The world's largest contract semiconductor foundry has brought LEDs to market under its own brand in both a standard 3030 plastic package and in several new COB variations.
TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) SSL (Solid State Lighting) has announced new LEDs that it will display at the 2013 Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition slated for June 9–12. Moreover, the company has announced plans to open an office with business and technical staff in Shenzhen in the Guangdong province of China to better support lighting manufacturers in that region.
The new LEDs include the TH3 that is a single-die design set in a standard 3030 plastic package. The new chip-on-board (COB) LEDs include the TME, TMG, and TMH series that are increasingly larger in both package size and light emitting surface (LES) area.
In a news release, TSMC says that the TH3 LED is capable of operating at power levels to 3W, although the company's website indicates a maximum 2W rating. The product is offered in CCT ranging from 2700K to 5700K with all but the highest-CCT models having a minimum CRI of 80.
At 350 mA binning current and 5700K, the LEDs offer efficacy ranging from 104–116 lm/W at 85°C and 25°C, respectively. At 2700K those numbers drop to 81–91 lm/W.
COB LEDs
The TME, TMG, and TMH COB LEDs serve the ranges 10–18W, 20–30W, and 40–60W, respectively. TSMC said that the LEDs are compatible with the footprints required for use in Zhaga modules. The efficacy is in the same ranges as the single emitter LEDs, and the COBs are rated at either 29V or 38V forward voltage.
"We are now proud of showing TH3 and TMx series products to the lighting world customers. By applying TSMC SSL state-of-art technology and manufacturing capability of integrating epi to package, we demonstrate the solutions definitely competitive to products from other world-class companies," said Jacob Tarn, the president of TSMC SSL. "High reliability and low thermal resistance are our technology strengths. They prove our capabilities and determination for innovation in this industry."
The new announcement marks just the second time that TSMC SSL has publicly announced LEDs, following an announcement last November of the TS1 1W single emitter LED and the first TMG product. That announcement appeared more about a relationship with a particular Chinese lighting company than about merchant availability of TSMC-branded LEDs.
Indeed, while it has been no secret that the company was working on LEDs presumably to leverage existing depreciated IC foundries, it hasn't been clear as to whether TSMC would become a merchant supplier or rely on its legacy contract-foundry business model that it has used in the IC business building custom products for each customer. A spokesperson confirmed with the new announcement that the company will be a merchant supplier and said that TSMC is already supplying some customers.
