Small but powerful LED to be three times brighter

South Korean manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor launched one of the world's smallest light-emitting diodes (LED) for lighting in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The product, branded WICOP2, is both 1.5 millimeter wide and long, and one-eighth the size of the average LED widely used as a semiconductor device in car headlights and cell phones.

Despite its size, it is expected to emit light three times brighter than its much larger peers thanks to an advanced thermal character.

Created in 1992 in the capital of South Korea, Seoul Semiconductor became a public company listed on KOSDAQ within a decade. In 2005, it introduced and commercialized the world's first AC LED, making it possible for LEDs to be powered by alternating current rather than requiring a transformer.

The company became the world's second largest LED producer in 2013 with annual revenue of about $1 billion. With a double-digit annual growth rate, it aims to consolidate $5 billion annual revenue by 2019 and become the world leader.

To achieve the goal, CEO Lee Chung-hoon promised that it would continue to invest 10 percent of annual revenue annually for research and development.