The massive Electronica trade fair ran Nov. 13–16 in Munich, Germany with the exhibits spanning seventeen halls at the Munich Fair. Much of the attention was focused on the general semiconductor industry, although Electronica also hosted an LED Trends forum and a number of companies exhibited LED-centric products and technologies. Osram, Maxim, Infineon, Everlight Electronics, Inova Semiconductors, and Instrument Systems were notable exhibitors with a solid-state lighting (SSL) angle and the most prevalent application area evident in the exhibits was automotive lighting.
Osram Opto Semiconductors
Osram Opto Semiconductors had perhaps the most-diverse and largest set of LED-centric demonstrations at Electronica, and of course it was a hometown event for the Munich-based company. Demonstrations spanned baseline LED technology and new chip-scale package (CSP) LEDs to horticultural and human-centric lighting to the aforementioned automotive sector.
LED drivers
Moving to SSL system design, both Infineon and Maxim demonstrated new LED driver IC technology at Electronica. And in both cases, the ICs were intended specifically for automotive SSL applications.
Infineon announced the Litix Basic+ family with six separate devices that support one to three LED channels or strings. The ICs were designed with an emphasis on reliability. LEDs connected in series can result in complete system failure should one component fail in an open-circuit state. And even short-circuit failures can pose challenges tor reliable operation.
Maxim, meanwhile, introduced a driver IC intended for matrix-style headlamps with adaptive drive beam (ADB) technology. Matrix headlamps came into the market in high-end Audi vehicles back in 2013 and have subsequently been adopted in numerous vehicles including in North America after initial regulatory delays.
LEDs and modules
LED manufacturer Everlight Electronics also demonstrated some matrix products at Electronica. The company has developed an ADB reference design in the form of a module that uses LEDs made by Everlight. That module design was undertaken in partnership with some automotive OEMs.
Everlight further demonstrated a Mini Rear Lamp design and a Smart Multi Array Rear Lamp design. The reference designs will support the development of brake lights, turn indicators, and other rear lamps. The modules also include innovative optics that can improve visibility and uniformity.
Goniophotometer and spectroradiometers
Instrument Systems, another hometown Munich company, used Electronica to debut its latest goniophotometer, LGS 650. Combined with a spectroradiometer such as the CAS 140CT-HR, the LGS 650 enables accurate measurement of color coordinates, color rendering, color temperature, and magnitude of light source output, all relative to angle. Instrument Systems said the new system delivers a relatively low-cost option for characterizing sources up to 1300 mm in diameter.
