Cree, a manufacturer of semiconductors and light emitting diodes, has increased the illumination power of LEDs to 10 times that of standard light bulbs.
In an announcement Thursday, Cree ( ) reported an output of 129 lumens per watt for a “cool” white LED and 99 lumens per watt for a “warm”, or more natural, light white LED. A standard bulb produces 10 to 15 lumens per watt.
The news was greeted positively by editors at Compound Semiconductor.net, which follows the chip industry.
"The whizkids in Cree’s laboratories are at it again, this time producing best-ever figures for high-power LED efficacy in both warm-white and cool-white packages," the publication said.
But Compound Semiconductor added that not all problems have been solved in packing more power in LEDs.
"The key challenges for Cree’s technologists now will be to come up with a way to deal with the heat generated by the large, high-current chips, and to fabricate them with a high-yielding process at its semiconductor wafer fab," the editors said.
"If they can do that, these devices could be a key element of the trend to low-cost, high-efficiency solid-state lighting in the future."
The results are the highest efficacy for an LED, according to Cree.
The power statistics were confirmed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The increased lighting could be incorporated into products within 12 to 24 months, according to Cree.
Last week, Cree disclosed that its XLamp model LEDs could produce 72 lumens per watt for “cool” light and 52 lumens for “warm” light.
Cree is increasing its investments and resources for LED lights, attempting to capitalize on the growing global popularity of LEDs as a lower cost, more efficient and longer lasting alternative to other forms of lighting.
“To replace traditional light sources, LEDs need to provide both high light output and high efficacy,” said John Edmond, a Cree co-founder and the company’s director of advanced optoelectronics. “Cree continues to push the limits of LED performance in order to realize the potential of the LED lighting revolution – energy-efficient, long-lasting LED light.”
