28 March 2012

Bridgelux brings Micro SM4 LED to market for directional and diffuse lamp applications

LED chip and lighting array maker Bridgelux Inc of Livermore, CA, USA (which claims to be the only vertically integrated manufacturer of LED solid-state light sources specifically for the lighting industry) has announced the commercial availability of the new Micro SM4 surface-mountable LED (announced last October), which features its latest advances in epitaxial gallium nitride (GaN) layer growth, LED chip design and automated packaging technologies and is targeted at cutting the cost and improving the performance of lighting in commercial buildings.

As a multiple die emitter, the Micro SM4 reduces the component count, cost, complexity and size of diffuse or directional lamps (the popular ceiling fixtures seen in modern office buildings and retail establishments).

The Micro SM4 consumes only 4.2W but emits as much light as a 20-40W incandescent or 20-35W halogen B10-style bulb and will last thousands of hours longer. It can deliver 330-500 lumens in both warm white (2700K and 3000K) and cool white (5600K) color temperatures. Minimum 80 and 90 CRI (color rendering index) options, with 3-step MacAdam Ellipse color selections, will be offered for warm-white products.

The Micro SM4 also delivers high flux density in a smaller footprint, giving designers, architects and lamp manufacturers greater freedom in creating and illuminating interior spaces, Bridgelux says.

“We’ve developed products with Bridgelux LED arrays over the last couple of years,” comments Raimund Koehler, general manager of lighting product maker MeLiTec GmbH of Ense-Höingen, Germany. “The smaller form factor delivering high-quality light and excellent color over angle performance gave us the edge for our new directional lamp applications,” he says of the Micro SM4. “The continuing innovation that we see from Bridgelux is driving LED light source technology in the directions MeLiTec needs to cost-effectively develop the next generation of high-quality, energy-efficient retrofit lamps required for market conversion to solid-state lighting.”

The new smaller-footprint, surface-mountable emitter requires fewer components for applications typically using discrete LEDs, says Bridgelux. The 20-40W replacement market segment constitutes a $1bn opportunity in the $100bn market for lighting, it is reckoned.

Bridgelux is exhibiting in Hall 4.2, stand J31 at the Light+Building 2012 trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany (15-20 April).

Tags: Bridgelux LEDs GaN-on-Si

Visit: www.bridgelux.com