Cree

Cree Manufacturer Skill

Company Overview

Cree, Inc. (now Wolfspeed for SiC/power and branded as Cree LED after the 2021 spin-off) is known for:

• High-Power LEDs: XLamp series, industry-standard for lighting applications
• Silicon Carbide (SiC): Power devices for EVs, industrial, and energy applications
• LED Components: CLV series, CLVBA series for general illumination

Note: Cree LED was acquired by SMART Global Holdings in 2021 and continues to operate as Cree LED. The Wolfspeed brand focuses on SiC power devices.

MPN Structure

Cree LED MPNs follow this general structure:

CLV Series (Standard LEDs)

CLV[SERIES][VARIANT]-[COLOR][BIN]
│   │       │         │     │
│   │       │         │     └── Bin code (brightness/color bin): A, B, C, etc.
│   │       │         └── Color code: FK=warm white, WK=cool white
│   │       └── Variant letter: A, B, etc.
│   └── Series number: 1, 2, 6, etc.
└── CLV = Cree LED Vertical series

CLVBA Series (Bin-Coded LEDs)

CLVBA-[COLOR][BIN]
│      │     │
│      │     └── Bin code: A, B, C (brightness bin within color)
│      └── Color family: FK=warm white, WK=cool white
└── CLVBA = Cree LED Vertical Bin-coded A series

Example Decoding

CLV1A-FKA
│  ││  │ │
│  ││  │ └── A = Brightness bin code
│  ││  └── FK = Warm white (typically 2700-3000K)
│  │└── A = Variant A
│  └── 1 = Series 1 (size/power category)
└── CLV = Cree LED Vertical

CLVBA-FKB
│     │ │
│     │ └── B = Brightness bin B (slightly different from A)
│     └── FK = Warm white color family
└── CLVBA = Cree LED Vertical Bin-coded A series

CLV6A-WKA
│  ││  │ │
│  ││  │ └── A = Brightness bin
│  ││  └── WK = Cool white (typically 5000-6500K)
│  │└── A = Variant A
│  └── 6 = Series 6 (larger/higher power)
└── CLV = Cree LED Vertical

Series Prefixes

Color Codes

Note: The current CreeHandler only implements CLV and CLVBA series. XLamp series (XP-E, XM-L, XHP) patterns are not yet registered.

Bin Codes

LEDs with the same series but different bin codes (e.g., CLVBA-FKA vs CLVBA-FKB) are considered interchangeable/replacements as they have the same color temperature and similar brightness.

Handler Implementation Notes

Package Code Extraction

// For CLVBA series, returns "SMD" (Surface Mount Device)
// CLVBA-FKA -> "SMD"
// CLVBA-WKB -> "SMD"

// For other CLV series, returns empty string
// CLV1A-FKA -> ""

Current Limitation: Package code extraction only handles CLVBA series. Other series return empty string.

Series Extraction

// For CLVBA series: returns everything except last character (bin code)
// CLVBA-FKA -> "CLVBA-FK"
// CLVBA-WKB -> "CLVBA-WK"

// For other CLV series: returns part before dash
// CLV1A-FKA -> "CLV1A"
// CLV2B-WKA -> "CLV2B"

Replacement Detection

// LEDs with same series are considered official replacements
// (same footprint, similar brightness, same color)
isOfficialReplacement("CLVBA-FKA", "CLVBA-FKB") -> true  // Same series (CLVBA-FK)
isOfficialReplacement("CLVBA-FKA", "CLVBA-WKA") -> false // Different series (FK vs WK)

Supported Component Types

Note: The getSupportedTypes() includes some Kingbright types that may be legacy or incorrect. The primary types used are LED and LED_HIGHPOWER_CREE.

Registered Patterns

Common Part Numbers

CLV Series

CLVBA Series

XLamp Series (NOT YET IMPLEMENTED)

Cree's professional XLamp series are commonly used but not yet in the handler:

Future Enhancement: Add patterns for XLamp series.

Related Files

• Handler: manufacturers/CreeHandler.java
• Component types: LED, LED_HIGHPOWER_CREE
• Test: handlers/CreeHandlerTest.java

Learnings & Edge Cases

• Handler uses HashSet in getSupportedTypes() - Should be changed to Set.of() for consistency with other handlers (known tech debt)
• Kingbright types in getSupportedTypes() - The handler includes LED_STANDARD_KINGBRIGHT, LED_RGB_KINGBRIGHT, LED_SMD_KINGBRIGHT which appear to be copy-paste leftovers; only LED and LED_HIGHPOWER_CREE are actually used by Cree patterns
• Limited pattern coverage - Only CLV and CLVBA series are implemented; XLamp (XP-E, XM-L, XHP) series are missing
• Color codes FK/WK - FK indicates warm white (2700-3000K), WK indicates cool white (5000-6500K); these are color family codes, not exact CCT
• Bin codes are interchangeable - Same series LEDs with different bin codes (A, B, C) are considered replacements since they have the same footprint and similar specs
• CLVBA pattern is restrictive - Pattern ^CLVBA-[A-Z]{3}$ requires exactly 3 uppercase letters after dash; may not match all real-world variations
• SiC power devices not supported - Cree/Wolfspeed SiC MOSFETs (C3M series) and diodes (C4D series) are not implemented in this handler

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