Publications

Solid-state lighting : lamp targets and implications for the semiconductor chip

Tsao, Jeffrey Y.; Tsao, Jeffrey Y.

A quiet revolution is underway. Over the next 5-10 years inorganic-semiconductor-based solid-state lighting technology is expected to outperform first incandescent, and then fluorescent and high-intensity-discharge, lighting. Along the way, many decision points and technical challenges will be faced. To help understand these challenges, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association recently updated the U.S. Solid-State Lighting Roadmap. In the first half of this paper, we present an overview of the high-level targets of the inorganic-semiconductor part of that update. In the second half of this paper, we discuss some implications of those high-level targets on the GaN-based semiconductor chips that will be the 'engine' for solid-state lighting.