Nichia Corporation of Tokushima, Japan, introduced discrete color options to its Direct Mountable Chip series, a similar technology to the industry’s Chip Scale Package (CSP). Along with previously released white options, colors of Nichia’s Direct Mountable Chips include Royal Blue, Green, Amber and Red. Nichia notes that this innovative color solution employs Nichia’s own blue die and phosphor technology. Every color chip in the new color lineup starts with the same blue die. The company then adds a special phosphor blend that converts the blue light to the desired color.
Nichia introduces direct mountable color LEDs using blue die and a phosphor blend. From left to right (Royal Blue, Green, Amber, and Red).
The company points out that this design that employs the same wavelength die for each color and then converts the wavelength to the desired color with a unique phosphor blend carries numerous advantages for fixture makers and designers. According to Nichia, using the same wavelength die in each color, allows the company to harmonize the forward voltage across the entire Direct Mountable Chip family. This same forward voltage simplifies electrical circuit designs. Additionally, the internal structure of each Direct Mountable Chip color is the same, unlike other discrete color technologies.
Beam Angle and Focal Length the Same (*Except Royal Blue which doesn’t use a phosphor)
Therefore, the light directivity (beam angle) and focal length are also the same, thereby making the optical design much more straightforward. Finally, with the phosphor converted Red Direct Mountable Chip, the company says that the thermal droop characteristics are considerably improved compared to conventional Red AlInGaP LEDs. This performance improvement results in a much enhanced in-situ performance, as well as improved overall color, and stability.
Nichia asserts that its Direct Mountable Chip family was the first lighting CSP-type LED to incorporate unique technology allow a single-sided 120° Lambertian optical pattern that can eliminate cross-talk in lumen dense applications. With the new color options, the expanded Direct Mountable Chip portfolio offers flexibility for all lighting applications, including architectural lighting, color tuning, and other commercial and residential applications.
Each color chip measures 1.7mm by 1.7mm by .35 mm. All of the colors operate at 350 mA and 3 volts. And the colors have 120-degree beam angles, except for the Royal Blue model which does not use an added phosphor layer and has a 130-degree beam angle.
