Color temperature tunable white-light light-emitting diode clusters with high color rendering index.

A model for LED spectra at different drive currents is established. The simulation program of color rendering of a white-light LED cluster is developed according to the principle of additive color mixtures. The program can predict not only the spectral power distribution, chromaticity coordinates, correlated color temperature (CCT), and color rendering index (CRI), but also the drive currents of LEDs, luminous flux, input power, and luminous efficacy of white-light LED clusters. Three types of CCT tunable white-light LED clusters [warm-white/red/green/blue (WW/R/G/B), neutral-white (NW)/R/G/B, and cool-white/R/amber/G clusters] with high CRI are found by simulation analysis and realized in our laboratory. The experimental results show that the WW/R/G/B cluster can realize CCT tunable white light with high CRIs (above 90) but lower luminous efficacies (below 65 lm/W), and that the NW/R/G/B cluster can realize CCT tunable white light with high CRIs (above 86), as well as high luminous efficacies (above 64 lm/W).