Edgar Langen, the SSL business general manager, says that the SSL unit was established as part of emerging businesses within NXP and has been in operation for one year.
Until now, NXP has offered various ICs together with application notes that help to "lower the threshold for our customers," says Langen. "Going forward, we will launch a new series of products with higher levels of integration."
These will focus on three application areas that NXP feels will be the main drivers for growth in the LED market place, namely mobile phone camera flash, display backlighting, and general illumination. "We will also develop products for the automotive market in due course," says Langen.
The products will be launched at major shows early in 2007. NXP works with major global distributors in the US, Europe and Asia, all of whom have expressed interest in offering integrated driver solutions to their customers.
Although NXP is now privately-owned and separate from Philips, there are some continuing relationships, not least because of the proximity of the two sets of employees.
"People often ask how we fit with other parts of Philips," says Langen. "Philips Lighting makes lamps, components and luminaires, while Lumileds is an LED manufacturer. The group that is now part of NXP makes integrated drivers in silicon."
He adds that development projects between Philips Lighting and NXP are still ongoing, under separate agreements.
