10 May 2012 Toshiba invests in Bridgelux to boost GaN-on-Si LED lighting
Just a few months after engaging in a joint collaborative agreement earlier this year,Tokyo-based semiconductor manufacturer Toshiba Corp and Bridgelux Inc of Livermore,CA,USA(which claims to be the only vertically integrated manufacturer of LED solid-state light sources specifically for the lighting industry)have achieved what they say is the industry's best-performing 8"GaN-on-silicon LED,emitting 614mW from a 1.1mm-square chip(with an operating voltage of 3.1V and a drive current of 350mA).The firms aim to further accelerate their development efforts for LED chips,which are seeing increasing demand for lighting systems.
Toshiba has also made an equity investment in Bridgelux,with the intent of jointly pursuing innovative solid-state lighting(SSL)technology.The firms reckon that the investment will further advance both their efforts in the SSL industry,with the aim of boosting Bridgelux's GaN-on-silicon LED chip technology development efforts,based on Toshiba's silicon process and manufacturing technology development.
"Toshiba and Bridgelux have already been engaged in the development of the technology,and the equity investment brings both companies one step closer to a more strategic relationship and achieving our shared goal of driving down the cost of solid-state solutions for the general lighting market,"says Bridgelux's CEO Bill Watkins.
"We will continue to pursue more advanced development targeting commercialization of the technology,"says Makoto Hideshima,executive VP of Semiconductor and Storage Products Company,corporate VP of Toshiba.
