Solid-State Lighting Issue 20: Selected Business & Technology News ()

ISSUE 20: BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS
(Mid-September � Early December 2003)

A selection of news appears in this section.

A. Developer News

B. New Products

C. Novel or Interesting LED Applications/Uses

D. Market Information

E. Overviews

F. Research Results

G. Selected Events of Interest

H. Government Funding News and Opportunities

Where possible, links to full-text articles and press releases have been included in the abstracts. Click on the links in the table below to go directly to the abstract.

Table of Contents:� Business and Technology News

A. Developer News

� ATMI says that it has reduced the uniform dislocation density in its GaN substrates.

� AXT announced the sale of its optoelectronics business to Lumei Optoelectronics for $9.6 million.

� Carmanah Technologies Corporation's solar-powered, LED-illuminated bus stops in London have received a High Commendation award.

� Carmanah has announced a second order for solar-powered LED lighting from the USAF base in Kirkuk, Iraq.

� Carmanah's subsidiary, AVVA Light Corp., has received a $314k contract for LED signage.

� Color Kinetics has been issued a US patent on "Systems and Methods for Providing Illumination in Machine Vision Systems."

� Cree stock prices increased after news that its cross-licensing partner Nichia has won a preliminary court battle in a patent dispute with Epistar.

� Cree has settled the lawsuit with Eric and Jocelyn Hunter.

� Cree announced a new long-term supply contract with OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.

� Cree released positive financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2004.

� Crystal IS has developed 25 mm AlN wafers.

� DOE has released two new studies analyzing and estimating the energy savings potential from solid-state lighting.

� Emcore sold its TurboDisc MOCVD business to Veeco Instruments.

� GELcore's "Flexible LED Accent Lighting System" is available at WalMart.

� According to Japan Times, a former executive of a South Korean company has been arrested and indicted for allegedly selling white LED technology secrets to a competitor.

� Kopin's activities and future plans were covered in a Small Times article in October.

� Kyma Technologies was honored as the "2003 Early Stage Company of the Year."

� Light for the 21^st Century project: A review of this Japanese initiative and results produced by the work appeared in oe magazine's October issue.

� Lumileds Lighting announced that it is shipping "warm white" LEDs in volume.

� Lumileds received the Innovation Award from the Wall Street Journal Europe for the industry's first warm white LED.

� George Craford of Lumiledspresented a talk describing the current status and future challenges of LED lighting at the 2003 MRS Fall Meeting.

� Mesophotonics announced that they have developed a white light continuum producing silica chip.

� The 2003 National Medal of Technology and Science was awarded to Calvin Carter, Nick Holonyak, George Craford, and Russell Dupuis in November.

� New Millennium Media International has announced the completion of its first large-scale advanced LED Billboard prototype.

� A patent infringement suit filed by Nichia against Epistar has resulted in a preliminary attachment order and a preliminary injunction, preventing Epistar from "making, selling, using, importing, and marketing" any products that are produced using information obtained from the allegedly infringed patent.

� Nichia also announced that a preliminary injunction order has been granted against Everlight for using blue LED products that may infringe on Nichia's patent.

� Norlux, the former Uniroyal subsidiary manufacturing LED-based lighting products, has been established as a private company.

� CompoundSemi News featured a profile of the recent activities of Osram Opto.

� OSRAM Opto has granted a licence to Everlight (Taiwan) to manufacture and sell surface mountable (SMT) LEDs.

� Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology acquired MBE supplier Thermo VG Semicon.

� Powerchip Semiconductor (Taiwan) signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Cable Industries (Japan) to license manufacturing technology for UV LED chips.

� Samsung Electro-Mechanics (S. Korea) announced the installation of a GaN MOCVD mass production system from Aixtron.

� The Albuquerque Journal featured Senator Jeff Bingaman and the work of Sandia National Laboratories on LEDs in the article, "Bingaman Thinks LEDs a Bright Idea", November 10, 2003.

� Sandia National Laboratories reported on recent work demonstrating two deep UV LEDs that set records for wavelength/power output.

� Spectrum Illumination has selected Special Application Product to launch superbright LED lighting products in Europe and the UK.

� Taiwanese LED suppliers expect 4^th Q revenues to increase.

� Toshiba announced new developments in GaN-based blue-violet lasers.

� Toyoda Gosei is going to build a new plant in Japan that will produce white LEDs.

� CompoundSemi News reports on Uniroyal Technology's bankruptcy and receivership process.

� Visual Photonics Epitaxy is reported to be shipping wafer bonding LED chips to Taiwan LED packaging manufacturers.

� Young ECC Electronics signed an agreement to represent Excellence Opto, a subsidiary of United Epitaxy (Taiwan).

B.� New Products:

� Arima Optoelectronics introduced a 30-35 lm/W red LED.

� BivarOpto has introduced a new high-contrast material for its light pipe products family.

� China National Electronics Import & Export Shaanxi Co.(CEIEC) released its CEIECSXD6-004 super-bright LEDs and surface-mountable SMD LEDs in blue, purple, and white.

� Cree has announced its move into high power packaged LEDs with the introduction of the XLamp^tm, a product designed to enable replacement of incandescent bulbs.

� Fairchild Semiconductor has developed a small blue LED with reduced power consumption for portable applications.

� JPSA Laser has introduced a new ChromaLift excimer laser system for advanced LED "lift-off" applications in the compound semi and wafer fab industries.

� LEDtronics introduced a complete line of 3200K warm incandescent-white LEDs and LED lamps.

� Lumex announced the industry's first fault indicator designed for use with SMT LEDs.

� Lumileds has released the Luxeon III Emitter and Luxeon III Star; new high power LEDs for white light.

� Micrel has developed the "smallest white LED driver" in a 2mm x 2mm package.

� Omron announced a new frontlight technology that reportedly creates brighter and clearer handheld LCD screens with reduced power consumption by making use of fewer LEDs.

� OptiLED introduced a new LED linear light that is easy to install, cool to the touch, and has a 10-year lifetime.

� Royal Philips Electronics has developed two new I²C devices for controlling the dimming and blinking of LEDs.

� SME (Berlin) developed a high power LED (HL-LED) and is looking for technical cooperation.

� Stanley Electric announced a new SMT LED with 120-degree viewing angle.

� Supertex announced a new high efficiency white LED driver.

� The University of Technology Sydney's Geoff Smith (Australia) and Poly Optics created a light pipe using LEDs and nanotechnology.

� Vishay Intertechnology launched a new series of low-current, surface-mount LEDs using ultra-bright AllnGaP technology.

C.� Novel or Interesting LED Applications/Uses:

� The Atlanta Journal-Constitution featured an article about seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and how the use of LEDs has benefited the treatment of the disease.

� Black Diamond introduced the "Moonlight", a lightweight, waterproof LED headlamp.

� Color Kinetics introduced iColor Cove EC, a LED-based under-cabinet, edge, and alcove lighting product.

� Color Kinetics licensed Chromacore® LED technology to Tireflys® for the ColorMorphics ^tm car lighting system.

� Toyota has test-manufactured an automobile that uses white LEDs for headlights.

� VisiLED announced the "world's first" wireless surgical headlight that uses super-bright LEDs.

D.� Market Information:

� Frost & Sullivan has released an analysis of the world optoelectronics market including opportunities afforded by new LED technology.

� Paul Semenza of isuppli/ Stanford Resources reviews the electronic display market in "Electronic display market to hit US $90 billion by 2007�" in Digitimes.

� Research and Markets released a report, "High Brightness LED Applications - What Customers Want: �A Five-Year Forecast of OEM Buyer Requirements."

E.� Overview Articles:

� Solid-state lighting was the special focus of the October 2003 issue of SPIE's oe Magazine (5 articles).

� CompoundSemi News covered Intertech's "LED 2003" conference (held in October in San Diego) in the article "Alan Thompson Reports on LED 2003".

� E4 engineering reviewed the potential benefits of LED lighting in "Making light work of illumination", by Jon Excell (Oct 9, 2003).

� EE Design carried a story on gallium nitride, "GaN wafers boost violet laser's prospects" (Nov 17, 2003).

� ElectronicsNews �featured "Most important' semiconductor since silicon", focusing on research at University of Cambridge funded by a £1.2 million grant from EPSRC (Oct 14, 2003).

� The Independent (UK) published an overview of advances in white LEDs entitled, "Light fantastic, the 60W bulb has had its day" (Nov 12, 2003).

� The Lighting Research Center has produced "Lighting Answers: LED Lighting Systems", a 47-page document that answers some commonly asked questions about LED lighting systems.

� The Worldandi published an overview of LEDs, "Cool Lights Are Hot", in its August 2003 issue.

F.� Research Results:

� Researchers at Indiana University have demonstrated that nanoscopic clusters of gallium atoms melt at much higher temperatures than bulk gallium.

� Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have shown that amplified spontaneous emission can be achieved in the near-IR region using nanocrystalline (quantum dots) lead salts.

� Researchers at Ohio State University have overcome a major barrier in the manufacture of high quality light emitting devices and solar cell materials by creating a special defect-free hybrid material from gallium and arsenic materials.

� Compound Semiconductor featured the Rensselaer Lighting Research Center's development of non-invasive methods for measuring the lifetimes of LED lighting systems in the October issue.

G.� Selected Events of Interest:

� Compound Semiconductor will host the conference, "Blue 2004: Advanced LEDs & Lasers Taiwan," on May 11-12, 2004 in the Hsinchu area of Taiwan.

� Laser Focus World and Strategies Unlimited have announced the "2004 Lasers and Optoelectronics Marketplace Seminar" (January 26, 2004).

� The Lighting Research Center (LRC) organized the "Bridges in Light"symposium, held Oct. 22, in Saratoga Springs, NY for the purpose of addressing the future of the lighting industry.

� The Materials Research Society (MRS) has announced the "International Workshop on Nitride Semiconductors," to be held July 19 - 23, 2004 in Pittsburgh, PA.

� The Materials Research Society (MRS) has made available for purchase the 2003 Spring Meeting proceedings, held April 21-25 in San Francisco, CA.

� The Photonics Center at Boston University held the 7th Annual Executive Symposium on Emerging Business Opportunities in Photonics, entitled "The Future of Light" in Boston, MA, November 13, 2003.

� Strategies Unlimited has announced the 5th annual Strategies in Light conference, "Charting New Directions in High-Brightness LEDs" (February 2 - 4, 2004, San Mateo, CA).

H.� Government Funding News and Opportunities:

� Alfalight has been awarded $3.9 million in R&D funding from DARPA for work on improving semiconductor laser diode bar efficiency.

� DARPA extended the response date to January 16, 2004 for BAA03-02, "Defense Sciences Research and Technology", which includes funding for optical and advanced materials.

� SBIR Gateway is reporting that the DoD will add a third SBIR solicitation in FY 2004, with possibly more than three solicitations in FY 2005.

� DOE hosted a workshop on solid-state lighting in November; a summary of this meeting, including discussion of future funding, is posted online.

� DOE announced its FY 2004 SBIR/STTR solicitation, which includes funding for new technologies for general illumination applications and OLEDs.

� DOE will award $20.4 million to 13 cost-shared projects to improve the energy efficiency in American residences and commercial properties.

� NIST issued the SBIR 2004 solicitation, with a subtopic entitled, "High Throughput Modification of Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for Device Performance Optimization."

� NSF published its FY 2004 Guide to Programs, which includes funding for advanced materials research.

� NSF issued a program announcement for its Major Research Instrumentation Program (NSF 04-511).

A. Developer News

�        ATMI says that it has reduced the uniform dislocation density in its GaN substrates. Its new free-standing GaN substrates have a uniform dislocation density of 10⁶ cm^-2.� This is in contrast to other GaN wafer products that have a low dislocation density only in select regions, which restricts device size and placement.� ATMI is offering engineering samples of semi-insulating GaN substrates or high frequency high power electronics.� According to Bob Vaudo, Manager of ATMI GaN Substrates, they are producing free-standing two-inch GaN wafers in large vo lumes with reasonable lead times.� ATMI has also filed or issued 20 patents around ATMI's GaN processes and substrate growth and fabrication. [ Press release]

�        AXT sold its optoelectronics business to Lumei Optoelectronics for $9.6 million. �AXT's revenues were $8.5 million from continuing operations for its third quarter ending September 30, equaling the amount from the previous quarter.� AXT had a net loss of $2.6 million on the flat revenue, compared with a net loss of $17.7 million in the previous quarter, including a $13. 8 million charge associated with the discontinuation of its optoelectronics business.� AXT reportedly repaid its outstanding equipment loans and leases with the proceeds from the sale.� AXT says its current focus is on the core substrate business. �[ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]

�        Carmanah Technologies Corporation's solar powered LED-illuminated bus stops in London, England have received a High Commendation in the "BP Innovation Award" category at the 8^th annual UK Bus Industry Awards on November 5, 2003.� This award coincided with the shipment of 70 units of Carmanah's solar-powered LED bus shelter lighting systems.� This represents the first installment of a $1.6 million contract with Trueform Group (U.K.) for 300 units.� Trueform plans to install the bus shelters by early 2004.� The stops are part of the Transport for London Project, which has reported a 7.3% increase in bus use over the past year as well as a 16% increase in night bus use.� This increase is because the solar-powered LED lighting systems reportedly improve night service and safety by providing area lighting and clear, bright timetable lighting that makes schedule information easy to read. [ Press release ]

�        Carmanah has announced a second order of aviation lights from the US Air Force (USAF) base in Kirkuk, Iraq.� Carmanah will supply the base with 120 Model 702 solar-powered LEDs, valued at $146,000. �The LEDs will be used in obstruction lighting and helipad perimeter lighting.� The lights do not require cabling or an external power infrastructure, enabling air bases to install airfield lighting at a fraction of the cost of hardwired systems and eliminating significant installation, labor costs and ongoing maintenance.� Carmanah now has more than 2,600 units (approx. $1.1 million) of airfield lighting at military installations in the Middle East, SW Asia and the United States. �[ Press release ]

�       Carmanah announced that its subsidiary, AVVA Light Corp., received a $314,000 contract for specialty edge-lit point of purchase (POP) signage.� This is reportedly the second major order from the same undisclosed multinational purchaser this year. Using LEDs to direct light through an engraved and/or painted acrylic panel, AVVA's edge-lighting technology offers low capital cost, energy efficiency, high durability, design versatility and an operating life of 10-12 years with no maintenance or servicing.� Applications for edge-lit technology include point-of-purchase and architectural and road signage.� A LED product for the road and highways market is reportedly being planned by Carmanah and AVVA Light Corp.for early 2004.� (Carmanah reports that the market for illuminated, neon and backlit signs in the United States is 32 percent of the $9 billion overall sign market).� [ Press release ]

�        Color Kinetics has been issued US patent no. 6,624,597 entitled "Systems and Methods for Providing Illumination in Machine Vision Systems."� Machine Vision systems use automated vision inspection to facilitate manufacturing processes.� Lighting conditions are essential in this process. �The technology covered in Color Kinetics' new patent will allow the systems to control and direct the lighting. [ Press release ]

�        Cree's stocks rose 8.7% on September 25^th with the news that its cross-licensing partner Nichia has won a preliminary court battle in a patent dispute with Epistar. Analysts have been concerned that the cheaper Taiwanese LEDs could hurt Cree's business.� The Taiwan court ruling decreed that some of Epistar's bank accounts be frozen while the dispute is resolved. (See further details on the matter in the Nichia item below.) [Article by the Associated Press in the Herald-Sun (no URL available)]

�        Cree has settled the lawsuit with Eric and Jocelyn Hunter.� The agreement includes dismissal of all claims against all defendants.� No payments were made to the Hunters, and the Hunters are also barred from asserting claims against Cree in the future.� Other details of the agreement included Eric Hunter's remaining stock options being terminated and his resignation as a Cree employee.� Mutual releases and covenants not to sue were also contained in the agreement. �[ Press release ]

�        Cree announced a new long-term supply contract with OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.� OSRAM has agreed to purchase over 500 million LED chips from Cree.� The contract began in October of 2003 and will extend through June 2005. �The agreement covers Cree's entire product line; including standard, mid-bright and XBright® LED chip families as well as silicon carbide (SiC) wafers.� Cree's revenues under this agreement are dependent upon the mix of products OSRAM orders. �[ Press release and Articles ( Article1, Article2) in Compoundsemiconductor.net and Compound Semi News ]

�        Cree released financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2004.� Highlights of the report include first quarter revenues increasing 36% to $66.2 million, net income recovering 128% to $8.9 million, and LED revenue growing 3% - accounting for 76% of overall sales. A portion of the LED generated profit is reportedly due to the growth in Cree's mobile handset business.� Cree has projected second quarter future growth in sales of $70 million. �[ Press release, Article at Fool.com ]

�       Crystal IS has been developing AIN substrates for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) ultraviolet optical sources program.� These group III-nitride materials are used for creating compound semiconductor devices like blue LEDs, high-power and high-temperature devices.� Crystal IS has produced high-purity AlN boules that have been reported to withstand hundreds of hours of continuous crystal growth, with growth rates (close to 1 mm/h), exceeding those for all other nitride semiconductors.� Crystal IS is planning to produce 50 mm wafers in limited quantities by the end of 2003. [Item in Electronics Material Update (URL not available), Additional detail in Compoundsemiconductor.net article]

�       The DOE has released two new studies analyzing and estimating the energy savings potential from solid-state lighting. �Funded by the DOE and produced by Navigant Consulting Inc., the studies describe the energy savings potential in niche applications today and in general lighting applications in the future.� The first study, entitled " Energy Savings Estimates of Light Emitting Diodes in Niche Lighting Applications," found that LED traffic signals use only 10 percent of the electricity consumed by the incandescent lamps they replace.� The second study, entitled " Energy Savings Potential of Solid State Lighting in General Illumination Applications," predicted energy savings potential from solid-state lighting if certain price and performance criteria are met.� The release of these studies corresponded with the DOE's workshop on Solid State Lighting, held in Washington, DC, November 13-14.� A number of projects, covering both core technology research and industrial product development have been funded by the DOE under its solid-state lighting (SSL) R&D program, through the Building Technologies Program of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. �[ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]

�       Emcore sold its TurboDisc MOCVD business to Veeco Instruments, in a deal valued up to $80 million.� Approximately 120 Emcore TurboDisc employees are expected to become employees of Veeco.� Deposition of a variety of materials (GaAs, AlGaAs, InP, InGaAlP, InGaN, AlGaN, SiC and GaN) onto a substrate, in order to grow compound semiconductor materials on the atomic scale, is made possible by the TurboDisc reactors.� Emcore has stated that the sale was made in order to concentrate on its communications product lines, such as, fiberoptic, wireless, CATV and satellite products, and focus on its joint venture with GE (GELcore). [Veeco Press release, Emcore Press release, Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        GELcore, the joint venture created by GE Lighting and Emcore, announced the availability of "Flexible LED Accent Lighting System" at WalMart stores.� Based on GELcore's Tetra Lighting System, the patented new systems feature five advanced cool white LEDs. It is a bendable 18-inch product that uses adhesive for installation. Designed for mainstream commercial accent lighting applications, the system does not produce any heat or UV output.� GELcore reportedly purchases the die used in this product from a variety of suppliers and then packages it for sale. �[ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�        According to an article in the Japan Times, a Japanese former executive of a South Korean semiconductor-related firm has been arrested and indicted for allegedly selling his company's white LED technology secrets to a competitor.� Prosecutors have refused to give the names of the individuals involved in the matter, but according to Seoul Semiconductor Co., the Japanese man's name is Jofuku Kanekiyo, a vice president and technology adviser at Seoul Semiconductor.� He was indicted for allegedly breaking laws on fair competition and trade-secret protection.� The Japan Times reports the man to have been approached by a South Korean man from a rival firm with a job offer.� Mr. Kanekiyo is thought to have divulged Seoul Semiconductor's data on patented technology for white LEDs to the rival firm.� The contact individual at the rival firm has also been arrested and indicted for the same violations.� According to the prosecutors, the Japanese man, (Mr. Kanekiyo) was assured an annual salary of 80 million won (about 7.41 million yen) and housing by the rival firm, where he eventually began working as a technological adviser. �[ Article in the Japan Times ]

�        Smalltimes featured a review of Kopin in an article entitled, "Kopin's early success with LEDs bolsters bottom line", October 6, 2003. �Highlights include Kopin's 2002 revenue's of $76.8 million, the chip technology of its CyberLite LED products, manufacturing acquisitions, and the general growth of the market. The article forecasts the future for Kopin and the cyber-display market. �[ Article at Smalltimes]

�       Kyma Technologieswas honored as the "2003 Early Stage Company of the Year" by the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technologies Association (NCEITA) in Cary, North Carolina, November 20, 2003.� Kyma's work was praised by NCEITA President, Joan Myers, for having an "aggressive approach to developing new applications in the microelectronic and optoelectronic markets." �Kyma Inc. is a developer and supplier of unique nitride materials for the semiconductor industry. �[ Press release ]

�       Light for the 21^st Century: An article in oe magazine's October issue, "Light gets solid - Improved structures and new phosphors yield high-efficiency, UV-driven white-light LEDs," by Tsunemasa Taguchi of Yamaguchi University, focuses on the Japanese initiative, The Light for the 21st Century Project.� This project was aimed at the development of high-brightness blue and UV devices based on III-nitrides for the purpose of white-light LED sources. The article covers the methods of white light generation, methods of increasing white LED efficiency, and the challenges of using phosphors, as well as future targets for the program.� The project, according to this article, set a goal of reaching an external quantum efficiency of 40% and a luminous efficacy of 60 to 80 lm/W by 2003.� New targets for the external quantum efficiency are 60% by 2006 (Phase II) and 80% by 2010 (Phase III). �In March 2003, 60 lm/W performance was obtained for greenish-white phosphors.� In addition, the article states, "We have developed an orange, yellow, green, and blue (OYGB) white LED consisting of OYGB phosphor materials and an NUV LED. �The device generates three peaks located at 450, 520, and 580 nm, which are produced by fluorescent emissions of strontium- and ZnS-based long-wavelength phosphor materials, respectively. In testing, the devices demonstrated white luminescence with Tc = 3700K, R_a >= 93, K = 40 lm/W, and chromaticity (x, y) = (0.39, 0.39). �The OYGB device generates a luminescence spectrum broader than that of an RGB white LED, and a better color-rendering index." �[ Article in oemagazine ]

�        Lumileds Lighting announced volume shipping of "warm white" Luxeon HB-LEDs. The "warm white" HB-LEDs are reportedly the first to deliver production quantities.� They feature a color rendering index (CRI) of 90, a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3200K, an average light output of 20 lumens, and a projected 70% retention of initial light output through 50,000 hours.� Lumileds says that the new "warm white" LEDs have overcome the resistance of lighting designers and consumers toward the cooler blue tones of traditional LEDs, and will facilitate an increase in the use of solid state lighting in interior and task lighting applications.� The products are currently available in unmounted and mounted form in the batwing radiation pattern. �[ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�       Lumileds Lighting has received the Innovation Award from the Wall Street Journal Europe for the industry's first warm white LED.� The award was announced in London, November 27, 2003.� Lumiled's new warm white Luxeon LED earned the award in the competition's semiconductor category.� Potential benefits of the warm white LED include enabling lighting designers to take advantage of the longevity and energy savings of LEDs in general lighting products by creating lighting fixtures that consume less energy, occupy less space, and virtually eliminate the need for bulb replacement. �[ Press release]

�        George Craford of Lumileds Lighting presented a talk describing the current status and future challenges of LED lighting at the 2003 MRS Fall Meeting, held December 1 - 5, 2003 in Boston, MA.� Craford presented some of the latest information on LED developments.� These developments included LEDs producing a luminous efficiency of about 30 lm/W, an external efficiency of 50%, and a CRI of 90.� He also stated that the main challenge remaining for LED advancement is to make them cost-competitive with conventional lighting sources. [ Press release, Article in CompoundSemi News, Technical program ]

�        Mesophotonics announced that they have developed a silica chip that can produce a 600nm-wide white light continuum.� John Lincoln and colleagues at Mesophotonics, a spin-off of the Optoelectronics Research Centre of the University of Southhampton, have created a "continuum-generating chip" that is 1 cm long, produces light from 600 to 1100 nm, and is reported to have no visible spectral noise.� The materials used to create the chip are also said to be resilient to ultraviolet exposure, comparable to sapphire in this regard, and thus avoid some degradation problems experienced by microstructured fibers.� Based on standard silicon wafer production, the chips have the potential to be sold for less than the microstructured fiber and be commercially available by the end of the year. �[ Article in Optics.org ]

�        Four compound semiconductor pioneers were among those awarded the 2003 National Medal of Technology and Science by President George W. Bush in a White House ceremony on November 6, 2003. These four were Calvin Carter (Cree), for his "exceptional contributions to the development of silicon carbide wafers, leading to new industries in wide bandgap semiconductors and enabling still other new industries in efficient blue, green and white light, full color displays, high power solid-state microwave amplifiers, more efficient/compact power supplies, higher efficiency power distribution/transmission systems, and gemstone," and the team of Nick Holonyak (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), George Craford (Lumileds Lighting),and Russell Dupuis (Georgia Institute of Technology) for their� "contributions to the development and commercialization of LED technology, the world's most efficient light source being mass produced today, with applications to digital displays, consumer electronics, automotive lighting, traffic signals and general illumination." [ Article in the The New York Times (subscription required), Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]

�       New Millennium Media International (NMMI) Inc. has announced the completion of its first large-scale advanced LED Billboard prototype.� The prototype was designed and built by Silicon Robotics using NMMI's patent pending OnScreen� LED display architecture.� Reported benefits of the OnScreen architecture include a reduction in weight and volume over current LED displays, a transparent display capability, reduced wind and solar loading, and the ability to conform to curved applications.� The prototype is composed of three mechanically connected individual modules that are designed to function as one display.� It has 1500 pixels spaced 25mm apart and offers all standard colors for display.� The sign is also fully compatible with industry standards through the incorporation of a variable message sign protocol (TCIP) into the communication card cage. �[ Press release ]

�        A suit filed by Nichia Corporation against Epistar has resulted in a preliminary attachment order issued on September 22, 2003.� This order holds approximately $400,000 of Epistar's revenues in an account as a method of preserving assets in the event of an award.� On September 30, a preliminary injunction was also granted Nichia, preventing Epistar from "making, selling, using, importing, and marketing" any products that are produced using information obtained from the allegedly infringed patent.� The suit filed by Nichia is in reference to the alleged infringement of its patent no.160,722 by Epistar's blue LED product.� In particular, it deals with the use of Ni/Au (nickel gold) electrodes on p-type GaNb, the use of Ni/Au TCL (Transport Contact Layer), and the use of Ti/ A1 contact on n-GaN. The Epistar product in question is the Special Product Type: ES-CEBH712: A3 grade.� Epistar has responded by asserting that its products are manufactured using their own registered intellectual property.� Epistar also claims that an independent analysis by an outside opto-electrical expert concluded that their manufacturing process does not infringe on Nichia's IP holdings.� [ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net, Article in CompoundSemi News, Nichia Press-release , Epistar Press release]

�       Nichia also announced that a preliminary injunction order has been granted against Everlight for using a Taiwanese third party's blue LED products that may infringe on Nichia's Taiwan patent No. 160,722.� Nichia alleges that patent No. 160,722 is being infringed upon by the use of parts ES-CEBH712:A3 and ES-CEBH712:A4.� According to an article in CompoundSemi News, the third party is Epistar and the blue LED products are Epistar's GaN products used in Everlight's GaN LED assembly manufacturing. Everlight is regarded as a sister company to Epistar. The injunction order, according to Nichia, "�may prevent Everlight from using the accused products."� Nichia also states that they are evaluating whether or not to enforce the injunction order and whether they are going to pursue legal actions against other assembly manufacturers. �[ Press release, Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�       Norlux, the former Uniroyal subsidiary manufacturing LED-based lighting products, has been established as a private company by two Norlux founders, John DiNardi and Doug Hamilton.� On August 14, 2003, the deal, a full asset purchase acquisition that was valued at $425,000, was approved by the US bankruptcy court.� The debtor-in-possession lender CIT Group/Business Credit acquired the proceeds from the sale. All Norlux assets were assumed by the new owners, as well as some of the liabilities and contracts.� All Norlux employees were also retained.� Norlux specializes in chip-on-board technology, with the capability to mount LED die on a wide variety of different substrates. Their current capacity has been reported as 0.5 million die placements per month. �[ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net ] (See also Uniroyal item, below)

�       CompoundSemi News featured an article on the recent activities of Osram Opto.� Three recent contributions to the field of advanced LEDs and advanced sensors were noted.� First is the online posting of a technical paper, "Consideration of White LED Chromaticity Classification."� In the paper, Osram Opto defines a new improved color-grouping scheme that is based on the MacAdam's theory of color impression, along with the theoretical basis for the scheme and the empirical visual tests. Two new Osram Opto products introduced this fall were also covered.� The Easy Touch optical sensor and new MultiLED line of products for backlighting of 17" color displays.� The Easy Touch addresses the demand for non-contact sensing and multifunction switches.� Uses include functioning as a replacement for mechanical switches and as a high-precision reflective sensor.� With the new 6-lead MultiLEDs, color can be controlled individually. They are reported to outperform previous generations of LED designs in terms of homogeneity and brightness as the improved package allows the advanced LEDs to be arranged very closely together and flat on the board, resulting in the light being more evenly distributed. �[ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�       OSRAM Opto announced has granted Everlight a royalty license to manufacture and sell white and colored surface mountable (SMT) LEDs, as well as other white LEDs with conversion technology for which OSRAM holds patents.� Backlighting for mobile phones and car radio displays are among the SMT LED applications.� Conversion technologies that were developed by Osram Opto Semiconductors allow white LEDs to be manufactured using blue emitting InGaN based chips and an appropriate fluorescent converter. This is OSRAM's first contract with a Taiwanese company.� It is a four-year license, with shipments beginning in October. Details of the contract were not disclosed. �[ Press release, Article by DigiTimes (subscription required) ]

�       Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology acquired the MBE equipment supplier Thermo VG Semicon. Oxford Instruments will initially pay $ 0.3 million for Thermo VG Semicon. Two equal installments of $0.2 million are payable on the first and second anniversaries of completion. Other contingency payments are possible in 2005 and 2006. Spread out over three years, the maximum potential value of the deal would be $1.3 million.� Both companies are based in the UK. [ Article in Compoundsemiconductor.net and Article in Compound Semi News ]

�       Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (Taiwan) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Cable Industries (Japan) to license manufacturing technology for UV LED chips. These UV LED chips are to be used to produce white light for applications such as backlighting in mobile phones.� Still in the development stage, the UV LEDs are coated with RGB phosphorus layers, which the company says can produce better quality white light than blue LEDs coated with a single YAG phosphorus layer.� The licensed technology covers substrate, epitaxy and chip processing.� Mitsubishi Cable Industries was able to develop its technologies under the 21st century project of Japan's New Energy Development Organization (NEDO).� Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation is in the process of evaluating establishing a factory that would potentially begin UV LED chip volume production by the end of 2004.� [Powerchip would possibly need to purchase RGB phosphors from Solidlite to further process its UV LED chips into white LEDs.� Solidlite (Taiwan) reportedly owns 10 to 20 patents in Taiwan and Japan related to RGB phosphors.] [ Article by Digitimes (subscription required) ]

�       Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) (S Korea) has announced the installation of an AIX 2600G3 HT reactor, a GaN MOCVD mass production system from Aixtron. The reactor will be used to develop and produce white and blue LEDs. [Item from RDSL Asia/Africa (no URL available)]

�       The Albuquerque Journal carried a feature story on LEDs, "Bingaman Thinks LEDs a Bright Idea" (November 10, 2003), written by John Fleck.� Senator Bingaman's effort to raise more federal funds for the development of LED technology is highlighted.� Scientists Mary Crawford and Jerry Simmons of Sandia National Laboratories are quoted extensively on the need for better lighting technology, the current state of LED technology, as well as current and future LED applications. [ Article in the Albuquerque Journal (paid subscription required)]

�       Sandia National Laboratoriesreported on its recent work demonstrating two deep UV LEDs that set records for wavelength/power output.� One emits at a wavelength of 290 nanometers (nm) and produces 1.3 milliwatts of output power, and the other emits at a wavelength of 275 nm and produces 0.4 milliwatts of power. �Features of the devices include a sapphire substrate with conductive layers of aluminum gallium nitride, flip-chip packaging technology, one square millimeter in size, and the high power output of 1.3 milliwatts at 290 nm is obtained in a continuous wave (CW) mode. �The research at Sandia is part of DARPA's SUVOS project (semiconductor UV optical source). [ Press release]

�       Spectrum Illumination has selected Special Application Product to launch superbright LED lighting products in Europe and the UK. �The range of products will include LED spot, ring, linear, and backlights as well as a range of LED Monster lights.� Targeting the machine vision industry, these products are able to replac many fluorescent and fiber optic lamps. [ Article in EE Times UK ]

�       TheChina Economic News Service (CENS) has reported increased fourth quarter revenue projections for Taiwanese LED suppliers after reporting healthy increases in revenues for September.� These increases coincide with the peak sales season for mobile phones.� Harvatek reported a revenue increase of 16% from August ($64.7 million for September), and a 7.6% increase in revenues for the same time last year. Everlight's September revenues were posted as $12.6 million, an 18% increase from August, and 30% higher from the same period last year.� Unity Opto Technology Co. Ltd. declared $4.7 million for September.� Estimated September revenues for both Bright LED Electric Corp. and Tyntek were $5 million. [ Article in the China Economic News Service (CENS) Daily News ]

�       Toshiba announced that its blue-violet lasers have achieved an optical output of 200mW with a noise performance of 132dB/Hz. Created for use in next generation higher density optical disc systems, the new blue-violet laser will be exhibited at CEATEC Japan 2003 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, October 7-11. [ Article in Compound Semi News and Article in Compoundsemiconductor.net ]

�       Toyoda Gosei announced its intention to build a new plant in Japan that will produce white LEDs.� The plant is projected to be operational in 2005 and will produce white LEDs to be used in applications such as LCD's in mobile phones.� Other details were not currently available. [Article in Japan Today (No URL available)]

�       CompoundSemi Newspublished an update and synopsis of the Uniroyal Technology Corporation (UTC) bankruptcy and receivership process.� In August, Uniroyal reported that a motion for approval of bidding procedures and sale of all the assets of the Company's subsidiary, Uniroyal Engineered Products, LLC (UEP) to UEP Acquisition LLC for $17.39 million had been filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.� The CEO of UTC, Howard R. Curd, is a principal of UEP Acquisition LLP.� UTC and all of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 on August 25, 2002.� As no other potential buyers emerged, the court approved the sale of UEP to UEP Acquisition LLC in October.� UEP and other parties recognized that, "�in light of the administrative insolvency of the Company, conversion of the Chapter 11 cases to liquidation under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code would be appropriate."� The order to convert the cases to liquidation under Chapter 7 was issued in late October.� Another UTC subsidiary, Uniroyal Optoelectronics, Inc. ("UOE") has been selling its assets since August 2003.� UTC stockholders and holders of unsecured claims are not expected to receive any recovery in the bankruptcy proceedings. [ Article in CompoundSemi News]

�       Visual Photonics Epitaxy Company Ltd (VPEC), a MOCVD technology-based epi materials manufacturer in Taiwan, is shipping wafer bonding (WB)-LED chips to Taiwan LED packaging manufacturers, according to CompoundSemi News.� VPEC patented technology is used to manufacture the WB-LED, which includes a silicon mirror-substrate for bonding with the AlGaInP LED.� The WB-LED being shipped is a 625nm red LED with >4 lm total flux illumination and <2.4 V forward voltage at 70 mA.� Potential applications include automotive lighting, traffic signal, outdoor display, camera flashlight (RGB), LCD (RGB) panel backlighting and optical-mouse.� VPEC is reportedly developing more products in this series, which are expected to be mass-produced in 2004. [ Article in CompoundSemi News ]

�       The UK's Young ECC Electronics has agreed to represent the Taiwanese LED manufacturer, Excellence Opto (EOI). EOI is a subsidiary of United Epitaxy (UEC). The company's portfolio includes diode pumped green lasers, red/yellow AIGaInP LEDs, blue-green InGaN LEDs and white InGaN LEDs.� EOI also uses a glue bonding technology, patented by UEC, which reportedly produces more cost effective and higher light output red-yellow LEDs. �[ Article in EE Times UK ]

B. New Products

�       Arima Optoelectronics has introduced a 30 - 35 lm/W red LED that features an emission wavelength of 620nm ±5nm.� It is available in two types, 12mil (300µm) x 12mil and 24mil (about 610µm) x 24mil.� The company placed a metal reflective layer below the LED's emission layer to increase luminous efficiency by directing light from the rear of the substrate towards the front.� The substrate itself is composed of a molybdenum alloy, which reportedly increases both the luminous efficiency and the yield ratio, stabilizes the forward voltage, and lowers production costs. [ Article at Electronic Engineering Times (Registration required) ]

�        BivarOpto, represented by M Rutty & Co, has introduced a new high-contrast material for its light pipe products family. The new material is reported to provide a 60% improved contrast ratio for light transmission of surface or through hole mounted LEDs.� It features the new 94V-0 compliant polycarbonate compound from GE.� Using this material, the light pipes appear to be white-diffused when off-state and full color when on-state.� The higher contrast ratio enables the potential use of the material in office equipment, indoor displays, building automation, motion sensors and motion control applications.� The material was also designed for potential use with alternative mounting, display and fixturing applications.� It is currently available through special order for the Bivar line of SLP, LP, VLPR and PLP Series light pipes, and the lens caps of the company's line of flexible light pipe (FLP Series) products. [ Article at Electronicnews.com.au ]

�       China National Electronics Import & Export Shaanxi Co. (CEIEC) has released its CEIECSXD6-004 super-bright LEDs and surface-mountable SMD LEDs in blue, purple, and white.� The LEDs feature a forward current of 35mA, a rated voltage of 30V, and power dissipation of 70mW.� The product has a luminous intensity of 10mcd to 7cd at 20mA, with an operating voltage rated at 3.2V to 4V at 20mA, and current of <10µA at 5V. They also feature an operating temperature of -40�C to 70�C, and soldering temperature is 260�C for 5s.� 5,000 pieces constitute a minimum order, with a lead time of 10 to 21 days. [ Article at Electronic EngineeringTimes (Registration is required) ]

�       Cree has announced its move into high power packaged LEDs with the introduction of the XLamp^tm.� The XLamp product family combines Cree's XBright® power chip with packaging technology.� The lamp is intended to enable high power lighting applications, including serving as a replacement for the incandescent bulb and other conventional light sources. It will be available in multiple colors for all applications.� Samples of a 1W surface mount XLamp device are scheduled to be available in early 2004 with initial production targeted for mid-year. [ Press release ]

�       Fairchild Semiconductor has developed a small blue LED with reduced power consumption for portable applications.� The QTLP603C-EB blue LED measures 1.6 by 0.8 mm and is 0.35 mm high.� It has a forward voltage of 3.15 volts at 5 milliamps.� It offers a typical luminous intensity of 20 to 25 mcd at 5 mA, water-clear optics and moisture-proof packaging.� Applications include backlighting keypads and pushbuttons in portable product designs such as cell phones and PDAs.� The QTLP603C-EB blue LED is available on a 7-inch (178-mm) diameter reel, with 2,000 units per reel.� It costs 35 cents each in lots of 10,000.� Volume production is available for immediate delivery. [ Press release ]

�       JPSA Laser has introduced a new excimer laser system for LED lift-off applications in the compound semiconductor and wafer fab industries.� The IX-1000 ChromaLift is reported to reduce the time and cost of the LED fabrication process because of the potential to re-use the sapphire growth substrate, the increase in the speed of the fabrication process as well as the increase in the LED light output.� Operating costs have also been lowered due to lower levels of stress being placed on the laser.� This new laser system reportedly has the potential to eliminate wafer scribing by allowing the manufacturer to grow GaN LED film devices on the sapphire wafer, then transferring the thin-film device to a heat sink electrical interconnect.� Capabilities include large area-per-shot and either step-and-repeat or fire-on-the-fly of up to 1x1cm area. The different power levels of the laser afford different fields of view, for example, the high pulse energy option allows 8x8mm up to 1x1cm at 50 sites per second and 5x5mm at up to 100 sites per second.� It is controlled and programmed with Windows 2000 software. Other features of the system include PC-controlled power meters and a beam profilometer, an automatic door Class 1 system, industrial-grade reliability with R&D flexibility. [ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net� ]

�       LEDtronics has introduced a complete line of 3200K warm incandescent-white LEDs and LED lamps in a variety of LED configurations, sizes, dispersion angles, packages and standard electrical bases.� The 3200K LED lamps range in size from 3mm midget flange to 3.75-inch R30-style spotlights.� The LED lamps may be used with existing wiring systems without any modifications as they use standard electrical bases.� The bases currently available are candelabra, 25mm Edison screw, 15mm bayonet, wedge and flange.� The 3200K LEDs are also available in a variety of panel mount lamps and discrete (3mm, 5mm and SMT) LED packages. [ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net]

�       Lumex announced the industry's first fault indicator designed for use with SMT LEDs.� The new LPF-C0413048 right angle quad LED fault indicator is reported to snap into any standard circuit board and fit over four surface-mount SMT LEDs.� The device features a right-angle design, which carries the light from the LEDs to the front panel.� The right angle quad LED fault indicator can be used wherever light must be moved from circuit board mounted SMT LEDs to any nearby front panel, thus providing a horizontal indication of fault, status, or level.� The LPF-C041304S is made of clear UL 94V-0-rated polycarbonate.� It can be used with LEDs of any color.� Available colors include blue, green, yellow, red, white, and bicolor choices.� [Item in Appliance (no URL available), information also available in the Press release ]

�        Lumileds has released new high-power LEDs, the Luxeon III Emitter and Luxeon III Star (mounted on FR4/aluminum PC Board).� These new LEDs are reported to have a light output of 65 and 80 lumens for white light at 700 and 1000 mA.� They feature twice the luminous flux of Lumileds 25 lumen white Luxeon and cost 30-50% less per lumen.� Lumen maintenance of the Luxeon LEDs is reported as 70 percent retention of its brightness after 50,000 hours of operation at 700 mA and 50 percent for 20,000 hours at 1000 mA.� Optics designed for Luxeon should perform similarly as the source size of the Luxeon III is identical.� Potential applications include task, orientation and architectural lighting, reading lights, flashlights, garden lighting, traffic signaling edge-lit signs, and LCD backlights.� Both the Luxeon III and Luxeon Star are also available in blue, royal blue, green, and cyan.� They are immediately available for shipping. [ Press release, Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]

�       Micrel has developed two new DC/DC boost converters, the MIC2289 and the MIC2287 in 2mm x 2mm packages for driving white LEDs in cellular, PDA, GPS, digital still cameras and camcorder applications.� Both drivers run on 2.5V to 10V input voltage, suitable for 1- and 2-cell Li Ion applications.� They have an output voltage of up to 34V, and a switch current rating of 500mA enabling them to power up to 8 white LEDs in a series.� The devices use high frequency 1.2MHz PWM control, allowing low noise operation.� They have three levels of over-voltage protection (OVP), 15V, 24V and 34V.� The MIC2289 saves space by requiring only four external components through the use of an internal Schottky diode.� It is available in the 2mm x 2mm MLF-8L package for $1.22 in 1,000-piece quantities.� The MIC2287 operates with an external Schottky diode and comes in the 2mm x 2mm MLF-8L and Thin SOT23-5L package options for $1.06 and $1.13 in 1,000-piecequantities, respectively.� Both drivers have available samples in stock. [ Press release ]

�       Omron Corp. has announced a new frontlight technology that reportedly creates brighter and clearer handheld LCD screens with reduced power consumption.� Called "hybrid integration technology," it combines "nano" prism arrays with a micro prism array into a frontlight to achieve a three-fold improvement in contrast ratio as compared to other company's front lighting methods.� The power consumption is lowered through the use of fewer LEDs.� The brightness was compared to that of notebook computers (100cd/m2).� The nano prism array was said to prevent the reflection of unnecessary light, enabling clearer screen images.� This new technology will be on display at the CEATEC JAPAN 2003 show October 7-11, at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.� [ Press release ]

�       OptiLED has introduced a new LED linear light, the CHIP Linear Optical Array.� The lamp's features include the ability to work on any existing voltage system, a standard base allowing for a retrofit into most installations worldwide, and it does not require power to be distributed from low voltage power supplies housed in NEMA enclosures.� It can be mounted to a flat surface and be rotated up to 180 degrees.� It has built-in micro-diffusers that allow light to be further directed at various beam angles in elliptical or spherical patterns with lower loss of light.� The CHIP Linear Optical Array uses an LPI-tailored optical system for color mixing and less pixelization.� This reportedly results in higher brightness and longer life without overdriving the LEDs.� The new lamp was unveiled at the Entertainment Technology Show (LDI) and at the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA) show, both held in Orlando, FLA.� Applications for the CHIP Linear Optical Array include indoor and outdoor illumination, up-lighting landscapes, cove and accent lighting as well as for projecting colored backgrounds used in stage productions. [ Press release ]

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