LED drive power will have a long battle

In March and April of this year, it was a lively event. In addition to large and small dealer conferences, projects, and new product launches, a wave of small waves in the field of driving power was emerging. At the end of March and early April, three LED companies including Juke Lighting, Changyuntong and Xinli Lighting Co., Ltd. held successive press conferences to promote power supply to drive products and technologies, or to cooperate with downstream companies to fully promote the development of power supply. Why in the short-term there will be a number of well-known LED companies in the industry rush to release power-driven products or cooperation projects? Will the de-powered drive set off a wave of revolution?

The new round of drive technology revolution started to power the drive is something, many people in the industry are unclear, in fact, whether it is to go to the power drive technology or the industry called the "power off" technology, these arguments are not accurate enough, Instead of being driven, the circuit is designed to be small and highly integrated with the LED through circuit design and microelectronics processes.

To power drive, that is, AC direct drive technology, which is similar to desktop computer sound card integration, the original is a separate sound card, need to be inserted in the slot, after the technical progress, now integrated on the motherboard, to power the drive is also in this way.

In the driving power stage, all DC LED lighting products must be equipped with an AC to DC (AC/DC) drive to turn the voltage into low voltage and constant current because the LED is DC low voltage, and the LED is installed to drive the LED to work properly. The linear circuit refers to a circuit entirely composed of linear elements. Linear power supplies generally use transformers to change from low voltage to high voltage and then to rectify the output DC voltage. As a result, it is bulky, bulky, inefficient and has a large amount of heat. When the heat is high, the life of the component must be reduced, affecting the final use effect.

The service life of the drive components has always been criticized by the industry: the lifetime of the LED can easily reach 30,000 hours, but the drive is generally only 5,000 to 10,000 hours. The life of the drive is far less than the service life of the LED, and the power supply is bad. LED lamps can not work properly, especially small-bulb products such as LED bulbs. It is understood that more than 50% of faulty LED luminaires are sourced from power problems. The service life of DC LEDs is much shorter than that of AC LEDs, and the cost of driving power also accounts for 15%-20% of the total cost of the entire LED lamp.

The primary stage of de-powered driving is precisely because the driver has the disadvantages of high failure rate, short service life, and substantial increase in LED lighting costs. Whether it can remove the power supply has become a new research direction in the industry, and AC and LED high-voltage LED and other power to the drive technology This was born.

As early as 2005, Seoul Semiconductor invented an AC LED that can be directly driven to emit light by AC; then, the US-based III-N Technology developed a gallium nitride substrate based on MOCVD growth technology that can improve the application of lighting and sensors; In 2008, Taiwan's "Industrial Technology Research Institute" also completed exchangeable LED products that can be industrialized and have practical application system solutions, and can be directly plugged into AC 110V AC voltage of 60Hz or higher to make AC luminous. At the time, the United States, South Korea, and Taiwan were among the world's leaders in the exchange of LED technology.

In order to improve the life of the drive power supply and reduce the cost, the electroless capacitor drive scheme frequently appeared on major industry websites several years ago, and each drive power supplier also sells it as a boring head with an electroless capacitor driver. The non-electrolytic capacitor drive scheme is the primary stage in the development of the drive power supply to the “de-powered” direction. Of course, the de-powered drivers referred to by the industry today do not only include non-electrolytic capacitors, and transformers and other components are not needed. So far, LED lighting products have been smaller in size, but the problem of lifetime and cost has been solved. The bottleneck produces - "strobbling". In view of the characteristics of alternating current, when the voltage is high and low, the light will flash and the problem of stroboscopic flashing is difficult to avoid. Although the eye cannot see it clearly, it has been very harmful to people's eyes and retina for a long time.

In addition, the stability has also become a factor that has been questioned by people in the industry for de-powered drivers. Without the energy storage element, the driver cannot play a good role in stabilizing the voltage. The entire LED lamp has some unstable factors. In the early days of development, there were various problems in de-powered drivers. Therefore, before 2012, de-powered driving technology was still in the stage of “cultivating people who did not know”, and people in the industry also reserved their reservations.

Going to the advanced stage of the power-driven drive Today, overseas markets have conducted more in-depth research on AC LED technology, and technological development and market development have taken precedence over the domestic market. Seoul Semiconductor, Taiwan Interlight, and Exclara have become the backbone companies in the development of AC drive technology. At present, foreign markets are led by Seoul Semiconductor and UK's Lynk Labs' exchange LED driver IC engine technology. Texas Instruments also expands its products to the LED drive field. , introduced a new AC LED driver IC designed to simplify the engine based on AC LED drive technology.

After 2012, in order to overcome the "strobbling" problem and instability of de-powered products, a number of domestic LED companies carried out research and development.

Taking Xinli Light Source as an example, it collaborated with the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the research and development of “R&D of Rare Earth LED Luminescent Materials with Controllable Afterglow Lifetime and Its Application in Semiconductor Lighting”, which solved the problem of flashing in AC LED lighting and made China become a At that time, the only country in the world that controlled the production of low-frequency flash AC LED products through rare earth phosphors.

Take Poly Lighting as an example, the new G40 ceramic LED recently listed uses a power-driven drive solution, which integrates heat dissipation in the opto-electrical integration system. The heat dissipation is more obvious, and the high-precision constant current IC uses an over-voltage and over-temperature protection scheme. (170-240VAC), not only reduces the chance of drive-induced product failure, but also greatly improves the product's sustainability and stability.

The de-powered drive is gradually moving toward standardization. For example, the long-transit de-powered IC-driven high-voltage LED technology was selected into the Guangdong LED lighting standard optical components, indicating that the technical program is suitable for standardization; and if the Poly-LED lighting G40 ceramic new product uses a common G9 lamp design, making installation more convenient It is also more conducive to standardization.

De-powered drive "non-mainstream" has little effect on the industry for the time being For power-driven power companies, the germination of de-powered drives is currently still very safe. Most LED lighting plants currently produce DC LED lighting products, AC LED Or high-voltage LED products or "non-mainstream" products, whether it is the power to drive the limitations and market penetration rates are in a weak position, so the interviewed power companies to hold power to drive the attitude of dissatisfaction.

For application companies, the de-powered driver scheme is still “having a partial cover”, and it is still a state of deterrence for de-powered drivers. However, some "warriors" have already tried it. Juke Lighting Director and Deputy Secretary Wang Junhua told reporters that two weeks ago, Poly Lighting introduced the G40 ceramic LED with a power-driven solution. However, over a week, hundreds of Guangdong companies took the initiative to try and sample or Direct orders. It can be seen that the development of de-powered drives in the next two years is worth looking forward to, especially the application companies and market channels need attention.

The insights and views on the theme of “How to Drive the LED Industry Without Drivers” are the inevitable result of the development of new technologies and new products, and they are also a weapon to break the vicious cycle of bad competition. At the same time, they are also driving the upgrading of traditional technologies. The catalyst.

"No drive" how to drive the LED industry It is understood that no drive technology is not a real sense of non-driven, for the "no drive" concept, the general manager of Shenzhen Shengdian Green Integrated Technology Co., Ltd. Chen Heng made this statement : No drive is actually driven, but new technological innovations have been made in the drive, making it more efficient, smaller, and lower cost. He explained that in fact every fixture needs to be driven, just how to drive it.

The biggest advantage of no-drive is the reduction of costs, the reduction of product volume, the reduction of labor, the improvement of production efficiency, and the absence of drive technology as a new area. Everyone, both abroad and domestically, is on the same starting line. "We set aside the traditional driving methods." The establishment of a new segmented linear drive means that Chinese companies are more confident in this field," said Chen Hengcai.

Chen Hengsu also made a conservative estimate of non-driver technology: Although today's non-driver technology accounts for only about 5% of the market, in the next three to five years, it will be about 70%. The 80th factory knows that there is no driving technology, and the market atmosphere will also account for about 20%.

Technical breakthrough is the key So far, the application of non-drive technology is not widely used. Huang Shuibing, marketing engineer of Shenzhen Xinli Light Source Co., Ltd. stated that: Without driving technology driven by big brand companies, more and more companies are making relevant The study, however, is rarely seen in marketing.

“The driverless application has a small share in the market because there are very few companies that know and understand this technology clearly,” said He Ke, general manager of Shenzhen Dexinmin Technology Co., Ltd. Lai Zhihao, Key Account Manager of Zhongshan Lichuang Testing Technology Service Co., Ltd. also stated that in the inspection process, products without drive technology are rare, and even fewer are able to achieve certification.

The main reason for this picture is also the technical immaturity. From an industry source who did not wish to be identified, it was learned that no driving technology is mature in technology, but in use, non-driven products are still immature products, and they face the low-end market and their safety performance. There is still a certain degree of problems on the road. To achieve better development, non-drive technology must achieve breakthroughs in its safety performance.

Traditional and emerging technologies PK

The development of the industry requires the support of emerging technologies. However, will emerging technologies impact the traditional industries? Traditional industries will inevitably be banned? These issues have always been the focus of discussion in various sectors of the industry during the development of the industry.

“Ancient town is where the market is driven by cost-effectiveness, and the original traditional technology is not easily replaced,” said Huang Shuibing.

Because there is no standard reference, strobing has always been an insurmountable problem in the lighting industry. Liao Guanghua, general manager of Zhongshan Long Power Technology Co., Ltd., said: Any technology has its application limitations and its scope of application. It is practical. For new technology, it must not only consider its cost but also its application. Because there is no specific standard, it should be well-positioned in promotion, and should not be "killed to death".

Liao Guanghua also said: The emergence of new technologies may bring about a temporary trend, but for traditional technologies, it does not necessarily have to form a blow. The potential of traditional technologies is still there, or can be excavated.

Who moved the heart of LED?

With the continuous development of LED technology, LED industry can be described as rapid progress, in the global incandescent lamp under the tide, LED will become the most potential for future development stocks. If the chip is the "brain" of the LED, and the LED drive power is like the heart of LED lighting, at present, the LED industry has stepped up efforts to invest in "heart" R & D and production.

In 2013, Naimeite took the unpowered power supply series to appear at the Gaogong LED Lighting Exhibition; in 2014, the Ojis-Chang Yuntong Optoelectronics de-powered LED standard optical components core technology and new product launch were held in Shenzhen... A series of frequent actions all prove that the driving power in the LED lighting industry has become the core of competition. Who moved the heart of LED? What is the difference between drive power products and depowered drive products?

The status quo of the driving power supply Currently, in the LED lighting market, the driving power supply is divided into an isolated constant current power supply and a non-isolated constant current power supply. The status quo is to directly convert the DC voltage and constant current required for LED light emission from the 220V power supply. Simpler, BOM costs are lower. The power factor is <0.70, the power is <80%, and the lamp life is <5000 hours during the use of electrolytic capacitors. In addition to using too many parts, the cost is too high and the voltage regulation rate is poor. Therefore, LED lighting is faced with such challenges. It has to develop new technologies on the drive power supply and develop a drive power supply suitable for the status quo. At this time, the power supply drive technology has emerged.

The working life of an ordinary LED lighting driver depends on the electrolytic capacitor that the smoothing circuit must use for AC to DC conversion. We know that the lifetime of LEDs is as high as 100,000 hours, while the lifetime of electrolytic capacitors is only 5,000 hours at high temperatures. The working life between the two is far from one another. Therefore, electrolytic capacitors are the key factors that limit the LED driving power. If you do not want to remove the electrolytic capacitor, there is no way to use LED lamps in harsh environments such as high temperature, high vacuum, and long life. This is why the industry has been actively developing the main reason for power-driven technology.

Driving power vs. de-powered drive The de-powered drive technology achieves miniaturization, low cost, high performance, and prolongs the life of the LED lamp. Why is it that there is no universal power supply drive technology in the market today? Is not the driving power in the market also occupies an irreplaceable position? Next, look at the advantages and disadvantages of driving a power supply to a powered driver.

De-powered drives have limitations in product applications. "The limitation of de-powered drivers is that they are not suitable for high-current products, such as hotel lighting, which require high power in public places because they are not as flexible as the switched-mode power supply Although it is simple to have the middle of the driver program, but it is also inevitable to go to the power supply drive technology short board.” Jiangmen City, steady Zhuo Power Technology Co., Ltd. General Manager, Chief Engineer Pan Gaoru told reporters.

Pan Gaofeng said that the de-powered driver is more suitable for products with low power range such as SMD lamp beads, automotive lighting, light sources, bulb lamps, and ceiling lamps. De-powered drivers must have high requirements on the technical level of non-isolated protection, insulation considerations should be made on the lamp housing issues, examples can be improved on the structure, and improved on the aluminum substrate.

Xiang Yu, deputy general manager of Zhongshan Taiying Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., also stated that the current de-powering drive is a new solution in the industry, and the technology is not yet mature. However, de-powered drives can reduce manpower and material costs, but their lifespan is lower than that of the driven products, while the driven products are cost-effective but can improve efficiency and protection. After de-powered driving, not all types of products are suitable. Just like engineering lighting is not suitable for de-powered driving. On the contrary, simpler home-improved products are suitable for de-powered driving, such as lamp strips.

In terms of the market, in the future, de-powered and driven products will each account for half of the market share, and the price is still the main incentive, depending on the autonomy of consumers.

Drive the company: will not "Yalishanda"

Taiwan Ying Optoelectronics deputy general manager Xiang Yu: To power supply will not give power-driven enterprises to bring survival pressure, because the survival pressure itself will exist, and the market share is also expanding. At the same time, the power companies must establish their own position in the future development to change the market.

Jiangmen City, steady Zhuo Power Technology Co., Ltd. General Manager, Chief Engineer Pan Gaofeng: Power-driven enterprises will not feel pressure because of the popularity of power-driven, because the current lamp beads and voltage are limited, but the power-driven enterprises must improve Product price, otherwise it will be eliminated.

To drive the need for technical and market inspections to analyze the status quo of the power supply drive technology: the domestic market share is not high to the power supply drive technology, that is, the direct drive technology of the alternating current has evolved from a simple linear constant current source circuit to now has a perfect Constant current output, overvoltage protection, over temperature protection, segmented drive control and other functions, and has a good load adjustment rate and voltage regulation rate, Shenzhen Xinli light source LED application director Jinhong Bing said.

De-powered drive technology did not begin in the last two years. As early as a few years ago, foreign giants led by Seoul Semiconductor developed this cutting-edge technology. At present, most of the domestic drive IC design companies are vigorously developing AC drive ICs. Many LED light sources and application companies have gone to the direction of power-driven development, such as the new force light source, Poly Lighting, and Long Yuntong, etc. They passed the drive IC design. The company cooperated to develop a power-driven solution.

The design ideas of de-powered drives mainly include AC LEDs and high-voltage LEDs. At present, AC LEDs are the research direction of the majority of companies, such as Seoul Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, and Xinli Light Sources. , Long Yuntong and other enterprises to power drive program main high voltage LED. The difference between the two is mainly in the rectifier bridge part. The rectifier bridge part of the AC LED is also a part of the light emission. Its advantage is that the volume can be designed to be very small; the rectifier bridge of the high voltage LED is not in the design range of the light source, and a mature rectifier bridge is added in the luminaire design. In part, the design cost can be greatly reduced.

However, at this stage, the market share of domestic application exchange LED driver chips is temporarily low, only about 10%, the market share of high-voltage LED is even less, so currently there are only a handful of LED companies to achieve mass production of power-driven products.

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De-powered drive technology is brewing to set off a drive revolution, and this revolution is a technical war and patent warfare. LED companies that master power-driven technology will strive to obtain patents.

According to the "Guangdong Province LED Industry Operation Monitoring Report for the 4th Quarter of 2013" released by the Guangdong Province Semiconductor Lighting Industry Co-Innovation Center and the Guangdong Provincial Emerging Industry Strategic Development Research Institute, as of the fourth quarter of 2013, Guangdong Province's LED industry patent applications 50061 cases, accounting for 26.63% of the total national LED patent applications, accounting for 4.08% of all patent applications in Guangdong Province.

The limitations of technology and market De-powered drive technology has become popular and is a challenge for drive power companies. It will particularly impact the non-isolated power supply in the civilian market. The AC LED has the advantages of low cost, small size, light weight, long life, etc. In addition, the AC drive circuit has a simple structure, a small number of components used, high reliability, and is not limited by the life of the electrolytic capacitor, and is very competitive in the market. Obviously, it will surely stand out in the LED lighting market.

The popularity of COB technology and LED light engines (ie, LED light sources and constant current drive power supplies mounted on an aluminum substrate) has also accelerated the development of de-powered drive technology to some extent.

However, there are limitations to de-powered drives. The limitations are mainly related to the status quo of China's power grid and heat dissipation. Relatively speaking, AC drives have high requirements on the quality of power grids. In some industrial environments, or in networks with large harmonics, they are not suitable for use. In regions where the power grid is not stable enough, such as townships, it is not suitable for power-driven products. . At present, the LED light engines on the market basically use the non-electrolytic capacitor solution. This solution not only increases the heat of the light board and reduces the lifetime of the LED, but also has low LED utilization rate, overall light efficiency reduction of 15% and strobe light. And other issues. Only a highly efficient linear constant current source can realize the LED light engine. This is a big challenge for drive IC design companies, LED light sources, and application companies.

Case study: Xinli light source solves the problem of de-powered drive technology Sichuan Xinli Light Source Co., Ltd. is a company specialized in rare earth luminescent materials and LED lighting products. It is a joint-stock high-tech enterprise integrating scientific research, development, manufacture and sales. Professional manufacturer and comprehensive solution provider of LED lighting products. Recently, the reporter interviewed Jin Hongbing, director of LED application of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shenzhen Xinli Light Source.

In the interview, Jin Hongbing corrected the erroneous concept of de-powered driving: the idea of ​​driving or de-powering is wrong. In fact, what is commonly referred to as de-powered driving technology should be called AC direct drive technology.

Xinli light source began to research and develop AC LED technology in 2006. It started with material science and researched and developed LED phosphors with afterglow characteristics. The purpose is to solve the strobe problem of AC LED in the market. In 2009, the research and development of AC drive technology began in order to better match the afterglow performance of phosphors and improve the electrical performance of LED systems, such as low harmonics, high power factor and so on. In this regard, Xinli Lighting has its own global patented technology. Jin Hongbing also specifically reminded reporters to search for “Xinli Light Source” or “Sunfor light” on the patent website.

With the exchange of LED technology, the new light source in 2012 before the European and American markets shine. However, this technology also has technical difficulties and obstacles. Because the AC drive has high requirements on the quality of the power grid, the AC drive scheme needs a relatively good grid environment. If the grid harmonics are large, it will have a certain effect on the stability of the light output. The person in charge said that in China, commercial and civil power grid construction has been perfected, and there will be no problems with AC-driven lighting applications. The new force light source scheme has a special design for the constant current accuracy and voltage regulation rate of the drive circuit. Even if the input voltage of the power grid fluctuates, the output power will not change much, and the human eye will not feel the brightness change.

Case Study: ChangYunTong Jointly Addresses Volume Production and Market Issues Shenzhen ChangYunTong Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. is a company dedicated to R&D of power supply driver ICs. It combines the power management chip driver technology with high voltage LED chip technology and develops them. With independent intellectual property rights, it has the international advanced level of LED lighting optoelectronic solutions core technology.

Recently, Chang Yuntong has cooperated with Jiangxi Ojis and adopted the Guangdong LED standard to release new technologies and new products “to de-illuminate LED standard optical components”. The reporter also participated in this activity. This strong combination shows that Chang Yuntong’s determination to refer to the domestic market.

It is understood that Chang Yun Tong is the industry's famous "dual-core three high" (to de-powered drive and high-voltage LED chip as the core technology, with high luminous efficiency, high life expectancy, high cost-effective product standards), its de-powered LED The standard optical component core technology is widely recognized by industry experts.

Prior to this, in addition to maintaining a cooperative relationship with some strategic customers in China, Chang Yuntong has been focusing on the development of international markets such as Europe, the United States, Oceania, Southeast Asia, etc., while power supply-driven technology is more popular in European and American markets, and cooperates with Ochse. It is also because Chang Yuntong saw domestic business opportunities. However, for companies that are interested in promoting power-driven technology, mass production is also a big problem, apart from the reason that the market is not mature enough. To this end, Chang Yuntong and Ochs join forces. Compared to other LED companies in the industry, Ochers implements the “factory supermarket” module management, which gives Ocher an unparalleled advantage in the industry—a strong standardization. Automation, scale. Cooperation between the two parties will help to seize the end market.

The revolution is not yet successful The market still needs to work hard to power the drive. At present, the industry is still only a beginning. For most LED companies, the term is still unfamiliar, but for some other industry players, the power supply drive is a stone Thousands of waves were evoked and the response was great. To this end, the newspaper's topical planning group has invited a number of industries through the third marketing salon to jointly discuss the status quo and future of power supply-driven technology and markets.

De-powered drive manufacturer Chen Ying-yu, general manager of Shenzhen Shengdian Green Integrated Technology Co., Ltd.: De-powered driver share can reach 20%

De-powered driving is a new type of driving method that has been opened up to avoid traditional driving methods. Placing the original driver in the chip has a certain technical difficulty. At present, there are not many people in the industry who know, understand and understand power-driven technologies. This is a new area.

The greatest advantage of depowering is to reduce costs, reduce product size, reduce labor, and increase production efficiency. Although power supply technology is currently only about 5% of the market in the market, in the next three to five years, I think about There will be 70%~80% of factories know this thing, the market share will probably occupy about 20%, I think this is a more conservative estimate.