Chipset for MR16-compatible LED lamps

18th October 2007

ES Admin

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Zetex Semiconductors has developed a dedicated chipset and reference design for MR16-compatible LED lamps. Reducing the component count of existing solutions by up to 50%, the chipset significantly decreases the size and weight of the PCB in the neck of the lamp and the overall cost of lamp manufacture.

The highly integrated MR16 chipset handles all associated power rectification, LED current control and protection functions. MR16, the standard format for halogen reflector lamps, is used extensively in directional lighting applications in residential, retail and office environments. LED based variants can offer dramatic improvements in efficiency and reliability.

Chris Jolly, VP Marketing, Smart Application Specific Products at Zetex Semiconductors said, “The chipset is an optimized and highly robust solution for the MR16 application and confirms Zetex’ technology standing in the lighting sector. Customers were telling us that existing MR16 LED lamp designs simply weren’t optimised for efficiency and ease of manufacture, so we took a tailored, top-down approach to make sure ours was.”

He continued, “It’s also important not to overlook a significant green argument for switching to MR16-compatible LED lamps. Not ignoring the fact that LED based lamps have a lifetime some five times longer than their halogen counterparts, they also play a key role in the fight to reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint of residential and commercial properties. Over its lifetime each LED based lamp can help reduce green house gas emissions by up to a ton when used instead of a traditional halogen lamp.

Paul Thieken, Cree Director of Product Marketing for XLamp™ LEDs said, “We have worked closely with Zetex for a number of years and firmly believe that this chipset, when combined with Cree LEDs, can provide MR16-compatible lighting manufacturers with an optimized overall solution for what is a technically demanding application.”

Irving Pun, Director, Global Markets Development at Civilight Shenzhen Semiconductor Lighting Company said, “In the manufacture of MR16-compatible LED lamps, the electronic control solution that’s deployed needs to be reliable. What Zetex has given me here is a very simple and highly manufacturable solution that allows me to focus my attention on optimising the thermal and optical performance of our MR16 product.”