http://www.nichia.co.jp/lamp-e.htm
In addition, they sell blue-green LEDs with part numbers beginning with NSPE.
They are also selling ultraviolet LEDs (NSHU-550E and NSHU-590E). Production may still be limited. Prices are high - I keep hearing around $30. To get these, call their sales offices. They may be reluctant to sell them to just anyone because of the possible risk of eye damage. The small total light output of these may let the pupils of your eyes expand, exposing the outer region of the lens of the eye which is more UV-transparant than the center of the eye's lens. Whatever the reason is, they believe there is significant risk of eye damage.
Nichia has recently announced that they are producing violet laser diodes. You will want to look at their violet laser diode page. Expect availability to be low and prices to be high until production capacity meets the demands of the next generation of laser disc technology.
Contact info for the world, including the Detroit and San Jose sales offices in the USA:
http://www.nichia.com/contact.shtml
Prices for blue, blue-green, green, or white LED lamps, as a function of quantity of each part number, last time I checked in 1999:
1-9 pieces - $8
10-49 pieces - $6
50-99 pieces - $4
100-500 pieces - $2.80
Shipping - $8.25, no PO boxes
Payment - MC, VISA, money order only
There are supposedly no distributors other than Nichia sales offices and they supposedly only sell to end users and OEMs, but I see LEDs that I believe are Nichia ones turning up at other places to buy them.
Beware that Nichia LEDs available from surplus electronics outfits may not be as bright as those currently available from Nichia's sales offices. Nichia has been improving their LEDs and doing so without changing the part numbers. Nichia LEDs from surplus electronics places may have flaws, such as in beam pattern or color consistency.
Places to get Nichia and similar LEDs:
Jameco (http://www.jameco.com/)
sells two white apparantly Nichia models:
Catalog no. 142885, apparantly the NSPW-310AS (3 mm. "T1").
Catalog no. 142893, apparantly the NSPW-510S (5 mm. "T1-3/4").
Both are 45 degree beam devices, with beam brightness of 600 mcd according to Jameco and typically 900/1100 mcd (for the 3 and 5 mm. models respectively) according to Nichia.
All Electronics (http://www.allcorp.com) , (1-800-826-5432, 818-904-0524) now sells a white LED whose description matches that of the Nichia NSPW-510S (1100 mcd, 45 degree beam). The catalog number is LED-48, and the price listed in their #398 summer 1998 catalog is $4.75, 10 for $42.50.
All Electronics now has the LED-58, a 45 degree 5 mm. blue model that appears to be Nichia's NSPB-520S. Price is $3.75, ten for $30. They also sell the LED-57, a green version at the same price. A fan of this site reports getting an apparantly Nichia (NSPG-520S) green one, but ones I received appear to be made by Toyoda Gosei.
Hosfelt Electronics (http://www.hosfelt.com) , (1-800-524-6464, 740-264-6464) sells the following LEDs:
25-377 - Nichia green 5 mm. lamp, usually of premium efficiency. I have noticed wild variations in beam angle as they restock from their suppliers, anywhere from 15 to 45 degrees. I have received NSPG-500S and NSPG-520S types using this catalog number.
25-376 - Nichia blue-green apparantly NSPE500S, 7000 mcd 15 degrees.
25-365 - 5 mm. ultrabright blue. According to my e-mail contacts, beam angle varies as Hosfelt gets new stock from their suppliers. The 29.5 degree number in some of their catalogs is a typo - I believe coming from the "two-theta-half" symbol. Typical voltage drop 3.4 volts at 20 mA.
25-363 - 5 mm white
25-352 - 3 mm white
25-367 - 10 mm white, looks non-Nichia to me. The guts looked like Toyoda
Gosei to me when I got a couple.
Hosfelt's web site may not show all available items.
UPDATE 7/8/2000 BG Micro, http://www.bgmicro.com is selling 3000 mcd blue, 15 degree (Catalog No. LED 1051, Nichia NSPB500S), 10,000 mcd green, (LED 1050, Nichia NSPG500S) and 5600 mcd white, (LED 1044, Nichia NSPW500BS) and 20800 mcd, narrow beam blue-green (LED 1052, Nichia NSPE590S) LEDs. These LED lamps are now tested and confirmed as Nichia ones made in the second half of 1999 or more recently. Prices are good - $2.95! Shipping to USA residences is $6.50.
Chicago Miniature has some white LED lamps that appear to be Nichia ones
made in 1998. These are available from Digi-Key (800-DIGIKEY or
http://www.digikey.com.
UPDATE 9/11/2000 - A regular fan of this site tells me this is now changed
and this Chicago Miniature part now appears to probably be from the new
Korean LED manufacturer ISP and definitely not Nichia.
Prices according to the Q003 summer 2000 catalog were $3.00.
CMD333UWC, Digi-Key CMD333UWC-ND, white, 2.3 candela, 20 degree beam
CMD204UWC, Digi-Key CMD204UWC-ND, white, 1 candela, 20 degree beam
(Candela figures are according to Chicago Miniature)
Hewlett Packard is now in this game. Look shortly after the table of contents of my Bright LED Page for good links.
Radio Shack now sells the Nichia NSPB500S blue LED as a special order item
with a catalog number of 900-8005 and a price of $4.29. There is no
minimum order but there is a shipping/handling charge of $2.50.
These seem to be slightly below average Nichia ones of late 1999 or early 2000
manufacture, but still brighter than pre-1999 ones. The 2000 "Commercial
Catalog" is incorrect in describing these as 450 nm blue LEDs - they are
470 nm ones. Any Radio Shack quotes of shipping being $2 are out of date.
Radio Shack stores are starting to stock the white 276-320 as of the end of July 2000. These look less than prime and are supposedly made in China but the guts appear to be Nichia. I tested one and the beam seems about 60 degrees (package says 100) with a blue ring in the beam. The rated beam candela is 1.1. Luminous efficacy is only slightly below average of Nichia whites manufactured in late 1999 or early 2000, and the color was a bit more blue than average.
Jade Mountain (http://www.jademountain.com) sells energy efficient lighting stuff including one of Nichia's white LEDs and lighting products using that LED. Beware of outrageous claims of energy efficiency and light output - this LED is only about as efficient as better incandescent lamps at best. In 1999 Nichia has improved their white LEDs to 15 lumens per watt from the 10-11 of 1998 which is an improvement over the 7.5-8 lumens/watt of around 1997 or so.
As of summer 2000 Nichia had not improved much on that 15 lumens/watt figure. Jade Mountain's catalog number for this LED is DC5206 and the price was $3.50 each plus shipping as of 9/30/2000.
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