Cree just brought another record-setting LED to market with its freshly announced XLamp® XM LED. The single-chip LED module cranked out 160 lumens per watt of power, setting new efficacy (the ratio of luminous flux measured in lumens to power) marks for a production LED. You may recall Cree recently broke the 200 lumens mark but that was in a lab setting on an LED chipset not yet in their production line.

“This new platform continues Cree’s well-established record of turning R&D innovations into products,” noted Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. “We continue to set the pace for LED performance, establishing new benchmarks that make you wonder why anyone would consider last-century’s energy-wasting technology.”

The 160 lumen mark was met on a cool white XM LED driven at just 350mA. The new platform has a larger footprint than the XP LEDs and is able to provide more output at higher drive currents, delivering 750 lumens at 2 amps, which is equivalent to the light output of a 60 W incandescent light bulb at less than 7 watts.

Looking at what we have currently in the market, the typical PAR 38 lamp uses five XR series LEDs to push 21 watts and with the new XM’s, the same PAR38 lamp will be able to push 21 watts while using only three Cree XM LEDS and delivering 2,310 lumens! This has a huge upside for the aquatic industry as less LEDs are required to provide adequate light for your tank while continuing to decrease the power consumption. We expect some companies to begin prototyping with these larger, more powerful LEDs soon after they are released and look forward to seeing the results. Cree expects these LEDs to be commercially available sometime this fall.

Cree Announces Revolutionary New LED Platform Delivering 160 Lumens per Watt

XLamp® XM LEDs Are Most Efficient Lighting-Class LEDs in the Industry

DURHAM, N.C., April 12, 2010 — Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announces a breakthrough new lighting-class LED platform, the XLamp® XM LED. This new single chip LED delivers record-breaking efficacy of 160 lumens per watt at 350 mA. The LED also delivers 750 lumens at 2 A, which is equivalent to the light output of a 60 W incandescent light bulb at less than 7 watts.

“This new platform continues Cree’s well-established record of turning R&D innovations into products,” said Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. “We continue to set the pace for LED performance, establishing new benchmarks that make you wonder why anyone would consider last-century’s energy-wasting technology.”

A cool white XM LED driven at 350 mA can produce 160 lumens at 160 lumens per watt. The new platform has a larger footprint than Cree’s XP family and also offers the unique combination of very high efficacy at very high drive currents. At 2 A, an XM LED produces 750 lumens at 110 lumens per watt. The thermal resistance of the XM platform is 2 degrees C per watt— an industry-leading technology breakthrough and a 350 percent improvement over Cree’s flagship XLamp XP-E LED.

Samples of the XLamp XM LEDs are available for order with standard lead times and commercial availability is targeted for Fall 2010.