GaN-on-Silicon technology enables 120lm/W

"Having developed and put into production the first of our MAGIC LEDs in 2013, the next step was to demonstrate that the GaN on silicon technology could deliver output performance levels comparable with other LED technologies," commented Dr. Keith Strickland, CTO, Plessey. "Whilst 120lm/W for an LED may be considered 'acceptable' to industry, we must remember that we have doubled our LED light output in the past six months. I see no reason why we cannot reach state of the art in LED die output performance within the next six months. This current process technology will become the base for our Application Specific LEDs, the ASLED that bridges the gap between the LED component suppliers and the solid state lighting fixture designers and OEMs."

Mike Snaith, Operations Director, Plessey, added: "Achieving greater than 50% light output efficiency is a superb achievement for the team here in Plymouth. The combination of expertise and a sustained period of light output performance improvement in the core LED material is due to our holistic approach to LED development - our in-house experts in epitaxy growth, process development and die design all working together. This way of working will continue and strengthen as we drive towards next-gen higher efficiency, silicon-based, integrated LED solutions and away from discrete, plastic-packaged LED components."