News: LEDs
29 September 2022
TactoTek and ams OSRAM optimize RGB LED for in-mold structural electronics in car interior illumination
ams OSRAM GmbH of Premstätten, Austria and Munich, Germany and TactoTek of Oulu, Finland are co-operating to deliver thin, seamlessly integrated, three-dimensional illuminated structures for car interiors. The firms have developed a demonstrator with the new RGB side-looker LED OSIRE E5515 from ams OSRAM (designed specifically for in-mold processes) which, due to TactoTek’s In-Mold Structural Electronics (IMSE) technology, can be integrated into automotive interiors in a space-saving design.
Molded into a thin plastic trim part with TactoTek's IMSE technology, the ams OSRAM RGB side-looker LED OSIRE E5515 allows lightweight and thin applications designed for car interiors. This combination enables designers to build seamless designs by merging surface decoration, illumination and functionality into one smart surface. Driven with modern controllers, illuminating the surface from within, the LED from ams OSRAM sets the mood, informs, guides and adapts to the designer or user’s needs. What is claimed to be the broadest color gamut on the market allows design freedom without compromising color quality and performance.
Picture: A demonstrator with ams OSRAM’s new RGB side-looker LED OSIRE E5515 which, due to TactoTek's in-mold structural electronics (IMSE) technology, can be integrated into automotive interior in a space-saving design. (Image: ams OSRAM.)
The OSIRE E5515 is a three-color RGB side-emitter enabling light coupling into thin materials, such as lightguides. “The package design of ams OSRAM’s OSIRE E5515 enables ultra-compact designs and is optimized for the low height required for in-mold applications,” says Gerald Broneske, VP global product marketing Automotive at ams OSRAM. “This offers customers flexible design options for automotive ambient lighting applications while benefiting from the outstanding brightness performance of the automotive RGB sidelooker.”
The LED has a brightness of 1100mcd for red, 2600mcd for green and 500mcd for blue at an injection current of 20mA. Also, deep blue colors are available. The RGB LED offers flexibility in terms of driver selection and interconnection. The package provides six pins, so each color’s chip can be contacted to both its individual anode and cathode. This allows users to be flexible with the electronics architecture for the driver and choose between high-side and low-side drivers for the board design.
“Light is a key factor in creating compelling, brand-differentiating user experiences, especially in automotive interiors and exteriors. We trust that user interface functions and light will become an integral part of natural and plastic automotive surfaces without sacrificing sustainability,” says Perttu Korhonen, VP product marketing at TactoTek. “Incorporating OSIRE E5515 from ams OSRAM into our IMSE technology enables designing very low-height applications with reduced weight, specifically of interest to the automotive industry,” he adds. “Our strong collaboration with ams OSRAM enables us to drive innovation into making light a critical element in the automotive living space.”
The new product KRTB AELPS2.32 of the OSIRE E5515 family is specifically designed for in-mold processes. The LED has been validated by TactoTek for its IMSE technology and qualified for use in automotive applications (AEC-Q102) by ams OSRAM, opening up new illumination opportunities, it is reckoned.
