CSP LED Lighting Modules: A Revolution within the LED Industry?

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

“We estimated that CSP LED modules represented less than 1% of the LED module business in 2016”, says Pierrick Boulay, Market & Technology Analyst at Yole Développement (Yole). “However, with strong potential in multiple applications and the lighting industry getting experience with integrating such technology, we forecast a market share of nearly 6% by 2021,” Boulay added.

In the new CSP LED Lighting Module report, Yole and PISEO, both part of Yole Group of Company, looked at the values of CSP solution, from an integrator perspective. They use their expertise and their understanding of application requirements, LED packages architectures and long lasting system design capabilities to perform a comprehensive analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of CSP approach for different lighting applications.

CSP LEDs add value through power density offered from a small surface, confirm both partners. The first targeted application was smartphone flashes. As smartphones get thinner and add functions, so too must integrated components/modules. The small form factor and wide beam angle of CSP LEDs have also driven their use in TV backlighting units. Wide beam angles mean the pitch between LEDs can be larger, reducing the number of devices needed and in turn lowering backlight cost…

But CSP LEDs are also a means to develop new functions in lighting products and this will be the next growth driver for such LED device, detailed Yole and PISEO in their report. Some general lighting applications are likely to adopt these light sources to reduce the cost of the full system (lamp and/or luminaire). Their small size enables LED clusters, similar to COB LED modules but with more functionalities. CSP LED clusters promise tunable, white and HCL intended to promote a person’s well-being, mood and health, and others smart lighting functions. At middle term, such device will also help the development of AFLS.

As an example, the leading company Samsung made several strategic technical choices including CSP manufacturing process to perform a LED device with a very competitive manufacturing cost: packaging and manufacturing process steps of the Samsung’s CSP LED device have been deeply analysed by System Plus Consulting, part of Yole Group of Companies (Source: Samsung LMA101A reverse costing report, System Plus Consulting, March 2017). Yole and PISEO experts propose you today an overview of the CSP LED lighting module, the related technology and the application requirements.

Chip-scale packages are new to the LED industry, but are the mainstay of the traditional semiconductor industry, where they improve reliability, thermal management and enable smaller packages. “CSP LEDs can be less than a tenth of the size of high and middle power LEDs, increasing lumen density and simplifying integration into final products”, explains Dr Olivier Andrieu, R&D Project Director and System Architect at PISEO. ”This new architecture also provides a lower thermal resistance, reporting reliability aspects on PCB level and solder management, and widen viewing angles compared to other traditional packages,” he adds.

The CSP LED Lighting Module report also points out several challenges to overcome at the device manufacturing and module integration levels. These include color uniformity, chemical stability, given there is little to no sealing off from the external environment, and control of optical properties like the radiation pattern.

Yole and PISEO have been closely working together since PISEO’s creation. Yole’s analysts are daily supporting PISEO’s team in their numerous projects of development and innovative research projects, bringing a dedicated expertise focused on markets analysis and applications identification. Fully embedded within an innovation process, this collaboration has been strengthened over the last years: Yole and PISEO are growing together in the LEDs & related systems industry to build innovative solutions based on disruptive technologies. And technology & market reports publication point out the added-value of this powerful combination.

The CSP LED Lighting Module report is a comprehensive study of CSP LED devices, with analyses including chip and package technology, manufacturing processes, related costs/prices, industry and market trends. It details deeply analyses CSP LED lighting module design, with a strong focus on optical design, thermal and electrical management and precautions for CSP LED integration.