Comparison: Edixeon Federal vs. Luxeon Rebel vs. Cree XP-E LEDs

Dec 2, 2008

Edison Opto have launched a new series of super compact high brightness LEDs: Edixeon Federal. Brief glance at the specs and pictures makes it obvious: Luxeon Rebel now have one more competitor. 

Edixeon Federal and Luxeon Rebel LEDs. Can you tell the difference?

Edixeon Federal and Luxeon Rebel not only look similar. Compare the dimensions: 3x4.5mm vs. 3.17x4.67mm respectively.

Electrical and thermal pads are almost identical as well. This makes Edixeon Federal and Luxeon Rebel inter compatible and eliminates the need of development of two different PCB layouts.

Edison Opto clearly targets those companies which develop products based on Luxeon Rebel. It will be possible if the pricing and distribution model is right. Plus Federal is available in UV and IR flavor, unlike Rebel and XP-E. To make comparison easier, we have compiled a summary table with all major characteristics. Each product line has its advantages and weaknesses.

White LEDs

While Cool White and Neutral White performance is comparable for XP-E and Rebel, Federal offers 20-35% less lumen output. When it comes to Warm White, Cree XP-E offers 50% more light power than Federal and Rebel. XP-E is a clear winner in this category.

Aug. 5, 2009 update : Neutral White Luxeon Rebel (LXML-PWN1-0100, 4500K) is now available and offers 100 lm@350 mA /180 lm@700mA. Now we have parity between Luxeon Rebel and XP-E in Cool White and Neutral White sector.

Color LEDs

Color LEDs are available only from Lumileds and Edison Opto. At 350 mA red, green and blue offer comparable performance. At 700 mA Luxeon Rebel offers up to 30% more light. Amber, Cyan and Royal Blue Edixeon Federals are rated for operation at 350 mA only, which limits product design flexibility.

UV and IR LEDs

When it comes to UV and IR LEDs there is only one option: Edixeon Federal. In fact, there are just a few companies offering high power LEDs in UV and IR spectrum, especially in a very small package. The UV and IR versions offer decent performance. Unfortunately the driving current is limited to 350 mA.

	Notes	Edixeon Federal	Luxeon Rebel	Cree XP-E
Size, mm		3 x 4.5	3.17 x 4.61	3.45 x 3.45
Typical Forward Voltage, V	@350/700 mA		3.15/3.4	3.2/3.4
Viewing Angle (°)		120	140	115
Thermal Resistance, °C/W		10	10-12	9
Max. drive current, mA		350 or 700	700 or 1000	700
Reflow Solerable		Yes	Yes	Yes
Electrically Neutral Thermal Path		No, connected to anode	Yes	Yes
LED junction temperature, °C		150/125	150/135	150
Cool White, 5000~10000K	lm@350/700 mA	80/136	100/180	107/180
Neutral White, 3800~5000K	lm@350/700 mA	65/110	100/180 (updated)	100/170
Warm White, 2670~3800K	lm@350/700 mA	55/100	60/110	93.9/159
Red (620~645 nm)	lm@350/700 mA	40/65	40/85	n/a
Green (515~535 nm)	lm@350/700 mA	70/110	80/145	n/a
Blue (460~490 nm)	lm@350/700 mA	18/27	23.5/48	n/a
Dental Blue (450~470nm)	mW@350 mA	180	Part of blue bin	n/a
Royal Blue (440~460 nm)	mW@350/700 mA	200/-	275/525	n/a
Amber	lm@350/700 mA	40/-	30/65	n/a
Red-Orange	lm@350/700 mA	n/a	50/100	n/a
Cyan (490~520 nm)	lm@350/700 mA	30/-	60/110	n/a
UV (395~410nm)	mW@350 mA	160	n/a	n/a
IR Deep Red (650~670nm)	mW@350 mA	135	n/a	n/a
IR Cherry Red (730~750nm)	mW@350 mA	110	n/a	n/a

1. Detal Blue, Royal Blue, UV and IR LEDs are specified in radiometric power.

• Edixeon Federal Datasheet>
• Luxeon Rebel Datasheet>
• Cree XP-E Datasheet>

August 5, 2009 update. We are planning a new comparison. It will include recent Luxeon Rebel ES and ANSI series. For easier reference we will add efficacy column as well as pricing and availability. Stay tuned.

Tags: edixeon federal, luxeon rebel, cree xp-e, comparison, review, cree vs rebel