Cree, Philips Lumileds, and Luminus Devices extend COB LED technology

Luminus Devices, Philips Lumileds, and Cree have all made recent chip-on-board (COB) LED technology announcements that in aggregate span increased lumen output in both small and large LED packages. The variety of options in chip-on-board LED arrays continues to expand, both in brighter LEDs...

The variety of options in chip-on-board LED arrays continues to expand, both in brighter LEDs with smaller light-emitting surfaces and in larger components with maximum flux output. Luminus Devices, Philips Lumileds, and Cree have all made recent chip-on-board (COB) LED technology announcements that in aggregate span increased lumen output in both small and large LED packages. Cree announced a brighter LED with a 23-mm light-emitting surface (LES) and a new 30-mm part in the CXA family. Lumileds announced a 10% gain in performance across its entire COB line. And Luminus Devices entered the COB segment for the first time with its Xnova family charting a new path to serve general solid-state lighting (SSL) applications.

Cree CXA3590 and CXA3070

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Cree has now upgraded its 23-mm family with the CXA3070 LED extending the performance range to 11,000 lm at 85° operating temperature. SSL manufacturers that used the prior CXA3050 LED can drop the new family member into existing designs with little or no change required and deliver higher-performance products. “The high-performance CXA3070 LED array enables us to offer metal-halide replacements that exceed the efficiency and life of the technology they replace,” said David Gershaw, president, RemPhos Technologies LLC. “Cree CXA LED arrays set the industry standard for integrated arrays, providing excellent efficacy, reliability, and light output.” The CXA3590, meanwhile, is Cree’s largest COB LED yet, delivers 16,225 lm, and is designed to replace 250W metal halide (MH) sources. “We are excited that Cree is extending the CXA family because it enables us to address more applications with a single, easy-to-use platform,” said David Lin, general manager, Yah Juang Lighting Technology. “The CXA3590 LEDs allow us to address high-lumen applications with a single LED, a feat which would have taken hundreds of other LEDs to accomplish.”

Lumileds bumps COB performance

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Philips Lumileds only entered the COB space back at Lightfair in May offering components with an LES of 9, 13, or 15 mm. “Just one quarter into volume product deliveries, we have increased Luxeon COB performance by +10%, which speaks to the rapid rate at which we upgrade the lumen output and efficacy of our products,” said Eric Senders, product line director at Philips Lumileds. The products now span the range of 1000 to 7000 lm with typical efficacy of 130 lm/W. A 2200-lm 9-mm LED in warm white delivers 2200 lm at 100 lm/W. The company also asserts that its metal-core substrate delivers better thermal performance than competitive products and allows SSL manufacturers to utilize 40% smaller heat sinks.

Luminus enters COB market

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Luminus Devices’ entry into the COB arena is somewhat a surprise. The company had previously focused on building larger individual LED die to serve high-lumen-output applications. Indeed, the company contributed a feature article on its round monolithic emitters in March 2013 that essentially questioned the value proposition of COB technology. Luminus has since been acquired by Sanan subsidiary Lightera. The new Xnova LED family is the combined work of Luminus and Lightera, and, according to a company spokesperson, represents “a change in direction for Luminus with regard to general lighting.” Luminus will continue to supply its larger-die LEDs into entertainment, display, medical, ultraviolet (UV), and other specialty applications. The Xnova family is being debuted this week at the Hong Kong Lighting Fair with products spanning the range from 350 to 10,000 lm. Cool white efficacy is 134 lm/W and warm white efficacy is 120 lm/W. CRI ranges from 75 to 95. “The Xnova family enables further adoption of LED technology into mass markets by providing our customers with outstanding technical performance and superior value,” said Decai Sun, chairman and CEO of Luminus. “Leading lighting companies around the globe are already designing their next-generation lighting solutions based on our new technology.”

Cree, Philips Lumileds, and Luminus Devices extend COB LED technology