Japan's Fujifilm Corp. plans to enter the market for LED lighting materials with a new kind of light diffusing film which is thinner and offers higher illumination intensity than products now available.
The light diffusing film acts to spread out the light from the LED bulbs so they are not so bright. These diffusers are now typically made from acrylic resin materials which are milky in color and around 2mm thick. The thickness means they are hard to bend, and the milky color means that some of the light is wasted.
Fujifilm's new light diffusing film is made by coating a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin sheet with an orderly array of micrograins of a light-dispersing material. The film is only 0.3mm thick so it is lighter and easier to bend and shape, plus it has around 30 per cent higher illumination intensity, which translates into a significant improvement in the energy efficiency of the overall LED lighting system.
Fujifilm will begin manufacturing prototypes this summer for distribution to LED lighting makers, homebuilders and contractors.