SnapLED 150 Mid-Power LEDs

Lumileds

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The Auto Industry's First LED Designed and Rated for Resistor Drive Applications

LED maker Philips Lumileds announces the availability of new SnapLED 150 LEDs specifically designed, qualified, tested and binned for use in automotive dual drive-current applications such as rear combination lamps that provide both stoplight and taillight functions.

The new SnapLED 150 parts simplify the engineering process and remove the need for more costly pulse-width modulation (PWM) circuits and eliminate the “flicker” that can be seen in some lamps when this type of circuit is employed, the company said.

SnapLED 150 LEDs are installed in millions of vehicles worldwide every year and are often used as multiple points of light within the lamp. According to the company, they are more energy efficient than conventional bulbs, last longer and offer lighting designers many more options for the shape, size and appearance of rear combination lamps.

The visual difference between a taillamp and stoplamp is a direct result of the current applied to the LED -- the lower the current, the less light output. Technology advancements in the LED die and package for SnapLED 150 deliver stability at very low currents, as low as 5mA, and improved lifetime at all drive currents. These advancements resolve the technical issues that made resistor drive difficult. Eliminating the pulse width modulation circuit removes the cost and complexity of the PWM solution and results in a system that does not exhibit any of the “flicker” that is sometimes noticeable in rear combination lamps.

“We have never accepted that the technology hurdles preventing resistor drive circuits for RCL applications could not be solved,” said Jason Posselt, automotive marketing manager at Philips Lumileds. “The new SnapLED 150 products enable resistor drive circuits and fundamentally improve the engineering process and lower costs for rear combination lamps. Coupled with SnapLED’s unique clinch technology that enables dimensional design, SnapLED 150 will lead where lower system costs, high performance and design flexibility are critical.”

Continued technology innovation and improvements as well as a dual-current complex binning structure developed by Philips Lumileds for the SnapLED 150 program will further stimulate LED implementation in the automotive rear combination lamp market. The automotive industry currently manufactures approximately 4 million vehicles per year that use Philips Lumileds’ SnapLED in rear combination lamps -- a number that’s expected to grow substantially as system costs decrease and LEDs are implemented in more cars and trucks, the company said.

For more information, visit: www.philipslumileds.com; e-mail: [email protected]

Philips Lumileds Lighting Co.
370 West Trimble Rd.
San Jose, CA 95131
Phone: (408) 964-2900

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Published: November 2006