eNewsletter

February 2008

Acriche Attains Higher Efficiency of 80 lm/W

Seoul Semiconductor has succeeded in raising the efficiency of Acriche, the world's first AC-driven semiconductor lighting source, to 80 lm/W.

Seoul Semiconductor has made significant strides in a short time to improve and raise the level of performance of Acriche, a semiconductor lighting source that can be directly connected to 110 volt or 220 volt AC outlets without the need for an AC-DC converter. In November 2006, Seoul Semiconductor began mass-producing Acriche with luminance efficacy of 40 lm/W. By the second quarter of 2007, Seoul Semiconductor was securing large volume sales for Acriche. In September 2007, Seoul Semiconductor's researchers improved Acriche's performance to 60 lm/W. Acriche is also the world's first LED package to receive the CE Marking, a notable global mark of safety. The LED light source also conforms to the stringent German TUV certification. These achievements coupled with the improved performance at 80 lm/W sets the stage or Acriche's success in the world markets. Seoul Semiconductor is expecting increasing demand of Acriche worldwide.

DC-driven LEDs have many disadvantages. While the lifespan of DC-driven LED sold in the market is 50,000 to 100,000 hours, the AC-DC converter needed for its application to lighting fixtures only has a lifespan of 20,000 hours. The need to change the AC-DC converter several times over the life of the LED is a major shortcoming of DC-driving LED technology and limits its appeal for lighting fixtures. AC/DC converters have several other problems including: AC/DC converters add extra cost and require more space; design difficulties to accommodate space and thermal dissipation requirements for DC-LEDs make it less viable as a replacement for conventional incandescent bulbs or building structure lighting; waste materials from the converter causes environmental pollution; 80 percent efficiency of converter causes 20 percent of electricity loss; when applied to a small or enclosed area the LED and the AC/DC converter interaction can accumulate to massive heat causing a reduction in lifespan; and overheating can cause a fire concern which will require safety plans.

The technological advancement, innovation and mass production of Acriche make the technology a suitable solution that addresses the problems associated with AC/DC converters.

OnChip Devices, a producer of Integrated Passive Devices (IPD), has introduced the smallest SMD ESD protection TVS diodes available in the industry. The approximate size of the device is 0.020 inches by 0.010 inches (0.6 mm by 0.3 mm or 600 um by 300 um) and it is built using advanced silicon technology. The product is a surface-mountable Flip Chip with two solder bumps for direct attachment to Printed Circuit Boards. The ESD0201 has superior electrical performance and exceeds the requirements of IEC61000-4-2 level 4. This product offers ESD level in excess of 30 kV contact discharge when tested to IEC61000 standards. In spite of the exceptionally high ESD level, this device offers a relatively low input capacitance of under 20 pF.

Mobile computing and consumer products are becoming increasingly susceptible to ESD failures and therefore all tier1 manufacturers are switching to silicon based diode protection. Since they predominantly use integrated circuits (IC) with sub-micron geometries and low working voltages, the traditional high clamp voltage polymers and varistors have become inadequate. ESD0201 offers clamp voltage as low as 10V which virtually eliminates IC latch-up and soft errors.

“At OnChip we are rapidly expanding our product portfolio. This is our fourth major product launch in less than 3 months,” said Ashok Chalaka, President and CEO. “The introduction of the ESD0201 diodes is a significant milestone for OnChip and it clearly establishes us as a market leader. This product offers the smallest form-factor and the highest ESD protection level in the industry. The ultra miniature size, the very high ESD level, the relatively small junction capacitance and low clamp voltage make this part very attractive to system designers.”

The OnChip ESD0201-01FR is available immediately worldwide at $0.07 in quantities of 25,000.  

White LED Driver Simplifies Large Display Design for Portable Electronics

Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. (AnalogicTech), a developer of power management semiconductors for mobile consumer electronic devices, announced today the AAT1239-1, a high frequency, high efficiency constant current boost converter capable of driving up to 10 white LEDs (WLEDs) connected in series. Designed for backlight applications in PNDs, eDictionaries, Electronic Photo Frames and cellular handsets, the new driver IC uses AnalogicTech's proprietary Simple Serial Control (S2CWire) single-wire interface to dramatically reduce the display flicker that occurs with commonly-used low frequency PWM control schemes.

"As portable systems designers continually extend the feature set in their products, they need to use increasingly sophisticated lighting functions to support those new capabilities," said Phil Dewsbury, product line manager for AnalogicTech. "By driving up to 10 WLEDs in a serial string, the AAT1239-1 simplifies the use of larger LCD panels in a wide array of battery-powered portable devices."

Operating off a 2.7 V to 5.5 V input range, the AAT1239-1 delivers a maximum continuous output of 40 V at 30 mA and delivers a constant LED current for up to 10 WLEDs in series. An integrated soft start function eliminates output voltage overshoot across the full input voltage range.

The single-wire S2CWire interface controls WLEDs across 26 discrete current steps. It requires no additional circuitry. The AAT1239-1 also features a true load disconnect function that isolates the load from the power source while in the OFF or disabled state. By guaranteeing <1.0 uA shutdown current, this feature extends battery life by eliminating leakage current in power-limited portable applications.

The new WLED driver IC offers efficiency levels up to 82 percent. A high 2 MHz switching frequency provides very fast response and helps reduce end product footprint by allowing the use of very small external inductors and capacitors.

The AAT1239-1 also offers short-circuit, overvoltage and over-temperature protection.

Qualified across the –40°C to 85°C temperature range, the AAT1239-1 is available in a Pb-free, 12-pin TSOPJW package. The IC sells for $1.08 in 1,000 quantities.

Macroblock Unveils Constant Current LED Driver with Silent Error Detection

Macroblock has expanded its line of constant current LED driver with Silent Error Detection-MBI5039 aimed at LED panel applications. For the competitive commercial LED panel market, two things become more and more significant: the video image quality and the real time error detection of the full LED panel. Looking into these urgent demands in the LED panel market, Macroblock realizes that LED drivers with real-time error detection of the full LED panel, making it easy to detect dark pixel errors, are especially ideal for commercial LED panels and traffic signs.

The MBI5039 is a 16-channel constant current LED driver with smart error detection functions. The MBI5039 supports constant output current from 3mA to 90mA and sustains up to 17V at the output ports. In addition, the high clock frequency (30 MHz) satisfies the system requirements of high volume data transmission. The MBI5039 includes two error detection functions: “In-Message Error Detection” and “Silent Error Detection”. The “In-Message Error Detection” performs the online detection as data-in and error-out sequentially, making it easy to identify the LED open and short errors and report the exact position of the broken LED simultaneously. Furthermore, the “Silent Error Detection” features full LED panel detection to detect even dark pixels in real time, and moreover, the “Silent Error Detection” can diagnose the LED at low current (0.1 mA) within short period (500 ns) to avoid flickers or noise on the LED panel, assuring the accuracy of the display information. In addition to the two featured error detections, thermal detection is also an add-in feature in the MBI5039 to protect the system from over-temperature. Moreover, the MBI5039 provides a 64-step programmable current gain for LED brightness and uniformity adjustment. For better display uniformity, the MBI5039 further achieves an output current accuracy within 1.5 percent variation between channels and within 3 percent variation between ICs. The MBI5039 also delivers fast response of output current with minimum output pulse at 35 ns, which greatly enhances the gray scale and the visual refresh rate of the LED panel.

The MBI5039 can be a drop-in replacement of MBI5025/MBI5026/ MBI5027/MBI5028/MBI5029 by Macroblock’s patented Share-I-O technique. The MBI5039 enhances the display quality while achieving the full LED panel detection and real-time online error report to reduce the maintenance cost. The MBI5039 fulfills the demanding requirements of LED panel applications.

Exar Corp. has released the SP7600 LED driver capable of driving high power LEDs up to 2 amps. The SP7600 is a single chip switching buck LED driver with an integrated 100 mohm MOSFET in a thermally enhanced SO-8 package. With a 4.5 V to 29 V operating range this LED driver can support most retail and architectural lighting systems which typically use 12 V or 24 V power sources. New consumer electronics devices can also find a use for this high current LED driver, such as the latest LED compact projectors.

"The SP7600 is the highest current monolithic LED driver on the market and is designed to meet the needs of the latest high current LEDs such as the latest 1.5 amp Luxeon K2," said Jon Cronk, director, Power Management Marketing. "The monolithic SP7600 is Exar's second is a series of LED driver products targeted at the architectural and general lighting markets."

Both PWM dimming up to 1 kHz, and analog dimming are supported by the SP7600. With a 0.2 V feedback, power dissipation in the current sense resistor is minimized resulting in efficiency peaking at 95 percent, and the 1.2 MHz operating frequency allows for a minimal footprint design which fits in the same board space as a 1.5 amp Luxeon K2 and it's heat sink. Operation at 1.2 MHz at the maximum input voltage of 29 V can be a challenge for many buck regulators but with a guaranteed minimum on-time of 100 ns the SP7600 can convert from 29 V to the 4 V across the LED. There is also an adjustable peak current limit control to protect the internal switch in the case of a fault condition.

Samples of the SP7600 are available now. The operating range is –40°C to 85°C temperature range. In 1,000 piece quantities the SP7600 is $1.49.

Webcom Presents Multiple Industries Patent Workshop
~ at the 2008 Magnetics Conference in Denver, Colo., May 14, 2008 ~

Half Day Workshop:
Intellectual Property Issues for New Product Development
May 14, 2008 (1 p.m. to 5 p.m.) - Beverages and Course Materials Provided

The workshop will start with an overview of the various types of intellectual property, including patents, trademark, copyrights, trade secrets, non-competes and publishing. It will feature a detailed discussion of patents, including type of patents, what is patentable, patent laws and rules, the patenting process and patent strategy. Also covered will be the integration of the patenting process with the new product development process and discussion of critical patent strategy issues. It will conclude with a practical training session for writing technical disclosures for patenting purposes.

For more details about what attendees can expect to learn from this workshop visit http://www.magneticsmagazine.com/mag_conf08_workshops.htm#akc.

• Register before April 4, 2008 - $395

• Register after April 4, 2008 - $495

Register Now!

Visit http://www.magneticsmagazine.com/mag_conf08_workshop_reg.php/.

Cree, Inc. has announced the results of an independent survey on the adoption, deployment and benefits of LED lighting. The survey, taken at the recent 2007 Hong Kong International Lighting Fair, validates strong global growth for LED lighting applications, confirms awareness of the energy-efficiency benefits of LEDs and indicates that the adoption trend should continue through the end of the decade.

Key survey findings include:

• Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of respondents have witnessed a growth rate in excess of 20 percent for LED lighting applications in their businesses over the past six months.
  
• Almost two-thirds of respondents (63 percent) believe LED lighting will comprise more than 50 percent of their sales or installations by 2009.
  
• Future growth in the LED lighting market is expected come from a mix of applications - with street/parking (20 percent), residential indoor (17 percent), retail/display (17 percent) and office (15 percent) cited as the leading opportunities.

Survey respondents represent top decision-makers at lighting manufacturers who attended the 2007 Hong Kong International Lighting Fair - the largest lighting show in Asia and the second largest in the world. Nearly half the respondents to this survey were from outside of Asia, reflecting the survey's global reach.

"The survey results present us with a clear and positive picture of growth patterns and expectations from leaders in fixture design and manufacturing," said Greg Merritt, director of corporate marketing, Cree. "The survey shows an increasing demand for the high-quality, energy efficient LEDs that Cree currently provides and is continuing to develop."

"The general illumination market is at a tipping point," Merritt said. "Cree's industry-leading XLampÒ family of high-performance cool and warm white LEDs is uniquely positioned to serve the needs of lighting manufacturers who are ready to capitalize on this growth."

The DOE Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Technology Demonstration Gateway Program showcases high-performance LED products for general illumination in a variety of commercial and residential applications. Demonstration results provide real-life experience and data on state-of-the-art SSL product performance and cost effectiveness. These results connect DOE technology procurement efforts with large-volume purchasers and provide buyers with reliable data on product performance.

A PDF copy of the Oakland demonstration report is available for download on the DOE SSL website. To download the report, or learn more about the DOE Gateway Demonstration program, see: http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/techdemos.htm.

Martin Professional A/S was recently awarded a technology grant from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation (Højteknologifonden) for the development of new LED technologies. The project, called INLED (Intelligent Light Emitting Diodes), is a cooperation between Martin Professional A/S, Denmark’s Aalborg University, and the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation.

Martin Professional will receive approximately $3 million in funding from the research foundation, with an additional $2 million to be added by Martin and $1 million from Aalborg University. The three-year, six million USD project will run through the end of 2010.

The goal of INLED is to develop new technologies for LED based fixtures as substitutes for existing more inefficient technologies, including improvements in optical systems, color mixing, output, control, heat management and energy use. The result will be a radical improvement in light quality.  

Finn Jäger-Rasmussen, Head of R&D at Martin Professional, comments, “We will continue to see a reduction in the use of discharge and incandescent lamps as LED technology gives us many environmental advantages. The grant will allow us to produce optimal LED solutions for use in our applications while also funding basic research in LED. Our goal is to develop a highly efficient product with full color mixing in which the loss of energy is as small as possible.”

Christian Engsted, CEO of Martin Professional, adds, “This initiative further emphasizes Martin’s desire to lead the development and set the standards within our industry as well as our commitment to continue to improve lighting efficiency to benefit the environment.” 

The aim of the Foundation’s grant program is long-term development of novel ground-breaking technology that will enable the participating companies to embark on various new business activities that lead to a radical leap within the involved sectors of industry.

The Danish government aims at making Denmark one of the world’s leading advanced-technological societies. Consequently, the Danish government founded the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation, whose general objective is to enhance growth and strengthen employment by supporting strategic and advanced technological priorities within the fields of research and innovation.

Hymite AG, a producer of miniature silicon packaging for LEDs, has appointed electronic packaging veteran Josef Kiermeier as director of Business Development. He will be responsible for expanding Hymite’s customer base among electronics suppliers worldwide and reports directly to Hymite chief executive officer Claus Nielsen.

The appointment builds on Hymite’s strategy of providing proven, ultra-small packages to the high-brightness (HB) LED industry for use in a variety of applications, including mobile phones, digital cameras and PDAs; automotive electronics, and consumer electronics applications. The small size and superior thermal qualities of micromachined silicon packages make the products ideal for mobile electronics.

“Hymite is committed to providing customers with a unique value proposition, offering the small sizes, heat management, and wafer-scale cost efficiencies required by the industry,” said Claus Nielsen, chief executive officer, Hymite AG. “Josef’s strong business and technology background, coupled with his experience in the packaging industry, make him the best candidate to communicate these benefits to our target markets.”

The City of Austin recently joined the LED City program. The LED City program is an international initiative to deploy and promote energy-efficient LED lighting. Austin joins Toronto, Raleigh, NC, and Ann Arbor, MI, in evaluating and deploying state-of-the-art LED lighting technology across their municipal infrastructures.

In December 2007, the City of Austin and Austin Energy retrofitted a floor of the One Texas Center Parking Garage with 47-watt LED fixtures from Beta LED. LED fixtures have also been installed in a hallway at Austin Energy headquarters, in streetlights on Barton Springs, in the Palmer Events Center marquee sign and in the water fountain at the new Palmer Events Center Park. Additional test installations are planned throughout the City, including a portion of the lights surrounding the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail. These installations demonstrate Austin Energy's significant commitment to installing high-quality, energy-efficient LED lighting throughout the City.

We plan to evaluate LED solutions that have the potential to reduce energy consumption by 47 to 90 percent over traditional lighting solutions," said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. "Just by retrofitting 5,000 streetlights, a mere portion of all of the streetlights within the City, the City could realize savings of up to $500,000 a year. And that doesn't include additional maintenance and labor cost savings if we won't be sending out a worker in a boom truck an additional 6 to 7 times just to change a light bulb.”

"The total wattage of the LED garage light installation is about 30 percent below the allowable wattage as required by the Energy Code Allowance," said Wynn. "This represents a savings of $6,795 a year in utility costs compared to the Code Allowance. Because LEDs typically last 5-7 times longer than the prior fixture bulbs, the City anticipates it could achieve an additional savings of $27,000 in replacement lamp costs over the life of the LEDs. The combined annualized savings to the City could be $10,178 per year with a simple payback of 6.5 years.

This lighting strategy is part of our efforts to achieve Energy Star and LEED Accreditation for City of Austin buildings. LEDs represent a new exciting technology that can help us achieve the ambitious goals we have established through our Climate Protection Plan."

In 2003, the City of Austin retrofitted over 5200 traffic signals and 3700 pedestrian signals with LEDs. The wattage of the traffic signals was reduced from 135 watts to 11-15 watts each - a 90 percent reduction.

The award-winning retrofit has realized a savings of 7.25 million kilowatt-hours per year, removed 830 kilowatts of demand load from the City grid, and the City estimates it has saved taxpayers $1.4 million per year plus additional maintenance and labor savings.

2/11 - 2/13
Strategies In Light 2008
Santa Clara, CA

February

2/11 - 2/13
Strategies In Light 2008
Santa Clara, CA

2/24 - 2/29
SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference & Exhibition
San Jose, CA

LED Packaging 2008
April 15-17, 2008
Penang Malaysia

IntertechPira’s 3rd annual conference devoted exclusively to packaging for LEDs, LED Packaging 2008, will be held April 15-17 in Penang Malaysia. Featuring two preconference workshops on April 15 and two full days of invited talks on April 16 and 17, LED Packaging will draw industry leaders from around the globe to discuss the latest innovations and the way forward in this rapidly evolving LED industry. Topics to be covered include LED chip design and fabrication, thermal management, LED modules and light engines, mounting and assembly, an analysis of important LED end use markets, and much more. With 125 anticipated delegates and 15 exhibitors LED Packaging 2008 is a must attend for anybody with a stake in this industry.

Click Here for more info

EDS - Where the Electronics Industry Connects
May 5-8, 2008
Las Vegas, NV

EDS -- Where the Electronics Industry Connects—May 5-8, 2008, Paris/Bally’s Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada  www.edsconnects.com

EDS is North America’s premier venue for business-to-business meetings and networking for the electronics distribution industry. More than 5,000 key representatives from the three major areas of the industry—distribution, manufacturing and professional field sales—attend EDS.  It’s where the “who’s who” in electronics come to build business, including  more international participants than any comparable event in North America. 
EDS is sponsored by industry leaders the Electronic Components, Assemblies and Materials Association (ECA), the Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) and the National Electronic Distributors Association (NEDA).  EDS facilitates sales and marketing partnerships in the global electronics distribution industry. Convened annually since 1937, EDS provides conferences, educational programs, planning sessions, networking opportunities, and a show floor for exhibitors. Complete details and registration information is available at www.edsconnects.com or by calling (312) 648-1140.

Display Week 2008: The SID International Symposium, Seminar, and Exhibition
May 18-23, 2008
Los Angeles, California, USA

Now in its 46th year, Display Week is the premier international gathering of scientists, engineers,manufacturers and users in the electronic-display industry. Its 550-plus booths and 500-plus technical presentations attract approximately 8,000 attendees.
The event provides access to a wide range of technology and applications, including: high-definition flat-panel displays using both emissive and liquid-crystal technology; the latest in OLED displays and large-area projection-display systems; image processing, systems software and display processor hardware; human factors and applied vision; and exciting new applications such as multimedia and the electronic cinema.
www.sid2008.org

4 th Annual Automotive Lighting Design and Technologies
April 28-30, 3008,
Hyatt Regency Dearborn, Dearborn, MI
Exploring Advanced LED Technology, New Design Capabilities, Materials & Techniques

Recently there has been a shift in automotive lighting towards the increased use of LED technology, and OEMs and manufacturers both are extremely interested to hear about trends and best practices for integrating this technology into the entire vehicle. This conference is bringing together such industry experts as Ford, GM, Mitsubishi, NHTSA, Visteon, Magna Int’l, Osram Sylvania, Continental, Delphi Electronics and Safety, OPTIS, Osram Opto Semiconductors, Illume LLC, Art Center College of Design, 3M Automotive and more. Visit our website at www.iqpc.com/us/autolighting to view the agenda and learn more about the speakers. Register online or by calling 1-800-882-8684.