Laboratory record: red LED breaks through the 200 lm/W barrier

LED color mixing systems such as the OSRAM Brilliant Mix concept are the latest trend, particularly for general illumination applications. These systems enable any kind of white light to be produced, from Warm White through Neutral White to Daylight White. The overall performance of the system is as good as the individual components will allow. OSRAM’s new red high-power LED promises a further improvement in the quality of light with lower power consumption, especially in Warm White. This will benefit not only color mixing concepts but also all applications that use high-efficiency red LEDs – in the general illumination, projection and automotive sectors.

Higher efficiency means more light from the same amount of electricity, which in turn means lower power consumption for a particular application. Because fewer chips are needed to produce the same brightness level, designers will have greater freedom. The light sources can be made smaller while still producing the same brightness. Dr. Martin Behringer from the LED development team at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, said: “The results of this project can be extended to all the wavelengths in InGaAlP chip technology so we anticipate a boost in efficiency in these light colors – even at 660 nm which is the wavelength needed for plant lighting for example. Probably we will be introducing the results of this development project across the entire wavelength spectrum into production in about a year’s time.”

The enormous increase in output was achieved by a chip with the latest generation of the company’s own thin-film technology.