OSRAM research team wins German Future Prize for LED lighting technology
December 7, 2007, Santa Clara, CA--Klaus Streubel and Stefan Illek from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, together with Andreas Bräuer from the Fraunhofer Institute for Optics and Precision Engineering (Jena, Germany), were awarded this year's prize for technology and innovation from the President of Germany. The German Future Prize for 2007 was awarded specifically for thin-film chip technology and its application in the OSTAR family of light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
Thin-film technology is the key to producing LED chips of extremely high brightness and also enables them to be packed tightly together to create a large illuminating surface. High-efficiency light emitting diodes from OSRAM that are based on this innovative technology will open up new applications ranging from mini projectors and rear projection televisions to night vision systems in vehicles and general room lighting. LEDs can already be used, for example, in the headlights and taillights of automobiles, providing excellent visibility and giving automobile manufacturers enormous freedom to create new designs.
For the 2007 German Future Prize awarded by the German President Horst Köhler, the judges were looking not only for exceptional technical, engineering and scientific achievements, but also for practical applications, marketability, and job creation. The German Future Prize is the most prestigious award for research and development in Germany and was presented this year for the eleventh time.
The technical innovation of the OSTAR LED is the ideal combination of different technologies, namely a new production process for high-power chips, a perfectly matched package platform and special optics developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Optics and Precision Engineering. "With these technologies we have achieved a particularly high luminance for LEDs in all colors and also for infrared light--this is a truly groundbreaking innovation," said Dr. Klaus Streubel.
For more information, visit www.osram-os.com.