SMBB (5.0 x 5.0 x 1.0)

SMBB Series

Tech-LED’s SMB-series LEDs – including the SMBB family – are high-power surface-mount LEDs engineered for maximum output and multi-chip integration. These LEDs come in larger ceramic packages (up to ~5 mm square) that can accommodate multiple LED dice and drive them at high currents. The SMBB family, for example, features a 5.2 mm × 5.0 mm SMD package capable of housing up to 5 or more LED chips. SMBB LEDs are built with enhanced thermal paths and are often paired with secondary optics (domes or lenses) to shape the emitted light. They serve as the workhorses for demanding applications requiring intense illumination or combined spectral output in a compact footprint.

Key Features of SMBB LEDs

• Multi-Chip High Power Design: The SMBB packages are designed to hold multiple LED chips, allowing a single LED package to deliver very high radiant flux or multiple wavelengths. In our standard SMBB, up to 5 chips (of 300–400 µm each) can be integrated and driven simultaneously. We even offer configurations with larger chips (1 mm class) where up to 3 can be used in one package. This multi-die capability means an SMBB LED can output several times the power of a single-die LED, or emit different colors (e.g. a 5-in-1 LED combining UV, blue, green, red, IR in one module). Such integration reduces the board footprint needed for multi-wavelength systems and ensures all chips are aligned to the same optical axis.
• Large Emission Area & Narrow Beam Lenses: To harness the light from multiple chips, SMBB packages often include integrated dome lenses or molded optical elements. We provide variants with narrow light distribution angles, like ±10° or ±20°, which collimate the combined output of all chips for long-distance projection. Wider angle options (±45° or ±60°) are available for applications like area illumination. The lenses are made of UV-stable materials (for UV versions) and designed to maximize the extraction of light from the larger emitting area. Despite housing many chips, the optical design ensures a relatively uniform beam. These packages essentially act as high-power LED lamps in SMD form, concentrating multi-chip output into one intense beam.
• Thermal Management and Reliability: High-power SMBB LEDs use low thermal resistance ceramic substrates and have large solder pad areas to sink heat into the PCB. This allows them to handle drive currents of hundreds of mA per chip. For example, an SMBB with 5 chips might be driven at 350 mA per chip (total current ~1.75 A) when properly cooled, delivering radiant flux in the hundreds of milliwatts or more. The robust packaging and high-temperature solder used internally maintain reliable connections even under thermal cycling. Our high-power SMD packages are tested for long-term operation at elevated junction temperatures. Furthermore, the design is often automotive-grade and waterproof (with proper overmolding) if needed, making SMBB suitable for outdoor and automotive high-intensity LED needs.
• Custom Wavelength Combinations: One of the strengths of Tech-LED’s multi-chip packages is the ability to mix LED wavelengths in one unit. With SMBB, you can specify combinations like UV + visible + IR in one LED. For instance, we’ve created LEDs that combine a 365 nm UV chip with a 660 nm red chip and an 850 nm IR chip in the same package, used for multi-modal imaging systems. Another example is a dual-wavelength IR LED (e.g. 810 nm and 940 nm together) to give a broader IR illumination spectrum for security cameras. These combinations are useful in biomedical devices (to provide two wavelengths for measuring different blood properties) and in machine vision (to alternately use different spectra to highlight various features). The chips can be independently addressable or wired in series, depending on customer requirements. Tech-LED’s expertise in packaging ensures even disparate chip materials (e.g. InGaN blue + GaAlAs IR) can be integrated and work reliably in tandem.
• Extreme Radiant Power: By concentrating many emitters in one, the SMBB family achieves luminous and radiant powers that would otherwise require multiple discrete LEDs. For example, a single SMBB IR LED can output over 250 mW at 850 nm – sufficient for long-range night vision or for flooding a room with IR for motion tracking. In the visible range, an SMBB with multiple dice can serve as a miniature “LED lamp,” providing significant lumens for illumination. These high-power LEDs often replace traditional incandescent or halogen lamps in certain niche spots, but with the advantages of precise wavelength selection and faster switching. Even in the SWIR range (~1300–1550 nm), where LED output is typically low, our multi-chip approach yields some of the highest powers available from LED sources. For instance, we offer 1550 nm high-power LED assemblies using SMBB technology, enabling applications like covert IR illumination and fiber-optic test equipment.

Applications of SMBB High-Power LEDs

The SMBB series is chosen whenever an application demands an intense or multi-spectrum light source in a compact package. One major use is in machine vision and industrial inspection systems. Here, high-power LEDs are used to brightly illuminate objects on fast production lines. Our SMBB LEDs (e.g. a 4-chip 850 nm IR LED with a narrow lens) can act as a strobing flash for high-speed cameras, freezing motion with powerful bursts of infrared light. Because they are surface-mount, these LEDs can be arrayed around camera lenses or on panels to create even illumination. Optical sorting machines in food processing utilize such IR and visible high-power LEDs to detect product defects or foreign objects; for example, 1450 nm SMBB LEDs help identify moisture or water content in produce, while 430–470 nm blue SMBB LEDs highlight blemishes on fruits or grains.