Plessey - Chips scale optics developed for GaN-on-Silicon LEDs – to halve lighting costs

Plessey has developed patented chip-level optics (CSO) technology based on the award-winning GaN-on-Silicon MaGIC LED. Chip-level optics allow designs to emit light as low as ten degrees directly from the LED. Placing the primary optical component on the chip eliminates the cost of the primary optical component typically found in packaged LEDs and on-chip modules. In addition, it greatly reduces costs and provides greater design freedom for secondary optics in the luminaire. The first applications include retail point lighting, hotel lighting, high and low sheds, street lighting and stadium lighting. The company said it is estimated that Plessey's chip-level optics will halve the cost of these lighting applications. Dr. Keith Strickland, CTO of Plessey, said: "CSO technology was originally designed as an on-chip phosphorescent dam. We recognize that the raw growth silicon that is usually sacrificed during LED production can be shaped and used to form a mechanically robust MEMS on the vertical LED emitting surface Features. Collimation is controlled in part by the mechanical dimensions of the structures on these chips, and we have demonstrated emission angles as low as 10 degrees. The IC industry has used silicon for more than 60 years and can be easily made into many shapes And patterns. We have created silicon MEMS functionality in a variety of other applications, and we can find ways to integrate complex primary optical designs on the chip. " Dr. Samir Mezouari, Plessey's chief optical designer, added: "High-end lighting designers do not consider lumens per watt to be the main benefit of LEDs. Lighting designers aim to illuminate specific surface areas. Chip-level optics can be formed with narrow angles Symmetric collimated beam or asymmetric beam to form a slender far-field light profile, which greatly simplifies the design of the luminaire. The scheme of collimating LED-level monochrome light has been developed before, but no one has been able to collimate the LED Level of white light. "