PhlatLight technology was developed by Luminus based on research done at MIT. Luminus says that it has filed over 100 additional US and international patent applications, many of which have been allowed and are expected to be issued later this year.
In related news, Luminus has developed a new PhlatLight chipset that is optimized for operation with the Texas Instruments xHD5 1080p DLP® (Digital Light Processing) chipset for rear-projection televisions (RPTVs).
The Luminus PT120 chipset comprises one red, one green and one blue LED, each of which is a single, large area monolithic chip that can sustain extremely high power and fast pulsing.
Under normal operating conditions the LEDs combine to produce more than 1,500 white lumens, enough brightness to illuminate RPTVs up to 62 inches with a single RGB chipset.
While the PT120 chipset is suitable for any microdisplay smaller than 0.7 inches, it was specifically optimized for use with the xHD5 1080p DLP device. The size and shape of the PT120 allow users to maximize the amount of light that can be collected and projected onto the screen.
Luminus says that the PhlatLight PT120 chipset is currently being designed into a number of DLP HDTVs that use the xHD5 DLP chip, with screen sizes as large as 62 inches. Several models from various manufacturers will be commercially available in 2007.
Luminus patents
The recently-awarded patents are:
• US patent no. 7,084,434 entitled "Uniform color phosphor-coated LED"
• US patent no. 7,098,589 entitled "Light emitting devices with high light collimation"
• US patent no. 7,083,993 entitled "Methods of making multi-layer light emitting devices"
• US patent no. 7,074,631 entitled "Light emitting device methods"
• US patent no. 7,105,861 entitled "Electronic device contact structures"
An additional, earlier patent awarded in December 2004 is US patent no. 6,831,302 entitled "Light emitting devices with improved extraction efficiency"
Photonic lattice technology allows LEDs to be made arbitrarily large without sacrificing performance. With ordinary LEDs, brightness tends to decrease with larger device sizes.
Luminus says that it has invested more than $10 million in IP development, and now has a portfolio that provides broad coverage for large-area, patterned LEDs in the areas of design, applications and advanced manufacturing methods.
This includes the cost-effective creation of photonic lattice structures, a key ingredient for producing PhlatLight chipsets in high volume. Luminus is currently manufacturing PhlatLight LEDs for large screen, high-definition displays, but believes that the underlying PhlatLight technology can be applied to many other LED applications.
"There are unlimited opportunities for LEDs using photonic lattice technology today and in the future," said Alexei Erchak, co-founder and chief technology officer for Luminus Devices.
Erchak says that Luminus will continue enabling its customers through its core manufacturing business, and will also support other LED applications through collaborations and licensing agreements.
