... VERY interesting (Competition for CREE/SSC)

Okay, this is really frustrating for me. I had to edit the content of this posting because I felt a bit uncomfortable about it... sorry.

Aparrently in March/April, a well known high power LED manufacturer is introducing a new product which will be quite competitive with current product offerings from the likes of CREEE and SSC. They have "alpha parts" (pre-production parts) now, which are already in the same ballpark as CREE/SSC and they are supposed to get better.

I think you guys can sort of fill in the blanks.

Cool. I expected something to be in the works. A couple months would be good time.

That is very good news. Hopefully they will be compatible with previous offerings when it comes to size and radiation pattern, not to mention leads. I'm sick and tired by now of SSC and Cree for modding, Crees are a pain to get centered and SSC feels like "why did I ever try to do this, must be the vodka giving me ideas". Unless it is just so much hot air. Don't think so though, to much at stake for them.

Stefan

Why do you feel uncomfortable posting names/details? How was this information acquired? I think this post is pretty useless to say that, someone will be coming out with something better sometime soon, without more details. Is this a touchy subject on CPF that I am not aware of?

EngineeringGuy said:

Okay, this is really frustrating for me...

Aparrently in March/April, a well known high power LED manufacturer is introducing a new product which will be quite competitive with current product offerings from the likes of CREEE and SSC. They have "alpha parts" now, which are already in the same ballpark as CREE/SSC and they are supposed to get better.

I think you guys can sort of fill in the blanks.

Click to expand...

As long as this "High Power" company does not come out with this LED and want to charge two times the cost of the Cree and make them impossible to purchase anywhere.

There are such things as NDA and confidentiality clauses in most industry... The information I came by was in an e-mail direct from within said company. I reread the e-mail (including the confidentiality statement) after posting and decided to remove details.

Interesting... then I guess I'll remove my mention to said company, unless someone says otherwise.
john

Now you are making me scared to post info on this next gen K2.. wait.. did I say that? Anyone should be able to guess it will run just like the K2 but with efficiencies similar to Cree. I bet it will be over 300 lumens @ 1.5A.

EngineeringGuy said:

There are such things as NDA and confidentiality clauses in most industry... The information I came by was in an e-mail direct from within said company. I reread the e-mail (including the confidentiality statement) after posting and decided to remove details.

Click to expand...

Yeah, "somebody" working at "wherever" telling "us" about "something" that hasn't been announced yet could quickly find "themselves" looking for another "job" if it gets traced back to "them".

An unnamed source has confided in me that an undisclosed company in a not to be mentioned part of the world will soon be releasing an Led of indescribable brightness with extremely high efficiency of a secret nature. This information is available on a need to know basis. Ssssh, don't tell anyone that I told you.

Well, there are only a handful of companies capable so I guess if we name them all, someone is bound to be right.

mchlwise said:

Yeah, "somebody" working at "wherever" telling "us" about "something" that hasn't been announced yet could quickly find "themselves" looking for another "job" if it gets traced back to "them".

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this could in fact happen and the person would be looking for a job in an unrelated industry that was hiring "Maintainence engineers"

If somebody else working at whatever read it and decided "themselves" talked to much he might set the lawyers loose. A good guess by a major buyer could loose the company a lot of money.
Just ask Adam Osborne.

Yeah yeah, I know... as I already said, it is frustrating for me too. The things I do not know... are what the Vf will be, or the package diminsions, or the emmision pattern, or really anything else about them. Just that they are supposed to be competitive.

No, I am not about to jump on the Cree bandwagon, for a couple of reasons: 1) the Cree is a PITA if it is an unmounted LED (I would only order one on a board), and 2) Philips-Lumileds will soon have something to kick Cree's butt. Think thin film technology, think a K2 with 300 lumens at 1A by the end of 2007, lower outputs before then.

Click to expand...

quote from post #29 in this thread http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=138026

fnmag said:

An unnamed source has confided in me that an undisclosed company in a not to be mentioned part of the world will soon be releasing an Led of indescribable brightness with extremely high efficiency of a secret nature. This information is available on a need to know basis. Ssssh, don't tell anyone that I told you.

Click to expand...

This MAY or MAY NOT have happened to me.

Whatever. It's a race for revenue. Just look at the computer/cellphone industries. BlueRay versus HD-DVD and so on, ad infinitum (or ad nauseatum). Technology advances and different companies adapt and evolve. The positive side is that in the end there are several competing products for me to choose from.

The competition seems to get things started! where we waited longer than a year to see a new led-generation, it seems like there is going to be new "generation" or at least a significant step forward every 6 months orso.

On the other hand, the most efficient light-source there is, right now is a low presure Sodium. I don't remember what they can emit, but it is about 170 lumens per watt? I'll have to see the Led that can beat that! And sodiums didn't make it into a flashlight yet!! luckily. That would be a TINT!
But 300 lumens at 1.5 watt and 3 volts gets close to 70 lumens per watt. But what is after that? perhaps 100 lumens per watt? dunno if that is physically possible. We are talking solid light sourche here?!
There are physic laws that limit it at some time!

But for now? I'm happy with the Cree that I've got

AlecGold said:

But 300 lumens at 1.5 watt and 3 volts gets close to 70 lumens per watt. But what is after that? perhaps 100 lumens per watt? dunno if that is physically possible. We are talking solid light sourche here?!
There are physic laws that limit it at some time!

Click to expand...

One method that will give a good jump in output is mechanical.
Light is "emmitted" throughout the solid material and most of it does not reach the surface. Put a bunch of holes in the material and more light comes out.
This has been demonstrated but the problem of putting millions of nanometer sized holes in the LED has not been achieved.
Maybe bucky balls made from semiconductors would work.

One thing we know for sure is that this technology is not standing still and
Lumileds is not going to sit still and loose customers ( Surefire) without doing something.
I personally hope that the LuxIII continues to improve as we understand its
set of features and benefits when modding and designing lights.

I'm not gonna hold my breath though for a part that will be announced, then like a year after it should be available, it comes out, and doesn't live up to the hype...

If it comes out performs, then I'll jump on it. Until then I don't pay attention to vapor-ware anymore!