SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SnapLED, the automotive industry’s most widely used LED for signaling applications, has been significantly improved by Philips Lumileds. With a continued focus on reliability and performance, engineers have raised junction temperature maximums, narrowed color binning to levels imperceptible by the human eye, dual-binned for drive current to simplify the design process and make it easier to meet critical regulation requirements, and implemented a new Multi-Environment Over Stress Test (MEOST) regimen to ensure SnapLED is the most reliable automotive LED.
“A ‘build out of the box’ approach to turn, tail, and stop lighting applications on vehicles is a major step forward for the auto industry and significantly reduces engineering and development costs,” said Scott Kern, Strategic and Product Marketing at Philips Lumileds. “We remove the need for re-testing and screening which can save our customers more than 5% of operational costs, reduce equipment and manpower needs, speed production and improve finished goods yields. We continue to lower system costs and barriers to adoption.”
SnapLED’s maximum junction temperature has been increased to 135°C, highest in the industry for a mid-power LED. This widens the design envelope and gives engineers more flexibility in their design efforts as they create new lighting solutions.
Flux bin sizes, which were already quite small, have been reduced by as much as 67% so that flux variations within a bin are imperceptible to the human eye. Simultaneously, the forward voltage bin widths have been reduced by as much as 50%, making the use of low-cost, resistor-based driver circuits easier to implement. And SnapLED is designed to operate over a dynamic current range of 30:1, allowing for simplified, yet reliable, designs for both stop- and tail-mode operation.
LEDs in stop-tail signaling lamps tend to operate at the extremes of current limits, and most have difficulty meeting the performance and uniformity requirements without expensive electrical designs. With SnapLED’s dual binning, flux ratios between different current levels and uniformity across the entire dynamic range are highly controlled. This precision makes it easier to implement a solution with confidence—without the need of retesting LEDs prior to assembly as the uniformity and flux performance are already narrowly defined.
A new testing regime, Multi Environment Overstress Testing (MEOST) that exceeds the testing required by today’s standards for automotive signaling LED sources has also been implemented for SnapLED. This test regime exceeds AEC-Q101, including simulations for extreme operational conditions as well as tests that far exceed datasheet guidelines and maximums leaving no doubt that SnapLED LEDs will function reliably for the life of the vehicle.
About Philips Lumileds
Philips Lumileds is the world's leading provider of power LEDs for illumination solutions. The company's leading light output, efficacy and thermal management are direct results of the ongoing commitment to advancing solid-state lighting technology and enabling lighting solutions that are more environmentally friendly, help reduce CO2 emissions and reduce the need for power plant expansion. Philips Lumileds' LUXEON LEDs are enabling new solutions for shop, outdoor, office, school, and home lighting applications. More information about the company's LUXEON LED products and solid-state lighting technologies can be found at www.philipslumileds.com.
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG)(AEX: PHI) is a diversified Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 116,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of $38 billion in 2008, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
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