中功率LED為照明應用提供了更便宜的替代方案

　　在這十年之初，一個完整的產品和制造基礎設施被建立起來，以滿足電視機制造商對LED背光的需求。電視制造商受到消費者的巨大價格壓力，要求LED制造商推出廉價的背光解決方案。（見高新區的文章“LED背光液晶電視畫面質量的提高。”）來支持新的LED電視領域，LED制造商增加了一倍以上的制造能力和增加了一個類似的塑料包裝用于安裝背光LED的支持水平。

　　事實證明，LED電視生產商并不需要像預期的那樣大量生產廉價LED，從而導致重大的工業產能過剩。面對大量的產品，LED制造商將“中功率”塑料封裝LED推向照明制造商。這些公司辯稱，他們的中電套件提供給設計師的是一般照明所需的高端設備，而不是傳統照明所需的高端設備。

　　However， like with most electronics components， there was something of a trade-off between price and durability. At the high temperatures typically experienced by LEDs used for lighting， the very plastic packaging that reduced the cost of the device was also a source of degradation. This degradation could result in poor lumen maintenance， leading to shorter LED life and chromaticity shift. To counter the problems a major manufacturer is now introducing mid-power LEDs based on ceramic substrates.

　　This article provides an overview of the mid-power LED sector with examples of plastic- and ceramic-packaged devices from leading LED vendors.