As the digital revolution continues to change not only the communications sector but all branches of industry, LEXEDIS Lighting was founded earlier this year by TridonicAtco and Toyoda Gosei as a new innovation driver for the international lighting industry. At the launch event at Le Rendez Vous Toyota in Paris, LEXEDIS lighting presented its vision of XED – a whole new type of light engine.LEXEDIS Lighting GmbH – based at the technology park in Jennersdorf, Austria – was founded in the spring of 2005 as a joint venture, bringing together two authorities on solid-state lighting technologies: TridonicAtco, a Zumtobel Group company, is a world-class supplier of advanced lighting components. Toyoda Gosei, a Toyota Group company, is a pioneer in InGan LED technology and over the last decade has strengthened its position as a global supplier of high-quality high-brightness LED chips. Market newcomer LEXEDIS, with its management team of Dr Stefan Tasch and Yasushi Matsui, aims to become a leading international centre of competence in solid-state light engines for both its parent companies. LEXEDIS has inherited a powerful array of intellectual property in light conversion, chip architecture, packaging design and numerous other innovations.
Toyoda Gosei: Pioneer of high-brightness blue LEDs
Back in the mid 1980s, Toyoda Gosei & Toyota Central Laboratories began a programme of research into blue LEDs (light emitting diodes) under the auspices of Prof. Akasaki of Nagoya University. A few years later, the joint research team unveiled the world's first high-brightness blue LED. At the time, the scientific community was stunned since solid-state blue emission had been thought impossible. This epoch-making achievement was the precursor of phenomenal growth in the high-brightness LED market worldwide. In the early years of this century, Toyoda Gosei was one of the first companies to evolve blue LED technology, clearing the way for initial lighting applications.
TridonicAtco: Superior white LED lighting modules
At the same time, TridonicAtco entered the market, aiming to exploit LED technology in lighting and illumination applications by using new technologies to generate higher-quality white light from blue light. These superior technologies resulted from close cooperation with Prof. Günther Leising of Graz Technical University and – at an earlier stage – with various strategic partners in the field of phosphor. Based on these new technologies, TridonicAtco was able to create homogeneous white LED light sources with defined colour temperatures from cold to warm white, high colour-rendering indices, and lower colour tolerances than fluorescent tubes. Today, TridonicAtco is market leader in the field of signage and corporate identity lighting. International lighting projects have been realised for clients such as Total service stations, as well as Nissan, Renault and Toyota dealers worldwide, generating energy savings of up to 90% compared to conventional light sources.
Merging competencies within LEXEDIS Lighting
The strategic partnership between die manufacturer Toyoda Gosei and TridonicAtco, supplier of LED lighting modules, has been reinforced by the foundation of the 50:50 joint-venture company LEXEDIS Lighting. The prime objective of LEXEDIS is now to refocus and build on the core competencies of its parent companies in the field of solid-state light engines – a market that is expected to grow at over 50% per annum over the next five years.
Recently, Toyota Motor Europe unveiled its redesigned brand showroom, Le Rendez Vous Toyota, in Paris and put LED technology at the heart of its innovative multimedia environment. Four big high-resolution LED screens, supplied by Toyoda Gosei, stand for the notions of quality, advanced technology and energy saving – intrinsic values of both the Toyota and TridonicAtco brands. For LEXEDIS, Le Rendez Vous Toyota provided the ideal setting in which to stage the Rebirth of Light.
Creating XED – the technology behind the rebirth of light
Determined to push back the frontiers of technology and enable its customers to drive innovation, LEXEDIS has created a whole new kind of light engine. XED is not just an abbreviation. It is a potent symbol of the superior quality of a new generation of light engines. XED represents a significant evolution in the nascent solid-state lighting industry. XED stands for dynamic, powerful, innovative and durable light engines designed to add a new dimension to lighting. The XED logo will feature prominently along the entire lighting value chain. XED will also act as a seal of quality and value-for-money for integrators and end users alike. XED technology will enable the development of sustainable and innovative lighting solutions in the lighting, automotive and industrial sectors. Starting in early 2006, LEXEDIS Lighting will be releasing and delivering initial products based on superior XED technology:
PRODUCTS
iXED
miniXED is a miniature (2.8 mm x 3.4 mm x 1.15 mm) surface-mounted solid-state light engine. Ranked as a 2W device, it features a light output of 35 lumen and an unsurpassed thermal resistance of just 10K/W. Its ceramic package and wireless bonding ensure the highest durability and lowest lumen depreciation in its class. miniXED is currently available in a colour temperature of 4000K.
powerXED
powerXED is currently under development at the LEXEDIS R & D centre in Jennersdorf, Austria. 3W and 5W versions of this surface-mounted device will be released in 2006. Significantly smaller (below 45 mm2) than all high-power LED devices, powerXED will demonstrate the superiority of XED technology over LEDs. It features an integrated miniature glass lens (40°, 60°, 90°), a completely inorganic body and thin-layer phosphor coating. PowerXED will be vailable in all colours with best white-light quality.
XED lamp
Pushing the limits of lamp miniaturisation, LEXEDIS has designed an ultra-compact spotlight (17 mm x 21 mm x 11 mm) incorporating its miniXED light engine. With an aluminium die-cast body and a miniature plastic lens, XEDlamp features an illuminance level of 300 lx (without heat sink) and perfect uniformity. The lamp is ideally suited for customers who require plug & play solutions. Over the coming years, LEXEDIS will be intensifying its product development programme. New XED light engines for automotive applications will be released, as well as an extended range of XEDlamp products. In the mid-term, LEXEDIS will employ some 90 highly specialized employees, generating sales of approximately EUR 50 million per
annum.
