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Korean LED maker Seoul Semiconductor has developed a high-efficiency 80lm/W version of its Acriche LED.

The firm started mass production of the Acriche (which it claims to be the world’s first semiconductor lighting source that can be driven directly from AC power outlets without an AC/DC converter) in November 2006. When it was launched on the marlet in second-quarter 2007, the luminous efficiency of the Acriche was only 40lm/W, but this was increased to 60lm/W last September.

Seoul Semiconductor says that the lifespans of DC-driven LEDs on the market are 50,000-100,000 hours but the AC/DC converter required for effective application in lighting fixtures lasts only about 20,000 hours. Also, the AC/DC converter involves more cost and requires extra space, there are difficulties with space and thermal dissipation in lighting designs when replacing conventional bulbs, the converter’s waste materials cause environment pollution, the converter’s 80% efficiency causes electrical loss of 20%, in a small or enclosed space the build up of heat from the LED and converter can reduce their lifespan, and overheating can cause a fire hazard (requiring safety measures).

The firm acknowledges that Acriche has been less efficient than DC LEDs, and it has been difficult for customers to apply it due to lack of knowledge of the new technology. However, Seoul Semiconductor stresses that its safety has been acknowledged through receiving CE Marking and German TUV certification last November and, with the development of an 80lm/W-efficient Acriche, it is almost as bright as conventional DC LEDs.

Also, Acriche has been developed in just a few years (much less than the 20 year history of the DC LED) and is hence relatively new technology with much potential for growth, reckons Sang Min Lee, head of Seoul Semiconductor’s R&D center. Seoul Semiconductor said last March (when it introduced Acriche’s first efficiency upgrade, by 20% to 48lm/W) that it planned to increase Acriche s efficacy to 120lm/W in 2008.

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Visit: www.seoulsemicon.com