High Luminance LEDs in Lighting Applications
Modern LED lighting systems face increasing demands for higher luminous flux while maintaining compact form factors. Current high-power LED packages achieve luminance levels of 50-100 cd/mm², but applications in automotive headlights, projectors, and architectural lighting require intensities exceeding 200 cd/mm² without compromising thermal stability or operational lifetime.
The fundamental challenge lies in managing the inverse relationship between luminous intensity and thermal load while maintaining color quality and beam control.
This page brings together solutions from recent research—including advanced thermal management through flexible PCB designs, optimized phosphor configurations for natural white light, reflective optical assemblies, and micro-LED arrays with enhanced light extraction. These and other approaches focus on achieving higher luminance while addressing practical constraints in size, cost, and manufacturability.
1. Backlight Source Structure with Uniform Light Conversion and Reflective Components for LED Lamps
SHENZHEN GUANGKE HOLOGRAPHIC TECH CO LTD, SHENZHEN GUANGKE HOLOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY CO LTD, 2023
Backlight source structure for LED lamps that improves brightness, utilization, and efficiency of LED lamps. The structure has a light source component, a uniform light component, and a second reflective component. The light source emits light in a direction. The uniform light component converts the point light to surface light and reflects back to surrounds. The second reflective component around the light source gathers and re-emits the reflected light parallel to the emission direction. This concentrates the light to increase brightness, utilize more of the emitted light, and reduce source waste.
2. Tunable White Light LED Device with Tri-String Phosphor-Coated Blue LEDs and Adjustable Drive Circuit for Color Temperature Control
Korrus, Inc., 2023
Tunable white light LED device that provides high-quality light with adjustable color temperature and enhanced color rendering for applications like circadian lighting. It uses a combination of three LED strings (blue LEDs with phosphor coatings), each with a different color phosphor, to generate unsaturated light of different colors. These unsaturated light spectra are mixed to create a tunable white light that can be adjusted along the black body locus of correlated color temperatures. The device uses a drive circuit to adjust the relative currents to the LED strings and achieve the desired color point.
3. LED Lamp with Cylindrical Transparent Housing and Rolled Flexible PCB for Integrated Heat Dissipation
Yuriy Borisovich Sokolov, 2023
An LED lamp design that allows high-power LEDs to be used without requiring external heat sinks. This is achieved by using a cylindrical transparent housing with the LEDs mounted on a flexible PCB rolled up inside. The PCB is coated with a thin transparent layer to protect the LEDs. The rolled PCB, LEDs, and driver components are all contained within the housing. This allows the LEDs to dissipate heat directly into the surrounding air through the transparent housing.
4. White LED Lighting with Broad-Spectrum Blue Excitation and Enhanced Phosphor Composition
Intematix Corporation, 2023
White LED lighting that closely mimics natural sunlight and has improved color rendering compared to traditional LEDs. The device uses broad-spectrum blue LEDs as the excitation source along with optimized green-yellow and red phosphors. The broad blue excitation fills in the cyan trough between blue and green phosphors, boosting color rendering. The result is full-spectrum white light that appears more natural, has higher CRI, and reduces eye damage from excessive blue light exposure.
5. Lighting Apparatus with Reflective Unit and Optical Pattern Layer for Enhanced Luminance
LG INNOTEK CO., LTD., 2023
Lighting apparatus with improved luminance using LEDs and reflectors, without increasing thickness or light sources. A reflective unit with a spaced area under each LED increases reflectivity and luminance. The spaced area can be defined by an optical pattern layer to replace a light guide plate.
6. Lighting Device with Copper-Nickel Heat-Conducting Films and Integrated Thermal Management System
SHENZHEN ZHONGJIN LINGNAN XINYUE NEW MAT CO LTD, SHENZHEN ZHONGJIN LINGNAN XINYUE NEW MATERIAL CO LTD, 2023
High-intensity lighting device using copper-nickel heat-conducting films to efficiently dissipate waste heat from LEDs and allow compact, high-intensity illumination. The device has a thermal film assembly with LEDs, optical reflector, and metal frame. The copper-nickel films guide heat from the LEDs to the heat sinks. The LEDs are grouped and focused by the reflector for higher light output. The compact design allows cost-effective high-intensity lighting compared to conventional LEDs.
7. LED Luminaire with External Light Source and Slot-Integrated Reflector for Redirected Light Distribution
Philips Lighting Holding Company, PHILIPS LIGHTING HOLDING BV, 2022
LED luminaire with improved light output and compact design by using a reflector with a slot to redirect light from an external LED source into an internal optical element. The LED is mounted outside the reflector, which has a slot for the light guide to pass through. The light guide directs the LED light into the reflector, where it exits at an angle relative to the light guide direction due to the reflector geometry. This avoids high brightness spots and improves light distribution compared to directing the LED light straight into the optical element.
8. LED Headlight with Proximal Heat Sink and Light Concentration System
FOSHAN EVERCORE OPTOELECTRONIC TECH CO LTD, FOSHAN EVERCORE OPTOELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY CO LTD, 2021
High heat dissipation LED headlight that emulates the light output of halogen lamps while improving heat dissipation compared to conventional LED headlights. The key innovation is placing the LED near the heat sink instead of at the light source end. A concentrator converts the LED light into parallel beams and adjusts the spot size. This allows close proximity of the LED to the heat sink for better dissipation. The concentrated light is then transmitted to the fluorescent glue layer, which glows white. The close LED-heat sink placement and light concentration enable effective heat transfer while maintaining brightness equivalent to halogen lamps.
9. Light Guide Structure with Integrated Condenser and Reflective Mirror for Low-Power LED
BEIJING HAINACHUAN HELLA AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTING CO LTD, BEIJING HAINACHUAN HELLA SANHE AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTING CO LTD, 2021
Light guide structure for realizing high brightness of a low-power LED. The structure includes a support and a condenser, wherein the PCBA is arranged at the top of the support, an LED lamp wick is installed at the top of the PCBA through a mounting seat, the condenser is arranged on the outer side of the top of the PCBA, an optical reflecting mirror surface is glued inside the condenser, and a light guide column is sleeved at the top of the condenser.
10. LED Light Source with Conical Multi-Color Die Arrangement and Closed-Loop Intensity Control
Optical Innovations Co., Ltd., INNOVATIONS IN OPTICS INC, 2021
High-emissivity LED light source for applications like surgical lighting and microscopy that provides high radiation, adjustable color temperature, and stable color rendering over time. The source uses multiple LED dies of different colors arranged in a cone shape. Closed-loop control adjusts the intensity of each color channel to maintain consistent color rendering and color temperature as the LEDs age and temperature changes. The conical geometry and closed-loop control overcome limitations of conventional LED sources like fixed CCT and CRI degradation. The high-emissivity LEDs can be coupled to fiber optics for surgical lighting.
11. Lighting Apparatus with High-Efficiency LEDs in Compact Enclosure Under 5000 mm³
EPISTAR CORPORATION, 2020
Lighting apparatus with high intensity, small volume package, and high-efficiency LEDs. The apparatus includes a board with multiple small LEDs mounted on it and an enclosure that houses the LEDs. The enclosure has a volume of less than 5000 mm3 and protects the LEDs while maintaining high light output.
12. LED Lighting Device with Dual Reflector System for Uniform Light Distribution
Lee Jae-hyun, Kim Dae-yoon, 2020
LED lighting device with uniform light output by using a distribution reflector below the LED mounting area and a main reflector above it. The LED looks down at the distribution reflector below, then the light is reflected by the distribution reflector up to the main reflector above. This evenly divides and reflects the light throughout the main reflector to brighten the entire area without dark spots.
13. LED Structure with Optical Surface Incorporating Gratings and Redirecting Features
FACEBOOK TECH LLC, FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES LLC, 2020
Light-emitting diode (LED) designs with improved light extraction and control. The LED structures have an optical surface coupled to the semiconductor junction to output light. The optical surface can have features like gratings, prisms, or index gradient layers to increase light extraction. It can also have redirecting structures like slanted grating arrays to steer the light. This allows capturing more light generated inside the semiconductor and directing it for better efficiency and applications like collimation.
14. LED Device Package with Insulating Reflective Layers on Electrodes
LG INNOTEK CO., LTD., 2019
Light emitting device packages and lighting device designs that aim to improve the light intensity of LED devices. The design includes using insulating reflective layers on the electrodes of the LED device to reduce light absorption and improve light output. The insulating layers are applied to selected areas of the electrodes to expose contact points while reflecting light.
15. Light-Emitting Device with Central and Peripheral LED Units for Enhanced Central Brightness
CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., CITIZEN WATCH CO., LTD., 2019
A light-emitting device that provides a large circular light-emitting region with increased brightness in the center by using a central LED unit surrounded by smaller peripheral LED units. The central unit has a larger light-emitting region area compared to the periphery units. This configuration increases the overall light-emitting region size while concentrating more light at the center. It avoids yield issues of making a single large LED and prevents overheating a large substrate.
16. White Light Device Architecture with Orange Nanowire LED and Narrow Linewidth Blue Laser Diode
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 2019
A white light device architecture based on an orange nanowires LED combined with a narrow linewidth blue laser diode for simultaneous illumination and optical wireless communication. The orange nanowires LED provides tunable white light with high color rendering. The blue laser diode enables high-speed data transmission. This hybrid LED/laser system offers improved efficiency, color quality, and data rates compared to conventional phosphor-based white LEDs. The orange nanowires LED has a broad linewidth that fills the spectrum for better color rendering.
17. Solid-State Lighting Module with Dense LED Arrays on Thermally Conductive Substrate
Phoseon Technology, Inc., 2019
High power density solid-state lighting modules that can produce focused, intense light output for applications like curing polymers, sterilization, cleaning, and material ablation. The lighting module uses dense arrays of solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on a thermally conductive substrate. The LEDs can be driven at high power to achieve the required power densities. The module allows solid-state lighting to replace high-intensity arc lamps for applications requiring high power density irradiation.
18. LED Package with Optical Element and Cover Featuring Alignable Reference Marks for Precise Assembly
KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V., 2019
LED package for motor vehicle lamps that has improved brightness and luminous flux performance compared to conventional packages. The package contains a LED, an optical element, a cover, and optical reference marks. The marks on the optical element and cover are aligned to a reference mark on the substrate or heat sink during assembly. This precise alignment improves the optical performance of the LED package. The marks can be detected and aligned using an optical system during manufacturing.
19. Illumination Method Using Light Emitting Devices with Spectrum Matching for Enhanced Color Appearance
CITIZEN ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., 2019
An illumination method that creates natural, vivid, highly visible and comfortable color appearances by optimizing the light spectrum for objects. The method involves illuminating objects with light that, when measured at the object position, matches specific criteria for hue, saturation and color temperature compared to a reference light. This recreates natural color appearances indoors under typical lighting conditions. The illumination is achieved using light emitting devices such as LEDs with specific spectra. The method aims to provide favorable color appearances under moderate indoor lighting conditions while maintaining energy efficiency.
20. LED Collimated Light Source with Multi-Layer Light Guide and Zigzag-Edged Hollow Layer
Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2018
An LED collimated light source that provides high-intensity, directional light from a compact, low-profile package. The collimated light source uses a light guide component with a central LED module surrounded by layers that guide and collimate the light. The layers include a light guide glass, a light gathering layer, a hollow layer, and a transmission layer. The hollow layer has zigzag edges that guide the light to the transmission layer. This collimates the light from the central LED into a narrow beam. The collimating component replaces the reflector and optics in a conventional LED fixture, reducing size and weight.
These patents demonstrate a variety of solutions for obtaining high-luminance in LED lighting systems. Some, such as tunable white light LEDs with programmable color temperature, concentrate on the design of the LEDs themselves. Other developments include the use of reflecting unit designs to improve brightness in small-space lighting systems.
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