Philips Lumileds announces Luxeon Z ES LED with 1-step binning

Philips Lumileds has added to the Luxeon Z family announced last summer with the similarly sized Luxeon Z ES LEDs that offer even tighter control. The compact 1.6×2-mm LEDs are available in color and phosphor-converted white versions, and in the latter case in a choice of 1-, 3-, or 5-step MacAdam ellipse bins.

Lumileds calls the new 1-bin option "below blackbody binning." The company also said that the undomed design offers 10-15% better color-over-angle (COA) performance over LEDs with dome lenses.

The light quality and small size combine to offer SSL product developers flexibility in targets such as MR16 retrofit lamps where a tight beam is required. Raj Malhotra, product line manager of the Luxeon Z family, said "The Luxeon Z ES is a clear example of our commitment to innovation with the industry’s first LED platform that combines high luminance in a 1-step MacAdam ellipse option that offers optical control in the smallest available footprint."

CRI and CCT range

Lumileds offers the white LEDs over the range of 2700K to 6500K CCTs and with CRI as high in 90 in warm-white CCTs. The company also said it would offer the LEDs in colors including lime, blue, red, and phosphor-converted amber. It's worth noting that this is the first public Luxeon release of a lime LED. Such an LED has been critical to the color-tuning performance of the Philips Hue lamp. The ES LEDs will be available to support full-color tuning, or tunable-white point in SSL products.

Warm-white efficacy ranges from 81-102 lm/W at 2700K and 350 mA of drive current. Efficacy drops at 1A to 61-77 lm/W but the 80 CRI 2700K LED can deliver 224 lm at that level. Cool-white efficacy ranges as high as 129 lm/W.

Lumileds said the ES LEDs are a good fit for other retrofit-lamp applications including A19, GU10, and BR30; and even for outdoor applications. "The micro-footprint of Luxeon Z ES means that manufacturers can use optical solutions that are 25% smaller, yet offer the same light quality that larger, domed solutions can achieve," said Malhotra. "The Luxeon Z ES will give lighting designers incredible flexibility, reduce costs and become the foundation for light sources of the future."

New Hue

It's ironic that we would mention Hue here, because Philips Lighting made a new announcement in what is now the Hue family of color-tuning lamps. Among other announcements that the lighting arm of the company made this week, there is now a BR30 version of Hue. The lamp offers a CRI of 91 at a CCT of 2700K. Watch for the story coming on our Illumination in Focus website for more details on the Hue family and other Philips Lighting announcements.