The project LEDLUM (Tiny Light Engine for Large Scale LED Lighting) will make major improvements to the volume, the weight, the lifetime and the size of the driver (electrical engine) of light emitting diodes (LED), that are used in the majority of solid state light (SSL) systems. These improvements will be made while keeping the power rating of the driver. To achieve this, the operating frequency of the driver will be increased by approximately a factor of 1,000.

The LEDLUM project aims to reach the following objectives:

• 90% size and weight reduction of the power electronics part in the LED driver,
• reduction of material cost by a factor of 2,
• reduction of energy losses by 45%, and
• increase of the expected lifetime from 5 to 10 years.

To achieve these objectives, the LEDLUM project expects the following innovations:

• New soft magnetic thin film inductors to increase magnetic on silicon energy efficiencies.
• Increase the capacitance of ultra high density PICS trench capacitors for HV applications under stable temperature and voltage linearity and state-of-the-art parasitic inductance and resistance.
• Use the most competitive power semiconductors in terms of energy efficiency and combine with drive and control circuitry for operation in the VHF range.
• Use silicon wafers with embedded capacitors as mechanical and electrical base for other electrical components, especially as magnetic-on-silicon based inductors and power transistors to achieve unprecedented power densities.
• Combine the above magnetic, capacitors and power semiconductors in a granular approach with novel ripple port circuit topologies to form a grid-tied AC-DC converter without electrolytic capacitors.

The LEDLUM consortium brings together a European team of recognized organizations and respected universities with scientific and technological backgrounds, making it well-positioned to achieve its objectives. All in all there are 7 partners from 4 different European countries including 2 SMEs, 3 industrial companies, and 2 universities.