Lumileds adds lighting exec, announces mid-power and COB LEDs

Steve Barlow returns to Lumileds after stints with Cree and Intematix, while Lumileds has launched new mid-power and chip-on-board LEDs and company SSL fellow George Craford receives IEEE Edison Medal.

Lumileds has made several recent announcements in both the components area and covering executive news with the latest being the appointment of former executive Steve Barlow as senior vice president (SVP) of the company’s illumination business unit. The company has announced the Luxeon 2835E 3V mid-power LEDs that delivers efficacy in the 170 lm/W range for applications from downlights to linear lighting to replacement lamps. And Lumileds has new high-density versions of its Core family of chip-on-board (COB) products that deliver more punch for solid-state lighting (SSL) applications such as spotlights. Lumileds has further announced that one of its early technologists that pioneered many LED advancements going back to the 1970s — George Craford — has been honored with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Edison Medal.

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New Lumileds SVP

Returning Lumileds executive Steve Barlow worked at Lumileds for around ten years through early 2012 in varying sales and marketing roles. He served as executive vice president of sales and marketing before leaving for a position at Intematix. Barlow was a key part of Lumileds’ success moving into the general illumination market with its packaged LEDs, after an earlier focus on applications such as automotive and backlighting.

“We are excited to have Steve back at Lumileds,” said Mark Adams, CEO of Lumileds. “He has an outstanding track record in the lighting industry where he has demonstrated strong leadership, technology vision, and customer relationship building skills.” Adams himself just joined Lumileds back in February and this hire is essentially the first public-facing move by the new CEO.

Formerly at Cree and Intematix, Steve Barlow will focus on Lumileds' illumination business unit.

In his most recent position at Cree, Barlow was in charge of sales and business development for general lighting products as opposed to the components for general lighting focus at Lumileds. He will now court customers that were recently competitors. “Lumileds has created a unique position in the marketplace by offering differentiated lighting solutions,” said Barlow. “The company’s intellectual property, comprehensive product portfolio, and deep customer relationships will be the cornerstone of our continued success.”

Mid-power LEDs

In the packaged LED space, Lumileds is taking a component footprint that has been widely used in backlighting products and has applied it to the general lighting market. Indeed, the 2.8×3.5-mm rectangular package proved a good match for TV applications but also has advantages for linear lighting and LED-based tubes or TLEDs intended for fluorescent tube replacement. Lumileds said the 2835E 3V LEDs will also serve in B12 and A19 replacement bulbs and in luminaires such as downlights.

So-called 2835 footprint LEDs have been known for commodity pricing throughout the industry more so than performance, but the Lumileds offering intends to leverage low-cost elements of the package while adding lighting-class phosphors for light quality and other elements for reliability. “Because of the cost sensitivity of this market, other manufacturers have turned to lower-cost materials and practices that frankly have impacted long-term reliability,” said Yan Chai, product line director at Lumileds. “Lumileds has maintained its commitment to the highest-quality materials including proprietary phosphors, all gold wire bonding, and the tightest process control to deliver the best performance and lumen maintenance.”

Lumileds said the new LEDs will enable product developments that meet the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) Premium Level on its Qualified Products List (QPL). Products must exhibit high efficacy and robust reliability to achieve that status. The product delivers 30 lm at 4000K CCT and 80 CRI when driven at the nominal 60 mA level, and that is a realistic usage condition for the 170-lm/W efficacy achieved. Of course, Lumileds offers many other mid-power LED options. Just over a year back, the company announced what it called mid-power March with a series of mid-power announcements covering a variety of footprints and performance levels.

High Density COBs

Lumileds has also announced additions in the COB space on a regular basis. In early 2016, the company announced what it called a Gen3 (third-generation) family of products in its Luxeon COB Core Range. The new High Density products are said to double the flux output relative to the Gen3 COB Core products in equivalent light-emitting surface (LES) packages.

Lumileds is not the first LED maker to use the High Density labeling. Cree initially announced High Density products in its COB line back in 2014 with the products targeting directional lighting applications. In early 2016, Cree followed with a second generation of High Density products.

Lumileds is also targeting directional lighting with its Luxeon High Density COBs. The family includes 6-, 9-, and 11-mm LEDs that the company said are the most popular LES sizes for spotlight applications, and claims the LEDs will deliver the industry’s highest punch measured in center beam candle power (CBCP) for narrow-beam spotlights at less than 20°.

“Our customers require the sharpest beams and precise beam control,” said Eric Senders, product line director for the Luxeon CoB LEDs at Lumileds. “Luxeon CoB Core Range – High Density caters to this market by delivering the highest punch at low beam angles along with exceptional quality of light.”

The High Density LEDs deliver 2500 lm in the 6-mm model, 5000 lm in the 9-mm model, and 6000 lm in the 11-mm model, all at 3000K CCT and 80 CRI. Lumileds offers a range of CCTs and 90-CRI performance as an option.

George Craford

Closing with the IEEE Edison Medal, George Craford was an early pioneer in LEDs working at Hewlett-Packard long before the LED operation was spun out and Lumileds was created. Indeed, Craford was recognized for “a lifetime of pioneering contributions to the development and commercialization of visible LED materials and devices.”

Early on, Craford focused on color LEDs for a variety of indicator applications, but later in his career was also a key part of Lumileds’ efforts to deliver white LEDs for general lighting applications. Craford holds the title of Lumileds Solid State Lighting Fellow and is also recognized as an IEEE Life Fellow.