liang from Toryo
lium-nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) and gration in SSL. Lighting prod- International, to discuss the
GaN-on-GaN architectures. Shinya Nunoue, ucts have the primary func- latest designs from the coun-
chief research scientist at Toshibas corpo- tion of delivering useful light, try that will prove to be the
rate R&D center will discuss advancements but integrated intelligence can largest consumer of LED
in high-performance LEDs for general light- enable far greater energy effi- lighting.
ing applications using GaN-on-Si technol- ciency. Harbers will explain Manami Konishi
ogy. On the other side, Toshiya Yokogawa, architectural integration SSL design and regulations
professor in the Department of Materials options designed to offer better quality of Back in the product development arena,
light, reduced flicker, and control and com- two of the headaches lighting manufac-
ELLA SHUM is co-chair of Strategies in Light munications that are possible in working turers face constantly in SSL are dimming
Conferences, and partner at consulting firm with digital lighting networks and systems. and heat. Scott Brown, senior vice presi-
YEBY Associates LLC. MANAMI KONISHI is co- At the lamp level, Soraa has built an LED- dent of marketing at Dialog Semiconductor,
chair of LED Japan/Strategies in Light Japan based MR16 product that has won numer- will discuss Delivering optimal SSL
and president of Plus M Corp. ous international awards. As vice presi- dimming performance in legacy and
wireless systems. Meanwhile, Cambridge market presented by Strategies Unlimited nitrides LED: Challenges and perspectives.
Nanotherm and Foxconn will examine dif- analysts. Besides lighting, we will be exam- In addition to conference programs that
ferent approaches to thermal management ining one of the hottest technologies that will address the important industry develop-
in LED-based systems. competes with LEDs: lasers. Celebrated ments discussed here, LED Japan/Strategies
Standards and regulatory specifications speaker Tetsuya Takeuchi, associate pro- in Light Japan Conference and Expo 2014
can both help and sometimes hinder inno- fessor of Meijo University, will discuss the will also include a comprehensive exhibit
vations a dilemma that is very appar- pros and cons of laser-based illumination area for three days including the two-day
ent in the SSL space. Indeed, the United
States has set many standards and regula-
tions regarding SSL. For people who want The world of SSL has moved on from extracting
to export to the US, there are hurdles to be
overcome. Voted one of the top speakers at the last lumen per watt to focusing on
Strategies in Light in the US, Alex Baker of
Philips Lumileds will explain the ins and
applications and how to make SSL affordable.
outs to exporters wishing to serve North
America. Meanwhile, Simon den Uijl of the sources compared with LED sources. conference period. The exhibit area will fea-
Connected Lighting Alliance will explore The conference will also look beyond the ture a variety of presentations by exhibitors
the merits of ZigBee as a standard wireless LED lighting sector. Deep ultraviolet (DUV) including leading Japanese LED companies
network protocol for indoor lighting. LED technology has quietly become more such as Nichia.
prominent and has great potential in applica- LED Japan/Strategies in Light Japan has
Plenary and Expo tions such as water purity tests and the puri- been a successful event for six years. We
The plenary session will include a mar- fication process itself. Cyril Pernot of Nikkiso, look forward to seeing you in Yokohama in
ket overview of the LED industry and a a company that plans to start volume produc- October to search beyond lumens per watt
detailed discussion on the global lighting tion of DUV chips soon, will present DUV together.
Products Available:
IMPCBs Flex/Rigid Flex RF/Microwave
Metal Clad PCBs Metal Core Heat Sink
Digital & Many More...
N
CP (National Car Parks), the lead-
ing operator of parking garages in
the UK, is replacing lighting in each
of its 500 facilities in towns, cities, airports,
and London Underground and National Rail
locations to reduce CO2 emissions by around
11,000 metric tons per annum without any
capital investment from the car park com-
pany. Indeed, the massive project is unique in
terms of scale and financing and may serve as
a model financial structure for both commer-
cial and municipal entities around the globe
that desire to retrofit legacy lighting with
energy-efficient LEDs but also struggle with
the upfront cost of solid-state lighting (SSL).
NCP was founded in 1931, when there
were considerably less than the 32 million
cars that are now on Britains roads alone.
Today, it maintains and operates over 500
roof-deck, open-surface, and multistory car
parks up and down the country, with more
than 150,000 car parking spaces.
Replacing the portfolio of car parks light-
ing for a safer, more energy-efficient envi-
ronment is a two-phase project funded by
Miami, FL-based Future Energy Solutions
(FES) and the UK Green Investment Bank.
The project is noteworthy in terms of size
and deliverables. There is nothing like it in
Europe, said Marcus Brodin, commercial
director of funding partner FES. Instead
of 5,000 to 10,000 luminaires, this project
involves 60,000 to 70,000 luminaires.
It has been an aggressive plan, reported The lively seaside town of Brighton attracts many visitors; the towns NCP car park is
Brodin, with phase one beginning January shown before the retrofit (top) and after (bottom).
6, 2014 and ending in July, with the instal-
lation of 66,000 luminaires. This phase con- radation over time, and the nature of the before the 10 million (approximately $16
centrated on multistory car parks, where car parks is that lights were left on for long million) retrofit were single, thin T8 fluo-
the legacy fluorescent lights suffered deg- hours, which further compromised lifetime. rescents. These incurred maintenance costs,
with regular replacements required and a
CAROLINE HAYES is a contributing editor with Legacy fluorescents degradation of the lumen output during its
LEDs Magazine. The majority of the fixtures (95%) used lifetime. Even given the large scale of NCPs
LEDsmagazine.com
focus on | DRIVERS ICS
also allows the LED assembly to be affixed directly to a conduc- TPS92660/40/41 DC-DC driver
tive heat sink for better thermal performance. The company targets IC s by Texas Instruments
applications ranging from retrofit lamps to downlights to tubes with Multichannel LED drivers come into play when a developer either
the IC. The architecture supports 112W SSL systems. needs to support more LEDs than can be driven on a single channel
due to power limitations, or to mix LED colors to achieve a specific
white point or color on demand. Texas Instruments (TI) targets such
LT3795 spread-spectrum driver
IC from Linear Technology
Regulatory requirements covering electromagnetic interference
(EMI) in LED-based lighting products remain an issue, especially
with the driver circuits often operating at high switching frequen-
cies. Companies such as Linear Technology take different approaches
A6263 four-channel driver IC for auto SmarteXite family and iW6401 driver
interior lighting by Allegro MicroSystems ICs by Dialog Semiconductor
Transitioning to automotive lighting, car interior applications Moving to the area of networks
include usages such as map and dome lighting and even lighting and controls, the driver electron-
designed strictly for ambience, and Allegro Microsystems targets ics will be where such capabil-
just such applications with the A6263 linear driver IC. The four 100- ity is integrated in SSL systems,
mA channels allow developers to gang channels together when the and Dialog Semiconductor is sup-
need to drive large arrays of LEDs arises, or to use each channel indi- porting such designs with the
vidually for different interior features. A sense resistor sets the cur- SmarteXite family of driver ICs.
The focus of the SmarteXite ini-
tiative is adding digital intercon-
nects between lamps and/or lumi-
naires and the iW6401 is the first
product in the family. The iW6401
supports the Ledotron controls
protocol that is being driven by a
consortium of European lighting companies. Specifically, the Dialog
chip supports the Ledotron IEC 62756-1 dimming protocol that will
enable plug-and-play operation with Ledotron-compatible controls
such as dimmers. The wired or wireless network support will come
via separate MCUs that connect via an I2C serial interface.
MORE: http://bit.ly/1mmzLMR
rent output for each channel and the IC integrates safety features
required in automotive applications to recover from faults such as
open and shorted LEDs or strings, and over-temperature conditions. 88EM8189 AC/DC driver IC by Marvell
Most driver ICs with dimmable functionality are either designed to
respond to phase control of the AC signal as implemented by triac
TPS92630 and TPS92602 driver ICs and electronic dimmer switches or to dedicated control input from
for automotive lighting by TI digital networks or 010V inputs. Marvell has integrated both capa-
Targeting both rear- and forward-facing exterior automotive lighting bilities in the 88EM8189 driver IC. The IC can directly respond to
in one announcement, TI earlier this year announced the TPS92630 phase control. And the IC can accept digital input over an I2C inter-
and TPS92602 ICs. LED lighting is growing in popularity for auto- face that would connect to a companion MCU in a network-enabled
motive applications because of energy efficiency, long life, and form
factor. The TPS92630 IC is intended for rear-facing applications such
such as TI are making the option available to all SSL developers via
ICs dedicated to the application. Indeed, the TI TPS92411 ICs can early this year) combines a switching boost converter with a linear cur-
each switch power to a segment of a large LED string that comprises rent regulator in the HV9805. The design is cost optimized for LED-
a light engine. The switched approach isolates each of the segments based retrofit lamps and tubes. Because the second stage is a linear
and allows developers to place a capacitor across each segment, design, its critical for efficiency that the first stage be tuned to deliver a
thereby getting far better utilization of the LEDs when the AC input DC voltage input to the linear stage that is very near the compliance volt-
is too low to drive most of the string. See the Developer Forum on p. age of the LED string. The use of boundary conduction mode in the boost
73 for yet another approach to AC-LED drive technology. stage allows for flexibility in what Supertex calls headroom voltage.
MORE: http://bit.ly/XEhdlI MORE: http://bit.ly/1orgpG3
Over the last year, we have definitely seen the of optical-ceramic materials that may be
levels of solid-state lighting (SSL) adoption applied directly onto the light-emitting sur-
increasing with widespread installations, as face of LED chips. The promise of these novel
industry analysts have been predicting for manufacturing technologies is to eventually
several years now. We are seeing installa- enable wafer-level packaging (WLP) of LED
tions ranging from street lighting to park- chips. WLP promises to lower chip manufac-
ing garages, from expanded uses in retail turing costs by eliminating redundant pack-
and hospitality applications to commercial aging steps while simultaneously improving
and industrial applications. The technolo- LED chip efficacy, reliability, and quality.
gies being incorporated, the applications, Ultimately, these technologies, combined
and the range of installations are growing with improved manufacturing systems and
dramatically. Still, light quality and compo- processes, could lead to the elimination of
nent cost remain issues for the LED industry, binning producing white LED chips with
and new chip architectures and phosphor- a performance variance within 2 SDCM
application techniques can deliver benefits (standard deviation of color matching or a FIG. 1. Samsung announced its LED flip-
in both regards. two-step MacAdam ellipse). chip architecture at the Strategies in
Indeed, the increased demand for SSL is Still in development, these manufactur- Light 2014 Conference & Exhibition.
pressuring the industry to simultaneously ing techniques are currently being tested
improve quality, lower costs, and reduce on flip-chip LED architectures, where both the substrate is at the bottom of the mate-
manufacturing complexity throughout the positive and negative contacts are on the rial layer stack that comprises the LED (Fig.
supply chain. In response to these pres- bottom of the chip. Fig. 1 depicts a Sam- 2). Flip chips have many advantages in sim-
sures, new LED manufacturing technologies sung flip-chip LED with a uniform light- plifying design and manufacturing. First,
are being developed across the full range of emitting surface. Samsung announced the since the electrical contacts are on the bot-
chip fabrication techniques, starting with architecture in a keynote address at the tom, there is no need for the wire-bonds that
a new generation of semiconductor capital Strategies in Light 2014 conference (http:// are required to connect with the electrical
equipment, improved process engineering, bit.ly/1kXzh1e). contacts on the top of a lateral LED (Fig. 3).
and the development of advanced materials. Indeed, the flip-chip approach enables This means that you can eliminate a full step
In this vein, Intematix is focused on engi- a more planar light-emitting surface than in the manufacturing process. Furthermore,
neering more rugged and efficient phosphor the typical wire-bonded lateral chip archi- wires as a potential failure point are no lon-
materials, as well as phosphor-application tecture, providing an easier implementation ger a concern.
schemes, to reduce manufacturing cost and of the new phosphor-application technique. Flip chips also improve chip efficiency.
complexity while improving light quality. Furthermore, flip chips are becoming more With the electrical contacts out of the way,
common in the industry, as even second-tier more of the chip surface is available to emit
Phosphor pre-formed films manufacturing companies have caught on light. The entire chip surface becomes a
In one innovative example of new tech- to the benefits they provide and have thus window into the light.
nologies, phosphors are being manufac- increased their flip-chip manufacturing. This window allows the phosphor mate-
tured into pre-formed polymer film sheets rials to be laid right over the top of the chip.
or glass tiles. We will even study the use WLP with flip-chip architectures The full planar surface of the chip is thus
The most prevalent LED chip architecture available. At this point, you can apply the
JULIAN CAREY is the senior director of in the SSL technology sector today remains phosphor material either at the packaging
marketing for LED phosphors at Intematix Corp. the so-called lateral chip structure in which step in LED manufacturing or at the wafer
level or perhaps somewhere in between. Lateral LED chip architecture To reach this market ideal,
With flip-chip architecture, phosphor manufacturers would start
pre-forms, manufactured in large polymer p-electrode out with a uniform blue LED
or glass sheets or ceramic platelets, can be Contact layer wafer with a wavelength uni-
precisely targeted to uniformity standards formity between 2 and 2.5 nm
p-GaN layer
within 1 SDCM. Moreover, such phosphors in wavelength, or 1 SDCM as
can be applied to LED chips in two different Active layers converted through the phos-
ways as mentioned before (Fig. 4). n-GaN layer
phor. A phosphor film that is
In the first method, the pre-formed phos- also uniform to 1 SDCM is laid
phor can be applied at the wafer level. Dur- Sapphire Mirror layer over the entire wafer, which
substrate
ing the manufacturing of LED wafers, all Contact layer is then diced up into individ-
of the individual LED chips are attached to ual LED chips. With this pro-
n-electrode
one another on the wafer. Before singulating cess, every chip matches each
the die (i.e., sawing the wafer into individ- FIG. 2. A legacy lateral LED chip architecture has the other within 2 SDCM. There
ual chips), a film, glass, or ceramic phosphor electrical contacts on top of the layer stack, requiring would be no need to sort the
pre-form is placed on the top of the entire wire bonds at the package level. chips further, since each one
wafer. This creates a sort of phosphor hat is essentially uniform. While
on each chip. The wafer is then sawed into Binning is currently required since each this process creates a path to
individual LED chips with the phosphor on LED wafer typically has areas of wave- this industry goal, the technology must still
top, thus creating what some call an LED length nonuniformity. LED manufacturers make substantial progress before we can
white chip. The LED has a minimal pack- sort their production of LED chips by vari- claim to have achieved it.
age and a white reflective coating is applied ous wavelength bins, allowing light source
to the sides of the structure to maximize manufacturers to select only those LEDs Use of phosphor pre-forms
light extraction. that meet their acceptable performance post-singulation
ranges while maximizing the overall man- A second way that phosphor pre-form can
Binning requirements ufacturing yield and usage of each of the be applied is after the wafer has been singu-
This WLP technique offers many benefits bin ranges. Binning is a time-consuming, lated. Actual wafers dont necessarily have
beyond the typical emitter or chip-on-board costly, and inefficient process. As the next perfect wavelength uniformity; instead,
(COB) packaging available today. Bulk pro- generation of metal organic chemical-vapor there are various zones wherein the chips
cessing is moving in this direction for effi- deposition (MOCVD) reactors critical will be a few nanometers off from the desired
cacy, uniformity, and low cost. This technique to LED formation comes on line, offer- wavelength. A couple of processing choices
will ideally take the industry to new manu- ing improved within-wafer and wafer-to- can be made at this point. The phosphor can
facturing efficiency levels, whereby binning wafer wavelength uniformity, binning may be applied to the entire wafer, as described
is greatly reduced or no longer needed. be greatly reduced. previously, or the individual LEDs can be
applications such as spotlighting, projec- in high flux-density applications. advantages of this technology outweigh
tion, and automotive headlights. Ceramic converter material can be made the cost considerations.
Optical ceramic converters offer several in yellow, green, and white emission. Since
thermal advantages. First, these materials the white color coordinates are within Euro- Polymer pre-forms with wire-bonded chips
have much higher thermal conductivity, pean Commission for Europe (ECE) specifi- Intematix also believes that, despite the
allowing for faster thermal dissipation. The cation for headlights, ceramic materials are advantages, flip-chip production will rep-
resulting lower operating temperature typi- good applications for automobiles, accord- resent only about 25% of the market in 2015
cally produces greater conversion efficiency ing to Schott, a global manufacturer of spe- as the technology matures. This means that
for the light source. SSL light sources using cial glass and specialty materials. 75% of the market will continue to comprise
this technology can offer greater energy Currently, the biggest disadvantage for lateral chips or chips using wire-bonding
efficiency or will allow for the LED chips ceramic phosphors is their higher cost. To techniques. This large segment of the mar-
date, a limited number ket shouldnt be ignored, as there are pos-
of chemical systems sibilities that the polymer film approach
have been explored could work with wire-bonded LEDs if it is
a nd de velope d a s laminated onto the chip. Such a scenario
ceramics. Addition- would require that the chip already be
ally, ceramic process- wire bonded and working, then the poly-
ing steps beyond mak- mer would be applied over it. The material
ing the powder are would need to be in a soft gel phase such
required in ceramic that the wire bonds would remain as they
phosphors, which are are and not be disturbed. As the technol-
not necessary for glass ogy continues to evolve, Intematixs goal
FIG. 4. Phosphor pre-forms can be applied either to the entire
and film phosphors. is to extend the approach beyond flip-chip
wafer before singulation or after the wafer has been divided.
Due to these addi- architectures to include wire-bonded chips,
tional steps, manufac- as well.
to be driven at higher current densities for turers must invest in ceramic processing Overall, Intematix believes that these
greater light output. These same proper- equipment, which drives up the manufac- new manufacturing technologies hold
ties also give the light source much greater turing costs. In the near future, due to this great promise to reduce manufacturing
thermal stability over time, hence greater higher cost differential, it is unlikely that costs, improve light quality, and provide
system reliability. The overall lower operat- optical ceramic phosphor materials will greater efficiency while simultaneously
ing temperature means that the phosphor be used in any but the most heat-sensitive offering reduced binning ultimately driv-
materials are much less likely to experience or high flux-density applications such as ing toward simplification of the LED light
thermal damage or to brown, especially automobile headlights where the distinct source manufacturing process.
I
n the last several years driverless LED This new branch on the lighting technology
light engines (also known as AC-LED tree has the potential to reshape the future
light engines) have become increasingly growth of the SSL industry.
important to the solid-state lighting (SSL)
sector and to the lighting industry at large. How it works
Indeed, some leading luminaire companies In order to understand the dramatic nature
rely on AC-LED based products for as much of this innovation, we will start by reviewing
as half of their sales. The allure from a cost conventional technology. The earliest gen-
and complexity perspective is clear in that the eration of driverless LED light engines used
minimal driver circuit can be placed on the circuits such as the one shown in Fig. 1.
circuit board that hosts the LEDs and no sep- In this arrangement, the AC power line FIG. 1. Early driverless engines simply
arate driver module is needed. And the latest is rectified and applied to a string of LEDs rectified the main and used a resistor to
implementations combine up to 93% electri- with a total forward voltage requirement limit current.
cal efficiency with low cost and no percepti- just less than the peak of the AC power line
ble flicker. voltage. A resistor in series with the LEDs LEDs are always switched on), the flicker is
AC-LED light engines have numerous limits the current to be within the rating of less noticeable in the Fig. 2 circuit relative to
advantages starting with a flat and com- the LEDs. This circuit produces an intense that in the Fig. 1 circuit. However, some people
pact form factor enabled by the lack of an flash of light 120 times per second, result- can still perceive the flicker, especially in their
LED driver, thereby simplifying the lumi- ing in a quality of light similar to that from peripheral vision, and for this reason many
naire design. But many products on the mar- a magnetic ballasted fluorescent tube. specifiers still object to the light quality.
ket today suffer from 120-Hz flicker (close to Technologists improved this arrangement
100%) and efficiency is typically only around by adjusting the number of LEDs in series Eliminating flicker
83%. The high flicker renders them unac- with the power line by operating switches In our new architecture (Fig. 3), the LED
ceptable to many lighting designers/speci- throughout the line cycle as shown in Fig current is kept almost constant, with a very
fiers for lighting applications such as offices 2. Many different arrangements for con- brief 1.5-msec gap in the output current dur-
and workshops. trolling the switches have been developed. ing which capacitors are recharged, twice
We will describe here a new driverless Sometimes instead of a simple resistor, a every power line cycle. This circuit operation
LED light engine that produces less flicker current-controlled resistor or a current- corresponds to a frequency of above 600 Hz,
and offers higher efficiency than many exist- limiter circuit may be used. These circuits which far exceeds what the human eye can
ing products. The new technology results involve relatively expensive IC controllers detect and is therefore perceived as flicker-
in prototype light engines with essentially and numerous costly high-voltage switches. free. It does not use expensive IC driver chips
no perceptible flicker at 120 Hz and dem- The segmented-switched scheme produces or costly power switch chips, which are com-
onstrated electrical efficiency of 93%. The a total LED current that resembles a series of monplace in conventional technology.
design described is being utilized in a light half sine waves and the input current closely A simple way to explain how this cir-
engine manufactured by ERG Lighting. resembles a sine wave. As a result, these prod- cuit works is to follow the currents gener-
ucts have good power factor and total har- ated by the AC power line or voltage source
PETER W. SHACKLE (pshackle@photalume. monic distortion (THD). But the half sinu- (S1). When the voltage on the left side of the
com) is an industry consultant at Photalume. soidal output current means that the flicker source is rising positively, a displacement
com and owns the patent application for the at 120 Hz is close to 100%. Since some level current flows through capacitors C4 and
light engine technology described in this article. of LED current is always flowing (and some C9, which sends a current through LED array
R
arely does always or never consti- less power and thus produces less light while must also remain cool enough to touch.
tute valid advice. An elder may have operating at higher temperatures, we mea- Electronics folks know there are no new
shared, Never stick your finger in an sured CFL ballast enclosure temperatures as technical breakthroughs in thermal man-
empty light socket; you must always assume directed by lamp manufacturers. agement. The latest LED lamps run elec-
the electricity is on. Bring that uncertainty After compiling results of different lamp tronics hotter than their predecessors and
forward to the life and reliability of an LED brands, our findings indicated CFLs needed at drivers can fail quickly from de-soldering or
lamp in an Edison socket. I believe the indus- least 20 in.3/W in enclosed lighting chamber thermal breakdown of components.
try in making lamps look like their incandes- volume, such as a typical ceiling flush mount. Energy Star long-term testing for LED
cent grandparent is falsely addressing lim- For example, a dual 13W CFL lamps occurs with 40C
its on LED adoption. The assumption is that lamp would meet stated life degree air surrounding the
you can always consider using the LED in in an 18-in. diameter bowl fix- lamp, and not in typical fix-
place of incandescent. Yet the only warning ture. A dual 60W incandes- tures. We find in our 25C
we have is to never use most available lamps cent fixture could be as small temperature-controlled test
in an enclosed fixture. as 13 in. Semi-enclosed fixtures lab that the lighting chambers
Consider for a moment the ecological pre- depended upon lamp up or of semi-enclosed wall sconces
decessor of the LED lamp the CFL. Has it down and how close the glass regularly exceed 60C with 8W
become common knowledge among consum- shade was to the lamp. Inter- lamps. Enclosed multi-lamp
ers that CFLs will not perform as claimed in estingly, we also learned that ceiling fixtures can exceed
some fixture applications? Whose responsi- the majority of CFLs quickly 90C. So what are the impacts
bility is it to make them aware of these lim- reduced power attaining a typ- to anticipated life because of
itations? Is it the belief that LED will over- ical 70% level of stated light output. elevated operating temperature?
come CFLs inherent shortcomings? In fact, Our lab attempted similar testing for LED Insiders may know that Energy Star
LED lamps can and do fail even sooner and lamps. With the exception of a single lamp attempted to address testing temperature in
of course at higher fiscal cost. brand with specs on use in enclosures, no the recent revision of the standard. Presum-
I had the opportunity to share these other lamp manufacturer had tempera- ably, utilities shot down any testing change.
thoughts with an engineer from a lamp man- ture data to share with us. We learned that The market desire and dynamics to adopt
ufacturer. He acknowledged that the lamp no standards exist to test and provide this energy-saving technology have inertia in the
manufacturers have known for years that information, more so that the LED lamp is form of rebates the utilities are compelled to
when CFLs are placed in the socket-up posi- considered an isolated thermal plane and apply. And the recent proposal to change test-
tion, they last an average of 3,000 hours. Yet not considered to dissipate heat into the fix- ing standards by the US Department of Energy
despite this knowledge, the package declara- ture. To further complicate matters, some does not revise the 40C test, nor address any
tion to consumers only states 12,000 hours as manufacturers shared that the ceramic aspect of varying lamp applications.
the life expectancy. Our government regulates paint covering the metal heat sink or plastic The general public needs a range of life
the packaging information. enclosure surrounding the driver is applied expectancy as the lamp is used by the con-
While expanding our GU24-socket fix- that way in part for product safety. It seems sumer. We have to move beyond the never
ture product offerings, we undertook testing that consumers understand not to touch an and always paradigm, or we risk having
to determine the maximum CFL wattage as operating incandescent lamp with a bare LED technology disappoint the buying pub-
required by UL. Knowing a lamp consumes hand, but since CFLs are cooler, LED lamps lic more than CFLs have.