ROHM’s New RGB Chip LED for Automotive Interiors Minimizes Color Variations Due to Color Mixing

Santa Clara, CA and Kyoto, Japan, July 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ROHM Semiconductor today announced a new RGB chip LED (SMLVN6RGBFU) ideal for automotive interiors, such as function and status indicators in instrument clusters, CID (Center Information Displays) and accent lighting for footwells and door handles.

In recent years, more driver assistance functions (i.e., automatic speed control, vehicle distance/white line detection) have been introduced as vehicles become progressively electronic and sophisticated. As such, the demand for RGB chip LEDs capable of expressing a range of colors to indicate operational status in instrument panels and meter clusters is rising. In addition, there is an increasing need to create a comfortable and luxurious cabin space with decorative lighting using RGB chip LEDs.

In response, ROHM has developed an RGB chip LED that further minimizes color variation by precisely controlling the luminous characteristics of the RGB elements and improving color mixing through in-house device technology.

Generally, developing RGB chip LEDs that emit light at the specified color requires precise control of the wavelength and brightness of the mounted red, green, and blue (RGB) elements individually and methods to enhance color-mixing capability. ROHM has minimized element color variation over general products by utilizing a vertically integrated production system from the element fabrication stage – one of ROHM’s strengths. At the same time, original element color mixing control technology reduces color variations caused by color mixing that tends to occur in RGB chip LEDs, resulting in accurate color expression required in automotive interiors. ROHM also supports detailed color matching tailored to user specifications with the chromaticity simulation system.

In the future, ROHM will continue to contribute to improving in-vehicle comfort and safety by developing industry-leading products optimized for automotive lighting through a quality-first approach.

Chromaticity Simulation System

The SMLVN6RGBFU sets adjustment coefficients for each chromaticity rank while providing calibration support to bring the color closer to the desired target. This new RGB chip LED and high-accuracy chromaticity simulation allows precise color matching.