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16 SMT Magazine • February 2016 by ravi M. bhatkal, Ph.D. AlpHA ASSEMblY SoluTioNS The LED revolution is on. Now more than 50 years in the making, LED technology en- ables the digitization of light. This analog-to- digital transformation of light sources, from traditional light sources such as incandescent, fluorescent and HID, to LED, enables a whole new range of applications and markets, from displays, to automotive and general lighting, and emerging markets such as indoor vertical farming and horticulture, Internet of Things (IoT) and visible light communications. Our ability to rapidly engineer applications-specific new product designs, coupled with appropriate LED light sources and driver and control elec - tronics, is resulting in rapid adoption of this platform. The LED general lighting segment, in par- ticular, is growing at the fastest rate, with unit volumes of LED retrofit lamps, luminaires and tubes forecast to grow by 50% year-on-year 2016. This is driven by rapid technological ad- vances, simultaneous cost reductions and scale of manufacturing in LED package technologies as well as systems integration technologies. The key issues that need to be addressed by the LED lighting supply chain include: • Efficiency, brightness and light quality improvement (lumens per watt) – Higher efficiency of electrical power to light and lumen output per package for reduced energy consumption – High heat dissipation – Good light extraction and directionality • Reliability and lifetime improvement (lumen maintenance over life) – Reliability of the package and the system determines their lifetime and lowers maintenance costs – Vibration and high-temperature thermal cycling performance • Cost/lumen over the lifetime ($/lumen and lumens/$) – Increased efficiency and brightness, and increased reliability and lifetime reduce the cost per lumen over life • New form factors – Greater integration and design freedom High-Reliability Interconnects for High-Power LED Assembly Featu re