News: LEDs
15 October 2020
Seoul Semi introduces next-gen WICOP ultra-high-luminance LEDs
South Korean LED maker Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd has introduced its next-generation WICOP UHL (ultra-high luminance) Series LEDs, which reduce headlamp power consumption by up to 20% for electric vehicles (EVs), with an improvement in heat dissipation performance of up to 40%. The firm will begin mass production in 2021, with promotions to key customers.
Battery power consumption is one of the key factors determining the range of an electric vehicle, or the driving distance on a single charge. To reduce the power consumption, it is critical to reduce the overall weight of automobile parts.
The next-generation WICOP UHL Series LEDs are said to exhibit up to 40% better heat dissipation performance than other LED products currently on the market. By applying WICOP UHL to automobile headlamps, the weight of the lamp heat-sink structure can be reduced by 75%. The LED emitting area of the product is extremely small at about 0.5mm2, enabling the headlamp design to be slim. Seoul Semiconductor says that the new LED technology compensates for the disadvantages of heat dissipation, as the light-emitting area is smaller, so it enables not only a slim lamp design but also high performance.
Developed by Seoul Semiconductor, WICOP (Wafer Integrated Chip on PCB), the fundamental technology of the new product, is claimed to be the first patented packageless LED technology. Unlike flip-chip technology (which must be bonded during semiconductor processing), WICOP LEDs can be surface-mounted (SMT) in the general substrate bonding process. Mini-LEDs can also use WICOP technology with a robust structure.
“This new product will be mass produced from 2021 according to requests of global headlamp manufacturers,” says a representative of Seoul Semiconductor. “And it can be adopted for headlamps of all automobile brands and designs.”
Seoul is showcasing WICOP UHL Series products at the Shanghai International Auto Lamp Exhibition (ALE) in Shanghai, China (15–16 October).
