24 October 2014

Cree introduces new SC5 Technology Platform with launch of Extreme High Power LEDs

Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA has introduced its SC5 Technology Platform, targeted at powering the next generation of lighting with the introduction of the firm’s new Extreme High Power (XHP) LEDs. The new class of LEDs can reduce system costs by up to 40% in most lighting applications, it is reckoned.

“The SC5 Technology Platform redefines what is possible in high-power LEDs by doubling the lumens out of a single LED, giving lighting manufacturers the flexibility to innovate significantly lower cost systems,” claims chairman & CEO Chuck Swoboda. “This new platform establishes a new benchmark for LED lumens per wafer,” he adds. “This also validates our belief that high-power LED technology enables the best lighting system designs.”

The SC5 Technology Platform is built on Cree’s silicon carbide (SiC) technology and features advances in epitaxial structure, chip architecture and a light conversion system optimized for best thermal and optical performance. The SC5 Technology Platform can hence achieve greater lumen density and longer lifetime at higher operating temperatures than previous LED technology, which can significantly reduce thermal, mechanical and optical costs at the system level, says Cree.

“LEDs are no longer the most expensive portion of an LED lighting system, but they fundamentally determine the overall system performance and cost,” says Dave Emerson, VP & general manager for Cree LEDs. “While other LED manufacturers only promise incrementally lower LED cost, our new Extreme High Power (XHP) LEDs leveraging the SC5 Technology Platform directly address the increased burden that thermal, mechanical and optical elements now place on total system cost,” he adds.

The first available family of XHP LEDs is the XLamp XHP50 LED, delivering up to 2250 lumens at 19 watts from a 5.0mm x 5.0mm package. At its maximum current, the XHP50 provides twice the light output of what is claimed to be the industry’s brightest single-die LED (the XLamp XM-L2 LED) at a similar lumens per watt and without increasing the package footprint. By leveraging Cree’s latest reliability innovations, the XHP50 is designed to maintain L90 lifetimes above 50,000 hours even at high temperature and current.

Limited samples of the XHP50 product family are available now, with commercial availability by the end of 2014.

Tags: Cree LED

Visit: www.cree.com/SC5