Sharp Expands Lighting Solutions for Application Developers


New ambient light sensor and LEDs product lines round out suite that delivers high output and efficiency, smaller packages, quick time to market

CAMAS, Wash. - Feb. 7, 2008 - Today, Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas (SMA) announced an expansion to its lighting component product line. New ambient light sensors and high luminosity white Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), along with updated LED module and LED driver products, provide a wider variety of Sharp solutions for the ever-expanding lighting industry. The products benefit the environment with low power consumption, while technological innovations such as multi-directional light distribution enable high luminosity without sacrificing light quality.

"Sharp has been building optoelectronic solutions for 25 years," said Mark Hampson, Director of Electronic Components and Devices Business Unit, at Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas. "This collective knowledge allows us to develop components with high performance combined with a soft quality of light. Our customers' success depend upon the user's experience with their products. By expanding our suite of lighting solutions, we are empowering developers with more choices to find just the right type of luminosity needed for their designs."

Sharp's RoHS compliant* LED-based lighting products are optimized to help developers meet the demand for increasingly "green," energy-efficient designs. By utilizing components that are smaller and more powerful than that of other, traditional lighting technologies, product vendors can build sleek designs with bulbs that burn brighter and last longer.

The new components are suited for general, architectural, and commercial lighting applications, including portable illumination, backlighting, environmental lighting, and other specialty needs. The company's high-volume, long-term production capacity allows it to deliver volume product under tight timelines, with an ongoing potential for quick re-ordering of parts. The suite's overall ease of integration saves time in development that can be applied to driving new levels of innovation, and Sharp's investment in customer support insures that expert-level assistance is always a phone call or mouse click away.

The SMA Lighting Suite of Products
LED Modules: GW5Bxx15xx Series

The all-new GW5Bxx15xx Series module offers 30 LEDs in a compact, thin package (18 x 18 x 1.5 mm) and time-saving integration into optical designs and light modules. The modules provide energy efficiency of up to 80 lumens per watt. It also offers an extremely long life cycle, with up to 40,000 hours operating time, compared to a maximum of 12,000 for a fluorescent light. The modules are ideal for general illumination such as general lighting, architectural lighting, down-lighting, concentrated-specialty lighting, and large-area backlighting. Four different spectral versions are available: Normal White (GW5BWC15L02), Warm (GW5BDC15L02), High Color Rendering 5000 (GW5BNC15L02), and High Color Rendering 6500 (GW5BNC15L12).

LEDs: GM5BW96320A, GM5BW96370A, GM5BW96380A, GM1BW76341A

Sharp adds to its family of white Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) with four products. These High Brightness (HB) LEDs provide brightness levels of 1400 and 2000 mcd at IF = 20 mA, and are specifically designed with a small package (3.2 x 2.8 x 1.9 mm or 2.64 x 1.64 x 0.7 mm) for space-limited applications such as display illumination for hand-held or portable devices. The LEDs offer matched radiation patterns, ensuring consistent color mixing and uniformity. They are well suited for many consumer and commercial lighting applications that have traditionally used conventional incandescent or other technologies, but offer long operating life and low power consumption.

LED Drivers: PQ6CB11X1CP, PQ7L3010QPF, IR2D07, IR2D20U, IR2E46Y7, IR2E49U6, IR2E51Y7, IR2E53Y7

Sharp's PQxxxxxxxx Series offers a variety of low-cost, high-performance LED Drivers that allow for fast and flexible product design. The IRxxxxx Series is available for complex applications, and can power up to 35 RGB or white LEDs , resulting in fewer onboard driver chips and low power consumption. The drivers integrate seamlessly with Sharp LEDs and LED modules, and Sharp's "drop-in" solutions provide the option of adding an ambient light sensor for intelligent control, or using Logic, 3-line Serial, or I2C. Models with failsafe circuits are available, as well as soft-start, animation, or gradation controls. Sharp LED Driver ICs have been developed to make it easy to drive LEDs (whether high-power type or backlight), allowing designers to get their ideas to market quickly.

Ambient Light Sensors: GA1A1S100WP, G1A1S201WP, G1A2S100LY, GA1A2S100SS

Sharp is also introducing its first ambient light-sensing technology. The devices have the option of linear or logarithmic output with a response curve similar to that of the human eye, and built-in spectral application that ensures highly-accurate and predictable response. The sensors help extend battery life while providing optimum illumination in diverse lighting conditions. The GA1A1S100WP (1.6 x 1.5 x 0.55 mm) and G1A1S201WP (1.6 x 2.0 x .06 mm) have compact surface-mount packages and are excellent fit for mobile phones, LCD TV, LCD monitors, digital cameras, PDA's, and other handheld products. The G1A2S100LY and GA1A2S100SS (both 4.0 x 3.0 x 1.8 mm) are leaded for through-hole and higher-current applications. They are ideal for auto-dimming circuits, office automation equipment, audio/visual equipment, home appliances, touch panels, and general lighting.

Availability and Pricing
One-piece samples for the each of the new Sharp lighting products are available now. Contact any Sharp Representative or Distributor throughout the Americas for pricing information. To view full product specification sheets, or for more information, visit sharpsma.com. A dedicated sales and field applications engineering team at Sharp supports OEM and Integration Partners during every step of the design cycle. Sharp lighting components are RoHS* compliant.

About Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas
Sharp Microelectronics of the Americas (SMA) drives innovative LCD, optoelectronics, memory, imager, and RF/IR components to market. The world's leading manufacturers of consumer and business technologies look to SMA for the products, expertise, and worldwide support they need to make their visions a reality. SMA, in Camas, Washington, is the microelectronics sales and marketing division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp Corporation. For more information, visit us at www.SHARPsma.com.

* The Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directive (2002/95/EC). This directive took effect July 1, 2006.

Karamy Muessig
Rocketshop
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