Cree has successfully created a cool white LED prototype that delivers 107 lm/W at 350mA. This achievement builds on the Cree EZBright® LED chip platform, developed in part with prior funding support from DOE. Cree made the prototype LED under their DOE project focused on developing LED chips incorporating photonic crystal elements for improved light extraction and novel package technology for higher down-conversion efficiency compared to conventional LEDs. Based on a 1 millimeter-square chip, the new prototype LED produces white light with a CCT of 5500K and a CRI of 73. Integration of four of these prototype LEDs can produce luminous flux of more than 450 lumens.

Prototype LED Component "Instant-on" Integrating Sphere Test

Cree XLamp® XP-E LED provides lighting-class performance in a small-footprint, low-profile LED package.

Key Performance Metrics at 350 mA

DEVICELUMENSVF(V)LPWCCT(K)CRI
1119.73.21106.5560072.7
2120.53.20107.6545072.6
3119.83.22106.4555074.8

Cree's investigation of the performance of three lab-sample cool white LEDs used an integrating sphere calibrated against LEDs tested at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
 

Initiated in October 2007, the goal of this project is to create a novel warm white lamp module for insertion into high efficiency SSL luminaires. The project will address LED chip and package efficiency improvements to establish a technology platform that is capable of scaling into low cost, high efficiency commercial luminaires. The ultimate goal will be to replace halogen, fluorescent and metal halide lamps.

Cree sees the greatest improvement potential in blue chip external quantum efficiency, with part of the challenge being to move the efficacy curve up at a reasonable cost, toward an aggressive goal of 120 lm/W in the near future.

Cree's DOE project is targeting a 40% overall gain in efficacy at 350mA by focusing on chip light extraction efficiency and down-conversion efficiency excluding Stokes loss, the current main losses.