Toshiba Lighting and Technology Corp. plans to launch a LED bulb equipped with a GaN power device for its power supply circuit, according to a Nikkei Business report.
The halogen lamp-shaped LED bulb will be released this Friday. The GaN power device will enable the bulb to operate at a frequency of 700kHz, which is 10 times higher than the operating frequency of the Si power device used in an the last generation product. According to the report, the new LED lamp’s main power supply circuit area is only 40% of that found in the previous product.
The saved space has allowed the company to add a chip for phase-control dimming in the new bulb. Moreover, the new dimming technology of the lamps supports dimmers for both LED and incandescent bulbs. The dimming technology reduces flickering caused by power supply voltage fluctuations and waveform distortion. According to the report, the bulbs are capable of smoothly adjusting light intensity from 0% (extinction) to 100%.
Toshiba will be releasing two bulb models, 200 lm and 250 lm, respectively. The recommended retail price for both bulbs will be 7,500 Japanese Yen (US$ 62.2). The company aims to sell in total 60,000 units of the two bulb models.
The bulbs will be exhibited at Lighting Fair 2015, which runs from March 3 to 6, 2015 in Tokyo.