Specifications

Design-in guide Philips Fortimo LED Line High Voltage System 18
Binning
Philips has created high-quality LED light by ensuring correct mixing of the LED bins
within each LED Line. There is a limited need for binning of LED Lines in two bins
only.
N.B.
Fortimo LED Lines are labeled and packaged in two voltage bins. For LED Line 1ft
650 lm 3R HV1, LED Line 1ft 1100 lm 3R HV1 and LED Line 2ft 1100lm 1R HV1 are
divided into bins „A‟ and „C‟. In order to ensure optimum flux and color uniformity,
we advise against mixing two different bins in the same luminaire.
The Vf bin is clearly indicated on the label, as shown in the example below. All LED
Lines packaged in one box will be from the same bin.
Example label on LED Line indication bin A for example
Why address the issue of LED binning?
It is important to understand binning because it is very important in LED system
design. As in other semiconductor manufacturing processes, in the production of
LEDs the number of parameters of the epitaxy process is very large and the process
window is small (for example, the temperature must be controlled to within 0.5 °C
across the wafer at temperatures of ~800 °C). The fact that it is difficult to achieve
such a high degree of control means that the properties of the LEDs may vary
significantly within single production runs and even on the same wafer. To obtain
consistency for a given application, binning (= selection in bins) is mandatory. Binning
involves characterizing the LEDs on the basis of measurement and subsequently
categorizing them into several specific bins. To keep the cost per LED down, LED
manufacturers need to sell the full production distribution. At the same time they
cannot guarantee the availability of all bins at all times. There is a trade-off between
logistics and cost price on the one hand, and the application requirements on the
other. The advantage of this is that there will only be a limited need for LED Line
pairing by the OEM.