Philips Lumileds: Emerging industry powered by LED developments
Philips Lumileds is a major player in the quest for LED efficiency and brightness. Steve Landau explains the company's approach to the lighting revolution.
The lighting revolution is in full swing, with several companies announcing new efficiencies and brightness in LED technology almost every month.
Philips Lumileds began as the optoelectronics division in Hewlett-Packard (HP) almost 40 years ago. In the late 1990s, recognizing the potential for solid-state lighting, HP and Philips began exploring how they could work together and deliver a new solid-state lighting solution to the market. In 1999 HP split its company into two, and the optoelectronics group was assigned to the new Agilent Technologies. In November 1999, recognizing the enormous potential for LEDs, Agilent Technologies and Philips formed Lumileds. In 2005, Philips acquired Agilent Technologies' interest in Lumileds.
The company's LED products are designed specifically for automotive applications, LCD displays, general lighting, portable applications, signage, traffic signals, and other segments. Philips Lumileds' LUXEON® technology enables LEDs to match the brightness of conventional light sources, potentially replacing incandescent, halogen and fluorescent bulbs in many products with smaller, longer-lasting and more energy efficient LEDs.
Steve Landau, Philips Lumileds' director of marketing and communications, talked with SPIE Newsroom in early 2011 about the company's progress in LED development.
