Company launches simpler, smaller and less costly IC solution for dimmable LED retrofits
Next week at Strategies in Light, the premier conference and exhibition for solid-state lighting (SSL), emerging fabless company, Ikon Semiconductor, will debut its digital controller Integrated Circuit (IC) technology for the dimmable LED retrofit market. The new technology is designed to meet cost and performance standards for today’s LED lighting products, while also enabling greater design simplicity for bulb manufacturers and OEMs. Central to the IC’s value is an innovative digital architecture that eliminates costly components – a benefit that reduces the form factor and improves reliability.
Ikon Semiconductor’s executives will debut reference designs at booth #124. They’ll also showcase the IKS2053, the first product in a series of novel, high-performance, single-stage controllers. The solutions easily match the efficiency of comparative two-stage architectures, but with up to 25 percent fewer components. With broad dimmer compatibility and a compact size, Ikon Semiconductor’s IC offers a better fit for LED bulb retrofits than larger, more complex solutions currently available.
Commenting on the new technology, Conor McAuliffe, Ikon Semiconductor’s CEO said, “Today, lighting accounts for nearly 20 percent of the world’s electricity consumption. Largely driven by global legislation, inefficient legacy bulbs are steadily being replaced by energy-efficient lighting sources. LED lighting is the dominant replacement technology. Retrofit momentum is high, which presents a substantial market opportunity for Ikon Semiconductor. Added to this, our advanced dim-detect engine enables broad dimmer compatibility – an essential feature in a market saturated with disparate dimmer products. Our digital solutions represent a significant breakthrough for the solid-state lighting market.”
A key advantage of the Ikon Semiconductor solution is that it eliminates the need for opto-couplers and electrolytic capacitors – standard components that add complexity to the module and can hinder reliability. This is made possible by the proprietary digital control algorithms in Ikon Semiconductor’s single-stage design. Moreover, the solution allows OEMs to decide the optimum trade-off between the amount of PFC (power factor correction) they need and the amount of ripple the design can tolerate. This capability simplifies the design process for bulb manufacturers, and relieves a further cost burden.
Sole focus on controller ICs for dimmable LED retrofit market
In a sector dominated by companies that produce AC-DC controller ICs for diverse applications in many markets, Ireland-based Ikon Semiconductor stands out for its singular focus on digital controllers for SSL applications. Staffed by semiconductor industry veterans, the company’s technology debut is the first event on its roadmap toward producing ICs for the global SSL market. It is this expertise and focus that attracted venture capital investment to the three-year-old company. According to one investor, Orla Rimmington, operations director of Kernel Capital, "The Ikon Semiconductor solution is simpler, smaller and less costly than the competition, while simultaneously helping our environment by reducing the power consumed through replacing old-style lighting."
