SIL Europe Preview # 4: Technology Track to focus on fundamentally-important SSL issues

Aug. 8, 2012
The Technology Track, taking place at Strategies in Light Europe, will focus on SSL system design, controls, drivers, color, phosphors, and test.

The third annual Strategies in Light (SIL) Europe conference presented by Strategies Unlimited and PennWell in Munich on September 18-20, 2012 will include a parallel track on technology in addition to the Market Track described in an earlier preview. Although fundamental LED device technology for lighting is progressing well, and white LEDs are on track to reach 200 lm/W within the next five years, other elements of solid-state lighting (SSL) technology will be of equal importance in achieving successful penetration of the lighting market. The purpose of the Technology Track is to address the most important of those elements in six separate sessions.

Luminaire/system design

The integration of component parts into efficient, reliable LED luminaires is one of the key challenges for the SSL industry. Additionally, incorporating the unique advantages of LEDs into the design elements of luminaires is important for optimizing features that are of value to the end user. Ruedi Hug, CEO and co-founder of SSL start-up LEDSTEIN will address these issues in a presentation entitled "Innovation in LED luminaire design: Process and results." Also in this session, Ville Moilanen, research scientist at VTT in Finland will present the results of studies on the impact of different interconnection methods within LED modules and luminaires focusing on their thermal, electrical and optical properties.

Networks and controls

It has become clear that much of the energy savings potential associated with LED lighting will result from the ability of individual luminaires and networked systems to be controlled in response to environmental conditions such as availability of daylight and human occupancy of a space. The first presentation in this session will be by Jacob van der Pol, program manager of smart lighting solutions, at NXP Semiconductors who will provide a review of wired and wireless smart lighting networks. Other presentations will include "Remote control of LED lighting: Networks, trends and ideas" by Yariv Oren, CEO of Virtual Extension Ltd., and "Decentralized intelligence for lighting” by David Whitfield, CEO of enLighten Australia.

Drivers and dimming

The employment of effective, reliable driver and dimming technologies continue to be key issues for the implementation of SSL. The importance of flicker will be addressed in a presentation entitle "Flicker-free dimming: Quality of light for quality of life" by Scott Brown, senior vice president of marketing at iWatt. Marshall Miles, vice president of Inventronics will provide a discussion on how to improve the life and reliability of LED drivers. Finishing the session will be Bob Kottrisch, vice president of Lynk Labs, who will give a presentation on how to avoid drivers entirely in light engines through the use of AC LEDs.

Color quality

Color quality, especially the possibility of improving it through the application of LED technology, is emerging as one of the major attributes that will push SSL to the next level of performance beyond just raw lumens per watt. Consequently, much research is being carried out to measure and define the color quality of LED lighting. Leading off the color quality session will be Peter Bodrogi, senior research fellow at the Technical University of Darmstadt, speaking on "Color quality of white LEDs: The interaction between LED spectra and reflectance spectra of surface objects." "Separated phosphor LED modules: Getting color right" will be the subject of a presentation by Roger Sexton, business development manager with Xicato. The session will close with a discussion of the feasibility, effects and interpretation of the improvement of green-red color contrast by Katalin Toth, global lighting technology six sigma and training leader at GE Hungary.

Test, measurement and reliability

Three presentations in this session will explore the various issues associated with the reliability of LED lighting products and how to measure it. "Environmental durability of LED products: A model for LED testing" will be presented by Florian Fell, weathering technology consultant at Atlas Material Testing Technology. Gareth Jones, CEO of LUX-TSI Limited, will disuss the best practices in measuring and assessment of solid-state lighting products. Zoltan Vamos, technology global general manager at GE Lighting, will finish the session with a presentation entitled "Standards and Guidelines to Qualify LED Fixtures."

Phosphors, packaging and optics

This session will focus on some of the key technology elements required for successful implementation of LED lighting. Thermal issues will be addressed in a presentation entitled "Critical role of thermal interface materials in LED platform development" by Sanjay Misra, director of research and development at The Bergquist Company. The developments in phosphors and remote phosphors that will enable the future of solid-state sighting will be discussed by Dominic Sacher, director of sales at Intematix. Another discussion of phosphors will be given by Matteo Dal Lago, a PhD student at the Department of Information Engineering - University of Padova in a presentation entitled "Reliability of phosphors for LED-based light sources." Finally, the implementation of optical design in LED lighting will be addressed in a presentation on the "Continuous data chain for design, manufacturing and tolerancing of freeform optics” by Julia Unterhinninghofen, optics designer at OEC AG.

More information on Strategies in Light Europe can be found on the conference website: www.sileurope.com.