Illumination source with reduced weight

1. An illumination source comprising:

at least one light emitting diode (LED) assembly comprising at least one LED, wavelength-converting material over said at least one LED, and a substrate on which said at least one LED is disposed, said substrate having a first area, said LED assembly being configured to output light at a first intensity while generating a first quantity of heat per unit time;

a lens optically coupled to said at least one LED assembly and configured to receive said light and emit a beam of said light from said illumination source;

a heat dissipation portion thermally coupled to said substrate of said at least one LED assembly such that heat generated by said at least one LED flows from said at least one LED, through said substrate, and into said heat dissipation portion, —wherein the heat dissipation portion is discrete from said at least one LED assembly and configured to dissipate passively without a fan at least the first quantity of heat per unit time, said heat dissipation portion having an outer periphery, thereby defining a second area, wherein said first area is less than 10% of said second area;

wherein said at least one LED assembly and the heat dissipation portion are collectively characterized by a first mass; and

wherein a ratio of the first intensity to the first mass is from 10 lumens per gram to 30 lumens per gram.

2. The illumination source of claim 1 , wherein the LED assembly comprises a plurality of LEDs disposed upon said substrate.

3. The illumination source of claim 2 , wherein the substrate comprises silicon having a width of 6 mm.

4. The illumination source of claim 1 , wherein the heat dissipation portion comprises an MR-16 form factor heat sink.

5. The illumination source of claim 4 , wherein the MR-16 form factor heat sink comprises an inner core region having a first diameter and is planar, and an outer region having a second diameter; wherein the first diameter is less than 16 mm.

6. The illumination source of claim 5 , wherein the LED assembly is disposed on a substrate, wherein the substrate is thermally coupled to the inner core region with thermally conductive adhesive.

7. The illumination source of claim 6 , wherein the substrate has a width of 6 mm and the first diameter is 12 mm.

8. The illumination source of claim 5 , wherein the outer region comprises a plurality of heat dissipating structures.

9. The illumination source of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of heat dissipating structures comprises a plurality of trunks and a plurality of branches, wherein each of the plurality of trunks is coupled to the inner core region and each of the plurality of branches is coupled to at least one of the plurality of trunks.

10. The illumination source of claim 9 , wherein a ratio of a radial length of the plurality of trunks to a radial length of the plurality of branches is selected from 1:1, 2:3, and 1:2.

11. The illumination source of claim 4 , wherein the MR-16 form factor heat sink comprises an aluminum alloy characterized by a thermal conductivity from 167 W/mK to 225 W/mK.

12. The illumination source of claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the intensity to the mass is from 16 lumens per gram to 20 lumens per gram.

13. The illumination source of claim 1 wherein the intensity is from 500 lumens to 650 lumens.

14. The illumination source of claim 13 , wherein the mass is 30 grams.

15. The illumination source of claim 1 , wherein said at least one LED assembly is characterized by an efficiency from 50 lumens per watt to 70 lumens per watt.

16. The illumination source of claim 15 , wherein the illumination source is characterized by a power consumption of 12 watts.

17. The illumination source of claim 1 , wherein the heat dissipation portion comprises a plurality of heat dissipating structures comprising a plurality of trunks and a plurality of branches, wherein each of the plurality of trunks is coupled to an inner core region of the heat sink and each of the plurality of branches is coupled to at least one of the plurality of trunks.

18. The illumination source of claim 4 , wherein the heat dissipation portion comprises a first plurality of trunks coupled to a first plurality of branches, each of the first plurality of branches coupled to a second plurality of branches, and the second plurality of branches coupled to an external rim of the MR-16 form factor heat sink.

19. The illumination source of claim 4 , wherein the heat dissipation portion comprises a first plurality of trunks coupled to a first plurality of branches, and each of the first plurality of branches coupled to an external rim of the MR-16 form factor heat sink.

20. The illumination source of claim 1 , wherein said light generation portion is a single portion.

21. The illumination source of claim 20 , wherein said light generation portion is centered in said heat dissipation portion.