Nichia is a Japanese LED company. Their low powered 5mm LEDs are still used in some flashlights.

The basic ANSI C78.377-2008 quadrangles (red) with centers (blue +). Nichia uses these blocks, but calls the 4500K block SW45.

For high power LEDs the Nichia chromaticity binning codes are now based on ANSI White quadrants. A bin of SW50 is an ANSI quadrangle of 5000K (SW45 is 4500K and so on). Forward voltage bins are L (2.7-3.1V) and M (3.1-3.5V).

The Nichia 119A and 219A series seem to be identical on the top, with the difference being the layout of solder pads on the bottom. The 219's solder pads match the Cree XP-G which is the same physical size of 3.5mm (the Nichia board is 0.2mm thinner) with nearly the same voltage, current, and output. There are at least three variations with different product numbers based on the color temperature:

  • The NVSSW119A and NVSW219A series LEDs are available up to a B14 flux bin.
  • The NVSW119A-H3 and NVSW219A-H3 have a neutral tint of 5000K and have a maximum flux bin of B12.
  • The warmer (2700-4500K) high CRI NVSL119A-H1 and NVSL219A-H1 have a maximum flux of B11 but a CRI as high as 92.

In 2012, Illumination Supply obtained a number of NVSL219A-H1 LEDs, which became a favorite of modders due to the high CRI (92 typical, 85 minimum) and 4500K neutral tint (Cree LEDs with such a high CRI typically have a much warmer tint) and pretty reasonable B10 flux bin. These same LEDs were also incorporated into some Malkoff drop-ins, a run of Xeno flashlights, and L3 Illumination's 1xAA twisty L10. Datasheets

Nichia 219A LED
Brightness Bins for Nichia 119A and 219A
Bin 350mA
100%
700mA
187%
1000mA
250%
1500mA
341%
B07 70-80 131-150 175-200 239-273
B08 80-90 150-168 200-225 273-307
B09 90-100 168-187 225-250 307-341
B10 100-110 187-206 250-275 341-375
B11 110-120 206-224 275-300 375-409
B12 120-130 224-243 300-325 409-443
B13 130-140 243-262 325-350 443-477
B14* 140-150 262-280 350-375 477-512

The Nichia 119B and 219B were introduced towards the end of 2012. It is binned at 700mA and available in a neutral white version (NVSW219B with a CCT of 5000K) and a warm white version (NVSL219B with a range of CCT values from 2700-4000K). The highest CRI value is 92 typical (85 minimum) with a flux bin of D220 and SW45 tint. Datasheets.

Nichia 219B LED
Brightness Bins for Nichia 119B and 219B
Bin 350mA
52%
700mA
100%
1000mA
136%
1500mA
189%
D180 94-104 180-200 245-272 340-378
D200 104-114 200-220 272-299 378-416
D220 114-125 220-240 299-326 416-454
D240 125-135 240-260 326-354 454-491
D260 135-146 260-280 354-381 491-529
D280* 146-156 280-300 381-408 529-567
D300 156-166 300-320 408-435 567-605
D320 166-177 320-340 435-462 605-643


Nichia 219C LED

The Nichia 119C and 219C were introduced in June 2015. While the flux bins are about the same as the 219B above (max bin for the 219C is D320), tests show that with proper cooling the 219C can be driven very hard to greatly increase output: 6 amps can yield over 1200 lumens. At first it was not available in a high CRI version, but R9050 bins with CRI as high as 92 started to become available around October 2016.