Rohm announces LEDs for Colour Universal Design
1608-size high accuracy blue-green chip LEDs support Colour Universal Design (CUD) for people with colour vision deficiency
Rohm recently announced the 1608-size high accuracy blue-green chip LEDs, SMLD12E2N1W and SMLD12E3N1W. These products support the adoption of Colour Universal Design (CUD) in a variety of applications, such as fire alarm system indicator lights, industrial equipment warning lamps and public transportation information displays.
Colour is considered to be one of the most important means of communication and is used in a variety of ways – daily. However, approximately over 200 million people with P-type and D-type colour deficiencies around the world find it difficult to distinguish between red and green, possibly resulting in information being inaccurately conveyed – depending on the combination of colours used. Furthermore, since colour vision can vary from person to person, it is difficult to perceive how different people see certain colours, which can be very inconvenient and also problematic as other people may not notice this deficiency.
As a result, there is a growing need in the society to implement Colour Universal Design that takes into account the various types of colour vision in order to deliver information accurately to as many people as possible. Rohm succeeded in developing blue-green chip LEDs with special wavelengths. These products are ideal for implementing colour Universal Design in a wide range of devices, using a vertically integrated production system from the element fabrication stage and leveraging Rohm’s strength thorough quality control.
The SMLD12E2N1W and SMLD12E3N1W are the first 1608 size LEDs to be certified by the Japanese NPO (Non-Profit Organisation), Colour Universal Design Organisation (hereafter referred to as CUDO) – making it possible to achieve colour schemes and designs that can be easily discernible by everyone, including those who cannot distinguish differences in colour.
In addition, adopting a new resin allows Rohm to significantly extend the LED lifetime while reducing the degradation of light intensity compared to conventional epoxy resins and improving the mold strength compared to the silicone resins while providing superior reliability. Rohm also offers AEC-Q102 qualified products that ensure worry-free use in automotive systems and industrial equipment demanding extreme reliability.
While there are a variety of devices that transmit information using red and green colours, adopting blue-green and orange or yellow will make it easier for people with P-type or D-type colour deficiency and difficulty to distinguish red and green colours. As such, the colour scheme is important for conveying information using LEDs.
Now, by acquiring colour Universal Design certification for ROHM’s SMLD12E2N1W and SMLD12E3N1W blue-green LEDs, it is possible for people with various types of colour vision and sensitivities to accurately identify colour patterns that include the use of ROHM’s blue LED (SMLD12BN1WT86, λD: 470nm) and warm colour LEDs (SML-D15YW, λD: 590nm; SML-D15DW, λD: 605nm) – making them ideal for Colour Universal Design applications.
