Intematix and LED Phosphors
Table of contents
Sir Humphrey Davy of England invented the first electric carbon arc lamp in 1801, and over 200 years later this technology seems long overdue for a disruptive replacement. The light-emitting diode (LED) stands to be the choice alternative to traditional lighting and according to a 2012 article by LEDs Magazine, the US Department of Energy has estimated that LEDs will represent 36 percent of lumen-hour sales on the general illumination market by 2020, and 74 percent by 2030. One company that stands to benefit from this trend in Intematix.
About Intematix
Founded in 2000, Fremont California based Intematix has raised over $36 million so far from the likes of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Sumitomo Corporation, Samsung Capital, and Crosslink Capital. The CEO of Intematix, Mark Swoboda, used to serve as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bridgelux, Inc until 2010. Bridgelux was a company we profiled before who sold their LED technology to Toshiba in 2013. Early in 2012, Intematix had filed a confidential S-1 with the SEC for a planned IPO but nothing has come of that yet.
Technology
A phosphor is a substance that exhibits the property of luminescence which is the emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat. Up to ninety-five percent of the light we see coming from an LED comes from the phosphor. Intemtix’s phosphor materials enable LEDs for general illumination to achieve better quality light and efficiency. The Intematix ChromaLit product offers up to 30 percent higher system efficacy than conventional LED lighting systems by operating at a lower temperature.
Intematix’s portfolio of phosphor products include aluminate, garnet, nitride and silicate families which emit green, yellow, red, and orange light. Intematix has a number of patent and pending patent applications specifically related to their ChromaLit remote phosphor products and materials and also has a large portfolio of patents and patent applications on the proprietary phosphor materials used in their ChromaLit products. According to an article by GreenTechMedia, the Company was generating revenue in the “tens of millions” as of 2010. While the Company has announced their intention to IPO in the past but not yet taken the finals steps towards doing so, their strong backing and unique position in the phosphor space makes them an interesting company to watch going forward.
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