Taiwan’s No.1 LED chipmaker Epistar Inc. has begun shipping its high-voltage (HV) chips to General Electric (GE), Philips, Osram and IKEA.

HV LED shares much common process technology with AC LED, bearing several high-voltage micro dies on it as AC LED. The only exception is that it does not have a bridge circuit, which strings all these micro devices to add up their voltages to fit household 110-220 V AC power outlet. But users can turn a direct current (DC) HV LED into an AC LED by adding an external bridge to HV LED package.

HV chip is reportedly less expensive than alternating-current (AC) chip in high-power applications, so Epistar is estimated to increase the shipment of HV LED chips next year.

In addition Epistar, Formosa Epitaxy Inc. and Philips Lumiled Lighting Co. have ventured into the HV LED sector.

However, Epistar’s HV chip, producing 100 lumen per watt, reportedly tops competing products from other suppliers in terms of luminous efficacy. Epistar states that Epistar has applied for many patents to ensure that the chips can reach every market.