Cypress's EZ-Color™ HBLED Controller Family Enables Fast Design of WAC Lighting's New Energy

Sept. 29, 2009 - PRLog -- Cypress Semiconductor Corp.  today announced that WAC Lighting, a leading manufacturer and designer of track, recessed, undercabinet, decorative and monorail lighting, has selected Cypress’s EZ-Color™ high-brightness LED (HBLED) controllers to control the LEDs in its new color-changing tape light system. Based on Cypress’s flexible PSoC® programmable system-on-chip, the EZ-Color solution enabled WAC Lighting designers to quickly introduce the energy-efficient INVISILED™ PALETTE system to the display and accent lighting markets.

INVISILED PALETTE uses the CY8CLED02 EZ-Color controller to manage red, green and blue diodes to create unique color-changing capabilities. With EZ-Color’s patent-pending PrISM™ (Precise Illumination Signal Modulation) technology, the color changes are programmed in a constant, smooth transition with adjustable speed among the three colored diodes and can be stopped at any point for a custom color effect. The PrISM modulation technology also significantly reduces low-frequency flicker and radiated electro-magnetic interference (EMI)—common problems in LED lighting designs.

"The Cypress EZ-Color solution provided us the flexibility and ease-of-use of the PSOC architecture while integrating the color mixing algorithms we required for our INVISILED PALETTE system,” said Shelley Wang, President of WAC Lighting and the 2009 recipient of the Residential Lighting Industry Leadership Award. "The smooth color-changing effects of the EZ-Color solution help PALETTE stand out from the competition.”

“WAC Lighting’s innovative LED lighting systems are a great showcase for Cypress’s EZ-Color family,” said Curtis Davis, vice president of Cypress’s PowerPSoC Division. “The PALETTE system shows how our EZ-Color solution streamlines design with HBLEDs while also bringing smart lighting effects to the market.”

About WAC Lighting's INVISILED Tape Systems
Ideal for both new construction and retrofit projects, INVISILED Tape provides flexible, easy-to-install accent lighting solutions for a broad range of layouts and applications including miniature coves, architectural accents, home theaters, entertainment rooms, under counters and bars, toe kick spaces, display windows, trade show booths, recreational vehicles, and wine racks.

The energy efficient LED tape delivers a crisp, quality light while using only 1.5 watts per-foot. Flexible and easy to install, INVISILED offers an extremely low profile and is virtually invisible with a 1/8th of an inch thickness and 7/16th of an inch width.  It allows for applications in extremely narrow coves. Long life LEDs (light emitting diodes) perform up to 50,000 hours and are spaced evenly one-inch apart.  Each self adhesive INVISILED strip is backed with a 3M adhesive or screw based mounting clips for easy installation and ideal for customizing lighting designs to meet the exact specifications of each project. LED tape is available in one-foot and five-foot sections that are field cut-able every six inches or may also be cut to length at the end of a run. INVISILED is crafted in a silicon casing for long-lasting durability but still flexible enough to negotiate curves effortlessly.

In addition to the INVISILED PALETTE, WAC offers INVISILED AURA, which features color changing capabilities with chips that have three individually colored diodes.  AURA offers a color range from Amber to 5100k white, enabling you to change the aura of your room from “Daylight to Sunset” with the touch of a button.  The color temperature manually transitions in ten steps and can be stopped at any point during the transition for a custom color effect.

About WAC Lighting
WAC Lighting has developed a stellar reputation for high quality decorative and task lighting lines backed by an extraordinary level of service, an unprecedented shipping record, and a Five-Year Product Warranty.

To reflect the firm's energy efficiency commitments, corporate social responsibility and community involvement, WAC Lighting is promoting its brand standard of “Responsible Lighting.” Helping to lead the industry’s sustainability charge, the firm has contributed to social progress with responsible manufacturing practices and energy efficiency technology.  The firm employs precision fabrication, stringent sourcing, water recycling, lead-free and zero-landfill capabilities in our wholly owned, clean ISO 9001-certified manufacturing campus.  New sustainable CFL and LED lighting products have been added to the extensive line with the most energy efficient technology available. As progress is measured in quality of life, WAC Lighting strives to advance employee empowerment, community involvement with major global and local foundations, and diversity in the workplace. Visit http://www.waclighting.com for more information.

About Cypress’s Intelligent Lighting Solutions
LED lighting design requires a complex set of calculations with custom firmware to deliver consistent color. The two biggest problems that LED lighting engineers face are having to account for differing LED performance specifications based on manufacturing bins and the LEDs’ degradation (such as output flux, wavelength etc.) over different temperatures. With PSoC Designer, designers simply select a color from a gamut presented on-screen. Cypress offers temperature or optical feedback algorithms that are automatically applied to the selected design and programmed into a Cypress controller. This can save anywhere from weeks to months of design time for a complex design.

Cypress’s PowerPSoC® family is the industry’s first single-chip solution for both controlling and driving high-power LEDs. The family integrates four constant-current regulators and four 32V MOSFETs with Cypress’s PSoC® programmable system-on-chip, which includes programmable analog and digital blocks, a microcontroller, and memory. For more information on the PowerPSoC and EZ-Color families, visit http://www.cypress.com/go/powerpsoc.

About Cypress
Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions that provide customers with rapid time-to-market and exceptional system value. Cypress offerings include the PSoC® programmable system-on-chip, USB controllers, general-purpose programmable clocks and memories. Cypress also offers wired and wireless connectivity technologies ranging from its CyFi™ Low-Power RF solution, to West Bridge® and EZ-USB® FX2LP controllers that enhance connectivity and performance in multimedia handsets. Cypress serves numerous markets including consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, and industrial. Cypress trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol CY. Visit Cypress online at http://www.cypress.com.