Bridgelux, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of LED lighting technologies and solutions, today announced the commercial availability of the new Bridgelux Micro SM4 surface mountable LED component that will decrease the cost and improve the performance of lighting in commercial buildings.

The Bridgelux Micro SM4, a multiple die emitter, dramatically reduces the component count, cost, complexity and size of diffuse or directional lamps, the popular ceiling fixtures seen in modern office buildings and retail establishments. The new product leverages design and manufacturing advances at Bridgelux and expands the company's broad portfolio of solid-state lighting solutions.

The Micro SM4 is a light source, analogous to the heated gases or hot wires found in fluorescent bulbs and incandescent lights. The difference comes in energy consumption, longevity and control. The Micro SM4 light source consumes only 4.2 watts, but it emits as much light as a 20-40 watt incandescent or 20-35 watt halogen B10-style bulb and will last thousands of hours longer. The Micro SM4 component also delivers high flux density in a smaller footprint, giving designers, architects and lamp manufacturers greater freedom when it comes to creating and illuminating interior spaces.

"We've developed products with Bridgelux LED arrays over the last couple of years," said Raimund Koehler, general manager at MeLiTec.

"So we were very interested when Bridgelux told us about their new Micro SM4 light source. The smaller form factor delivering high quality light and excellent color over angle performance gave us the edge for our new directional lamp applications. The continuing innovation that we see from Bridgelux is driving LED light source technology in the directions MeLiTec needs to cost-effectively develop the next generation of high quality, energy efficient retrofit lamps required for market conversion to solid state lighting."

The new smaller footprint, surface mountable emitter requires fewer components for applications typically using discrete LEDs. The 20-40 watt replacement market segment constitutes a $1 billion opportunity in the $100 billion market for lighting.

Bridgelux is a leading developer and manufacturer of technologies and solutions transforming the $40 billion global lighting industry into a $100 billion market opportunity. Based in Livermore, California, Bridgelux is a pioneer in solid state lighting (SSL), expanding the market for light emitting diode (LED) technologies by driving down the cost of LED lighting systems.

Bridgelux's patented light source technology replaces traditional technologies (such as incandescent, halogen, fluorescent and high intensity discharge lighting) with integrated, solid state lighting solutions that enable lamp and luminaire manufacturers to provide high performance and energy efficient white light for the rapidly growing interior and exterior lighting markets, including street lights, commercial lighting and consumer applications.