Progress and Perspectives of LED-Technology for Automotive Signal Lighting

Of all the light sources for automotive applications, only the LED increased its efficiency by a factor of more than 100 within the last quarter of a century. The use of new chip materials and new LED packages raised the emitted flux in the latest “TS-AllnGaP” process to more than two lumens per LED. Offering an extremely high service life, low power consumption, little mounting depth and quick response time the first LED application for signal lights was the Central High Mounted Stop Lamp (CHMSL).

In order to continue this success for other signal functions further technical problems have to be solved: Highly efficient secondary optics have to collect the light and to form it into an adequate beam pattern. - New methods of electrical connection are needed to enable LED's to follow the 3D-shape of the car.