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OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, a world leader in LED lighting technology, was presented with Electronic Products’ 2007 Product of the Year Award for its OSTAR Lighting, a 1000-lumen High Brightness LED for general lighting applications in a ceremony held at the company’s North American headquarters in Santa Clara.

Electronic Products is one of the top publications serving the electronics original equipment market and is read by over 120,000 design and development engineers every month. 2008 marks the 32nd annual presentation of its Product of the Year Awards.

“Each year, the editors of Electronic Products select what they feel are among the most significant of the thousands of new products introduced during the year,” said Murray Slovick, Editorial Director, Electronics Group, Hearst Business Media. “It is our way of recognizing excellence in product development.”

The award was presented to OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Inc.’s President & CEO, Tom Shottes, by Electronic Products’ Optoelectronics editor, Richard Comerford.

“Before the introduction of the 1000-lumen OSTAR Lighting, use of LEDs for general-purpose lighting was challenging,” noted Comerford. “Single-LED light sources weren’t bright enough for general-purpose lighting, while designs that used multiple discreet LEDs were too large and lacked the homogenous appearance of a single light source”.

“OSRAM’s OSTAR Lighting LE UW E3B changed all that by delivering 1,000 lumens – the equivalent of a 100-W light bulb – in a single, compact package”. OSRAM accomplished this by creating a chip array of up to six light-emitting diodes that perform as a single point source. The design also simplifies the drive electronics, thermal management, and optical system needs.

“Electronic Products is pleased to recognize OSRAM Opto Semiconductors for providing the industry a truly innovative LED light source that is not only a practical solution for general-purpose lighting, but one that is also energy efficient and economical over its extremely long life time.”

“We are extremely pleased to accept this award,” said Shottes. “OSRAM has always been on the cutting edge of semiconductor materials and packaging technology, and this award represents recognition of our LED industry leadership by the design and engineering community.

“The 6500K color temperature of the 1000-lumen OSTAR is ideal for applications such as street lights and other outdoor area lighting because the number of LEDs required to meet performance specifications can now be designed into conventionally sized housings,” Shottes noted. “The combination of extremely high light output and single source appearance which OSTAR Lighting provides is a true enabler for general lighting applications including spot lights, portable lighting, and security lighting. These attributes also make it ideal for use in directional bulb retrofit products.”

The 2007 Product of the Year Awards are featured in the January 2008 issue of Electronic Products.