New tools ease design of Large-Area LEDs
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed novel LED light sources based on flexible and transparent substrates, designed for large area lighting and display technologies in vehicles, greenhouses, shopping centres and architectural lighting.
It worked on the technology with with Finnish companies Flexbright and Lighting Design Collective as part of the three-year European project Delphi4LED.
Coordinated by Philips Lighting from the Netherlands, the Delphi4LED project is developing design and simulation tools for LED structures to better meet the needs of the rapidly evolving lighting industry, including new simulation models to consider heat management in a simplified form.
Heat management is a key factor dictating the performance and reliability of LED lighting solutions. But the operation of LED components is also affected by their electrical and optical characteristics. Combining all of these properties is difficult using the existing design tools.
Elaborate measurements are performed to produce a standardised electronic datasheet of the LEDs, which is then fed into modelling software. This makes the design process more efficient and reduces the number of design errors, enabling the faster introduction of the products on the market, with higher quality and at a lower cost than before.
The Finnish consortium coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is applying the results of the Delphi4LED project to the development of LED luminaires based on transparent large-area foil. These kinds of novel structures enable the implementation of thin, flexible light source for lighting and display applications. For example, a multi-coloured video screen can be integrated between planar or curved glass surfaces.
Other partners in the Delphi4LED consortium are Technische Universiteit Eindhoven from the Netherlands; Havells Sylvania Lighting Belgium from Belgium; Magillem Design Services SAS, Ingélux, PISEO, Philips France and Ecce'Lectro from France; Budapest University of Technology & Economics and Mentor Graphics Hungary from Hungary; Mentor Graphics UK from the United Kingdom; and Pi Lighting SARL from Switzerland.
