Federal FM Multichip LED from Edison

Edison Opto recently annouced a new line of multichip LEDs based on their existing Federal lineup.


Many of you don't know that Edison Opto has been producing Lumileds and Cree compatible LEDs for some time now. The original Federals (now called the Federal FR) were direct replacements to the Luxeon Rebels. The newer Federal FM series are Cree replacements. While neither will match the output offered by Lumileds or Cree, they do offer alternative colors at a lower price point (in volume).

What is interesting about the new announcement is that the new multichip LEDs seem to be pad compatible with the Cree XM-L. This could be intersting seeing that there has yet to be a single die blue LED that has been able to keep up with the output of the XM-L, especially at higher currents. The new multichip LEDs from Edison Opto could help out there, as they are making quad die single color and white LEDs. A quad die royal blue LED at 700-1000mA could be a nice companion to an XM-L or Bridgelux LED.

Alternatively, the RGBW (Red, Green, Blue, White) option could be of interest to some looking to have more control over the color of the light. In such a small package, it could lead to some pretty interesting high density arrays. These share the same footprint as the XM-L and the single color FM LEDs, but the pad layout is modified to make each die addressable. Obviously, this won't make it a direct swap for an XM-L.

I'm sure these will be as difficult to get in the US as most of the other Edison Opto lineup, which is a shame for DIYers, but maybe a manufacturer will give these a long hard look.