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TIR Systems Ltd., recently acquired by Philips Lighting, was founded in 1982 to commercialize a new technology founded on the principle of total internal reflection (TIR), and soon evolved into a highly experienced specialty lighting manufacturer. In 2000, the company began to focus on the emerging potential of LEDs as an energy-efficient and high-quality source of illumination.
Since that time, the company has developed an extensive research base and a leadership position in the innovative technology of Solid State Lighting (SSL). In 2005, the company introduced the Lexel® as the first, fully integrated light source based on LEDs designed specifically to produce high-quality white light essential for 21st century lighting applications.
In April 2006, the company restructured to focus on commercializing Lexel and building its OEM business. The company has signed collaborative agreements with 8 of the world’s most respected lighting manufacturers to develop and market Lexel-based products. In this way, it has established the foundations of a consortium to become a truly global supplier of the most innovative lighting technology available. TIR’s consortium partners include the following companies:
TIR’s strategy was to develop Lexel as a standard, universal platform able to be applied to a wide variety of lighting products and applications. Other LED-based technologies require lighting fixture manufacturers to change their product development and manufacturing models and to acquire an entirely new knowledge base. TIR, however, developed Lexel in such a way that manufacturers could easily integrate sophisticated LEDs and SSL technologies into their lighting fixtures without having to develop highly specialized SSL technical expertise and skills, or create costly new business infrastructures.
Lexel is ideally positioned to follow the typical adoption curve for new light sources and become highly successful in the marketplace. Most current alternative approaches to introducing SSL technology to the white light illumination market rely on the use of white LEDs for specialty applications in which low light output and relatively poor-quality light are acceptable. Except in certain niche applications, the products taking this approach typically do not perform as well as conventional light sources even when they possess a particular advantage, such as low lifetime cost or energy savings. While encompassing the benefits associated with LEDs, Lexel offers the additional benefits of color temperature variability, precise and flexible control, potential energy savings, longevity and, in general, a higher quality of illumination. For this reason, the Lexel is the best positioned SSL technology to follow the traditional adoption curve for light sources — which typically starts with key high-value commercial specification markets in which quality and performance are critical features.
As has occurred with the commercialization of previous new light sources, Lexel-based products will first find application in high-value markets. These include specialized display lighting in museums, galleries and retail establishments, in high-end residential applications, and as accent lighting for institutional, hospitality, commercial and architectural purposes. Once established, Lexel-based products will begin to supplant conventional lighting in general task and area lighting applications within these markets.
TIR believes its unique achievement in overcoming the critical technological hurdles required to enable SSL for general lighting has positioned Lexel in a leadership position. This powerful new technology is expected to become a standard for mainstream, white-light illumination, consistently displacing conventional light sources in much of the US$102 billion lighting market over the next two decades. The first Lexel-based products will be available from TIR’s consortium partners in 2007.
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