Gallium Nitride devices are now in LED power supplies

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corp developed a halogen lamp-shaped LED light bulb using a GaN (gallium nitride) power device for its power supply circuit.

The LED lamp will be released March 6, 2015. With the GaN power device, it can be operated with a frequency of 700kHz, which is about 10 times higher than the operating frequency of the company’s previous product using a Si (silicon) power device. As a result, the area of the new LED lamp’s main power supply circuit is about 40% that of the previous product’s main power supply circuit.

A dimming function was added by using the saved space. With a chip for phase-control dimming and software for controlling dimming, the “Premium Dimming Technology” of the new lamp supports not only dimmers dedicated to LED lamps but also dimmers for incandescent light bulbs. The technology reduces flickering caused by the fluctuation of power supply voltage and waveform distortion. In addition, it enables to smoothly adjust light intensity from 0% (extinction) to 100%.

Toshiba Lighting & Technology will release two models whose light fluxes are 200lm and 250lm, respectively. The manufacturer’s suggested retail prices of them are both ¥7,500 (approx US$62.2, excluding tax). The company aims to sell 60,000 units of the two models combined.

It plans to exhibit the new product at Lighting Fair 2015, which runs from March 3 to 6, 2015, in Tokyo.

Source