Chung Hoon Lee, CEO of world’s leading LED manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor (http://www.seoulsemicon.com) announces that Wicop, following its massive success in LCD backlighting applications, is experiencing rapid adoption in the global lighting market after the September 2015 release thanks to its ultra compact size and outstanding efficiency.

In 2012 Seoul Semiconductor was the first company in the world to successfully commercialized Wicop which radically changed the LED manufacturing process. The chip is bonded directly to the PCB with IC and other components. There are no lead frames, bonding wires, and other package material, thus it is truly “package free”. Wicop has also revolutionized LED manufacturing where die bonding, wire bonding, dispensing, trim forming, and other packaging processes are no longer needed.

Wicop2 module for indoor lighting applications. (All photos courtesy of Seoul Semiconductor)

Compared to a widely used 3030 LED package (3.0mm x 3.0mm in size) , Wicop2 takes up only a quarter of the area used by 3030 packages with twice the brightness. Wicop2 also has 30+% less thermal resistance compared to conventional LED’s due to the removal of previously essential lead frames and substrates This simplified approach has high reliability by design, and lowers manufacturing costs substantially. A 12W LED lighting application may need eight 3030 LED packages, whereas for the same performance Wicop2 uses 50% (four Wicop2 packages) less the area, the total system cost savings is tremendous.

The outstanding value proposition of WICOP2 has been designed in many lighting applications at over 100 LED lighting system manufacturers, some of which are moving into mass production. First System, a Japanese lighting company, has designed their outdoor LED lighting fixtures around WICOP2, and is planning to release the product line immediately. Leading Chinese LED module manufacturer LITI also integrated Wicop2 into the mass-production of its 5 different flood light LED modules for high luminous efficiency and reliability.

Wicop2 module for outdoor lighting applications.

Wicop2’s superb optical density and space efficiency has also caught the attention of European and American indoor and decorative lighting companies. Wicop2 is being evaluated at the leading indoor lighting company TCP. It will also be incorporated into wall washer products of European company Fiberli. Furthermore, over 50 companies in Europe and the U.S. have confirmed the use of Wicop2 and are looking to release prototypes within the year.

Mr. Andrew Kim, head of Lighting Sales at Seoul Semiconductor, states, “Numerous counterfeit products have been in the market since Wicop’s release in 2012, but none has gained any commercialization traction due to poor quality,” He also adds, “Seoul Semiconductor is tracking a few competitors for potential IP infringement and legal actions.” Mr. Kim goes on to say, “Seoul Semiconductor will continue to invest in technology and generate intellectual properties that are well respected. We will strive to expanding our leadership position in the global LED sector with innovative products such as WICOP2 ”

Wicop2 LEDs for flood light applications.