New process technology is expected to ease the 2011 LED light guide out of stock crisis

According to the International Energy Agency, the OFweek semiconductor lighting network uses 19% of the world's electricity for lighting. To save electricity, it is the most convenient choice to use green energy in light source management. According to Displaysearch research data, the light guide plate market will be out of stock in 2011. Rambus, a technology licensing company that started the lighting business in December last year, has also begun to deploy light guide plate technology with uniform light distribution and mass production. This month (11 ) announced on the 4th that it is expected to be mass-produced in the middle of next year. The ultimate goal is to launch single-sided optical LED TV products in the terminal market in the third quarter of next year.

The sales results of LED lighting products are disappointing, and the high price of end products is an important reason. Conventional light guides are manufactured through optical dot or laser technology processes. Due to the failure to introduce continuous processes and limited thickness, the cost has not been reduced. But Joseph Marc McConnaughey, vice president of strategic development at Rambus Lighting and Display Technologies, said the key to the most brutal success of the LED market is to reduce costs, and the commercial market must guarantee upfront costs for two years. Rambus's MicroLens technology reduces overall BOM cost, with a 40-inch light guide as an example, saving 30% over traditional savings.

The PelletExtrusion Roll-to-roll process is not particularly novel, but it is the first time it is applied to a light guide. After melting the plastic material, it is cooled by the model and then cooled and cut. The advantage is that the thickness of the light guide can be slimmed down to 0.3 mm. McConnaughey said that the production mode is relatively simple, and the light uniformity can be as high as 80%. In addition, the model used can be determined according to the required density of Microlens distribution, and the degree of customization is relatively high. The total cost of the male mold for making the drum is about 160,000 US dollars, and the sub-module actually used in the process is about 2~3 thousand US dollars. It can be used for 2 to 4 weeks, and the light guide plate with about 2 million feet is produced. The cost is older. low. However, the higher the distribution density of Microlens, the shorter the life of the model.

However, Rambus has signed a licensing agreement with GE Lighting, and the initial focus is on flat panel LED lighting systems for architectural and commercial lighting. In practical product applications, Microlens can be applied to curved surfaces and adjust the angle of the mask, which is quite suitable for use in spherical lighting products. There are currently arched products that make hanging-edge illumination and a double-sided curve that controls the angle in a side-light manner.