5 Common Chips For Automotive LED Bulb, Which is The Best?

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have revolutionized the automotive lighting industry with their energy efficiency, long lifespan, and modern appearance. If you are wholesalers and suppliers who would like to buy a large-scale of LED headlamps from a manufacturer. One of the most important factors to consider when selecting LED headlight bulbs is the chip style.


Because there are different types of headlight bulb chips on the market, each of chips has its own characteristics and specification, thus leading different performance and price.


In this article, we have outlined a series of commonly used chip types in LED car lights to help you gain a clearer understanding of the pros and cons of different chip varieties.


Different Types of Chips Used in Automotive Lighting


1. COB (CHIP ON BOARD)

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[COB Light Source]


COB (Chip-on-Board) technology offers advantages such as soft light emission, simple circuit design, high cost-effectiveness, space-saving, and high packaging and output density.


Although it presents technical challenges related to chip integration brightness, color temperature harmony, and system integration, the improvement in light quality it brings is unparalleled by individual high-power devices currently available in the market. Therefore, COB technology holds significant development potential in the automotive light source market.


It is estimated that COB technology has captured around 40% of the LED light market. Its significant advantages in LED lighting make it the mainstream solution for directional illumination, potentially becoming a cornerstone in the packaging field in the future.


In the specific area of automotive lights, the COB approach is primarily suitable for auxiliary lighting, however, for car headlights, the performance of COB technology is generally moderate. COB is commonly employed by manufacturers in the production of low and medium-power car LED bulbs. What is worthy of recognition is that COB is still loved by most consumers because of its lower price!


Pros: Cost-effective


Cons: Low brightness, short lifespan, glare beam pattern.


2. CSP (CHIP SCALE PACKAGE)

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[CSP vs. COB]


The concept of CSP (chip scale package) comes from IC packaging, which refers to a package whose chip area is greater than 80% of the package area. The chip area exceeds 80% of the packaging area, with very little material waste; and the wafer-level CSP package (wafer level package) can eliminate the need for brackets, simplifying the material cost structure.

Therefore, this design has resulted in a more compact size for these products. CSP lamps exhibit superior focus compared to COB, ensuring that their light beam pattern meets international standards.


However, CSP chip also faces significant structural issues. Firstly, its assembly is challenging. The small size of CSP and the delicate solder pads require high-precision SMD machines, which may not be available to small-scale manufacturers.


Secondly, there are reliability concerns. CSP lacks a surrounding dam structure, resulting in a weak bond between the silicone, chip, and bracket. This makes it susceptible to damage from external forces and internal stresses, posing a risk of the fluorescent layer detachment.s


Pros: Higher intensity light source, cost-effectiveness, compact size, lower consumption


Cons: Insufficient heat dissipation may lead to concerns about potential glare issues when employing high-power LED headlight bulbs; high-precision SMD machines are required to complete complex installations.


3. Philips ZES Chip

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[PHILIPS ZES Chip]


The LUXEON Z ES LED, measuring 1.6mm x 2.0mm, stands out as a high-power lighting solution, offering unprecedented color consistency, luminance, flux density, and design adaptability. With an undomed design, this feature delivers unparalleled optical flexibility, allowing for precise control over beam angles。


Due to its simple inner structure (with no alloy wire between chip and holder) and a distinctive package process.Philips ZES boasts a lower defect rate compared to other chip type. Additionally, the ZES LED, with its compact size and high luminance, enables the creation of specialized LED arrays on headlight bulbs, mimicking the filament in halogen bulbs for a closely matched beam style.


Over the past year, the ZES LED has consistently been the preferred choice for newly developed LED headlight bulbs.


Pros: Focus lighting, distinct cutoff line


Cons: Expensive, moderate brightness


4. CREE

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CREE LEDs are like the Apple in the world of LEDs, or we like to think of it that way anyway. CREE beads are super high-performing, energy-efficient LEDs which provide a crisp, but low-glare output. 


Drawing on over 25 years of industry wisdom, Cree LED’s chips stand as a go-to choice for leading players across diverse markets, spanning everything from automotive to white goods, and applications from indicators to high-end lighting systems.


There are mainly two types of Cree Chip used in automotive lighting, which includes XHP5.0, and XPG3.5. Their characteristics are listed as follows:

[XHP5.0 CREE Bead]


A. XHP5.0 lamp bead: This is a single high-power lamp bead with a package size of 5.0*5.0mm and a power of up to 19W/unit. When used in automotive LED headlamp, one bulb will have tow beads on each side, and the power of each bulb should be about 25-27W.

[XHG3.5 CREE Bead]


B. XPG3.5 lamp bead: This is a single low-power lamp bead with a package size of 3.5*3.5mm and a maximum power of 6W/unit, and the maximum luminous efficiency can reach 146LM/W; When it is used in LED headlamp, you will see one lamp will have four beads, two on each side, and the power for each bulb can reach around 26W.


Pros: Thanks to a round sphere covering the chip, CREE often provides a focus brightness, drivers will enjoy an increased visibility especially in the high beam.


Cons: Cree is single high-power lamp bead, due to high cost and other factors, the power cannot be made too high, and the brightness is slightly lacking; Cree comes with a lens, it is difficult to match it with the headlight assembly when installed on the low beam.


5. Flip Chip

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[NAOEVO V05 LED BULB USE LARGE FLIP CHIP]


The development of Chip Scale Packaged (Flip Chip) LEDs is a lighting innovation with several advantages: no substrate, solderless cabling, small size and high optical density.


Chip Scale Package LEDs are light sources with all components integrated. This feature does not require soldered wire connections and reduces thermal resistance, the heat transfer path, and potential sources of damage.


Nowadays, many auto LED headlight bulbs have begun to use flip chips.


The flip chips are widely used because the light intensity of the chip is very concentrated. Even if the OEM  car headlight assembly does not have a lens, the effect of the low beam is obvious – there will be a well-defined cutoff on low beam and the high beam is very focused.


As for the cost, flip chips are cheaper and more consistent than Philips ZES chips.


Pros: Best suited for high-power LED headlight bulb, good light beam pattern, efficient heat dissipation.


Cons: Flip chip technology requires more complex packaging processes and often involves the use of underfill materials, adding to the overall complexity of manufacturing.


The Size of LED Chip: Do You Really Understand?


When you searching for the LED headlight bulbs on the Internet, you will see the numbers like 1860, 3570, 3055, 3575, 5530, 5585, 7545…, which manufacturers include in their chip descriptions on posters. Are you confused by all these messy numbers?


It seems that every product claims to be the best, the strongest, and the brightest…, So, are the merchants lying, and what do these numbers on the chips actually represent?


Is The Size of LED Chip Equal To The Brightness?

[Different Sizes of Chip]


LED chips are all identified by a four-digit number. This code is less complicated than it looks – it simply indicates the size of the the circuit board where the LED chip is located. For example, the dimensions on 1860 chip are 1.8mm × 6.0mm; and 3570 chip stands for 3.5mm × 7.0mm.


What is the truth? Does the specification of LED chips represent the brightness of car lights?


Generally speaking, some manufacturers will tell you: the chip with the larger number, the larger the size, the higher the power, and of course the brighter the brightness! So is this the truth? Of course NOT! Because the size refers to the entire circuit board.


For example, we install a 1mm × 1mm square ‘LED chip’ on the circuit board measuring 3.5mm × 7.0 mm. We can also call it a ‘3570 LED chip’ – even if it’s very dim. Its actual name is indeed 3570! By now, you should understand that looking at the specifications of the LED chip is completely unreliable!


So the truth is that the LED chip is the core factor that affects brightness! What we need to look at is the specification of the LED chip, rather than its circuit board.


When talking about the size of LED chip, you should know this important unit – MIL, such as 55mil chip, 80mil chip. The chip with the larger mil number means the chip area is larger, the power is greater, and the brightness is higher!


A good example is NAOEVO. They clearly mark the size of chip for each LED car bulb and are committed to allowing customers to have an in-depth understanding of each product.


One mil = A unit of length equal to one-thousandth of an inch. The most common sizes of LED chip are as follows:


1mil = 0.0254mm

43mil ≈ 1.1mm

45mil ≈ 1.15mm

55mil ≈ 1.4mm

75mil ≈ 1.9mm

80mil ≈ 2mm


Does The Same Chip Type Has The Same Power?


In the automotive lighting industry, 43mil, 45mil, 55mil, 75mil and 80mil are most common types of chip in LED headlight bulbs. Different chip sizes and quantities will result in different powers. For example:


1860 Chip Type Solution: 3*43mil, 3*55mil, etc,.

3570 Chip Type Solution: 3*55mil, 3*70mil, 3*80mil, 6*43mil, 6*45mil, 8*55mil, etc,.

4575 Chip Type Solution: 6*77mil, etc,.

5585 Chip Type Solution: 6*80mil, etc,.


Best High-Power Auto LED Headlight Bulbs


NAOEVO NL LED Headlight Bulb


Equipped with 4575 6pcs 70MIL large-size flip chip, NAOEVO NL LED bulbs are designed to deliver a high brightness of 180W 21600LM per set. These high quality flip chips also provide focus and uniform beam pattern so drivers can see farther and wider. 6500K provide more stable cool white lights, clearer lighting conditions for a safe driving experience, a great replacement for the original halogen bulb.


NAOEVO NL LED headlight bulbs are known for its durability. Thanks to its double copper tubes to transfer 30W of heat each time. NL LED headlight bulb ensures efficient heat dissipation. It also has an intelligent temperature control system to make the bulb more stable and durable.


The upgraded Canbus driver makes NL LED bulb fit for 98% of the vehicle’s computer system without error.


Click here to learn more about the product and pricing:


Conclusion

Different LED chip types come with unique advantages and limitations. Choosing the right one depends on the specific lighting application and desired performance. Achieving optimal results in automotive LED lighting necessitates careful consideration of the chip’s characteristics and effective heat management.