COB (Chip on Board) is a technology that directly packages multiple LED chips onto a substrate, offering advantages such as high efficacy, high reliability, and excellent thermal management.The current COB light source market features both international brands and leading domestic enterprises. Below are several representative major brands.
International Brands
Cree LED – Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Cree is a pioneer in LED technology, having broken through blue LED technology early on and launched the industry’s first lighting-class XLamp XR-E LED in 2006. Since launching COB products in 2013, Cree has rapidly gained market share in China through its established channel advantages and product competitiveness. Luminus – Founded in 2002 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Luminus is a technology innovation company. Starting with specialty lighting, Luminus once held up to 80% market share in professional lighting segments such as projectors, stage lighting, and medical applications. In 2013, it entered the general lighting market and pioneered its COB series products, quickly rising to become a first-tier brand through differentiated technology and precise market positioning. Bridgelux – Founded in 2002 in Silicon Valley, USA. In 2008, Bridgelux launched the world’s first commercially applied COB LED product, pioneering the commercialization of COB technology. Its Vero Series was the industry’s first COB product with solder-free connectivity, significantly streamlining luminaire production processes. Bridgelux has consistently been committed to advancing human-centric healthy lighting. Citizen Electronics – A subsidiary of the Citizen Watch Group of Japan. In 2011, it developed “COB Series Version 1” and has continued to iterate and upgrade since then. Citizen Electronics was once a dominant player in the early Chinese market and has long maintained a significant share in the high-end COB segment. In addition, international giants such as Lumileds, ams OSRAM, and Nichia also possess deep technical expertise and significant market influence in the COB field.
Chinese Brands
EVERCORE – Founded in Foshan in 2010. From its inception, Zhonghao aspired to “become China’s Citizen Electronics” and committed to building its own brand. In 2014, it mass-produced full-spectrum COB products; in 2018, it launched intelligent dual-color-temperature COB; and in 2020, it introduced full-gamut COB and the “Digital·Light·Health” concept. Today, it holds over 100 patents and copyrights both domestically and internationally. LEDTEEN – Founded in Guangzhou in 2010, LEDTEEN specializes in advanced optoelectronic device packaging ODM services, having manufactured over 100,000 types of optoelectronic devices for more than 100 brand customers. TYF Optoelectronics – Founded in Shenzhen in 2009, TYF is a national high-tech enterprise integrating COB technology development, high-power SMD packaging, and LED lighting solutions. NATIONSTAR – Founded in 1969, NATIONSTAR is one of China’s earliest high-tech enterprises to manufacture LED devices, with continuous efforts in Mini/Micro COB technology.
From international brands like Citizen and Cree pioneering the market to domestic brands like EVERCORE and LEDTEEN rising to prominence, the COB light source industry is rapidly evolving toward higher efficiency, intelligence, and integration.
