Ultrabright WLEDs shine at 136 lumens/W efficacy

Osram Opto Semiconductors development engineers have achieved new records for the brightness and efficiency of white LEDs in the laboratory. Under standard conditions with an operating current of 350mA, brightness peaked at 155 lumens and efficacy at 136 lumens/W. White prototype LEDs with 1mm? chips were used. The light produced had a color temperature of 5,000 K, with color coordinates at 0.349/0.393 (cx/cy). Potential applications include general illumination, the automotive sector and any applications that call for large high-power LEDs.

Key to the success was the efficient interplay between all the advances made in materials and technologies. A perfectly matched system of optimized chip technology, an advanced and extremely efficient light converter and a special high-performance package combined to produce the world records: 155 lumens for brightness and 136 lumens/W for efficacy. The semiconductor light sources are also suitable for high operating currents. At 1.4A, they can produce up to 500 lumens of white light. This means that the LEDs can later be used not only for general lighting tasks and automotive applications but also for LED projection as blue and green chip versions.

"It was the successful combination of Osram know-how in different fields that led to these new records in efficiency and brightness. Starting with the light converter, we will be gradually moving the new developments into production," commented Rudiger Muller, CEO of Osram.

The company has applied for patents for the technologies behind these achievements.