Color Quality of Hybrid LED Systems

In this paper we analyze the trade-off between color quality and luminous efficacy of hybrid LED systems. The color rendering index of white phosphor LED based light sources is limited to Ra = 80+ in the majority of current market applications. Color-mixed hybrid systems incorporating white phosphor LEDs and monochromatic red LEDs can significantly improve the color quality of the light sources. We present the dependence of major color quality metrics (CIE Ra, CQS, and color fidelity and color gamut index of the IES TM-30-15) as a function of the luminous efficacy of radiation calculated for color tuned hybrid LED systems. Improved color quality and color tunability make hybrid LED systems more competitive in the market as luminous efficacy of light emitting diodes is increasing further.