Cypress Semiconductor Corp. announced its intelligent lighting solutions - PSoC Designer(TM) 5.0 visual design software and the CY3265N-RGB evaluation kit support the Power LED series from Nichia Corporation.

Cypress has integrated the Power LED series specifications and temperature characteristics into the content library of PSoC Designer 5.0 software, which supports Cypress's EZ-Color(TM) LED controllers. With other LED controllers, engineers must input specific device binning and temperature performance data. Cypress has introduced the CY3265N-RGB evaluation kit enabling designers to begin simplified system design with XLamp LEDs.

Curt Davis, vice president of Cypress's PowerPSoC(TM) Business Unit said that they are pleased to bring the simplified design of their intelligent lighting solutions to Nichia's Power LEDs, Nichia has established a leading position in the LED market with innovative products that drive toward large scale adoption of LED lighting, and the savings in design time and costs offered by their solutions fit in well with this mission.

According to Hideki Oguro, deputy general manager of the LED Business Planning Department at Nichia, they expect customers to be delighted by the combination of their LEDs and Cypress's software, controller technology and additional lighting solutions. Enabling code-free design makes it easier than ever before to develop compelling and efficient lighting systems.

About Nichia
Nichia Corporation is recognized as the world leader in indium gallium nitride (InGaN) LED and laser diode technology. Nichia was established in Japan in 1956 to manufacture calcium phosphate used in the production of fluorescent lamp phosphors. Since that time, Nichia has grown in the field of manufacturing and sales of fine chemicals, particularly inorganic luminescent materials (phosphors), high brightness LEDs, and, recently, laser diodes. Nichia was formerly known as Nichia Chemical Industry Company, Limited. Nichia has operations throughout the world, including Nichia America Corporation, Detroit Sales Office, based in Wixom, Michigan.

About Cypress's Intelligent Lighting Solutions
LED lighting design requires a complex set of calculations with custom firmware to deliver consistent color. The two biggest problems that LED lighting engineers face are having to account for differing LED performance specifications based on manufacturing bins and the LEDs' degradation (such as output flux, wavelength etc.) over different temperatures. With PSoC Designer 5.0, designers simply select a color from a gamut presented on-screen. Pre-loaded manufacturers' bin specifications and choice of either temperature or optical feedback algorithms are automatically applied to the selected design and programmed into an EZ-Color controller. This can save anywhere from weeks to months of design time for a complex design.

EZ-Color LED controllers can support up to 16 LED strings, compared to four or five strings for competitive devices. The additional strings can mean a savings of dozens or even hundreds of controllers in very large designs, cutting design complexity, power consumption and board space. The EZ-Color LED controllers are powered by Cypress patent pending PrISM(TM) (Precise Illumination Signal Modulation) technology. The PrISM modulation technology significantly reduces low-frequency flicker and radiated electro-magnetic interference (EMI)--common problems in LED lighting designs. Designers also have the flexibility to add additional functionality to the EZ-Color controllers, including battery charging, motor control, thermal feedback, programmable control gear and other features.