Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH of Regensburg, Germany is launching two LEDs in true green and one version in hyper red as additions to the PointLED and Firefly families for mobile applications such as fitness tracking and health monitoring. Osram can therefore offer a greater selection of products to supplement its integrated sensors.
Due to their greater brightness, the PointLEDs in true green offer better performance and provide better signals than comparable solutions on the market, it is claimed. The Firefly E 1608 in hyper red has a special narrow-band wavelength range around 660nm so it also offers optimized signal recognition. It is suitable for measuring oxygen levels in blood, while the true green version is suitable for use in pulse monitors. Both color versions of the Firefly have the advantage of compact dimensions, giving greater flexibility in designing products.
In true green the PointLED offers greater brightness of 1800-2800mcd at a drive current of 20mA. In fitness trackers it therefore provides an improved signal with a higher output compared with earlier versions. It hence needs less energy to produce the same signal as its predecessors, enabling the battery to last about 50% longer.
"Thanks to the compact dimensions, much less space is needed on the board in the tracker," says Russell Willner, product manager LED at Osram Opto. In addition, the hyper red version at 660nm has a special narrow-band wavelength range suitable for these applications. The true green version has a typical brightness of 1400mcd and a wavelength of 525nm. Both versions of the Firefly E 1608 have a small package of only 0.8mm x 1.6mm x 0.6mm.
Osram Opto says that, with the introduction of the new PointLED and Firefly E 1608, it is offering more options for developing mobile devices such as fitness tracking armbands. Customers can either produce their own designs or benefit from preconfigured integrated sensors such as the SFH 7050 from Osram's Biofy family. "Choice is a huge benefit for our customers because the wearables market is a fast-growing one and differentiated solutions are in demand," says Willner.
The Pointled is already fully available. The Firefly E1608 is available for first customer projects. Volume start-up is planned for the early 2017.
