Solid-state lighting manufacturer Luminus Devices Inc. of Billerica, Mass., announced it has signed a distribution agreement with Avnet Electronics Marketing, an operating group of Phoenix-based electronic components distributor Avnet Inc. Under the agreement, Avnet will distribute Luminus' PhlatLight photonic lattice LED products throughout North and South America. Luminus will be supported through LightSpeed, Avnet's solid-state lighting and high-brightness LED (HB-LED) business unit that includes a team of engineers with experience in HB-LED technology, thermal management, power driver stage and secondary optics. PhlatLight LEDs are being used by consumer electronics manufacturers in applications where HB-LEDS have not been bright enough to replace conventional lamps, and are also being used to replace high intensity lamps in projection TVs and projectors. "There is a tremendous need for higher-brightness, energy-efficient LEDs in a variety of lighting applications," said Cary Eskow, director of Avnet LightSpeed. "PhlatLight LEDs produce thousands of lumens from a single large chip and are uniquely suited to replace halogen, arc and fluorescent lamps in many applications such as entertainment, architectural and medical lighting."