Archived Selected Headlines of Solid-State Lighting Headlines News

March 31, 2005	Super Vision has signed two more licensees to its Variable Color Lighting System patent and its Laidman technology portfolio. The two licensees are James Thomas Engineering, Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn., and Worcester, UK, and Xilver, B.V. of Gronsveld, The Netherlands. [ Press release ]
March 31, 2005	Lumileds announced new Luxeon III LEDs that emit 110 lm (amber), 140 lm (red) and 190 lm (red-orange), triple the performance of previous Luxeon products. The devices are especially important for rear automotive lighting applications, since a single LED will be able to power stop lamps, rear combination lamps and rear fog lamps. Other applications include aviation, manufacturing and "architainment." [Press release 1, press release 2 ]
March 31, 2005	Edison Opto announced its Edi-Power series of ultra HB-LEDs, available in 5-W to 40-W sizes with monochrome or RGB output. The 1200-lm output of the 40-W Edi-Power is suitable for general illumination, and its small size makes it compatible with many lighting applications. [ News item at LEDs Magazine ]
March 31, 2005	Color Kinetics introduced eight new products in its OEM line, including additional Digital Light Engines, new power/data modules, and proprietary chips that the company is making available to third parties for the first time. [ Press release ]
March 29, 2005	UniCAD has released a new version of its CAD package, UniMCO Version 4.0, specifically for designing LED, OLED, RCLED, VCSEL, and optical coating devices. [ News item at Optics.org ]
March 17, 2005	ITRI's Opto-Electronics & Systems Laboratories (OESL) has developed a LED that can operate at 110 V AC without a converter. According to OESL, the AC LED's light output per watt is more than 50% greater than that of an ordinary LED. The patent-pending AC-LED has been demonstrated in blue and green and is suitable for many industrial and consumer lighting applications. [ Press release ]
March 2005	Toshiba introduced the Technorainbow bendable 6-mm LED video screen, which can curve both convex and concave. [ Press release ]
March 29, 2005	MRS Spring Meeting News: Alex Zunger (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) discussed doping strategies and rules for difficult-to-dope semiconductors. His talk included discussion of the spontaneous formation of traps, use of multivalent dopants, and cluster doping. [2005 MRS Spring Meeting, News & Highlights, March 29 - scroll to Symposium E]
March 29, 2005	My-tronic has issued an extensive press release, titled "LEDs' Real Advantages," that details the state of solid state lighting technology. Aimed at consumers, the release addresses issues of cost, lifetime, color, and more. [ Press release ]
March 29, 2005	Super Vision founder Brett Kingstone has published a book, The Real War Against America (ISBN 0-9755199-2-1, Specialty Publishing), describing his company's intellectual property battle with Chinese competitors. [ Press release ]
March 29, 2005	Strategies Unlimited predicts the total market for GaN devices to more than double to reach $7.2 billion by 2009, driven by GaN-based laser diodes and electronic devices which are now in the early stages of market growth. The company has published a fourth edition of its report, "Gallium Nitride 2005 -- Technology Status, Applications, and Market Forecasts." [ Press release, report information ]
March 29, 2005	Nichia will begin selling LEDs for use in personal computers and car navigation systems at the end of March, according to Nikkei.net. Demand for PC and automotive use LEDs is projected at 150 billion yen and 600 billion yen, respectively. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]
March 29, 2005	Color Kinetics has licensed its intellectual property to James Thomas Engineering in connection with the marketing of James Thomas' Pixel Range line of LED-based products in North America. The Pixel Range includes high intensity solid-state color changing fixtures for architectural and entertainment applications. [ Press release ]
March 29, 2005	Permlight filed a patent infringement lawsuit against GELcore, asserting that GELcore LEDs infringe Permlight's patents, including U.S. Patent No. 6,712,486, "Mounting Arrangement for Light Emitting Diodes"; U.S. Patent No. 6,578,986, "Modular Mounting Arrangement and Method for Light Emitting Diodes"; and U.S. Patent No. 6,846,093, "Modular Mounting Arrangement and Method for Light Emitting Diodes." [ Press release ]
March 28, 2005	Permlight and ElectraLED have reached a settlement in the patent infringement lawsuit filed on February 11, 2005, asserting infringement of Permlight's U.S. Patent Nos. 6,712,486 and 6,846,093. ElectraLED received a license under Permlight's patented LED thermal management technology. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. [ Press release ]
March 28, 2005	Toshiba announced two bright white LEDs for general lighting, ornamental lighting and LCD backlighting. The TL10W02-D produces 60 lumens at about 2 W (500mA), achieved by improved mounting technology for the LED chip and use of a low thermal resistance package with improved heat release characteristics. The company will ship samples in July and start mass-production in October. The 30-lumen TL10W01-D will start sample shipments in June and go into mass-production in July. [ Press release ]
March 28, 2005	Microvision has filed for patent protection relating to a novel display system architecture that would use an array of low-cost LEDs to enable very high resolution displays with extremely wide fields of view. Potential applications include wearable displays that can simulate the "immersive" viewing experience of a movie theater or a very large high resolution television. The invention would use an array of conventional, inexpensive LEDs and a simple optical system, an improvement over the cumbersome wide field of view near-eye display systems currently available. [ Press release ]
March 28, 2005	Harvatek introduced two new HarvaLED LEDs for backlighting and illumination applications. The HarvaLED HT-PX76 and HT-PX78 series includes 1-, 2.5- and 3.5-W devices that produce 30 to 100 lm. The HT-P176TW and HT-P178TW are 1-W, white LED devices that deliver a typical output of 30 lm at 0.35 A. HT-P276TW and HT-P278TW are 2.5-W LEDs that deliver 60 lm at 0.70 A. HT-P376TW and HT-P378TW are 3.5-W LEDs that deliver 100 lm at 1.05 A. Both HT-PX76 and HT-PX78 surface-mountable packages feature an integrated thermal management design. [ Press release ]
March 28, 2005	Agilent will increase the number of employees in its China locations by 36% (from 1,100 to 1,500) by the end of 2005, according to an announcement made at the China Development Forum. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]
March 25, 2005	The Industrial and Economics Knowledge Center (IEK) of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) predicts that Taiwan's LED production value will grow only 16% on year to about NT$46.96 billion in 2005, compared to 23% growth last year, according to DigiTimes. The production value of Taiwan's LED industry grew at an annual rate of 40-42% from 2001-2003, when the industry began producing GaN LEDs, but complications with the production of white LEDs, such as intellectual property issues, have slowed growth. [ News item at DigiTimes ]
March 24, 2005	*ZDNet.com* published an overview article on LEDs as backlights in LCD televisions, titled "Display tech aims for a brighter future." The article quotes market analyst Jed Dorsheimer of Adams Harkness, who expects it will be three to four years before LEDs are used in popular television sizes, such as 42-inch sets, in the sub-$2,000 range. [ Feature article ]
March 24, 2005	LED lighting was featured in a winning entry in a design contest for a student lounge at Swarthmore College. Student Joey Roth proposed LED lighting for mailboxes both to alert students to new mail and to create a "visually striking wall of randomly illuminated boxes, reminiscent of an apartment building at night." [ News item in the Phoenix student newspaper, design information ]
March 24, 2005	Intematix announced production availability of the first members of its fully patent-backed phosphor family. The White Lightning Y450� and the White Lightning Y460� deliver YAG-equivalent performance and color benefiting many applications requiring bright, vibrant light. These include backlighting, camera flash, automotive lighting, large area signage and architectural lighting. Intematix has licensed its white LED phosphor technology to Advanced Optoelectronic Technology (Taiwan). [Press release 1, 2 ]
March 23, 2005	The Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) awarded grants totaling $600,000 to seven faculty research teams, including one for research by Vladimir Bulovic and his team on a new quantum-dot-based light-emitting device for flat-panel displays. [ Press release ]
March 23, 2005	Several recent U.S. LED-related patent applications were listed in *LEDs Magazine. The applications cover "Driver circuit for LED vehicle lamp" (Osram Sylvania); "Universal light emitting illumination device and method" (Technology Assessment Group); "Light emission control circuit uniformly and non-uniformly controlling a plurality of light-emitting elements"; and "LED lamp" (Matsushita Electric Industrial). [ News item at LEDs Magazine* ]
March 23, 2005	Color Kinetics was awarded its third patent relating to intelligent pool and spa lights. U.S. patent number 6,869,204, "Light fixtures for illumination of liquids," relates in part to mechanical advancements, such as those that enable a thin, surface-mounted light. [ Press release ]
March 22, 2005	Rohm (Japan) plans to sell ZnO-based blue LEDs as early as 2007, according to a report in the Japanese online newspaper Nikkei.net. The ZnO-based LEDs reportedly will be 10 times brighter than current GaN-based blue LEDs, at one-tenth the cost. Rohm will spend about $10 million to develop the technology over the next three years in collaboration with the Institute of Materials Research at Tohoku University. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
March 22, 2005	Lumileds and Future Electronics joined to form Lumileds Future Electronics, a joint effort to ease development and manufacture of Luxeon-based lighting solutions. Lumileds Future Electronics intends to enable lighting system manufacturers and designers to easily and quickly engineer, prototype and manufacture solid-state lighting solutions. [ Press release ]
March 21, 2005	The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced a new partnership with Boeing to develop innovative and efficient lighting solutions for use aboard commercial aircraft. The LRC and Boeing will collaborate on projects to evaluate current aircraft interior lighting designs and to specify new lighting concepts and requirements. [ Press release ]
March 21, 2005	*Electronics Weekly* published an overview of LEDs for automotive headlights, titled "Full beam ahead for LED headlights." The article discusses mounting, beam angle, thermal management and color issues. [ Feature Article ]
March 18, 2005	University of Tokyo researchers have developed an LED made of strained GaSb quantum dots embedded in silicon that emits infrared light with an external quantum efficiency of up to 0.3%. Susumu Fukatsu and colleagues made the device via molecular beam epitaxy. The research was reported as "A Si-based quantum-dot light-emitting diode" in the March 7, 2005, issue of Applied Physics Letters. [ News item at Optics.org, abstract ]
March 17, 2005	Evident introduced a line of quantum dots integrated into a series of common resins and polymer matrix materials. EviComposites� are made of EviDot� quantum dots engineered into a series of forms designed to be easy to use, to speed the development of new materials and new products by making quantum dot nanomaterials more applicable to common manufacturing processes. [ Press release ]
March 17, 2005 March 14, 2005	AXT appointed Philip C.S. Yin as chief executive officer, replacing interim CEO Donald L. Tatzin. Yin most recently served as AIXTRON 's North American general manager. AXT also reduced the workforce at its Beijing, China manufacturing facility by about 15% (100 positions), for an anticipated annual payroll and related expense savings of about $300,000. [ Press release 1, 2 ]
March 16, 2005	N-Hitech (South Korea) exported more than 20 billion won in display parts to Japanese companies last year, according to a feature article in the Korea Times. N-Hitech makes back light units (BLU) for LCDs, LEDs and lead-free controller boards, and supplies components to companies such as Fuji Xerox and Samsung. The company's annual sales increased last year by 72%, to 26.8 billion won, from 15.6 billion won in 2003. [ News item in the Korea Times ]
March 15, 2005	Young Electronics Group introduced a line of white LEDs based on a proprietary non-YAG phosphor with the "brightest blue chip" available to produce more than 11cd in a 5-mm LED and 140 L in a 5-W LED, according to a company spokesperson. The LEDs are intended for indoor architectural lighting, decorative lighting, torch lighting, photoflash, traffic signaling and other general applications. [ News item at ElectronicsTalk.com ]
March 15, 2005	Permlight and Osram introduced a new LED-based system for stopping movie piracy. Permlight's Enbryten Piracy line uses Osram's recently introduced thin film infrared power LED technology to transmit an invisible signal into movie audiences to wash out any silicon CCD-based digital camcorders. [ Press release ]
March 14, 2005	Catalyst Semiconductor and Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions have signed a non-exclusive agreement to jointly promote each others' products in the systems solutions they offer to their global solid-state illumination customers. [ Press release ]
March 14, 2005	Toyoda Gosei and TridonicAtco, the lighting components and control gear division of the Zumtobel Group (Austria), have formed a joint venture to advance the development of high-power white LEDs. The joint venture will make high-power LED packages and components for the general lighting market, with a focus on color temperature, tolerance, homogeneous white light and color rendering. [ Press release ]
March 11, 2005 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY	EPA posted a request for initial proposals for Market-Based Approaches to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Energy Efficiency in Homes and Buildings. Initial proposals are due April 25, 2005; final proposals will be due May 27, 2005. Proposals may address a number of concerns, one of which is "improving energy performance in the residential market through increased use of high-efficiency products" and another is "delivering improved energy performance to existing commercial buildings through technology or practice." More information is available in the synopsis and RFIP.
March 10, 2005	Arrowhead Research has exclusively licensed new technology in dip pen nanolithography (DPN) from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), with the intent of commercialization. Arrowhead also acquired a 12-month option to exclusively license additional patent applications from Caltech covering nanotube-based scanning probes, lipid membrane fabrication, nanotube-based memory devices, and nanotube strain sensors. The technology could potentially be used for mechanically tunable LEDs. [ Press release ]
March 10, 2005	Aixtron's merger with Genus was completed after Genus' shareholders approved the merger with a majority of about 61% of the shares entitled to vote at the meeting. [ Press release ]
March 2005	Agilent's market strategy is discussed in a feature article at Compound Semiconductor magazine. The article notes that the company is targeting the consumer electronics sector, including camera-phone flashes, illuminators for personal hand-held projectors, and backlights for large LCD televisions, to create opportunities for its daughter company Lumileds. [ Feature article ]
Event	Blue 2005, the 3rd International Industry Review for LED Technologies Driving the Solid State Lighting Revolution, is set for May 16 to 18, 2005, in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Key speakers will include George Mueller of Color Kinetics, H.S. Chung, formerly of Samsung/SEMCO, Patricia A. Martone with Fish & Neave IP Group of Ropes & Gray LLP, and Dr. Robert Steele of Strategies Unlimited. The program will also include updates from key Taiwanese producers such as Epistar, Cotco, OptoTech, ForEpi and others. [ Conference information, editorial at LIGHTimes ]
March 10, 2005	SAIC has been awarded a DARPA contract to deliver 800 high-performance solid state flashlight prototypes. The flashlights will be supplied to deployed U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq for in-the-field experimental evaluation and feedback. SAIC and SureFire, LLC, a manufacturer of tactical flashlights, have been collaborating for several years to develop new technologies that enhance flashlight performance. The prototypes will use LEDs from Lumileds. [ Press release ]
March 10, 2005	Taiwan industry: White LEDs from the Taiwan industry are expected to account for 20% of worldwide production value this year, up from 1% in 2004. [ Excerpted item at DigiTimes ]
March 9, 2005	InnovaLight has moved its operations to St. Paul, Minn., from Austin, Texas. The company's core technology is focused on developing next-generation lighting based on novel luminescent silicon nanocrystals, and is based on work by Dr. Uwe Kortshagen of the University of Minnesota, Dr. Brian Korgel of the University of Texas, and others. [ Press release ]
March 8, 2005	National Chiao Tung University, in a five-year effort led by Professor Shing-chung Wang, has successfully developed a surface light emitting (VCSEL) blue ray laser from GaN. This is the first such development of this type in Taiwan, and "it also puts Taiwan ahead of leading edge laboratories in the United States and Japan in such research, and propels Taiwan's blue ray laser research to a world-class standard." Compared to other approaches, they claim that their technology is unique in facilitating the mass production of DVD discs and "enables a wide range of applications. In addition to largely raising the amount of information that can be stored on a DVD, if the technology is applied in a monitor, the brightness will be better than that of an LED." It is hoped that the technology will be transferred to local manufacturers after two to three years. [ Item at III-Vs Review, item from DigiTimes ]
March 8, 2005	The Keystone Group has developed FlareAlert�, a battery-operated, LED-based safety flare visible for miles from both the ground and the air. The device uses 12 high-output LEDs, and is now available in red, with blue, green, yellow and white versions to be available later this year. [ Press release ]
March 7, 2005	Alfred University's School of Engineering received a $10 million endowment from Kyocera Corporation (Japan) for its program in advanced ceramics, biomaterials and photonics. The research initiative funded by the gift will complement ongoing collaborations between the university and the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University at Albany - SUNY. Alfred University participates as a member of the CNSE and other joint nanotechnology enabled collaborations in a number of areas, including solid state lighting. [ Press release ]
March 7, 2005	Toshiba has developed a fluorescent substance for white LEDs that can be used in conjunction with blue LEDs to create a white light that is close to natural sunlight, according to a report from Asia Pulse and LIGHTimes. Products containing the new material, which emits 1.7 times the brightness of conventional white LEDs, could be available in two to three years, according to the reports. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]
March 7, 2005	Kyma Technologies has expanded its GaN substrate product line to include both conductive and semi-insulating (SI) GaN substrates, ranging in size and shape from 10 mm x 10 mm squares to 3-in. diameter rounds, all with dislocation densities below 10 7 cm-2 (some as low as mid 10 5 cm-2) and with improved surfaces. The company is also developing 4-in. diameter SI GaN for use in microelectronic device applications. [ Press release ]
March 4, 2005	Dr. Jong Ram Lee of Pohang University of Science and Technology (Korea), in cooperation with Seoul Optodevice, has developed a very bright, vertically configured blue LED, which Seoul Optodevice will soon release as a 10-W lamp. The electrode structure of the group's previous blue LED was horizontal, and brightness and lifetime were diminished when it was activated at high power. The new LED has a light power 3.5 times greater than the previous device. [ News item at ATIP.org ]
March 4, 2005	National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that its researchers are working on a Solid State Radiance Calibration Source: "� compact sources can be used for both initial characterizations and for periodic measurements to determine that the SSE [size-of-source effect] has not changed. This invention describes the design, construction, and characterization of a unique LED-based radiance source. Different diffuser materials are assessed for spatial and angular uniformity." [ FBO special notice, Reference-Number-SN0305 ]
March 3, 2005	Japanese lighting manufacturer Ryoukou has created an artificial cherry tree lit by 7,600 white LEDs. The Attachment Tree weighs half a ton, stands 6 meters tall, and has a branch span of 5 meters. [ News item at Engadget.com ]
March 3, 2005	LED lighting from Color Kinetics and Main Light Industries will be used in a number of concert tours this summer. Main Light's Soft-LED�, an intelligent LED-based drapery that combines Color Kinetics' solid-state lighting technology and control systems with Main Light's expertise in stage lighting, is lightweight and easy to install, and reduces the cost typically associated with large-scale video and lighting backdrops. [ Press release ]
March 3, 2005	The Higher Education Funding Council is to grant research funds of about �16m to the University of Bath (UK), representing a 20% increase, which will support continued research in a number of areas, including investigation of "new forms of LED lighting." [ BBC News item ]
March 1, 2005	Soitec announced that it has generated, in collaboration with its Picogiga division, a single-crystal, thin-film GaN-on-insulator substrate, which it says is the world's first. The breakthrough is an important step forward in enabling the development of high-performance blue and white LEDs, as well as for improving current and future device performance in radio-frequency and discrete power applications. The development was made using Soitec's proprietary Smart Cut� layer-transfer and wafer-bonding technology. Picogiga says commercialization is not expected until 2006 or 2007. [ Press release, news item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
March 1, 2005	OnScreen Technologies launched the RediAd� product line of bright LED signs for retail point-of-purchase advertising. The first product, called "The Living Window," displays a bright three- to six-line text message through a 15 to 30-square-foot, lightweight, see-through sign that can be placed in any window without blocking the view in or out. Wireless control means amber alert and other emergency messaging can be shown when necessary. [ Press release ]
March 1, 2005	Clarity Lighting has installed three light walls in the Executive Briefing Centre at Microsoft UK in Reading. The Microdex walls, which measure 3.2 x 2.7 m, 4.8 x 2.7 m, and 4.1 x 2.7 m, use 1-W Luxeon linear RGB multiLEDS. The walls are intended to allow Microsoft to take advantage of the positive mood enhancing properties evoked by colored lighting, and to maximize the ambience and aesthetics of the new, contemporary-styled briefing facility. [ Press release ]
March 2005	LED backlighting of LCD televisions was the topic of the cover story, "LED Backlights Boost LCD TV Color," in the March 2005 issue of Nikkei Electronics Asia. Sony may see the new technology as its "next Trinitron," while Toyoda Gosei and Showa Denko are hoping to compete with Lumileds in this market, according to the article. [ Article at Nikkei Electronics Asia ]
March 2005	Compound Semiconductor Magazine has published an article on the IP legal battle between Nichia and Shuji Nakamura, "Nichia marches on, Nakamura licks wounds and pays lawyers," in its March 2005 issue. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
February 28, 2005	Furukawa (Japan) will begin making 2-in. GaN substrates at the end of this year, according to a report at Nikkei.net. The company is planning to produce 5000 to 6000 units per month by 2008, or about $77 million in sales per year, and will target next-generation DVD applications. [ News brief at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
February 28, 2005	Agilent and Lumileds introduced the first three products in the new Envisium mid-power LED family. The Envisium Power PLCC-4 (plastic leaded chip carrier) surface-mount LEDs are intended for automotive exterior lighting, and other applications including mood lighting and highlighting, garden lighting, and illuminated signs and signals. The devices are available in red, red-orange and amber and produce up to 1580 mcd luminous intensity and 4300 mlm total flux at 50 mA. [ Agilent press release ]
February 28, 2005	BivarOpto introduced a Right Angle SMT LED indicator capable of replacing traditional PCB through-hole LED assembly displays. The device measures 2.4 x 3.2 mm, features InGaN performance characteristics, and is packaged with a lens centerline 1.4 mm from PCB surfaces for optimal light emission. It features peak wavelengths of 470 to 660 nm, axial intensity from 140 to 160 mcd at 20 mA, and a forward voltage and current rated at 4.0 Vf at 20mA. [ Press release ]
February 25, 2005	A feature article in the Baltimore Sun, "LEDs might light up our lives," discusses LEDs as replacements for incandescent light bulbs. The overview article quotes Fred Schubert of RPI and Jeff Tsao of Sandia National Laboratories. [ Feature article in the Baltimore Sun (registration required) ]
February 25, 2005	The Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST) has published recommendations for defining and measuring LED life for lighting. The publication, "ASSIST Recommends: LED Life for General Lighting," proposes a definition for the life of LED products for lighting based on light output depreciation and appropriate light levels for different types of lighting applications. The group recommends 70% lumen maintenance (i.e., a 30% reduction in light output over time) as the useful life for general lighting applications and 50% lumen maintenance for decorative lighting applications. ASSIST is an LED industry group organized by RPI's LRC. [ Press release, publication ]
February 24, 2005	ABI Research has published a new study, "LEDs and Laser Diodes," which analyzes major LED and laser diode markets, technologies, and players, and reviews external factors that may affect the growth of the LED industry. According to the study, by 2010 the global LED market may consist of two segments: a highly commoditized market in simple, inexpensive LEDs for mass-produced goods, and another sector dealing in high-end, high-tech innovations. [ Press release, report information ]
February 22, 2005	Lighthouse Technologies introduced the P12-Enhanced Resolution (ER) indoor/outdoor LED panel, which uses advanced digital processing to enhance resolution to include more detailed information on a smaller screen. The P12-ER has a 12.5 mm dot pitch resolution, allowing more images, graphics and text to be displayed on 25 mm panels. The P12-ER is the first LED panel to combine the benefits of Lighthouse's M4 color uniformity, 14-bit grayscale, and resolution-enhancing technology, and is intended for advertising and stadium applications that require mid-size screens with high resolution for longer viewing distances. [ Press release ]
February 21, 2005	John Adinolfi of Leotek reported on the large municipal market for LEDs in applications other than traffic signals, according to an article at LIGHTimes. Adinolfi told attendees at the recent Strategies in Light conference that for every 1,000 people in the U.S., there are 140 non-highway, road low-light lamps, totaling an estimated $14.8 billion for the 50 W LED market alone. For street name signs, the retrofit market is $144 million and the new install market is about $2 billion, he said. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]
February 2005	An overview of China's national initiative for solid-state lighting was published in LEDs Magazine, based on a presentation by Ling Wu, director of the China Solid-State Lighting Program Office at the Strategies in Light conference. The program has already received 140 RMB ($17 million) from central government, and 15 research institutions and more than 50 enterprises are involved. Major investment in SSL is expected when China's 11th 5-year plan is unveiled in July 2005. China's solid-state lighting roadmap is set to be unveiled at the China SSL Forum in Xiamen, April 12 to 15, 2005. [ Feature article in LEDs Magazine ]
February 2005	Forge Europa will distribute Cree's Xlamp� LEDs under a new agreement with Cree granting Forge Europa exclusive distribution rights in a number of territories. [ Press release ]
February 2005	2nd Annual DOE Solid State Lighting Workshop (Feb. 3-4 in San Diego): Highlights of the workshop, attended by more than 170 representatives from industry, research institutions, universities and national labs, are described in an article available on the NETL website. The workshop provided an interactive forum for shaping and prioritizing DOE's SSL research and development activities. Participants reviewed, discussed, and prioritized more than 65 R&D tasks and subtasks within the DOE SSL R&D agenda. Presentations made at the workshop are available online, as well as reference documents, which include the 2005 project portfolio (full list of workshop materials ). The complete workshop report will be posted in March. [ Workshop highlights ]
February 2005	DOE signed a memorandum of agreement with the Next Generation Lighting Industry Alliance on February 2 to establish a partnership that will help support the development and commercialization of SSL technology. [ Information on agreement, memorandum of agreement, NEMA press release (2/18/2005)]
February 2005	The Boston Ballet's use of LED lighting in its holiday production of the Nutcracker is discussed in an article in Laser Focus World. The ballet chose the lighting system, which included products from Color Kinetics and Osram, in part to save floor space in the smaller theater it used this year. [ Article in Laser Focus World ]
February 22, 2005	Custom Interconnect Ltd has developed novel LED arrays, called CoolLED, from 300x300�m bare UV LED die on a metallized ceramic substrate. The device features a looser pitch than most arrays, as well as cup-shaped reflectors around the die, thus increasing light output by 80 percent and decreasing heat. [ News item in Electronics Weekly ]
February 22, 2005	Osram introduced the PointLED, with a 2 mm diameter and luminous efficacy of 38 lm/W. At 0.775 mm high, the device can be sunk completely in the printed circuit board. The white LED has a typical brightness of 800 mcd at a beam angle of 120�. [ Press release ]
February 21, 2005	Cotco was featured in an article on LED technology in the Chinese business newspaper, The Standard. The article discusses the small company's strategy for taking on competitors such as Philips and the growing markets for LEDs. [ Article in The Standard ]
February 18, 2005	My-Tronic (Germany) introduced a new RGB LED product line called Chara, which includes the Chara LED Lightball (see product description ). The new line is compatible with My-Tronic's DecoLED systems and with DMX 512. [ Press release ]
February 17, 2005	Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a controversial theory to explain how InGaN LEDs emit light. Professor Colin Humphreys says observations made by the Cambridge materials science team, which specializes in electron microscopy, suggest the indium clusters previously thought to be responsible for light emission are actually an artifact of the microscopy used by other researchers and not inherent in the heterostructures. In addition, the Cambridge materials science department has set up a 15-member team to investigate why green LEDs are significantly less efficient. [ Article at ElectronicsWeekly.com ]
February 16, 2005	Lighting Science Group Corp and Giuliani Capital Advisors have created a joint venture intended to accelerate the deployment of Lighting Science's patent-pending Optimized Digital Lighting� (ODL) technology under the company's Energy Saving Sharing Program, which enables organizations to use ODL products without any upfront capital expenditures and to share the energy savings with the joint venture. The joint venture will finance and deploy the ODL technology in lighting applications owned and operated by municipalities, public utility corporations, universities, large malls, parking lots and other organizations with significant lighting requirements. [ Press release ]
February 16, 2005	OptiLED introduced its S11 LED pseudo-filament lamp, a product intended to replace incandescent S11 glass light bulbs. The S11, which consumes less than 0.5 W, is suitable for marquees, retail, hospitality, staging and residential lighting and is available in red, green, blue, amber and white. [ Press release ]
February 16, 2005	South Epitaxy (Taiwan) may acquire Epitech via a stock swap, according to DigiTimes. Epitech's main shareholders include United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), which is also a major shareholder of LED-packaging firm Harvatek, and the acquisition will allow the UMC Group to establish a complete supply chain for its LED investment. [ News item in DigiTimes ]
February 15, 2005	The Vincent Thomas Bridge at the Port of Los Angeles is one of the few bridges in the world to be illuminated by LEDs and, according to developers, the first such bridge installation in the world to combine LEDs with a solar PV system. The bridge is now lit by 160 solar-powered, LED light fixtures. [ Article in RenewableEnergyAccess.com News, Vincent Thomas Bridge Lighting website, LEDtronics page ]
February 15, 2005	CameraBright announced two new LED-based models in its CameraBright!� X1 lighting accessory product line. The CameraBright! X1-ER Extended Range provides cooler color temperatures (6,000 K), a slender light beam, brightness of 72 cd, and a range of up to 20 ft. The CameraBright! X1-W Warm White light provides a warmer temperature light (3,000 K), a broader light beam, brightness of 25 cd and a range of up to 10 ft. [ Press release ]
February 14, 2005	Osram will provide technology for new LED warning signals from Nova Electronics. The new Nova SLWIC3 contains 56 wide-angle, high-intensity OSRAM Power TOPLED�s in a novel split-array arrangement and represents an innovation in emergency warning light design due to the thin packaging, high light output and surface-mount capability. [ Press release ]
February 14, 2005	February 14, 2005 A teenage inventor has developed the "Glo-Glove," a glove fitted with 13 LEDs whose beams can be directed using the hands and fingers. Ethan Fowler, 14, of Manchester, England, won the regional heat of the Audi Innovation Award and will compete against 23 others for the national title. [ News item in Manchester Online ]
February 11, 2005	Reports on the Strategies in Light event, held February 7 to 9, 2005, in California, were published in LIGHTimes and LEDs Magazine. [Articles in LIGHTimes- item 1, item 2, item 3; article in LEDs Magazine ] Highlights include: � Alan Thompson of LIGHTimes says he sees a "perfect storm" brewing for the HB-LED market, brought on by overcapacity and heavy reliance on cell phone sales. � Tony van de Ven of Lighthouse Technologies said that using video screens for billboard advertising is now financially feasible, and that the technical challenges of creating large LED screens have largely been overcome. � Sidney Chu of Cotco discussed issues with traditional backlighting using CCFL, EEFL, or FFL, including heat stress, color deterioration, non-uniform brightness due to curvature on large screens, and environmental issues, and explained how these problems can be overcome with RGB LED arrays. � R�diger M�ller of Osram discussed growth in miniature projection systems, flat-panel display backlights, automotive headlights and general lighting, applications which require improved color uniformity, increased surface brightness and reduced cost. � Jason Posselt of Lumileds said cost targets of less than 1 cent per lumen are achievable within the next five years. Lumileds also announced a redesign of its Luxeon high-power LED product ( see February 9 headline, below ). � Chris James of Cree showed a timeline graph detailing Cree's progress in the "lumens per wafer" metric for white LEDs. Cree representatives also acknowledged that although production of its 100 lm/W source is not imminent ( see February 8 item, below ), the company expects production white LEDs of 50 lm/W this year. � Shuji Muguruma of Nichia outlined the company's application focus, which covers four main areas: lighting, displays, automotive and mobile, with a different product set for each and said his company has a 5 W package producing 200 lumens on its product roadmap for lighting. � Bill Kennedy of Toyoda Gosei presented a new power SMD LED, due to enter production in April 2005, which includes a 1 x 1 mm chip, the phosphor, and a package measuring 3.4 mm x 2.8 mm x 1.2 mm deep that provides "superior" heat dissipation. � Representatives from Taiwan and Korea said they are committed to IP protection, but IP concerns were repeated throughout the conference.
February 11, 2005	Shenzhen Mason Technology released 5mm LEDs with brightness ranging from 40 mcd to 0.4 cd. Rated at 1.9 V to 2.5 V, the LEDs have a rated forward current of 20mA, viewing angle of 120� and a lifespan of 80,000h, and are available in a variety of colors. [ Press release (registration required) ]
February 11, 2005	Permlight has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against ElectraLED, alleging that ElectraLED's "FLEX" LED system infringes Permlight's patents, including U.S. Patent No. 6,712,486, "Mounting Arrangement for Light Emitting Diodes" and U.S. Patent No. 6,846,093, "Modular Mounting Arrangement and Method for Light Emitting Diodes." [ Press release ]
February 10, 2005	PerkinElmer has acquired Elcos AG, a leading European designer and manufacturer of custom LED solutions for biomedical and industrial applications. The transaction combines Elcos' visible LED technology platform and strong customer and application base with PerkinElmer's global sales, application and support organization, and will provide significantly greater growth opportunities for the Elcos technology, according to the company. [ Press release ]
February 10, 2005	OnScreen Technologies' RediAlert� Rapid Dispatch Emergency Sign� will be featured in editorials in three national trade-specific publications, Law Enforcement Product News, Police and Security News and Fire/EMS Product News. The RediAlert product line includes highly visible, portable LED signs that can be powered and transported by any vehicle, set up by one person in a few minutes, and controlled remotely from a variety of encrypted wireless technologies. [ Press release 1, Press release 2, product information ]
February 9, 2005	Lumileds announced the upcoming expansion of its high power Luxeon line with emitters that offer 65 lumens in white at 350mA, 185�C allowable junction temperature, and a JEDEC moisture sensitivity level of 2a. The company also says that the product line will feature "the world's best light output with performance in white of 65 to 130 lumens." Designed to simplify the process of incorporating Luxeon light sources into lighting assemblies and end-user products, these new emitters represent a complete redesign of the Luxeon package, according to the company. The new products will be available this summer in white and in seven colors. [ Press release ]
February 9, 2005	Lumileds announced it will issue an advisory to the solid-state lighting industry regarding its intellectual property pertaining to the manufacture and assembly of mirror substrate LEDs. The action comes in response to reports that certain die manufacturers and LED packagers are violating Lumileds' patents, according to the company. [ Press release ]
February 9, 2005	Kopin has formed a joint venture company with strategic and financial investors, called Ko-Brite Corp., to establish GaN materials growth capabilities in Taiwan and LED die production capabilities in China. Kopin expects to cease all LED manufacturing activities by the end of March 2005 and to complete the transfer of its LED operations to Ko-Brite by July 1, 2005. [ Press release, news item in LIGHTimes ]
February 9, 2005	Cree and Nichia have entered into a patent cross-license agreement relating to white LED technology, complementing a patent cross-license arrangement between the companies announced in November 2002. According to a statement from Cree, "Nichia has developed pioneering technology in the field of LED-based white lighting and this agreement gives Cree access to this important technology. At the same time, the agreement recognizes the strength of Cree's intellectual property and reinforces both companies' leadership in solid-state lighting." Neither company disclosed detailed terms of the agreement. [ Nichia press release, Cree press release ]
February 8, 2005	Mitsubishi announced its PocketProjector�, one of the world's smallest LED projectors. Weighing 14 ounces and fitting into a coat pocket, the projector is lighted by three Lumileds� LEDs and intended for use with a notebook computer, portable DVD player, or gaming console. It will be available in July 2005. [ Press release ]
February 8, 2005	Pro-Lite is now distributing Labsphere's SLMS-0400 Series Spectral Lamp Measurement Systems and HLMS-200P Handheld Light Measurement System. The products enable users to easily determine the optical properties of small light sources such as LEDs, miniature lamps and laser diodes. [ Press release, news item at Physicsweb.org ]
February 8, 2005	Berlin's Transmediale international media art festival opened with Sky Ear, a project involving helium-filled balloons equipped with ultra-bright LEDs that changed color and intensity as they interacted with electromagnetic waves from television broadcasts, police radios and other wireless communication devices. [ Article in DW-World ]
February 7, 2005	TIR Systems' Light Pipe system will provide general illumination for the Departure and Arrival levels of Chicago O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 2. TIR has also been chosen to replace an existing conventional lighting system in the Cobo Hall Tunnel in downtown Detroit. The two contracts total $2.9 million. [ Press release ]
February 3, 2005	Researchers at Konan University in Kobe, Japan, have developed a simple chemical method for tuning the color of semiconductor nanocrystals. The method, developed by Kensuke Akamatsu and colleagues, involves a chemical treatment using 1-decanethiol that gradually blueshifts the emission from nanoparticles of cadmium telluride without affecting the particle size. This research is published as "Band gap engineering of CdTe nanocrystals through chemical surface modification," in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. [ News item in Nature, abstract ]
February 8, 2005	Strategies Unlimited's Bob Steele has forecast that the HB-LED market will nearly double by 2009, to about $7 billion. Steele also reported that the market grew 37% to $3.7 billion in 2004, and that white LEDs for backlighting of full-color displays saw 75% market growth in 2004. The report was made at the Strategies in Light conference. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
February 8, 2005	Cree announced its most recent breakthrough: 100 lm/W and 50% wall-plug efficiency from standard 5 mm LEDs and maximum luminous flux of 60 lm from its 7090 series white XLamp power LEDs operating at 350 mA. The announcement was made at the Strategies in Light conference. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]
February 8, 2005	Lamina Ceramics claims to have set another world's record with its ultra-high lumen LED array, branded Aterion� White. The 28,000 lumen solid-state device uses 1,120 LEDs, is 5" square, and powered by 1,400 watts. It produces a CRI of 80. The array radiates no heat in its light beam and features instant-on, instant re-strike and fully dimmable capabilities. [ Press release ]
Funding Opportunity	DOD has released the 2005 STTR solicitation. One MDA topic is "Wide Bandgap Material and Device Development" (MDA05-T016), which has this objective - "develop wide bandgap (SiC and GaN) semiconductor devices for efficient, reliable, high power electrical generation, control, conversion, and distribution systems for ground, airborne and space applications." DOD will begin accepting proposals beginning March 15, 2005 with the deadline for all proposals being April 15, 2005. [ See also program solicitation ]
Event	Photonics Cluster (UK), in association with LEDS Magazine, will present a two-day event focusing on the technology and applications of high brightness light-emitting diodes, "LEDs - Lighting the Way Forward". The seminar is set for April 20-21, 2005 in Birmingham, UK. [ Event information ]
Event	LightFair International, the world's largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show, conference and institute, is set for April 10 to 14 in New York City. The program includes several workshops and seminars on LEDs: "LED Technology", "LEDs with Architectural Applications: Wallwashing," and "LEDs�Innovation, Application, and Product Evolution." [ Event brochure, summary press release (Oct. 2004)]
February 7, 2005	Dubilier introduced a series of low-cost LEDs in red, yellow, orange, and green, in 3mm and 5mm diameters, with radial leads. The line includes surface-mount chip LEDs in industry standard 0603 and 0805 sizes and high brightness units providing up to 8,000 Mcd light. [ News item at EETimes Asia (registration required), product information ]
February 3, 2005	Carmanah received an additional $615,000 order for solar-powered lighting from the U.S. Marine Corps. The USMC will use more than 1,000 units of Carmanah's Model A601 and A702 airfield lights for taxiway edge, helipad edge, runway edge and obstruction lighting at its second largest air base in the Middle East. [ Press release ]
February 2, 2005	iLight Technologies was profiled in an article in the Chicago Sun Times. iLight has taken on the $2 billion neon lighting business with its LED-based Plexineon product. The firm is reportedly growing at a rate of 60% per year. In a related article, Nick Holonyak (University of Illinois), called the "father of the LED", was interviewed. [ Articles ]
February 2, 2005	III-N Technology (Manhattan, Kan.) has developed single-chip power AC-LED lamps that need no power conversion and can be plugged directly into standard power outlets or lamp sockets. Hongxing Jiang, who founded III-N Technology with his fellow Kansas State University professor Jingyu Lin, made the announcement at the recent Photonics West conference. [ News item in LEDS Magazine ] (See also Seoul Semi item, below )
February 2, 2005	BivarOpto introduced an ultra-thin surface-mount RGB device featuring individual addressable die for exact color mixing and matching, suitable for backlit keypads and LCDs used in handheld and mobile appliance applications. The tri-chip RGB design comprises one AlGaInP and two InGaN/SIC chip dies, with peak wavelengths of 635, 520 and 465 nm. [ News item in LEDs Magazine ]
February 1, 2005	Shenzhen Lanke Electronics Co. Ltd (China), a manufacturer of LEDs and LED products, was profiled by Global Sources Electronic Components. The company has a monthly capacity of 70 million LED lamps and 10 million SMD LEDs, and plans to significantly increase exports this year. [ Article ]
February 1, 2005	Permlight and Chloride Systems have jointly developed an emergency LED lighting system based on its patented floor, path of egress, and thermal management technology. Using Permlight's LED Light Engine technology, Chloride Systems, a division of the Genlyte Group, developed a complete emergency lighting systems package that includes LED luminaires, battery back-up, and power outage detection circuitry. [ Press release ]
February 1, 2005	Taiwan's optoelectronics industry production value is expected to rise 34% year-on-year to US$47.17 billion in 2005, due to increased global demand for optical display and optical storage products, according to the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). [ News item from ShibuiNews ]
February 1, 2005	Harvatek (Taiwan) plans to open sales, marketing and product development offices in both the Americas and Europe under the banner of Harvatek International. [ News item at Compound Semiconductor ]
February 1, 2005	Carmanah announced two new and technically enhanced LED edge-lit roadway signs, the Model R409 Edge-Lit LED Street-Name Sign and the Model R450 Edge-Lit LED Traffic Sign. [ Press release ]
February 2005	Frederick M. ("Fritz") Morgan, vice president of engineering at Color Kinetics, was featured in a special report on "Dream Jobs 2005" in *IEEE Spectrum Online*. [Article - " Fritz Morgan: LEDs into Gold" ]
January 31, 2005	Tri-O-Light (the Netherlands) introduced its LED Mini Flood Light, a waterproof spot suitable for lighting objects or for indoor or outdoor decorative lighting purposes. The spotlight uses Luxeon high power LEDs and is equipped with a 45-degree lens. [To get to product information, click on "products" sidebar link, then on "LED Mini Flood Light" link. Product sheet (pdf) is here. ]
January 31, 2005	TIR Systems announced the completion of two projects in Tianjin and Shanghai in mainland China. TIR supplied products from its Destiny series to illuminate the 52-meter high Full Moon Tower at Galaxy Park, a leisure park in Tianjin, and supplied its Light Pipe product as a key feature in the exterior lighting of the Azia Center in Shanghai. [ Press release ]
January 31, 2005	RPC Photonics was awarded a $200,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to improve the efficiency, visibility and performance of LED signage. The grant is to extend RPC's patented Engineered Diffuser� technology into a film designed to shape and control light. The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is collaborating on the project. [ News item at LEDs Magazine ]
January 31, 2005	OptiLED's Linear Optical Array LED lamps light Jacksonville's Main Street Bridge as part of the city's beautification effort in anticipation of the Super Bowl in Florida. Spanning 1,680 feet over the St. Johns River, the bridge, which was completed in 1939, carries traffic traveling on Route 1. [ Press release ]
January 31, 2005	LEDtronics introduced the Series SLL003 Ultra Slim Shoebox LED Cluster Light Module, a low-profile fixture (1.5" high) that weighs only 14 lbs. The module features 400 incandescent white 5mm LEDs mounted on a PCB, and consumes 20 W, emits 656 cd and 700 lumens, and has a color temperature of 3000K - 3500K. Optional LED colors are red, green, orange, yellow, cool white and blue. [ Press release, data sheet ]
January 31, 2005	Harvatek has received orders for LEDs amounting to NT$40-50 million in sales, including orders for 300,000 white LEDs "for consumer electronics" products this month and another 200,000 for next month, according to DigiTimes and LIGHTimes. [ News item at LIGHTimes, news item at Digitimes ]
January 29, 2005	Texas A&M University-Commerce is involved in a research project to establish empirical de facto standards for brightness in sign enclosures based on LED lighting and power technologies. OptoEngineering of Tulsa made a donation to the department for the purchase of light measuring equipment. [ Article in North Texas e-News ]
January 29, 2005	Optek Music Systems has developed a guitar with LEDs in its fretboard to help players learn where to put their fingers to produce desired notes, chords or songs. The invention was featured in Modern Guitars magazine. [ News article ]
January 28, 2005	Climate Change Central and Natural Resources Canada are offering a cash rebate to Alberta, Canada's multi-residential building sector to replace incandescent or fluorescent-lit exit signs with LED signs. The new program, running until April 30, 2005, gives a $25 rebate for each of the first 100 signs replaced in a building and $15 for every sign thereafter, to a maximum of 1000 signs. [ News item from GreenBiz.com, resource page from Energy Solutions Alberta ]
January 28, 2005	Seoul Semiconductor introduced a LED that runs on AC without an AC-DC converter and can be used in existing lighting systems without modification. The device was developed using technology described in a base structure patent owned by Nitride Semiconductor and invented by Dr. Sakai of Japan's Tokushima University. [ Press release, news item in LEDs Magazine]
January 27, 2005	Para Light introduced a line of high-power LED lamps for signage and automotive applications that can handle forward current up to 70 mA. The new L-5T3XX series lamps are available in blue, yellow and orange. [ News item at ThomasNet IndustrialNewsRoom ]
January 27, 2005	South Korea's LED industry grew by 61% in 2004, and is starting to compete with Taiwan in various markets for packaged LEDs, according to data from Yano Research Institute and Taiwan's Photonics Industry & Technology Development Association (PIDA) as reported in LEDs Magazine. South Korea's LED industry reached $708 million in 2004, while the value of Taiwan's LED packaging industry was $1.08 billion in 2004, according to the report. In addition, DigiTimes reported that South Korea-based LED makers are eyeing the high-luminance LED sector for lighting equipment, by switching their focus from production to packaging and testing, according to sources at Taiwan LED chipmakers. [ Article at LEDs Magazine, news item at DigiTimes ]
January 27, 2005	LEDs were featured in a segment of All Things Considered on National Public Radio. Reporter David Malakoff noted that although LEDs will likely replace incandescent bulbs, the industry still needs to address not only issues of price but also of quality: one of the sample LEDs sent to NPR didn't work, he said. [ Audio program at NPR ]
January 26, 2005	Permlight was awarded a new patent (U.S. Patent 6,846,093) for its thermal management techniques to increase brightness in LED systems without adversely affecting lifetime. The patent, titled "Modular mounting arrangement and method for light emitting diodes" is Permlight's seventh for thermal management. [ Press release ]
January 26, 2005	Arima Optoelectronics (Taiwan) is talking with Samsung Electronics and a Japanese vendor about possible cooperation in the mid-range and high-end LED sector, company president TJ Wang told DigiTimes. The company wants to compete in high-luminance white LEDs, used in backlight modules and lighting, this year, according to the report. [ News item at DigiTimes ]
January 25, 2005	Waldmann Lighting Company introduced a line of waterproof, high-output LED industrial lighting products. The luminaires are suited for various machine applications including: metalworking, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and woodworking. The compact 1.14 x 3.7-inch ABLL-1 LED features an aluminum housing, which is protected from water-based fluids and metalworking coolants by a corrosion-resistant coating. [ Press release ]
January 25, 2005	StockerYale's COBRA� 500 LED Line Illuminator was awarded the 2004 Photonics Circle of Excellence Award by Photonics Spectra Magazine. The product was the first in a family of new products based on StockerYale's chip-on-board reflective array (COBRA�) method for LED module fabrication, a technique that represents a significant improvement in both thermal and optical performance, according to the company. [ Press release ]
January 25, 2005	OptoLum, says the solid-state lighting industry needs to settle on using lighting industry metrics and standards, and emphasize a total cost of ownership metric, according to an editorial at *LIGHTimes. [ Editorial at LIGHTimes* ]
January 25, 2005	An Agilent executive said he expects RGB LED backlighting to take 10% of the LCD-TV market within two years, according to DigiTimes. The company also expects LED backlighting to gradually replace cold-cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) lighting altogether, said Lee Soo Ghee, VP and general manager of Agilent's Optoelectronic Products Division. [ News item in DigiTimes ]
January 23, 2005	Kentucky could become the second state (after Delaware) to replace all of its incandescent lights in traffic signals with LEDS. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has announced a contract with Siemens Building Technologies Inc. to replace the lighting at more than 2,500 intersections across the state. GELcore LED modules will be used. [ News item at the Lexington Herald, news item at the News-Enterprise, Kentucky Transportation press release dated 12-21-04 ]
January 2005	In the article, "Pulling LED products into the market," Eddie Effron of Permlight discussed the challenges to acceptance of LEDs in lighting markets. Understanding the requirements of the lighting design community and assuaging specifiers' concerns about predictability, reliability and stability are some of the challenges Effron addressed. [ Feature article in LEDs Magazine ]
January 2005	Osram Opto Semiconductors' extensive LED portfolio for general lighting was featured in a company profile article in LEDs Magazine. The profile describes many of Osram's products and covers topics such as luminescence conversion and thin-film LEDs. [ Feature article in LEDs Magazine ]
Updated R&D Agenda	DOE requested that participants in the upcoming 2nd Annual DOE Solid-State Lighting Program Planning Workshop (San Diego, February 3-4, 2005) complete an assignment prior to the Workshop. The Department has now prepared an updated version of its Solid-State Lighting R&D agenda based on comments from many stakeholders and researchers from industry, academia, and the National Labs.
Event	LRC will hold its next LED Lighting Institute April 27 to 29, 2005. The program includes sessions on LED basics, lighting design, fixture development, hands-on sessions, and more. [ Program information ]
Event	The 2005 CLEO/QELS conference is to include a plenary talk by Shuji Nakamura (UCSB) on future prospects for solid-state lighting, an invited talk by Jeff Tsao (Sandia National Laboratories) on "Solid-state lighting: lamps, chips and materials for tomorrow", an invited talk by Jingyu Lin (Kansas State Univ.) on "III-Nitride Ultraviolet Micro- and Nano-Photonics", a short course on Solid-State Lighting by Ghassan Jabbour (Arizona State Univ.) and Fred Schubert (RPI), and a tutorial session on high power LED packaging by Robert Karlicek. The conference is set for May 22 to 27 in Baltimore. [ Plenary speakers, invited speakers, short courses, tutorials ]
January 24, 2005	Epistar has sued Formosa Epitaxy for patent infringement related to its indium-tin oxide technology. [ News item in DigiTimes ]
January 11-21, 2005	Shuji Nakamura and Nichia have agreed to an $8.1 million settlement of the lawsuit Nakamura brought against his former employer. Nakamura was dissatisfied with the award, which was significantly less than the nearly $200 million settlement a lower court had ordered. Nakamura filed suit in 2001 after Nichia patented the blue LED he invented while employed there. [ Article in the New York Times [requires subscription]; news item at CompoundSemiconductor.com, article in Asahi Shimbun, news item1 and item2 in Science [requires subscription] ]
January 20, 2005	Taiwan's photonics industry's output increased by 36% in 2004, to $27.3 billion, according to a report from the Photonics Industry and Technology Development Association. The industry's output accounted for 14% of the world's total in 2004, and is expected to continue to increase. [ News item at Photonics.com ]
January 19, 2005	Philips Design has collaborated with the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre at the Royal College of Art (UK) to develop public seating that glows, dims, flashes and changes color. 'Glowing Places' consists of transparent seating units embedded with LED strips and sensors which measure the presence of people over time, and is intended to stimulate social interactions in public spaces. [ Press release at EETimes, article at Philips.com ]
January 18, 2005	Sandia National Laboratories has set up an online database, called Intellectual Property Available for Licensing (iPAL�), to highlight opportunities to license the lab's intellectual property, including some in the areas of optoelectronics and solid-state lighting. [ Press release, database ]
January 18, 2005	Nichia announced that (unnamed) U.S. distributors have agreed to stop marketing certain white LED products, manufactured in Asian countries, which Nichia believes infringe on its U.S. patents. [ Press release ]
January 17, 2005	GELcore introduced a 1-W Tetra� Power White LED lighting system as an alternative to white neon tubes or fluorescent lamps for signage. The product is available with two or three LEDs per foot, uses 2.4 W or 3.6 W per foot, and is packaged in reel form so it can be cut to any length. [ Press release ]
January 16, 2005	Lumileds' recent financial growth (sales of $280M in FY04, representing 43% growth) was the subject of The McDonald Report in LIGHTimes. [ Commentary, report on Lumileds' financial performance at CompoundSemi News, Dec 23, 2004 ]
January 14, 2005	Strathclyde Univ. (UK) and Optoelectronics Research Centre (Tampere Univ. of Technology, Finland) researchers have fabricated a high-power VECSEL which directly emits red wavelengths at room temperature. The GaInP/AlGaInP/GaAs VECSEL emits continuous wave and produces a maximum output power of 390 mW at 674 nm with an M2 of 1.05. Power scaling to 1W or more is possible in the near future, the team believes. The device was tunable by 10 nm around 674 nm. This research is published as "High power CW red VECSEL with linearly polarized TEM00 output beam" (JE Hastie, et al), Optics Express, v.13, n.1, p.77-81 (January 10, 2004). [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net, paper in Optics Express ]
January 13, 2005	OptoLum was awarded U.S. Patent 6,831,303, its third in the area of thermal management. Some implications of this and related patents on the development of LEDs for general illumination are discussed in an article at LIGHTimes. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]
January 12, 2005	The LRC's latest newsletter features articles on automotive headlamps; lighting in healthcare facilities; biological effects of light; and more. [ Newsletter ]
January 12, 2005	Semiconductor Technology Research released a new software tool, HEpiGaNS, for modeling of GaN crystal growth by HVPE. The tool is intended to provide information about heat and mass transfer in the reactor, including information on the distribution of temperature, species fractions, mixture velocity, heat fluxes and other parameters, providing information along all boundaries of reactor parts. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net; product information ]
January 12, 2005	Osram announced new white LEDs for small mobile terminals. The Micro SIDELEDs measure 0.8 mm high, compared to the previous version's 1 mm, and feature electrostatic sensitive device (ESD) protection in an on-board diode. The devices are suitable for mobile phones, PDAs and handheld devices requiring bright light from a small device. [ Press release ]
January 11, 2005	Toyoda Gosei has established a new manufacturing subsidiary in San Antonio, Texas. Toyoda Gosei Texas was set up on the property of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, Inc. and is slated to begin production in October 2006. Seventeen other suppliers have built plants on the premises. [ Press release ]
January 11, 2005	Los Alamos National Laboratory is making its semiconductor quantum-dot technology available for commercial licensing. Among the portfolio's content are two novel quantum-dot LED architectures. [ Article at Laser Focus World ]
January 11, 2005	Color Kinetics introduced IntelliWhite� products, a series of first-of-their-kind products, combining "Color Kinetics' digital control expertise with advanced white LEDs to enable both traditional and completely new uses of high-quality white light." The products include innovations such as variable color temperature, producing cool to warm gradients of white light from a single fixture; the ability to dim solid-state devices with standard dimmers; and the ability to dim without altering color temperature. Applications include retail displays, architectural accent lighting, art and exhibit lighting, and hospitality ambience lighting. [ Press release ]
January 10, 2005	An overview of solid-state lighting featuring Lumileds, titled "Goal is for LEDs to light the way" in the Seattle Times, was produced by the Knight Ridder newspapers. [ Item in the Seattle Times ]
January 7, 2005	Sensor Electronic Technology began shipping deep-UV LEDs, emitting at 265-365 nm, and suppliers of testing and sensor equipment have placed the first orders. The AlInGaN-based LEDs are smaller than traditional deep-UV light sources such as mercury or deuterium lamps, and contain fewer toxic chemicals. [ Item at CompoundSemiconductor.com ]
January 6, 2005	Para Light introduced an enhanced-power LED light strip module, LS07G5, made up of individual 35 mA RGB LEDs with an IC controller that enables thousands of different color combinations. The light strip has a viewing angle of 100 degrees, total flux of 20 lumens, input of 5 volts, and operates in a temperature range of -20�C to +80�C. The device is intended as a replacement for incandescent lighting in decorative and emergency lighting applications. [ Press release ]
December 2004	Advances in HB-LEDs were featured in "Illuminating Achievements," a year-end summary of technical achievements in optoelectronics, in Laser Focus World. [ Feature article (requires free registration) ]
January 6, 2005	An extensive overview article, "A Thousand Points of Bright: turning up the volume on solid-state lighting", written by Joshua Israelsohn, Technical Editor, appeared in EDN. The article includes a sidebar on "LEDs in the lab". [ Article, html version ]
January 5, 2005	The auction date for the sale of Oriol's white LED patents has been set for February 3, 2005, according to CompoundSemi News and LIGHTimes. [ Article ]
January 5, 2005	*CompoundSemi News'* McDonald Report featured an interview with Bob Steele on what to expect at the upcoming Strategies in Light conference (February 7-9, 2005). The conference program has been posted online. [ Article, conference program ]
January 5, 2005	Agilent announced a LED-based color management system for backlighting LCD flat-panel TVs that delivers colors 25% more brilliant than current fluorescent backlighting, according to the company. [ Press release ]
January 4, 2005	Shenzhen Refond Opt-Ele Co. announced its new series of surface-mount LEDs for mobile phones. The devices in the FH05 series provide 45 lumens brightness, measure 5 mm by 5 mm by 1.53 mm, are made with PPA, or ceramic, and feature a rated current of 150 mA. [ Press release at EE Times Asia (registration required) ]
January 4, 2005	Color Kinetics introduced iColor� Cove QL, a lower-priced version of its previous iColor Cove product. iColor Cove QL is an enhanced, lower-profile, 12" (30.5 cm) unit with the same beam angle (110� x 40�) of its predecessor. Applying Chromasic� technology, it has the capability for self-addressing, which translates to simplified installation, addressing and programming. [ Press release ]
January 2005	Frost & Sullivan published a market study indicating that LEDs will continue to penetrate the North American automotive market, according to an article at LEDs Magazine. According to the study, titled "Analysis of the North American Automotive Lighting Technologies Markets", by 2010 nearly 55% of automobiles are expected to have LED center high-mounted stop lamps, while more than 10% will have LED rear combination lamps (those using LEDs only or LED/incandescent combinations). Forward lighting using white LEDs is not expected to break into the North American market until after 2010. [ Article at LEDs Magazine ]
December 30, 2004	DARPA's Advanced Technology Office (ATO) has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA 05-13) soliciting proposals for the performance of research, development, design, and testing that directly supports ATO. Two topics involve LEDs: Topic 19 covers solid-state lighting devices and systems; topic 40 includes programmable LEDs that blink at nanosecond intervals and that can withstand launch from a medium velocity gun. The BAA will remain open from Jan. 1, 2005, through December 31, 2006. [ Solicitation synopsis ]
December 29, 2004	Zhongshan Silsmart Optoeletronics has released super-bright LEDs designed for use in traffic signal applications. The JMtraffic-G LEDs emit at 505 nm, feature luminous intensities from 4 cd to 8 cd, and offer viewing angles of 15�, 30� or 40�. [ News item at EE Times Asia (registration required) ]
December 24, 2004	The Tokyo High Court has called for a mediated settlement between Shuji Nakamura and Nichia in the blue LED case. Presiding Judge Hisao Sato notified the involved parties that he will hand down a ruling on the appeal on March 28, 2005. [ Article in Mainichi Daily News ]
December 23, 2004	The Phoenix Group Corporation has changed its name to Lighting Science Group Corporation by means of a parent/subsidiary merger with its wholly owned subsidiary, Lighting Science, Inc. The board of directors approved the merger in December and filed a certificate of merger with the state of Delaware. [ Press release ]
December 23, 2004	Opto Tech will build an LED display, apparently the largest built to date, to promote the Beijing Olympics and serve as a major focal point at the International Trade Center, according to DigiTimes. Opto Tech intends to invest $20 million in the 200 meter by 30 meter (6,000 square meter) display. Other major Chinese cities are likely to commission similar giant screens, according to the article. [ News item in LIGHTimes ]
December 22, 2004	Taiwan's Science and Technology Information Center (STIC) predicts that demand for handset-use LEDs will grow from 5.2 billion units in 2003 to 9.4 billion units in 2006 with a total CAGR of 21.9%, according to DigiTimes. STIC projects that LEDs used in mobile phones will increase from the current average of 10 units per phone to 12 by the end of 2006. [ News item at DigiTimes (subscription required)]
December 21, 2004	Super Vision signed license agreements with Illumination Management Solutions (IMS) and LED Power, both of Irvine, Calif., for its Variable Color Lighting System patent #4,962,687 and its recently acquired Laidman Technology. IMS is known for its advanced applications of LED technology for the production of LED light engines for industrial and commercial applications. LED Power produces LED lighting systems for commercial applications including aerospace, automotive, commercial signage, marine, traffic control and utility control systems. [ Press release ]
December 20, 2004	Permlight and Tempo Lighting reached a settlement in the lawsuit filed in April claiming infringement of Permlight's U.S. patents 6,416,200 and 6,082,870. Under the settlement, Tempo will license Permlight's patented theater lighting technology for its Sentinel and Sentry products, but terms of the license were not disclosed. [ Press release ]
December 19, 2004	A Japanese research team has developed an inexpensive, ZnO-based blue LED. The team, including members from the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, reported its results as "Repeated temperature modulation epitaxy for p-type doping and light-emitting diode based on ZnO," by Atsushi Tsukazaki, et al, Dec. 19, 2004, in Nature Materials. [ Abstract for Nature Materials article, news item at Australian Broadcasting Corp. Online. ]
December 14, 2004	Color Kinetics announced an agreement with Future Electronics for distribution of Color Kinetics' Digital Light Engines (DLEs), including controllers and power/data supplies, via Future Electronics' North American distribution network. [ Press release ]
December 14, 2004	ARC 05 (the Architectural Retail and Corporate Lighting Show, Feb. 14-15, London) will include an industry forum on the use of LEDs in architectural, retail and corporate lighting. Run by the UK's Lighting Industry Federation, endorsed by the Royal Institute of British Architects, and accredited by its Continuing Professional Development program, the forum is aimed at specifiers, architects, consultants, and contractors who install lighting systems. [ News item in LEDs Magazine, industry forum ]
December 13, 2004	LED lighting adds to the ambience at an ice skating rink suspended in the Eiffel Tower. The ice is lit from beneath by 100 LED lights, which change the color of the ice without producing heat. The rink, which is on a platform lodged between two of the tower's legs, 188 feet above the ground, can accommodate up to 80 skaters at a time. [ News item in LEDs Magazine ]
December 2004	ZING Communications published a study that indicates that architects and lighting designers tend to specify fixtures with LEDs to create entirely new applications, while engineers more often specify traditional fixtures that use LEDs as the primary light source, according to an article at LEDs Magazine. The "2004 LED Specifier Study" explores attitudes in the specification sales channel by providing and analyzing survey data from architects, lighting designers, and engineers. [ Article at LEDs Magazine ]
December & November 2004	*LEDs Magazine* featured several extensive articles discussing the LED Alliance and its issues with the intellectual property portfolio of Color Kinetics. See "Patent issues cause discontent among LED lighting manufacturers", "LED Alliance seeks ammunition for battle with Color Kinetics", and "Color Kinetics confident of success in patent disputes". The LED Alliance comprises Super Vision, Artistic Licence (UK) Ltd., and others
December 10, 2004	Osram Sylvania patent application for a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)-excited device with blue-emitting phosphor ( WO 2004/105070 ) was featured in the �Patent Highlights� column of Optics.org. The blue-emitting, europium-activated calcium-substituted barium hexa-aluminate (CBAL) phosphor is described as ideal for use in VUV-excited products such as plasma display panels, since it has improved degradation characteristics. [ News item at Optics.org ]
December 10, 2004	Color Kinetics expanded its Digital Light Engine (DLE) line to include the DLE L-101, a linear module incorporating 24 surface mount LEDs at a 120� x 120� beam angle; available in 12-inch and 6-inch lengths; and the DLE L-103, a 12-inch linear module incorporating 54 surface mount LEDs at a wide beam distribution of 180� x 180�. The new products are suitable for wall grazing, alcove lighting and marker lighting. [ Press release ]
December 9, 2004	BivarOpto introduced a wedge-based warm-white LED featuring accurate color output of industry standard T-1 � (5mm) wedge-based incandescent bulbs, for telecommunications, switching systems, elevators, automotive instrument panels, annunciators, indicators and use in miniature lighted push-button switches. The device features a warm-white color temperature of 3500K, a flat faced lens design with an internal reflector for enhanced light intensity with a 180� wide-viewing angle, and is rated at 2.5 V DC to 48 V DC. It measures 0.80 inches (20.37 mm) in length and 0.230 inches (5.842 mm) in diameter. [ Item at Thomas Net Industrial News Room ]
December 9, 2004	Lumitex has developed a modular light engine that combines high-power LEDs (such as the Luxeon� III Star or Luxeon� V) with a Lumitex� woven or UniGlo� fiber optic panel to spread light from a single source over a wide, flat area. Encased in an aluminum housing that acts as a heat sink, the assembly provides 100 Ft-L or more for a 3� x 5� fiber optic panel illuminated by a single HB-LED. Applications include touch screens, medical devices, LCD backlighting, and more. [ Item at Thomas Net Industrial News Room ]
December 9, 2004	LIGHTimes published an in-depth article on intellectual property issues, "The Art of Manufacturing IP," and an editorial on the IP dispute between Super Vision and Color Kinetics, "Super Vision vs. Color Kinetic Indicative of Typical Growing Pains." [ Article, editorial at LIGHTimes ]
December 9, 2004	*LIGHTimes* published highlights of the Compound Semi Industry Outlook conference held in Dallas. [ Article at LIGHTimes ]
December 8, 2004	Edison Electric Institute is encouraging the use of energy-efficient lighting, such as LEDs, for holiday decorations. The organization also offers energy-saving tips for consumers and its 2004 survey of electric company energy efficiency programs. [ Press release, consumer tips ]
December 7, 2004	Seoul Semiconductor introduced the Z-Power series of high-power packaged LEDs. Z-Power LEDs are available in white, red, green, blue, amber, cyan, warm white and full color. The white Z-Power LED has a luminous flux of 140 lm at 1.4 A (5 W), corresponding to 28 lm/W, with a luminous efficacy of 40 lm/W at 350 mA. In addition, the Full Color Z-Power LED, which the company says is the only multi-color packaged LED product containing three high-power (350 mA) RGB chips, emits any required color or white light with a luminous flux of 60 lm. This Full Color LED does not require color filters, unlike the existing CCFL technology. [ News item and product data sheet at LEDs Magazine ]
December 7, 2004	*EDN Europe* published an overview of the state of LED technology, "LEDs make the spotlight." The article covers topics such as luminous efficiency, heat dissipation, drivers, and more. [ Article at EDN Europe ]
December 6, 2004	Marktech Optoelectronics announced the availability of Cotco's LP379 series LEDs with a P4 package, concave lens and viewing angle of 120 degrees. The devices are available in red (639nm), yellow (594nm), green (520nm, 562nm), blue-green (502nm) and blue (465nm), in a 7.6-mm square four-leaded package with intensities up to 4.2 lumens. [ Item at LEDs Magazine ]
December 6, 2004	The *San Jose Mercury News* featured George Craford of Lumileds in its article, "Switching off bulbs for LEDs." [ Article in the San Jose Mercury News (registration required) ]
December 6, 2004	Honeywell's new Astreon LED systems will be used for anti-collision and navigation exterior lighting on Boeing's new 7E7 Dreamliner aircraft. [ Press release ]
December 3, 2004	Investor's Business Daily featured an article on the use of LED lighting for illumination on a New York City street. "NYC Street Shines Light On LED Use," describes the project, which was organized by OSRAM Sylvania and the nonprofit Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp. and funded by private property owners. [ Article in Investor's Business Daily ]
December 1, 2004	AXT finalized its $1.4 million litigation settlement with Sumitomo Electric. The settlement includes a global intellectual property cross-licensing agreement and requires that payment be made in early January 2005, with litigation in Japan to be withdrawn shortly thereafter. [ Press release ]
December 1, 2004	Apollo Display Technologies introduced a 6.5-inch diagonal, active matrix, VGA resolution LCD display featuring white LED edge lighting. The display is suitable for industrial and medical instruments. LEDs replace the CCFL fluorescent backlights typically used in TFT displays. [ News item at ECN Magazine ]
December 2004	Compound Semiconductor focused on LEDs its December issue, featuring: Ø� China seeks LED solution to an energy-resource problem� � This extensive article provides an overview of energy use, government policy and programs, and LED production in China. Ø� HVPE offers alternative route to AlGaN-based UV emitters� � The combination of higher growth rates and a lower defect density gives HVPE an edge over techniques such as MOCVD for the growth of UV LEDs. TDI and the Fox Group outline their progress. Ø� LED makers reveal performance records and high-power products� � Highlights from the Intertech LEDs 2004 conference, including a discussion of Cree, Nichia, Osram, Rohm Electronics, and Evident Technologies. Ø� LCD backlighting continues to thrive as pricing pressure bites.� Ø� LEDs attempt the jump from small screen to large screen.� Ø � Silicone delivers thermal stability to LED packaging� � a discussion of the merits of silicone encapsulants.
December 2004	*LEDs Magazine* published a summary of the recent Bright Ideas investor-oriented conference in Boston, including discussion of interest by the financial community in investment opportunities, their need to understand the dynamics of the supply chain, and discussion of influence of Asian LED manufacturers. [ Article in LEDs Magazine ]
December 2004	Canadian retirees Anthony and Faith Harckham have brought solar-powered, LED-based light to hundreds of homes in rural areas from Peru to Pakistan. The project is financed by a mix of tourism and charity. The project was featured in *IEEE Spectrum. [ Article at IEEE Spectrum*, see Table of Contents here ]
November 30, 2004	LEDtronics announced 15mm bayonet-based 18-LED and 19-LED lamps for direct replacement of incandescent bulbs #310 and #312. Available colors include green, white, blue, yellow and red (630nm), and infrared 850nm, 880nm and 940nm. The lamps are suitable for indicators for process controls, aircraft instrumentation, elevator panels, automobile lighting, architectural and decor applications, and more. [ Press release at Thomasnet.com ]
November 30, 2004	CameraBright will use Nichia's white LED lamps for its CameraBright!� X1 lighting accessory. The $29.95 CameraBright! accessory attaches to the tripod mount of most cameras and camcorders and gives users a constant light source to supplement the camera's built-in flash. [Press release ]
November 30, 2004	Semiconductor Technology Research offers a software tool, Simulator of Light Emitters based on Nitride Semiconductors (SiLENSe), for modeling band diagrams and characteristics of group-III nitride LEDs. The software features a band structure diagram of a nitride LED for various bias voltages, information concerning the distribution of electron and hole concentrations in the device structure, the electric field distribution across the device and the LED's current-voltage characteristics. [ Product release item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
November 29, 2004	Technologies and Devices International (TDI) showed prototype AlGaN-on-sapphire templates at the 2004 Material Research Society meeting in Boston. Novel AlGaN-on-sapphire materials, such as those made by TDI's patented hydride vapor phase epitaxial process, are transparent in the UV spectrum region and target substrate applications for high-power GaN-based UV LEDs. [ Press release ]
November 29, 2004	Super Vision has signed three additional licensees to its Variable Color Lighting System patent and its Laidman technology portfolio. The new licensees are Element Labs of Austin, TX; TPR Enterprises of Mamaroneck, NY; and Shine Lighting of West Jordan, UT. [ Press release ]
November 29, 2004	Agilent introduced an LED-based optical mouse sensor with improved tracking control that works over a wider variety of surfaces, including wood desktops and halftone images. [ Press release ]
November 26, 2004	Nichia prevailed in its request that Osaka Customs block the import of a white LED, which Nichia believes infringes on its patents, into Japan. The device, 99-215UW C/TR8, is used as a LCD backlight and is allegedly imported from Taiwan by E&E Japan. [ News item at Optics.org, press release from Nichia ]
November 24, 2004	Technology for reducing black area and increasing the fill factor of LED displays is discussed in a LEDs Magazine feature article by Dr. Bishou Chen and Steven C. Lo of Sansi Technology. Improvements in these areas can enhance color-blending quality, reduce the effect of glare, and thereby substantially improve LED imaging quality, the authors say. [ Feature article in LEDs Magazine ]
November 23, 2004	Cree has granted Crystal IS a patent license agreement in regard to crystalline AlN manufacturing technology. LIGHTimes reported that the most relevant U.S. patents the agreement covers include 6,296,956, bulk single crystals of aluminum nitride; 6,086,672, growth of bulk single crystals of aluminum nitride:silicon carbide alloys; 6,066,205, growth of bulk single crystals of aluminum nitride from a melt; and 6,045,612, growth of bulk single crystals of aluminum nitride. The license to Crystal IS is "non-exclusive with most favored status." [ News item in LIGHTimes ]
November 21, 2004	OptoLum was awarded a second U.S. patent, 6,815,724, extending its core patent for thermal management of LEDs to include intelligent control and monitoring technology using heat sinks in both active and passive systems. [ News item in LIGHTimes , News item at Optics.org ]
November 19, 2004	Optiled introduced its HIVE (High Intensity Vorticular Enclosure) modular LED system to the Asia-Pacific market, claiming that the technology delivers three times as much light as a typical high power LED systems. The company says that the technology provides lighting designers with an increased range of flexibility and color changing capabilities. [ Item at EE Times Asia ]
November 19, 2004	Harvatek has licensed patents for white-LED chips from Osram, according to a DigiTimes report. The agreement allows Harvatek to add to its product lineup two kinds of white-LED chips, which company officials say they expect to become a major sales driving force for Harvatek over the next two years. Harvatek is the third Taiwan-based LED chipmaker, after Everlight Electronics and Lite-On Technology, to license white-LED chip patents from Osram. [ News item at DigiTimes, News item at LIGHTimes ]
November 19, 2004	Philips Intellectual Property and Standards GmbH (Germany) has a patent application for �UV light source coated with nano-particles of phosphor,� featured in the �Patent Highlights� column at *Optics.org.* WO2004/099664 features a transparent light source using an optical waveguide plate and UV light source. Light is coupled in at the edges of the waveguide plate and distributed within the sheet by total internal reflection. The plate is covered with a layer of phosphor nano-particles that convert UV light from 300 to 400 nm into visible light from 420 to 480 nm. [ Item ]
November 18, 2004	Opto Diode introduced a 99-die LED array product line, said to feature excellent thermal conductivity and a 110-degree beam angle. Six new devices are available in wavelengths of 405, 470, 525, 610, 830 and 870 nm, suitable for exterior aircraft lighting, illuminating automotive license plates, photo dynamic therapy and fluorescence applications. [ News item in Laser Focus World ]
November 17, 2004	PolyBrite International's Westinghouse LED Lighting Systems introduced an ornamental light bulb, the Marquee 60, which provides the equivalent of 12 to 15 W of incandescent light and is available in all LED colors, including white and clear. [ Press release ]
November 17, 2004	Permlight has developed a product for Philips Lighting to be used in the upcoming Holiday Snowflake Display project for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City. Permlight provided application, design and fabrication services to produce almost 5 miles of LED lighting used in the display. Fifty custom-designed steel snowflakes and 72,000 LEDs are illuminating the store�s facade. [ Press release, Philips press release for more details and a picture), see also � Progress at Permlight� in LIGHTimes ]
New Information Portal	IOP (Institute of Physics) Publishing and Cabot Media launched a new online publication and web portal, *LEDs Magazine, covering the applications of high-brightness LEDs and the technology of building LED-based systems. This month's features cover such topics as emerging markets for LED signage; LED battens for concert stage backgrounds; patent lawsuits between Color Kinetics and Super Vision; standardization of LED measurements, and more. [ LEDs Magazine* website ]
Event	Intertech's Phosphor Global Summit is set for Feb. 28 to March 2, 2005 in San Diego, CA. The conference will focus on current trends and market opportunities impacting the phosphor industry - supply, demand, pricing, new applications, processing, and new phosphor material development, with a session dedicated to the latest developments in nanophosphors and quantum dots. [ Conference information ]
Event	The 2005 International Forum on LED & Solid-State Lighting is set for April 12-15, 2005, in Xiamen, China. Conference topics include technology, marketing, development stratagem and applications. Participants from Europe, U.S., Japan, South Korea and China/Taiwan are expected. [No URL available]
November 15, 2004	Oriol's intellectual property (IP) is up for auction, including LED-related IP in the areas of vertical chip structure methods and a wafer scale white chip. One granted patent, U.S. patent 6,744,196, and others that have been "allowed" or are pending will be auctioned. [ Article in CompoundSemi News; auction site ]
November 12, 2004	Osram was profiled in an article in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, titled "Light diodes as small as a grain of sand bankroll Osram." [ Article in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ]
November 10, 2004	Cree has filed a lawsuit against North Carolina State University (NCSU) for breach of an option agreement and a licensing agreement involving GaN-related technologies licensed by NCSU to Nitronex, according to a report in CompoundSemi News. The complaint, filed in Superior Court of Wake County, NC, asserts that NCSU failed to give Cree first right of refusal before issuing licenses to Nitronex. The co-founders of both Cree and Nitronex attended NCSU. [ News item at CompoundSemi Online, commentary in LIGHTimes ]
November 10, 2004	Alfalight says it has set a world record for power conversion efficiency (PCE) with a 50 W, 976 nm laser bar with 71% PCE at 25�C and 73% efficiency at 10�C. The laser was developed with support from the DARPA Super High Efficiency Diode Sources (SHEDs) program and was demonstrated at the LEOS 2004 Annual Meeting. [ Press release ]
November 10, 2004	Strategies Unlimited has released a new report, "Nanophotonics: Assessment of Technologies and Market Opportunities." The report reviews nanophotonics applications, markets, and technologies, presents forecasts, and profiles key companies and institutions working in this area. One finding from the report is that "nanotechnology may improve the efficiency of high brightness LEDs in multiple ways to accelerate this $4 billion, high-growth market, and help move LEDs into the realm of general illumination." [ Press release ]
November 9, 2004	Osram Opto Semiconductors introduced warm white Golden Dragon LEDs, using a red converter phosphor. The device has a color temperature of 3200 K; color rendering index (CRI) of 80; and luminous flux of 23 lm. It is suitable for applications such as reading lights, mood lighting, display cabinets, and car interiors. [ Press release ]
November 8, 2004	AnalogicTech introduced five new tri-mode, high-efficiency charge pumps for white LED backlight and color LED applications for handsets. The AAT3151/2/3/6 devices can drive four or six individual LEDs with a maximum current of 30mA per channel. The AAT3129 is targeted at RGB LED applications and operates across a 2.7V to 5.5V input voltage range. [ Press release ]
November 8, 2004	Agilent announced new extra-bright InGaN LEDs for the outdoor electronic sign and signals market with 4 mm (T-1) and 5 mm (T-1 3/4) domed through-hole packages with oval radiation patterns. These are the company's brightest InGaN LEDs, with luminous intensities ranging from 400 to 7200 mcd. The devices are suitable for full-color outdoor video displays, stadium scoreboards and other variable message signs. [ Press release ]
November 5, 2004 November 12, 2004	Cree was been featured in popular financial publications, with articles at both the The Motley Fool and Reuters.com. [ Article at The Motley Fool; Article at Reuters ]
November 4, 2004	LIGHTimes asked Cotco for clarification on the Dorado LED products recently introduced and found that the Dorado comes in five colors. Typical lm/W for each color are: red - 8, amber - 10, blue - 9, green - 33, and white - 20. [ Article ]
November 3, 2004	Cree announced that it had achieved the industry's highest white LED brightness with its XLamp� 7090 product offering 40-60 lumens at 350mA and a typical brightness of 45 lumens. These new higher brightness white XLamp LEDs are available in sample quantities, with production volumes targeted to be available in December 2004. [ Press release ] LIGHTimes estimates that these new products offer approximately 37.8 lm/W. [ Commentary ]
November 3, 2004	UC-Santa Barbara will host a new center under the National Science Foundation's International Materials Institutes Program. The International Center for Materials Research (ICMR), initially funded with $3.5 million over 5 years (from 2004-2009), will promote global excellence in materials science and engineering through a series of research and educational programs. Tony Cheetham will serve as director of the ICMR. [ Press release ]
November 3, 2004	Agilent plans to investigate the commercial viability of building a high-brightness LED manufacturing center in Kwangju, southern Korea, according to The Korea Times. The company recently announced plans to establish a research and development center for wireless applications in Korea. [ News item in the The Korea Times ]
November 3, 2004	EE Times Asia provides a brief report on developments in China related to LED lighting and manufacturing in the article, "LED lights gain ground over traditional lights." [ Article (registration required) ]
November 2, 2004 October 2004	Intertech LED Conference: Highlights of this conference, held recently in San Diego are featured in several articles: � LIGHTimes (Alan Thompson reports) covered the conference, including a discussion of the rapid increase in the number of companies offering high power LEDs and predictions for the HB-LED market. [ Feature article ] � LEDs Magazine described the continued improvement in LED performance discussed by manufacturers at this conference. Efficacy (lm/W) of various white LEDs in the lab or on the market are discussed for Cree, Nichia, and Osram. The article also covers thin film developments at Osram, and high power LED developments at Lamina Ceramics, Cotco, and Rohm. [ Feature article ]
November 2004	Nick Holonyak, University of Illinois, will be awarded the 2004 Von Hippel Award, the Materials Research Society's highest honor, for "his many contributions to research and development in the field of semiconductors, not least for the first development of semiconducting lasers in the useful visible portion of the optical spectrum." [ Article in MRS Bulletin ]
November 2004	Highlights of the 5th European Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials (ECSCRM 2004), including discussion of growth of GaN-on-silicon LEDs, are featured in an article in Compound Semiconductor Magazine. The conference's featured speaker, Daisuke Nakamura of the Toyota Central R&D labs in Japan, discussed the possibility of large-diameter, dislocation-free SiC substrates in the near future. Other topics, such as reducing defects with LEO and GaN-on-silicon epitaxy, are covered in this extensive article by Richard Stevenson. [ Feature article page 1, page 2 ]
October 2004	Researchers at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, have investigated fabrication of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum-well green LEDs by metallorganic chemical vapor deposition. [ Photonics Spectra article abstract at Photonics.com ]
Event	DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, will host a two-day workshop on solid-state lighting Feb. 3 and 4, 2005, in San Diego, CA. The workshop will focus on updating R&D topics within the department's solid-state lighting and R&D agenda and will provide further definition of the DOE program goals, expectations, and operating plan. The meeting will also provide a forum for sharing project updates. [ EERE event information ]
November 3, 2004	Royal Philips Electronics (Netherlands) and Lumileds have partnered to develop and market modular LED lighting solutions for the automotive industry, extending an existing relationship between the two companies. The modular lighting solutions will incorporate Lumileds' Luxeon technology, with Philips' Automotive Lighting group supplying design, development, and integration. [ News item at EE Times]
November 2, 2004	Nichia reached a settlement with an unnamed German company, which agreed to stop marketing products which included white LEDs that Nichia said were covered by its patented technology and trademarks. The German company agreed to use white LEDs made by Nichia, instead of the infringing white LEDs, which were apparently made in Taiwan. "The case didn't amount to a legal dispute," says Nichia. [ Press release ]
November 2, 2004	The Asahi Shimbum featured the article "White LEDs Forecast to Shine," covering recent developments by Nichia, Toyoda Gosei, and Sony. [ Article ]
November 1, 2004	Arima Optoelectronics will launch antistatic-blue LED chips for use in backlight modules and antistatic-blue LEDs for automotive applications in the first half of 2005, according to Digitimes. The chips reportedly can resist 2,000 V of electricity, compared to 700 V for similar chips, and can be used for in-car applications, display backlighting, outdoor applications, and mobile phones. [ News item at DigiTimes ]
October 28, 2004	OptiLED introduced its Designer Dimmable LED lamp, featuring lighting intensity and distribution control in a familiar form factor, with outer dimensions identical to an ordinary halogen MR16. The device operates at 12 V DC or AC and dims from 10 V down to 3 V. At full power, the unit requires less than 2 W. [ Press release ]
October 28, 2004	Formosa Epitaxy opened a second plant in the Lungtan Industrial Park, Taoyuan, Taiwan, and plans to install 45 MOCVD machines there, according to a Digitimes report. The plant will produce more than 200 million LED chips per month, mainly high-power white LEDs for mid-to-large LCD panel backlighting and in-car lighting. [ News item at DigiTimes]
October 27, 2004	Toyoda Gosei is reported to be talking to Taiwan LED manufacturers about potential partnership opportunities. [ Item in Digitimes' "Excerpts from the Greater-China Press," item at CompoundSemi News ]
October 26, 2004	Wright State University researcher David Look presented findings on the use of zinc oxide as a light source at the Third International Workshop on ZnO and Related Materials in Japan. Look explained, "Zinc oxide applications are a hot topic right now in the scientific community because it is at the cutting edge. Zinc oxide crystals can take electrical power or battery power and convert this to light. It is exciting research." Look and colleagues at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are exploring ways to develop positive current transmission in crystalline zinc oxide. [ Press release ]
October 26, 2004	Technologies and Devices International (TDI), in collaboration with Rubicon, has made 6-inch diameter GaN-on-sapphire epitaxial wafers, the industry's first 6" diameter GaN epitaxial materials. The wafers were fabricated using TDI's patented hydride vapor phase epitaxial process and equipment. [ Press release, item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
October 25, 2004	Showa Denko (Japan) has developed a 12 mW blue GaN flip-chip LED. The device, suitable for mobile phones, outdoor displays, illumination, and automotive applications, will be available next year. Showa Denko is now building a plant in Chiba and plans to produce 30 million units per month by year-end. [ Press release ]
October 25, 2004	Fox Group has launched commercial production of blue LEDs made via hydride vapor phase epitaxy at its Montreal facility. The LEDs are reportedly more consistent and repeatable than similar products, with a color-spread of +/- 1 nm and a voltage range of +/- 0.1 V. The company claims that until its commercial production breakthroughs, blue LEDs have been about 10 times as expensive as red and green indicator LEDs, and now it can "offer blue LED indicator lamps at commodity pricing comparable to red and green." [ Press release ]
October 22, 2004	Osram introduced a new Ostar high-power LED for the projection and lighting markets. The Ostar produces more than 120 lm and measures 3 x 1 cm, making it suitable for use in mini projectors. [ Press release ]
October 19, 2004	TIR Systems expects to raise $10 million through a public offering of its common shares. The funds will be used for R&D and general corporate purposes. [ Press release, News item in LIGHTimes ]
October 19, 2004	Cree launched its 4550 series XLamp�, designed to operate at 0.5 W with a 125 mA typical operating current, in a surface mount package with a 4.5 mm x 5.0 mm footprint. The 4550 series is available in blue and green versions based on Cree's XB500� chips, as well as a red version. [ Press release ]
October 19, 2004	Color Kinetics has been awarded US patent 6,806,659, extending the coverage of its Chromacore� technology, which allows for adding intelligence, such as a microprocessor, network address or user interface, to solid-state illumination devices. [ Press release ]
October 19, 2004	AXT shareholders have filed suit against the company, saying AXT made materially false and misleading statements and allowed an artificially inflated share price to go unchecked. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court by several U.S. law firms, alleges that AXT violated securities laws and inflicted damages on investors between Feb. 6, 2001, and April 27, 2004. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
October 18, 2004	Lamina Ceramics has developed an ultra-high lumen RGB LED array that it says is about 10 times brighter than other products. The array includes heat-reduction technology that allows it to be as bright as a theatrical light "without risking an electronic meltdown." The device features a proprietary multi-layer ceramic-on-metal packaging, called low temperature co-fired ceramic-on-metal (LTCC-M), which provides improved thermal management and interconnectivity between individual LEDs. LTCC-M enables Lamina to densely cluster multiple LEDs in a high-output (13,300 lm, 860 W), small footprint (5-inch diameter) device. [ Press release , Article in The New York Times]
October 18, 2004	COTCO launched a 1-W LED that uses an exposed pad design for improved thermal performance and heat dissipation. The DORADO also features a small footprint and is suitable for applications such as interior and exterior architectural lighting, entertainment, large signage, decorative lighting and landscape lighting. [ Press release ]
October 18, 2004	Arima Optoelectronics has developed blue HB-LEDs, according to reports in Digitimes and the Chinese-language Commercial Times. The new devices, developed at Arima's lab in Bath, UK, are based on a SiC substrate and thus do not infringe on Nichia's patents for sapphire-based blue LEDs, according to reports. [ News item in Digitimes (subscription required), News item in LIGHTimes ]
October 13, 2004	The LRC, in collaboration with GE's GELcore, is evaluating LED technology for use in commercial display freezers. The study, funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, will evaluate performance, energy savings, shopper preferences, and product sales for this technology compared with the fluorescent lighting currently found in supermarket freezers. The project team recently installed a four-door freezer with a prototype LED lighting system in the frozen-food aisle at an Albany, N.Y.-area Price Chopper supermarket. [ Press release ]
October 13, 2004	LRC's National Lighting Product Information Program (NLPIP) has released a new publication on color and its measurement and quantification. " Lighting Answers: Light sources and color" examines methods to approximate color perceptions in people, including measurements to describe such factors as the color appearance of light sources and objects, the ability of a light source to render colors accurately, and the stability of color properties over a lamp's lifetime. [ Press release ]
October 2004	The LRC will present a new series of Internet-teleconference seminars beginning in January 2005. The series, "LIVE!, from the LRC," will provide "cutting-edge information" on lighting in an easily accessible, interactive format, with programs held from 1:00-2:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the third Wednesday of each month. [ Press release ]
October 14, 2004	Intrinsic Semiconductor has acquired Swedish SiC MESFET developer Advanced Micro Device Solutions, which will now be known as Intrinsic Semiconductor AB. [ News item in CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
October 13, 2004	Cree has released two new high-brightness XThin products designed for large-format LCD backlighting. The XT-24 (24 mW) and XT-27 (27 mW) emit blue light at 460 nm, which is converted to white light using a phosphor. The devices feature a low-profile design and are suitable for backlighting LCD screens in mobile appliances, as well as large-area LCDs. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net]
October 12, 2004	Hi-Light Electronic Co. (Taiwan) has introduced in the Japanese market a new LED lamp that the company claims is more than 30% brighter than traditional LED lamps, according to DigiTimes. The new device is designed for backlighting flat-panel displays, mobile phones and automotive lights. (Hi-Light, headquartered in Taipei, has a factory in China that produces SMD LEDs, LED lamps, LED displays and photo couplers; and another factory in China, now under construction, which is expected to begin operation in the second quarter of 2005.) [ News item in DigiTimes ]
October 8, 2004	AXT reached a tentative $1.4 million settlement of its litigation with Sumitomo Electric Industries, including a global intellectual property cross-licensing agreement. The settlement, subject to approval by both companies' boards, will be finalized in Q4. [ Press release ]
October 7, 2004	The New York Times published a feature article on use of LEDs in interior design, titled "Light That Swings Quick as a Mood." [ Article in The New York Times (available for purchase)]
October 7, 2004	Toyoda Gosei introduced a white LED that it says is twice as bright as existing devices for backlighting of cell phone handset screens. The device, which uses a blue LED and a yellow phosphor, produces a brightness of 1300 mcd with a 20 mA drive current and is expected to be available in March 2005. [ News item at Compound Semiconductor.net ]
October 6, 2004	Camera phones with Lumileds' Luxeon® Flash LEDs will be available in the U.S., Japan, Europe and Asia before the 2004 holiday season. (See also Aug. 18 headline ) [ Press release ]
October 6, 2004	Lighting Science introduced a high-performance, low-cost LED floodlight that retails for $33. According to CEO Fred Maxik, the company's Optimized Digital Lighting^�LED R-30 light bulbs use 5.6 W of electricity and can replace 65-watt incandescent bulbs or 15-watt fluorescent bulbs used as floodlights. [ Press release ]
October 6, 2004	The Japanese government spent $43,363 for an LED-based solar home lighting project in a remote village in western Nepal, according to Kyodo News. The project includes 252 sets of 14 W solar panels and lamp accessories and is located in Bhachok, 300 km west of Kathmandu. [ News item at Japan Today ]
October 5, 2004 October 12, 2004	Researchers with Japan's Visible Light Communications Consortium are demonstrating LED-based data transmission at CEATEC JAPAN 2004 in Tokyo. Professors Masao Nakagawa and Shinichiro Haruyama, both of Keio University, gave a keynote speech on the concept. [ Press release; news item at EE Times Asia (free registration required)]
October 5, 2004	American Microsemiconductor has declared that it will not import or market any LEDs that infringe Osram's patent rights, in particular, products supplied by Dominant Semiconductors, against whom Osram has filed a lawsuit regarding patent rights for both conversion technology and special designs for electrical connections. American Microsemiconductor is the second distributor, after American Opto Plus, to make such a declaration. [ Osram press release ]
October 5, 2004	Color Kinetics has been awarded U.S. patent 6,801,003 relating to the synchronization of intelligent solid-state lighting systems and effects. The patent covers certain systems and methods for synchronizing lighting effects between various LED-based lighting systems without the use of a network; for example, by monitoring fluctuations in delivered power. The patent also covers methods that are now applied in pool and spa lighting systems, and has potential for use in other fields such as specifier-grade architectural lighting, retail and display lighting, and consumer products that require the intelligence for synchronized lighting effects without the network infrastructure. [ Press release ]
October 4, 2004	Market researcher Bob Steele, director of optoelectronics at Strategies Unlimited, gives a retrospective look at a decade's worth of development of solid-state lighting in a feature article in LIGHTimes. [ Feature at LIGHTimes ]
October 4, 2004	South Korea is ramping up HB-LED production, apparently to become competitive with Taiwan, according to Taiwan's Photonics Industry & Technology Development Association (PIDA) as reported by Digitimes and LIGHTimes. South Korea's monthly capacity reached 300 million units per month in the first half of 2004, 2.5 times its previous capability, according to the PIDA report. [ News item in LIGHTimes, news item in DigiTimes ]
October 1, 2004	Seoul Semiconductor (SSC) has filed a lawsuit against Taiwan-based LED packaging companies, but the two firms said they had not received notice of any suit, according to DigiTimes. SSC claims that its patented white-LED packaging process, mixing phosphor and transparent resin materials before applying them to LED chips, has been copied, according to the article. [ News item at DigiTimes ]
October 1, 2004	Osram has reorganized and changed the name of its Photo-Optic Division to Display/Optic Division. The division will now be organized by areas of application rather than technologies, with four Global Business Units for Display Systems, Entertainment, Cinema and Semiconductor & Medical applications. The move is intended to allow the company to "react more quickly to customer needs," said division head Siegmar Proebstl. [ Press release ]
October 1, 2004	American Bright Optoelectronics introduced LED Light Strips with 32 surface-mount LEDs on a 0.4-inch by 17.5-inch strip, suitable for a wide range of decorative lighting applications. The new high brightness strips (up to 12,800 mcd) are available in colors from 470 nm to 625 nm at 30 mA (blue, green and white) and 50 mA (red, yellow) with an input voltage of 10 VDC and a 120-degree wide viewing angle. [ Press release at Thomasnet.com ]
October 2004	Highlights of the Fourth International Conference on Solid-State Lighting, including updates on government-sponsored programs in Japan and the U.S., are featured in an extensive article by Tim Whitaker in Compound Semiconductor. The conference, held in conjunction with SPIE's 49th Annual Meeting in August 2004 in Denver, opened with an update from DOE's Jim Brodrick on the Solid-State Lighting Program. Other subjects covered in this article are efforts to improve phosphors for improved color rendering, use of LEDs in displays and aviation lighting, thermal management issues, and white OLEDs. [ Feature article in Compound Semiconductor ]
October 2004	CS-MAX 2004 is set for Oct. 24 to 28 in Monterey, CA. Invited speakers include Keith Evans of Crystal IS, speaking on "Native, quasibulk and foreign substrates for III-nitride device manufacturing," as well as Larry Wang from WJ Communications and Damian McCann from Celeritek. The conference is co-located with the IEEE Compound Semiconductor IC Symposium. [ Article in CompoundSemiconductor.net, Conference info ]
October 2004	Cree's five-year plan is featured in an article in Compound Semiconductor, which includes an interview with John Palmour, Cree's executive vice-president and director of advanced devices, on the company's manufacturing strategy. [ Feature article in Compound Semiconductor ]
October 2004	Compound Semi Industry Outlook is set for Dec. 6 to 8, 2004, in Dallas. This year's meeting will review opportunities and challenges from the last year and forecast the next for industries including solid-state lighting and HB-LEDs, wireless and opto communications, wide bandgap electronics and other segments. [ Conference information]
September 29, 2004	Researchers at the University of South Carolina have made AlGaN deep-UV LEDs with a peak power of 0.57 mW at 1000 mA (255 nm) and 0.16 mW at 300 mA (250 nm). The team, led by Asif Khan, developed high quality AlGaN cladding layers with an aluminum content of up to 72%, grown over AlGaN/AlN superlattice buffer layers on sapphire substrates. Their research was reported as "250 nm AlGaN light-emitting diodes" in the Sept. 20 issue of Applied Physics Letters, pp. 2175-2177. The team expects the LEDs' power levels to increase by a factor of three to five with flip-chip bonding. [ News item at Optics.org; abstract ]
September 28, 2004	The NIST Advanced Technology Program announced awards totaling $80.1 million for research on highly innovative industrial technologies, including: [ Press release ] � $3.4 million to Cree and business partner Nanocrystal Lighting Corp. to demonstrate a white LED lamp package with an integrated chip approach that would more than quadruple the brightness and double the efficiency of existing LED systems and significantly reduce the cost per lumen. [ Project brief; see also Cree's press release. ] � $2 million to Crystal IS to develop cost-effective, high-quality, and commercially important, single-crystal aluminum nitride (AlN) substrates by using an approach that incorporates new techniques of crystal seed growth, coupled with advanced thermal gradient control, and new crucible designs, to grow large high-quality, AlN crystal boules. [ Project brief ]
September 28, 2004	DOE announced its FY05 SBIR/STTR funding opportunities. Topic 22 calls for research in high efficiency visible and near UV (>380 nm) semiconductor materials for LED-based general illumination technology; advanced architectures and designs for high power conversion efficiency emitters; and high efficiency, low-voltage, stable materials for OLED-based general illumination technology. The deadline for grant applications is Dec. 13, 2004. [ Solicitation, SBIR Topic 22 ]
September 24, 2004	Nichia and professor Nobuo Nishida of Tokushima University have developed a LED-based 3-D display device with an 18,000-pixel screen resolution. Rather than using special glasses to allow an individual to see the 3-D image, the new LED-based display device separates images for the right and left eyes by combining strategically placed LEDs with a plate called a parallax barrier. The demonstrated device measures 145 x 77cm, but a similar display with a seven- to eight-meter screen could be viewed by about 50 people, according to the developers, who believe that it can be commercialized for signboards. [ News item at NE Asia Online ]
September 27, 2004	PolyBrite International (inventor and manufacturer of LED based products to be sold under its licensing agreement with Westinghouse Lighting Corp.) announced that its SCV ("Stole Charging Valve") Light Collar, a LED lighting device, has passed all testing required by the U.S. Navy and is ready to be produced and deployed throughout the Navy's submarine fleet as one component of their emergency escape equipment. [ Press release carried at Yahoo Finance]
September 27, 2004	Vishay Electronics is launching six SMD GaN- and AlInGaP LED products, said to have the smallest form factor on the market (1.6 X 0.8 X 0.6 mm). Available in "super" red, orange, yellow, green, "pure" green, and blue, the LEDs provide up to 80 mcd of luminous intensity. [ Item at CompoundSemiconductor.net]
September 24, 2004	Mule Lighting has introduced a LED-Flex�, a line of LED-based lighting meant as a replacement for neon lights. While having the same appearance as neon lighting, LED-Flex products reduce operating costs by up to 90% and are flexible enough to bend up to 180�, according to the company. [ Item at ThomasNet]
September 24, 2004	Researchers at Fujikura and the National Institute of Materials Science (Japan) have created a warm-white LED by combining a blue LED chip with a highly efficient, yellowish-orange CaEuSiAlON ceramic phosphor, as reported in the September issue of Optics Letters. The LED has a color temperature of 2750 K, and a luminous efficacy of 25.9 lm/W at room temperature with a forward-bias current of 20 mA. The chromaticity of the assembled LED is more thermally stable than that of a LED with a conventional oxide phosphor (YAG:Ce), according to the research team. [ News item at Optics.org; Optics Letters article abstract ]
September 22, 2004	Permlight launched a new, low-cost LED luminaire designed to replace existing junction-box-mounted incandescent lighting systems commonly found in theaters and auditoriums, landscape applications, and step lighting systems. The ENBR Series Enbryten Retrofit system is designed for low voltage or line voltage installations. The products come in white (5600K), warm white (2600K), red, blue, green or amber. [ Press release ]
September 21, 2004	Harvatek expects LED-lamp shipments to reach 170 million units in September, up 40% from 120 million in August. Shipments in October and November are projected to grow sequentially to between 180-190 million units respectively. [ News item at DigiTimes, reporting on material from Commercial Times ]
September 21, 2004	Compound Semiconductor reports that confirmed speakers at the CS-MAX conference include those from Sony on blue laser diodes, and from Osram on HB-LEDs. [ News item ]
September 20, 2004	Ya Hsin Industrial (Taiwan) plans to introduce 80-inch LED TVs before year-end. The company has also developed a new, foldable-design LED TV, enabled by the use of PCBs, which is targeted at the outdoor billboard market. [ News item at DigiTimes, reporting on material from Apple Daily ]
September 20, 2004 - September 27, 2004	Cree was featured in an article in Forbes, which reported that Wells Fargo Securities had raised the company's price target and 2005 earnings estimate "based on the 'continuing strength' in the company's handset market as well as further growth in the light-emitting diode (LED) market." [ Article in Forbes; Article at Compound Semi News ] Cree was also featured on the Motley Fool site. [ Item ]
September 20, 2004	STG Beikirch's Luxeon Solution Centre in Germany has won a project from Honeywell Airport Systems to manufacture the light source for Honeywell's next generation obstruction lights. Using Lumileds' Luxeon LEDs, the lights will be fitted to the top of windpower turbines in Europe. [ Lumileds press release ]
September 17, 2004	CPS Corporation is offering AlSiC, a metal matrix composite said to be ideal for thermal management of high flux LED products. AlSiC has a high thermal conductivity value of 200 W/mK and a low coefficient of thermal expansion. [ Item at CompoundSemiconductor.net, item at LightTimes ]
September 16, 2004	TIR Systems and the Canlyte division of The Genlyte Group have signed an agreement to jointly develop solid-state lighting products that take advantage of TIR's enabling technologies and GG's extensive design, manufacturing and distribution capability. [ Press release]
September 14, 2004 - August 30, 2004	Lumileds' Luxeon LEDs supply the sole light source in a new Rabat jewelry store in Barcelona, Spain, the first store in Europe to be lit completely with LEDs. Luxeon LEDs are also featured in a lighting system for store fixtures introduced by Stylmark Inc. as an option with its aluminum and steel display cases and shelving units. The patent pending display lighting is particularly useful in environments with heat-sensitive merchandise such as chocolates and cosmetics, according to the company. [ Press release on the Rabat store; Press release on the Stylmark fixtures. ]
September 13, 2004	Arques Technology introduced charge-pump white LED drivers, the AQ9156B and AQ9153. These dual-mode 1X - 1.5X switched-capacitor (charge pump) regulators are suitable for white LED backlighting and photo flash applications, according to the company. The output is a regulated 4.5V, up to 120 mA output current, and capable of driving up to six parallel white LEDs. [ Press release ]
September 10, 2004	NEC, Toshiba and Matsushita all plan to start manufacturing blue diode lasers next year, according to reports from the Tokyo-based Nihon Keizai Shimbun business newspaper. [ Item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
September 9, 2004	Maxim Integrated Products introduced the MAX1578/MAX1579, the first complete LCD bias and white-LED power supplies with only one inductor and no charge-pump diode, according to the company. The MAX1579 features a temperature-derating function that allows fewer LEDs to generate the same light output. [ Press release ]
September 9, 2004	Rubicon Technology and GaN-based LEDs were featured in an overview article, titled �Let There Be Higher-Tech Light� in the Chicago Sun-Times. [ Article, carried on the Cross Atlantic Capital Partners site; commentary at LIGHTimes ]
September 8, 2004	Agilent Technologies has introduced the Power PLCC-4 series of surface-mount LEDs designed and qualified specifically for automobile interior and exterior lighting applications. [ Press release]
September 7, 2004	Holiday Creations, the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of LED holiday lights, has increased its production capacity more than five-fold and plans to market the lights in more than 15,000 retail outlets in North America this fall. [ Press release ]
September 7, 2004	Color Kinetics has been awarded U.S. patent 6,788,011, extending the coverage of its core methods for controlling LED-based illumination. The patent relates in part to an LED-based lighting system comprising a user interface and an addressable controller that receives a network signal, to include such protocols as DMX512, a lighting industry communication standard. [ Press release ]
September 5, 2004	University of Minnesota�s Heiko Jacobs and colleagues report that they have demonstrated the fabrication of packaged microsystems that contain active semiconductor devices and passive components by using a directed self-assembly technique. Six hundred AlGaInP/GaAs LED segments with a chip size of 200 �m were assembled onto device carriers with a yield of 100% in 2 min. Packaged LEDs formed with yields exceeding 97% as a result of two self-assembly steps are made in 4 min. [ Feature article in the Dallas Morning News, abstract of article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ]
September 1, 2004	Epitech is ramping up production and has purchased seven of AIXTRON�s Planetary Reactors for the mass production of AlGaInP-based red and orange, and yellow-green UHB-LEDs, as well as CCS type (close coupled showerhead) reactors for the mass production of GaN-based blue, green, UV, and white UHB-LEDs. All systems will be installed at Epitech's plant in the Tainan Science Based Industrial Park in Taiwan. [ Press release ]
September 2004	Lighting Equipment News announced its upcoming conference, �LEDs: Putting Theory into Practice,� set for Nov. 10 � 11, 2004, in Brussels. The two-day event ��breaks down and examines the individual components of LED technology, highlighting the challenges and how they can be overcome to create award winning lighting installations.� [ Conference information ]
September 2004	The North American Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy, Oct. 10 � 14, 2004, Banff, Canada, is �devoted to both fundamental and applied research in the field of MBE.� Conference topics include: MBE growth fundamentals; in situ monitoring; production MBE; quantum structures; spintronics; III-V's and II-VI's; SiGeC growth; optoelectronic and RF devices; and novel materials and devices. [ Conference information]
September 3, 2004	Veeco Instruments announced the sale of a D180 GaN MOCVD tool to Beijing Changdian Zhiyuan Optoelectronics, a subsidiary of Changjiang Electronics Technology (China). The company will use the system to develop novel applications for GaN materials. [ Press release ]
September 2, 2004	A federal judge in North Carolina dismissed a $3.2 billion shareholder lawsuit against Cree, saying the case against the company was deficient. The judge allowed 45 days for the investor group to file an amended complaint. [ AP News item in Winston-Salem Journal ]
September 2, 2004	Sensor Electronic Technology says it is scaling up production of deep-UV (280 nm) LEDs with a high output power and a low drive current. According to the company, the devices emit 1 mW continuous-wave output at 280 nm with a drive current of 25 mA. In pulsed mode, the same devices yield 9 mW when driven at 200 mA. [ News item at Compound Semiconductor.net ]
August 31, 2004	Formosa Epitaxy plans to ship small volumes of power LED chips for use in backlighting for portable DVD players, car TVs and GPS panels in October. According to the company, the new chips, including 1-3W flip-chip LEDs and 3-5W V-Gan LEDs, are 60% brighter than its digital-penetration ITO LEDs. [ News item in Digitimes ]
August 31, 2004	North Carolina State University researchers used pulsed-laser ablation to make 7-nm nickel nanodots said to be 10 times smaller than previously possible. Dr. Jagdish Narayan and Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, hope to improve the efficiency of LED devices by applying their techniques to GaN and ZnO. Results of the research will be published in the September issue of the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. The researchers are working with Kopin, which has licensed the patents from NC State. [ NSF press release, News item in Triangle Tech Journal, News item in EE Times Online ]
August 30, 2004	The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the OMB issued a memo outlining research priorities for 2006. It included this statement: "Priority will be given to research that aims to close significant gaps in the fundamental physical understanding of phenomena that promise significant new technologies with broad societal impact. High-temperature and organic superconductors, molecular electronics, wide band-gap and photonic materials, thin magnetic films, and quantum condensates are examples of novel atomic and molecular-level systems with such gaps where coherent control holds great potential." [ Item in SSTI Weekly Digest; OSTP memo ]
August 27, 2004	Toyoda Gosei has created two types of white LED lamps that it says are among the world's smallest to be powered by a high-charged current. The TG High Power True White II has a LED element with red, green and blue fluorescent materials, and produces close to natural light, suitable for showroom illumination. The TG High Power White II incorporates a blue LED and yellow fluorescent material, is extremely bright, and targets streetlight applications. Sales are slated to begin in April 2005. [Reported in Nikkei Business Daily - no URL available; Press release (in Japanese)]
August 26, 2004	The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Technology Applications program offers a comprehensive report on its support of wide bandgap materials development, "Venturing Through the Forbidden Band: A Glance at MDA's Investment in Wide-Bandgap Technology (2004)." The report profiles companies and universities the MDA has funded, e.g., Cermet, Cree, Crystal IS, Emcore/GELcore, Nitronex, North Carolina State Univ., TDI International, and others. [ News item in CompoundSemi News Report ]
August 26, 2004	Daisuke Nakamura, Kazumasa Takatori and colleagues at Toyota Central R&D Laboratories and DENSO Corp. have developed a new method for growing SiC wafers, several centimeters in diameter, that reduces substrate defects in the material by 2 -3 orders of magnitude ("virtually dislocation free"). This work was reported in the Aug. 26 issue of Nature. The research has implications for widespread commercial application of SiC-based electronic devices. Nakamura's team made the breakthrough by employing "repeated a-face growth" (RAF). The process may be adapted for crystals or other "difficult" semiconductors such as gallium nitride. [ News item in Chemical & Engineering News; News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net, Nature "Highlights" item ]
August 25, 2004 - August 1, 2004	A 52-story, Manhattan skyscraper aims to be the first high-rise office building to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council's highest rating, making extensive use of energy-efficient systems, including LED lighting. The Bank of America's $1 billion new headquarters broke ground earlier this month and is set to open in 2008. It will showcase how clever design and technology can reduce pollution and operating costs while enhancing the health and productivity of its occupants. [ News item from the New York Times, USGBC press release ]
August 25, 2004	AXT announced plans to repurchase up to $2 million of its own stock, apparently as part of its continuing effort to move more of its operations to China. Repurchases will be made from time to time in the open market during the twelve-month period ending July 31, 2005, at prevailing market prices. As of June 30, 2004, AXT had 23.0 million shares of common stock outstanding. Repurchases will be made under the program using the company's own cash resources. [ Press release, news item at CompoundSemi News]
August 25, 2004	ASIP subsidiary ThreeFive Photonics (Netherlands) has secured a government contract worth $2.5 million to enable research, in collaboration with Eindhoven University, in the areas of advanced semiconductor nanostructures and photonic technology. Research efforts will focus on quantum dot active regions, high-aspect-ratio photonic band gap structures and advanced integrated device designs. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
August 25, 2004	Color Kinetics has received US patent 6,777,891 relating to a miniaturized, integrated, intelligent solid-state string light in which individual LED nodes can be independently controlled. [ Press release ]
August 23, 2004	Samsung released LCD monitors featuring 17-inch and 21-inch LED backlights, claiming that the larger device is only half the thickness of comparably-sized monitors, and that the 17-inch version has twice the brightness of competitive models. Color saturation is at ~92%. The products were among those Samsung exhibited at the co-located Asia Display '04 and the 4th International Meeting on Information Display held in Daegu, Korea. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net; Press release ]
August 25, 2004	Lumileds� Luxeon® LEDs will be used to illuminate the world�s first LED backlight for LCD home TVs, which Sony says enables the TVs to deliver truer and richer colors. The Luxeon light source is integrated into Sony�s 40" and 46" QUALIA series televisions, which are scheduled to go on sale in Japan by the end of the year. [ Lumileds press release, news item at PC World, Sony press release ]
August 23, 2004	Nichia has revamped its website, which features its slogan, "Ever Researching for a Brighter World." [ News item at CompoundSemi News ]
August 23, 2004	Taiwan�s involvement in the solid state lighting industry is featured in an article in CompoundSemi News, "What's Happening in Taiwan?" Noted are key trends that have been observed, including �Taiwan's definite move up the value chain in terms of quality (and therefore, brightness); licensing agreements by The Big 5 starting to kick in; and that the anticipated �overcapacity issue� which has often been predicted to kick in around Q-3 of 2004 appears to indeed be happening ... right on schedule.� [ The McDonald Report in CompoundSemi News ]
August 23, 2004	Dominant Semiconductors (Malaysia) has filed an unfair competition lawsuit against Osram in U.S. District Court in California. The complaint is based on allegations that Osram provided false and misleading correspondences to Dominant's customers and has falsely accused all of Dominant's product lines of infringing Osram patents. The suit follows a similar complaint filed by Osram against Dominant. [ News item at EE Times-Asia, Press release, news item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
August 19, 2004	Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology has applied for a patent for a strontium silicate-based phosphor with a europium activator, which was described in the "Patent Highlights" feature at Optics.org. The inventors say the yellow-emitting phosphor, which can be used in combination with a blue LED to produce white light, shows a wide emission spectrum and that the main peak can be altered by changing the concentration of europium. [ Item at Optics.org, WO2004/067677 ]
August 19, 2004	A University at Buffalo research team has invented a new way to synthesize quantum dots, allowing researchers to precisely control the size and luminescence wavelength of the ZnSe dots in one step. ZnSe quantum dots created by this technique have maintained their luminescent properties for more than a year. The patent-pending technique, developed by a team led by T.J. Mountziaris, enables precise control of particle size by using a microemulsion template formed by self-assembly, and was described in a recent issue of the journal Langmuir. [ News item at University of Buffalo Reporter, Press release ]
August 18, 2004	Lumileds� Luxeon® Flash LEDs produce flash illumination on cell-phone cameras up to 12 times brighter than standard devices, allowing flash photography at distances of 1 to 2 meters, the company announced. The first camera phone with a Luxeon Flash was recently introduced in Europe and models are expected in the U.S. and Asia before the holiday season this year. [ Press release ]
August 18, 2004	A team of researchers at University of Twente and Utrecht University (Netherlands) has succeeded in controlling the pace of light emission via "lifetime-warp" in a photonic crystal, reported in the Aug. 5 issue of Nature. Speeding up light emission rates could lead to more efficient LEDs. [ News item at Optics.org, item at Physics.org, article in Nature ]
August 17, 2004	New analysis from Frost & Sullivan from �World Emerging LED Markets� -- the HB-LED market generated revenue of $2.6 billion in 2003 and is expected to reach $5.4 billion in 2007. [ Item from Business Wire, Report Table of Contents ]
August 17, 2004	Cree was featured in Business Week�s online "Focus Stock" section, which provides insight by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services. The article includes a concise overview of the company, products, and product strategies. [ Article ]
August 17, 2004 - August 04, 2004	Carmanah Technologies has: � Released the first world's first solar-powered, LED-based, self-contained, GPS-synchronized marine light - a three nautical mile navigation light that coordinates with GPS time signals to allow any number of units installed anywhere in the world to flash in perfect unison. [ Press release ] � Received a $1.1 million contract to supply solar-powered LED aviation lights for two air bases in the Middle East for the U.S. Marine Corps. Applications will include runway edge, threshold, taxiway and obstruction lighting. [ Press release ]
August 17, 2004	Cyberlux received U.S. Patent 6,752,515 for a broad range of emergency lighting technology using LEDs as the illumination source. [ Press release ]
August 17, 2004	Lumileds says its high-power Luxeon LEDs are bright enough to replace conventional bulbs on a one-for-one basis in rear vehicle lighting applications. Although LEDs are common in center high-mount stop lamps, Luxeon LEDs are the first LEDs with sufficient power to light all rear vehicle applications including turn signals, tail lights, brake lights, rear fog lamps and back-up lights, says the company. [ Press release ]
August 12, 2004	Agilent introduced a series of extra-bright white InGaN LEDs targeted for the electronic sign and signals market. The HLMP-CWxx circular-pattern and HLMP-FWxx flat-top extra-bright white LED lamps are available in 15-, 23-, 30-, 50-, 70- and 85-degree circular viewing angles. Product specs are available here. [ Press release ]
August 11, 2004	Color Kinetics announced the issuance of a US utility patent ( 6,774,584 ) relating to color-controllable pool and spa lighting systems. One aspect of this patent relates to controlling the lights based on a detectable condition which, for example, may be a user-controlled interface. Another potential application is an intelligent light that senses chlorine levels, temperature, or other variables within a pool or spa and displays particular colors in response. [ Press release ]
August 10, 2004	Cree plans a $300 million expansion of manufacturing and R&D operations near its Durham, N.C., headquarters. The expansion, to include the expected creation of 300 new jobs over the next five years, will begin this fall and is intended to position the company for growth in its LED chips, XLamp™ and power product lines. [ Press release ]
August 6, 2004	Asian HB-LED manufacturers are increasing production capacities as mainland China's central government launches national projects geared toward industry growth, according to an article in Global Sources. Both the new construction in Hong Kong, and the booming housing markets in Shanghai and Beijing are expected to bolster demand for HB-LEDs. [ News item ]
August 5, 2004	Lumileds has signed 10 European companies to its Luxeon Lighting Network, which offers LED luminaire manufacturer guidelines in order to encourage designers and architects to specify LED products for their projects. [ Press release ]
August 4, 2004	Aixtron (Germany) reported total revenues of €34.2 million ($41.2 million) for Q2 2004, a 35% increase compared to the previous quarter and a 53% increase from the same period last year. The MOCVD equipment supplier attributed the growth to increased demand from LED manufacturers in Asia. [ Press release, news item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
August 2004	The Electroluminescence Conference 2004, set for Sept. 20 � 23, 2004, in Toronto includes sessions on LED-based lighting systems, covering wide-bandgap pn-junction devices, high-power pn-junction devices and new substrates and growth processes for wide-bandgap semiconductors. Phosphors, and inorganic and organic EL are among the other topics included in this conference. [ Conference info, program, invited speakers ]
August 2004	Quantum dots and GaN-based materials and devices were featured in the ICMOVPE-XII conference held in Hawaii and reported in a recap published in Compound Semiconductor. George Craford, chief technology officer at Lumileds, gave an opening talk on the role of MOVPE in solid-state lighting. UV LED developments by Cree and University of Cambridge are covered, as well as improvements in quantum dot lasers, solar-cell production issues, and �exotic structures,� such as the work from Sandia National Labs� George Wang on AlGaInN nanowires. [ Feature article ]
July 28, 2004	The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners approved an additional $150K expenditure for the Vincent Thomas Bridge Lighting project (the total project budget is $774K). The 1.1-mile-long bridge will be illuminated by 160 blue LED lamps, each made up of 360 LEDs and powered by solar panels. Installation of the lights is scheduled to begin in August. [ Press release ]
July 23, 2004	Jiangxi Lianchuang Optoelectronic Science and Technology, one of four national semiconductor lighting bases in China, aims to build a complete LED industrial chain covering epitaxial wafer, chip manufacture and packaging. The company has founded production bases in Nanchang, Ji'an and in Xiamen, Fujian Province, according to Asia Pulse. The company is teaming up with Japanese partners in developing new LED epitaxial materials and LED lights, and with a domestic university in developing LED automobile lights. [ News item at Solid State Technology ]
August 6, 2004	DOE has funded 11 solid-state lighting research projects for a total of roughly $20 million. The projects are listed below. These awards have been summarized in an article at CompoundSemiconductor.net, and detailed in two DOE announcements [ SSL Core Technologies FOA and National Lab Call for Core Technologies ]. SSL CORE TECHNOLOGIES Funding Opportunity Announcement: � Boston University -- Low-cost Blue/UV LEDs with Very High Photon Conversion and Extraction Efficiency for White Lighting Project Value: $1,202,693 Applicant Cost Share: 20% Duration: 36 months � Cabot Superior MicroPowders -- Development of Advanced LED Phosphors by Spray-based Processes for Solid State Lighting Applications Project Value: $4,200,008 Applicant Cost Share: 40% Duration: 36 months � Universal Display Corporation -- Novel Low Cost Organic Vapor Jet Printing of Striped High Efficiency Phosphorescent OLEDs for White Lighting Project Value: $4,000,000 Applicant Cost Share: 40% Duration: 36 months � University of California, San Diego -- Development of White-Light Emitting Active Layers in Nitride-Based p-n Heterostructures for Phosphorless Solid State Lighting Project Value: $1,202,595 Applicant Cost Share: 20% Duration: 36 months � University of California, Santa Barbara -- Title: Surface Plasmon Enhanced Phosphorescent Organic Light Emitting Diodes Project Value: $1,068,582 Applicant Cost Share: 20% Duration: 36 months � University of Florida -- ZnO PN junctions for highly-efficient, low cost light emitting diodes Project Value: $1,143,172 Applicant Cost Share: 20% Duration: 36 months � University of Southern California -- Novel Materials for High-Efficiency White Phosphorescent OLEDs Project Value: $1,844,086 Applicant Cost Share: 27% Duration: 36 months NATIONAL LABS: � Los Alamos National Laboratory -- Material and Device Designs for Practical Organic Lighting; Project Value: $2,018,369 Duration: 36 months � Pacific Northwest National Laboratory -- Novel Organic Molecules for High Efficiency Blue Organic ElectroLuminescence; Project Value: $2.4M Duration: 36 months � Sandia National Laboratories -- Ultrahigh-Efficiency Microcavity Photonic Crystal LEDs; Project Value: $1.2M Duration: 24 months � Sandia National Laboratories -- Improved InGaN Epitaxy Yield by Precise Temperature Measurement; Project Value: $350,000 Duration: 24 months
August 5, 2004	Nichia will collaborate with the Taiwanese LED component manufacturer Opto Tech in the production of InGaN material for LEDs. The move is part of Nichia�s plan to secure the LED supply chain. [ Nichia press release, item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
August 4, 2004	DOE�s EERE has supplied a summary of recent LED traffic light retrofit projects, including those in Syracuse, NY (299 intersections), Dallas (1,100 intersections), Arlington, TX (243 intersections) and Elk Grove, CA (70 intersections). [ Article in EERE Network News ]
August 4, 2004	INTRINSIC Semiconductor will acquire Bandgap Technologies, a defense contractor and manufacturer of SiC wafer products, with the intention of increasing its production capacity to serve the SiC and GaN markets, as well as improving upon INTRINSIC�s "distinct intellectual property position," says the company. [ INTRINSIC press release ]
August 4, 2004	Sharp will introduce a solar-powered, LED-based street lamp and illumination panel to the Japanese market by the end of this year. The street lamp uses a polycrystalline solar cell and ten 1 W LEDs, producing an illumination intensity of 18 lux. The illumination panel uses white LEDs and a new crystalline thin film tandem solar cell with a claimed conversion efficiency of 7.3%, 1.5 times higher than the conventional amorphous silicon cell. [ Article at Optics.org, Press release ]
August 2, 2004	Compound Semi Online introduced its new website, SolidStateLighting.Net, with industry-wide news, information and resources, and the online newspaper, LIGHTimes Online ( www.LIGHTimes.com ). The sites will focus on the solid-state lighting industry as distinct from the compound semiconductor industry, and it will provide information of interest to integrators and Lighting Designers. [ News item in CompoundSemi News ]
August 1, 2004	Some 96% of patent fees that Japan�s national universities earned in fiscal year 2003 (410 of 427 million yen) came from inventions related to blue LEDs developed by Professor Emeritus Isamu Akasaki of Nagoya University, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. [ See article in Mainichi Daily News, "Majority of university patent fees related to LED inventions" ]
July 29, 2004	Veeco received a $10M order from Lumileds for GaNzilla® MOCVD GaN production equipment as part of a multi-year purchase order for additional systems. [ Veeco press release ]
July 28, 2004	A team from UC-Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, led by Peidong Yang, has been able to control the direction in which GaN nanowire grows, which is critical to determining the wire�s electrical and thermal conductivity, among other properties. Research results appeared in Nature Materials. [ Press release ]
July 28, 2004	Unity Opto Technology of Taiwan plans to increase its monthly white LED capacity to 30 million units in September, up from 10 million units now. The company also intends to offer white LEDs for backlights used in 17-inch displays in September. [ News item from GlobalSources.com ]
July 27, 2004	Cree announced that its 7090 series XLamp™, a high-power LED designed to provide an alternative to conventional sources for general illumination, is now available in production quantities. The 7090 series uses a high-power surface mount package, designed to operate at 1 Watt with a typical operating current of 350 mA. It has a footprint of 7 x 9 mm, with an efficacy in the 25 � 30 lm/W range. The product is available in red, blue, green, and white. [ Press release, article at CompoundSemi News ]
July 27, 2004	DOE�s NREL held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Science &Technology Facility in Golden, CO. The facility is designed to increase collaboration among researchers and speed the time it takes for new technologies to move from the lab to commercial manufacturing. The research focus will be on thin-film photovoltaic devices, but it will also enable the expansion of research capabilities in hydrogen, solid-state lighting, superconductivity, electrochromic windows, and nanotechnologies. Construction of this 71,000 square foot facility is expected be completed in 2006. [ Press release, item at SolarAccess.com ]
July 27, 2004	The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT) plans to spend more than $20 million on a 5-year, HB-LED medical equipment program. It has allocated ¥500M (~$4.6M) in 2004 to establish the Yamaguchi-Ube Medical Innovation Centre (YuMIC), with similar amounts expected to be allocated in each of the subsequent years. The center will develop non-invasive medical diagnostic and therapeutic equipment using InGaN-based white LED technology developed in part by Tsunemasa Taguchi of Yamaguchi University, the research director for the YuMIC project. YuMIC also hopes to use white HB-LEDs to develop interior lighting for medical applications, and to create disinfectant and deodorant facilities and equipment. [ News item from CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
July 27, 2004	Cree reported record-high revenues and earnings for its fourth quarter and for FY04. In the fiscal year ending June 27, 2004, Cree earned revenues of roughly $306.9M, an increase of 34% over revenues from the previous fiscal year. [ More detail in company press release; see also news item and commentary from CompoundSemi News ]
July 21, 2004	A new type of reflector that significantly increases LED luminance has been developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The research team, headed by Fred Schubert, says its omni-directional reflector reflects light at nearly 100%, supplying up to twice as much light as previous designs and potentially allowing LED lighting to challenge conventional light bulbs. Research on the new reflector was published in Applied Physics Letters (May 31, 2004) [ abstract ] and IEEE�s Electron Device Letters (November 2003) [ abstract ]. [ Press release ]
July 21, 2004	Toyoda Gosei has become a co-patent holder of a white LED patent jointly owned by Tridonic Optoelectronics GmbH (Austria), Leuchtstoffwerk Breitungen GmbH and Litec GbR (both of Germany), with which Toyoda Gosei has been working as a licensee. The patent, for a blue LED/new yellow phosphor combination, has US equivalents in the application stage. [ European patent WO02/054502, TG press release, article in CompoundSemi News ]
July 21, 2004	France�s Riber and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique have jointly set up a Process Technology Center for the development of GaN-based HEMTs, HFETs, LEDs and blue laser diodes. The center is located near Nice, France. [ Riber press release ]
July 21, 2004	Intertech announced the program agenda for "Light Emitting Diodes 2004", its 5th annual LED conference, set for Oct. 20-22 in San Diego. Conference sessions cover industry market overviews, technology processes and materials, LEDs and emerging technologies, lighting system needs and solutions, and communicating with LEDs -- projection devices and signs. [ Conference agenda ]
July 21, 2004	AXT plans to move the 20% of its product line still being produced in the U.S. to China, so that by Q1 2005, 100% of its substrate lines will come from China. The company plans to sell or lease its Fremont, Calif. facility. [ Item in CompoundSemi News, transcript of conference call ]
July 21, 2004	Commercial sub-nanosecond pulsed UV-LEDs are now available from Jobin Yvon IBH, UK, which claims the LEDs emit 800 picosecond pulses at 280 and 340 nm, making them ideal for a range of biological applications based on time-resolved fluorescence. [ News item from Optics.org ]
July 19, 2004	Picogiga�s sales of compound semiconductor substrates, including GaN-on-silicon wafers, rose by 93% year-on-year to reach €1.6 million - more than the subsidiary's total sales in the entire first half of the previous fiscal year. Picogiga is a subsidiary of Soitec (France). [ Item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
July 19, 2004	Cyberlux, a North Carolina based developer of white LED lighting systems using GaN LEDs, will acquire Massachusetts-based TrueToForm Ltd., a specialty lighting manufacturer with customers that include hotels, casinos and restaurant chains. Cyberlux was founded in 2000 and produces emergency lighting augmentation and home safety light products. [ Press release ]
July 16, 2004	Nitronex is now selling GaN-on-silicon epitaxial wafers. The company says that using large-area, 100mm, silicon substrates "provides the economic benefits of large wafer scaling, as well as cheaper wafer procurement costs in comparison to other substrates." [ Press release, product detail ]
July 15, 2004	An LED-based fishing lure patent application was submitted by U.S. inventor Peter Lindgren, who says that using two different colored LEDs greatly enhances the fish catch. The lure emits flashes of light from blue, green, blue-green, or white LEDs. [ News item from Optics.org; patent number WO 2004/057948 ]
July 5, 2004	Strategies Unlimited and Adams Harkness present the HB LEDs industry investor conference, "Bright Ideas 2004" to be held on November 16, 2004 in Boston, MA. This one-day event will update the investment community on the growth potential, business outlook, and investment opportunities offered by the HB-LEDs industry. [ Conference info ]
July 2004	Doru Florescu of Veeco describes GaN-based LED layer optimization using atomic force microscopy (AFM) in a feature in Compound Semiconductor magazine. According to the article, AFM shows promising results in characterizing and helping to optimize GaN-based layers grown by MOCVD. "In conjunction with finely tuned process parameters, AFM helps to significantly reduce surface defects, and ultimately contributes to brighter and more efficient devices." [ Feature article ]
July 2004	CrysTec (Germany) announced the availability of 2-inch wafers of two of the most promising candidates for the production of free-standing GaN, adding NdGaO3 (011), NdGaO3 (101) and LiAlO2 (100) to its substrate product program for nitride films. [ News item in CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
July 15, 2004	Agilent and Lumileds will collaborate on a new series of mid-power range LEDs and target the automotive, mobile phone and lighting markets. Lumileds will provide high-brightness LED chips and technology, and Agilent will contribute design, development and system integration expertise, including its patented manufacturing techniques. The first products from the collaboration are expected to be available in Q4 of 2004. They will be sold by Agilent, distributed by Future Electronics and use LED chips from Lumileds. [ Press release ]
July 15, 2004	The Lighting Research Center�s next �LED Lighting Institute� is being held September 22-24, 2004. This three-day, hands-on workshop is for those interested in gaining more knowledge of solid-state lighting and LEDs. [ Announcement ]
July 15, 2004	N. Narendran and Jean Paul Freyssinier of the Lighting Research Center reported at LED Expo 2004: �Even if light-emitting diodes can demonstrate long life, poor construction and misguided application of LED systems can lead to short operating life, consumer dissatisfaction and dismissal of the technology �The LED industry has significantly improved the technology to make it useful for illumination applications, but now the industry needs to look at system life and methods of life prediction. These factors ultimately will impact consumer confidence and acceptance of the technology.� [ LRC News item ]
July 14, 2004	CompoundSemi News has provided an update on GELcore, �What�s New at GELcore?� that covers the company�s activities in the European market and their introduction of the GE Tetra LED system, including white lighting, aimed at signage applications. [ News item ]
July 12, 2004	Aixtron is collaborating with researchers in Belarus, Russia, to develop silicon-based LED technology targeted at solid-state lighting. The three-year project is aimed at , improving LED performance, and exploring silicon as a low cost alternative to the more expensive sapphire or SiC substrates. The project is funded by the International Science & Technology Center in Russia. [ Press release ]
July 12, 2004	Lumileds announced the settlement of the pending litigation with Epistar related to Lumileds� US patent 5,008,718. The parties have agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims in the lawsuit. As part of the settlement, Lumileds has granted Epistar a limited license to practice several patents in the field of absorbing-substrate AlInGaP LEDs. [ Press release ]
July 9, 2004	Sandia National Laboratories has won R&D Magazine�s �R&D 100� award for cantilever epitaxy, a process of growing gallium nitride on an etched sapphire substrate, which promises to make brighter green, blue, and white LEDs. [ Press release ]
July 8, 2004	US start-up, Quintessence Photonics Corporation (QPC) in California, claims to have developed 2D surface-emitting diode arrays that are made from a single piece of semiconductor. The surface-emitting prototype promises cheaper, more powerful laser-diode arrays. When making the wafer of edge-emitting laser diodes, QPC uses a method that etches a series of 45° mirrors next to the diodes to reflect light out of the surface of the wafer. As a result, 2D arrays of laser diodes can be made from a single piece of semiconductor without the need for cleaving the wafer into a series of discrete bars. [ Item at Optics.org ]
July 7, 2004	Aixtron and Lumileds have signed a long-term purchase order for a �significant number� of AIXTRON Planetary Reactors® for Lumileds� Luxeon products. Lumileds is anticipating an epi system capacity ramp-up in the next four years. [ Aixtron press release ]
July 7, 2004	Dionics announced that it is currently beginning to market its recently developed LED-based "Silicon Light-Chip." The Chip, assembled with red, green and blue LEDs, offers a higher-efficiency design for the generation of both white and multi-colored light, according to the company. Dionics has applied for a patent and says that its design helps to both extend the operating life of the LEDs and to retain their peak light output for longer durations. [ Press release at Planet Analog, spec sheet ]
July 2, 2004	Aixtron and Genus, Inc. (a supplier of atomic layer deposition technology) are planning to merge to create �a world leading supplier of nano deposition technology to the semiconductor industry.� [ Press release ]
July 1, 2004	Arima Optoelectronics (Taiwan) is predicting an increase in production this year, according to Digitimes. Arima has expanded capacity at its Hsinchu plant, acquired in the merger with Kingmax Optoelectronics. It also aims to ship high-luminance blue LEDs in the third quarter and plans to install extra MOCVD capacity, leading to a monthly production of 100 million units by year-end. The company also hopes to increase its laser diode production. [ Item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
July 1, 2004	DOE has selected a proposal from the Next Generation Lighting Industry Alliance (NGLIA) in response to the DOE�s solicitation for a �Solid State Lighting Partnership.� DOE anticipates signing a Memorandum of Agreement with NGLIA after negotiations are completed. [ Announcement, NGLIA informational brochures ]
July 2004	GaN substrates are manufactured by only a handful of companies at prices prohibitive to volume production, but offer great potential for high-performance devices, according to an article in Compound Semiconductor magazine, �GaN substrates offer high performance at a price,� written by Richard Stevenson. Activities by Cree, Kyma Technologies, TopGaN, and TDI are discussed. [ Article ]
July 2004	Opto & Laser Europe magazine has featured Taiwan in the articles, �Taiwan: powerhouse of photonics� and �Tiger economy enters a period of transition,� which has an interview with Peter Shih, founder of PIDA.
May/June 2004	�Solid-State Lighting; Lamps, Chips and Materials for Tomorrow" has been published by J.Y. Tsao of Sandia National Laboratories in IEEE Circuits and Devices magazine. The aim of this article is to, first, provide a brief historical and forwardlooking overview of conventional and SSL lighting technologies, and second, describe some of the simplest but most important lamp, chip, and materials design choices that will need to be made. Special attention is given to the constraints imposed on those design choices if SSL-LED technology is to fulfill its promise for general illumination. [ Link to issue, requires subscription.]
June 25, 2004	People�s Daily reports that China plans to invest 15 million yuan initially in Xiamen City as part of its efforts to develop the semiconductor lighting sector. This base is expected to boost industrial growth through increased cooperation with Taiwan. [ Article ]
June 24, 2004	According to an article at Nikkei Electronics Asia, Nichia has announced prototypes of two new white LEDs that are 1.7 times brighter than its conventional products. The luminous efficiency of these white LEDs depends on the package structure, and the company claims that it has achieved a maximum luminous efficiency of 50 lm/w. Nichia plans to ship the LEDs in quantity around the summer of 2004. The small white LED (260 square microns) is aimed at backlighting for cell phones. It operates at a typical efficacy of 40+ lm/W. A large (1mm square) white LED is aimed at portable lighting applications and has a luminous efficacy of 35 lm/W. Nichia also has demonstrated prototypes of 19-inch and 9-inch LCD panels using white LEDs for backlighting. [ Article ]
June 22, 2004	The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC) has awarded a R&D contract to Lumileds to develop LED-based illuminators for projection display applications. The $2-million project will be cost-shared equally between the USDC and Lumileds. The goal of the project is to create a compact LED illuminator for development of a projection system with a longer lifetime and better color rendition. [ Item at Laser Focus World ]
June 22, 2004	Aixtron is being funded by the German government for a joint project to establish an R&D training center in China for optical technologies. Tsinghua University (Beijing), RWTH Aachen University of Technology, and Hong Kong University will also participate. The program encompasses the advancement of R&D, and training in the field of compound semiconductors for optoelectronic applications. [ Press release ]
June 22, 2004	A wireless nanodevice that functions like a fluorescent light � but potentially far more efficiently � has been developed in a joint project between the LANL and Sandia National Laboratories. The experimental success, reported in the June 10 issue of Nature, efficiently causes nanocrystals to emit light when placed on top of a nearby energy source, eliminating the need to put wires directly on the nanocrystals. [ Press release ]
June 22, 2004	Asia Pulse reports that Seiwa Electric Mfg. Co. has created a new type of white LED that provides a more natural kind of white light by coating a blue LED with red and green phosphors. Seiwa will ship samples starting July 1 and plans to begin volume production in August. The LEDs generate brightness of 1-5 cd on a 20 milliamp current and are targeted at backlighting, dashboard illumination, and interior illumination. [Asia Pulse, no URL available]
June 21, 2004	Nichia filed a request for preliminary injunction order against E&E Japan Co., Ltd. (formerly Epistar Japan and Everlight Japan) with the Tokyo District Court. Nichia believes that the white LEDs (model numbers 99-215UWC/TR8 and 67-21UWC/ S400-A4/TR8) handled by E&E JAPAN infringe on Nichia's white LED patent, JP No 2927279, related to white LED technology. [ Press release ]
June 21, 2004	Opto Tech plans to expand LED and OLED capacity this year, expecting monthly capacity to reach 20,000 substrates in 2005 from the current 5,000 substrates. [ Item at globalsources.com ]
June 20, 2004	A group of students and their physics teacher, Jacques Duranceau, from Arlington High School (Arlington, Mass) have devised a prototype of an automatic pedestrian crossing, which uses flashing LEDs embedded in a road surface and a pressure-sensitive pad on the adjoining sidewalk to activate the lights. [ Article in The Boston Globe ]
June 18, 2004	A patent application by Sandia National Laboratories, WO 2004/ 049764 "Photonic crystal light source," was featured in the �Patent Highlights� column at Optics.org. The application relates to a photonic crystal light source based on its characteristic stacked-log lattice structure. [ Item ]
June 17, 2004	Stanley Electric�s UVGB1306L surface-mount LEDs feature three high-luminous red, green and blue dies. According to the company, the chip LEDs can simultaneously emit the three colors at 2.5 times the current ratings of conventional models. [ Item at EE Times Asia ]
June 17, 2004	Procomp Informatics (Taiwan) is seeking bankruptcy protection, according to the Taipei Times. The company is involved in a number of joint ventures, one of which is Supra Opto, a partnership with Sumitomo Electric to commercialize ZnSe white LEDs. [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net, CompoundSemi News article ]
June 17, 2004	Evident Technologies has received funds from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), in a joint effort with the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer, to develop a white LED-based lighting system using quantum dots. [ Press release ]
June 16, 2004	Salon.com featured solid-state lighting in its article "Saving the World by Building a Better Light Bulb." Mentioned or described in the article is work by Sandia National Laboratories and Lumileds; as well as DOE�s program, "Lighting For Tomorrow," and PNNL�s BetterBulbsDirect.com, both of which promote the use of more efficient (CFL) lighting products. [ Article at Salon.com, requires free registration ]
June 15, 2004	Toyoda Gosei announced that all of its business activities will be united under one common "Toyoda Gosei" brand identity in celebration of its 55th anniversary. Regional headquarters in the U.S.A. and Europe will change their official company names from "TG" to �Toyoda Gosei� in August 2004. [ Press release ]
June 14, 2004	Work from University of Florida researchers, published in a recent paper in Nano Letters, has shown that thin sheets of carbon nanotubes are effective transmitters of electricity into LEDs. Their experiments showed the nanotube films had about one-third of the resistance of the industry standard metals in getting the current where it is needed. With such improvements, LEDs "will produce more light with significantly less power consumption, which also increases their useful lives." [ Press release ]
June 11, 2004	Under DARPA's Super-High Efficiency Diode Sources (SHEDs) program, Alfalight has made a laser diode with a peak wallplug efficiency of 65%. Producing 3W of optical output at around 970nm, the company obtained this efficiency by improving the internal injection efficiency through strain adjustments to the quantum well barriers, as well as modifying the doping profile of the laser's separate confinement heterostructure layer. [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]
June 11, 2004	Nichia reports that it has recently filed a lawsuit against a Taiwanese company and a South Korean company that has been doing business with the Taiwanese company in South Korea. Nichia believes the companies have been conducting activities infringing on Nichia's patent related to a technology that induces vapor growth of GaN-based semiconductor used in manufacturing LEDs. [ Nichia announcement ]
June 10, 2004	UC scientists working at LANL with a colleague from SNL, have developed a new method for exciting light emission from nanocrystal quantum dots. The discovery provides a way to supply energy to quantum dots without wires, and paves the way for a potentially wider use of tunable nanocrystalline materials in a variety of technologies, including solid-state lighting and electrically-pumped nanoscale lasers. [ Press release, results published in a paper in Nature, June 10, 2004 ]
May 2004	The Asian Technology Information Program (ATIP) released a report, "Chinese LED R&D and Industry" in May. [ Report overview, China report index ]
June 2004	Compound Semiconductor magazine featured a number of articles of interest: � "Korean Manufacturers Focus on White LEDs":� Because of falling blue LED prices, Korean companies are now focusing more on applications of white HB-LEDs in phone backlighting and camera flash units, as well as outdoor billboards and illumination.� Samsung Electric, Seoul Semiconductor, LG Innotek, Lasemtech, Photron, and EST are among the companies discussed in this article. Some additional points: � Seoul Semiconductor has "thrown down the gauntlet to industry-leading companies such as US-based Lumileds." Seoul Semi claims to have HB-LEDs with 150 lm brightness, a 25+% improvement on Lumileds' devices. � EST wants to widen its market share by replacing incandescent and fluorescent lamps with LEDs. �It plans to set up an offshore factory in China in the next year. � Korean manufacturers have started to target the local automotive market. � The article includes a table on LED chip and epiwafer manufacturing in Taiwan, Korea, and China.� � "Samsung and Toyoda Gosei Unveil Progress in Violet Lasers" describes work reported at ISBLLED-5, held in Korea in March.� Samsung and Toyoda Gosei are improving 405 nm laser diodes, targeted at optical data storage.� Some of the other interesting points in this article: � Among the topics highlighted at the symposium: 1) For high-power blue LEDs, the development of reflecting contacts, substrate removal by laser lift-off, and backside surface texturing; 2) Development of GaN-free structures for high-power near-UV LEDs; 3) The issue of reducing threading dislocation density by LEO for deep UV LEDs; and 4) For developers of 405 nm laser diodes, key challenges included ridge geometry optimization, reliability, and reduction of threshold currents via lower TDD values using the LEO technique or bulk GaN substrates. � T. Nakamura from Sumitomo Electric (the electronic devices division of which is now part of the Eudyna Devices, a joint venture with Fujitsu Quantum Devices ) presented recent results on increasing the operating lifetime of ZnSe-based white LEDs from 3,000 to 10,000 h (at 25 �C). �For 5 mm LEDs, lamp power of 8.1 mW was demonstrated at 20 mA and 2.5 V, corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of 16.9%. � UV LED and laser improvements were described by presenters from Sensor Electronic Technology, University of South Carolina, and Nichia. � "Compound semiconductor devices offer new driving experiences" features a discussion of LEDs in automotive applications. � "Taiwanese companies ramp up MOCVD capacity" is an article that includes discussion of Taiwan�s III-V industry revenues and its R&D consortium for next generation lighting. �Also included are a table of Taiwan LED manufacturers and a table of III-V industry revenues.
June 9, 2004	Osram Opto's Golden Dragon LEDs are used in headlights in Ford�s "Australian" concept car at the Auto China Motor Show 2004.� [ Press release, Item in CompoundSemi News ]
June 8-9, 2004	OSRAM Opto has filed a complaint against Dominant Semiconductors (a Malaysian manufacturer of LEDS) with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). �The complaint alleges that Dominant infringes upon nine of Osram's LED technology patents. �[ Business Wire item ]� CompoundSemi News provided an update on this story, revealing that the ITC had decided to start an investigation of this matter, and that two additional companies are under investigation -- American Microsemiconductor Inc. (NJ) and American Opto Plus Inc.(CA), both headquartered in the US.� [ News story ]
June 8, 2004	Arima Optoelectronics has recently completed the development of high brightness blue LEDs for handset backlight modules, and will start volume production in mid-June.� [ Article in Digitimes ]
June 8/June 3, 2004	Taiwan LED Production:� Taiwan-based LED makers Arima Optoelectronics and Tyntek are ramping up AlGaInP LED manufacturing capacity in an effort to compete with Epistar and United Epitaxy Company, according to a report from DigiTimes.� [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net ] Epistar also announced that it will spend more than $212 million to boost its production of 4-element and nitride-based LEDs.� [ Item at EE Times Asia ]
June 7, 2004	Nichia reports that it is actively licensing intellectual property, and is "exploring the possibilities of alliances with certain Taiwanese manufacturers, including licensing our technologies."� [ Nichia announcement, see also editorial in CompoundSemi News ]
June 4/May 27, 2004	Toyoda Gosei plans to invest $140 million in the construction of a second factory for manufacturing GaN-based LEDs.� Also, Nichia plans to double LED production capacity at its Tatsumi manufacturing site.� While Nichia currently has a 70% share of the global market for LEDs, it believes by increasing production it can be more competitive and increase its share of lower-end markets. �[TG item and Nichia item at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]
June 4, 2004	The Fox Group, a start-up LED manufacturer in Ripon, California, is manufacturing blue AlGaN/GaN-based LEDs by using an HVPE production method.� The company shipped its first order of 460 nm FoxBlue™ LEDs in May. �While the LEDs are not high brightness, the HVPE process is intrinsically low cost, it is protected by a strong patent portfolio, and the LEDs have extremely good color consistency, according to the company.� The HVPE method was developed by Technologies and Devices International (TDI). Fox has exclusive licenses to use TDI�s patents, and has moved the technology from an R&D stage to a fully-automated, reproducible manufacturing process. [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]
June 3, 2004	Nichia America has filed a lawsuit against Sharper Image, claiming infringement of a patent relating to white LEDs. �Nichia has also successfully persuaded two other companies (one is US-based Optronics) to start using Nichia�s white LEDs in place of devices made by Nichia�s rivals in Taiwan. [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net, Nichia announcement ]
June 3, 2004	The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has brightened one of the city�s busiest pedestrian throughways, Strawberry Way, in an enhancement project that includes artistic lighting displays and illuminated signage.� Red LED lighting is included in the lighting enhancements.� [ Press release ]
June 2, 2004	Nichia is profiled in the McDonald Report (see "Catching up with Nichia") in CompoundSemi News.� Sales, profitability, LED prices, and litigation are described in this report.
June 1, 2004	The Phoenix Group Corporation (Delaware) announced the acquisition of Lighting Science, Inc. (Las Vegas, NV) a designer of a new generation LED light bulbs.� Lighting Science is preparing to introduce products for both commercial and residential applications in late 2004. �[ Press release ]
June 1, 2004	Dialight Corporation offers its 586 series of wedge based LEDs for illuminating switches, panel indicators and reels in gaming equipment. Mounting directly into industry standard sockets, the new units are designed to replace many subminiature and miniature incandescent lamps. �The products use AlInGap and InGaN technology in a multi-LED design and are available in white, warm white, red, green, amber, and blue. [ Press release ]
May 2004	The May issue of III-Vs magazine featured the article, "Lighting: The Promise and Progress of LEDs", by Alan Mills.� One interesting item in this article is a table showing a history of the development of white LEDs in Japan between 1997 and 2003 from T. Taguchi.� [No URL available, subscription required ]
May 28, 2004	Optics.org reports in its "Patent Highlights" column that Sanken Electric (Japan) has applied for WO 2004/042832, "Semiconductor light-emitting device and method for manufacturing the same", which is related to a LED based on a low-resistance silicon substrate. �Improved emission characteristics are claimed. [ Item ]
May 27, 2004	Advanced Analogic Technologies (AnalogicTech) announced a new generation of high efficiency charge pumps for white LED applications. Designed to maximize power efficiency in battery-powered portable designs, the AAT3140 and AAT3141 charge pumps combine a loadswitch (1X) with fractional (1.5X) and doubling (2X) conversion to support LEDs with a wide range of forward voltages.� [ Press release at Yahoo Finance ]
May 26, 2004	Permlight introduced the Enbryten Portrait series of LED luminaires for general illumination applications. The luminaires are designed to mount to conventional electrical junction boxes, and contain an integrated, self-contained, constant current LED driver. The products are designed for low-location emergency, floor, egress, stairwell, or boat and RV lighting.� [ Press release, picture and specifications ]
May 26, 2004	The International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York included displays using LEDs.� Draped around an entrance was Divvali's Lume, �a giant cozy quilt-like wall hanging embedded with hundreds of glowing LEDs � that resembled a blanket of snow lying atop strings of fairy lights."� Also on display was Element Labs' Versa Tile, a LED video display technology used to create dynamically changing colored walls.� [ Article in Globe and Mail ]
May 24, 2004	Nichia announced that an (unnamed) Japanese-affiliated company in Taiwan has agreed to cease manufacturing activities involving white LEDs made in Taiwan.� Nichia claims the Taiwanese white LEDs infringe on Nichia�s patents.� The Japanese-affiliated company has agreed to begin using Nichia white LEDs in its products.� [ Press release ]
May 20, 2004 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY	DOE has issued the "Solid State Lighting Product Development" funding opportunity, which is focused on four areas of solid state lighting product development:� 1) LED Luminaire Design and Materials, 2) High Efficiency, Reliable, Intelligent Electronics for LEDs, 3) OLED Luminaire Design and Materials, and 4) High Efficiency, Reliable, Intelligent Electronics for OLEDs.� Total funding available is $8 million and 4 awards are expected.� The application deadline is July 8, 2004
May 20, 2004	Osram Opto Semiconductors has provided LED lighting for five stainless-steel �UFOs" hovering in the air in the Sheik Rashid Terminal at Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates).� The 20-foot wide, nearly 2-ton spaceships are suspended by cables from the terminal�s ceiling.� Each spaceship is outfitted with more than 8,500 LED modules and special optics.� [ Press release, Article in Photonics.com ]
May 18, 2004	Sumitomo agreed to purchase $160 million in LEDs from Cree during its fiscal year ending June 2005.� Sumitomo�s purchases anticipated to cover Cree�s full line of standard brightness, mid-brightness and high brightness LED devices, including MegaBright®, XBright® and Xthin ™ LEDs. The two parties also extended their distributorship agreement through the end of Cree�s FY 2007.� [ Press release ]
May 17, 2004	Supertex introduced the �industry�s first" universal HB-LED driver integrated circuit (the HV9910), which boasts over 93% efficiency.� Supertex claims the device has a lower parts count and lower cost than comparable solutions currently on the market.� HV9910 is designed specifically to drive HB LEDs from an off-line voltage source and is applicable for use in LED general and decorative lighting, LED signs replacing neon signs, and other high voltage AC and DC input-based applications. [ Press release at Yahoo Finance, product information ]
May 12, 2004	Lumileds announced plans to open a new plant in Malaysia this summer in an effort to triple its Luxeon LED production capacity.� The facility will produce the full Luxeon product line, including the first volume production of Luxeon warm white LEDs. [ Press release, Article in CompoundSemi News ]
May 11, 2004	At the Blue 2004 conference in Taiwan, Cree announced it had recently demonstrated 57 lm/watt of white light from a XB900 class power LED chip operating at 350 mA.� Under 1 amp of drive current, the same chip emitted 142 lumens. [ Article in CompoundSemi News, Press release ]
May 11, 2004	DARPA�s SUVOS research:� In an extensive article reviewing this program, Compound Semiconductor reports that Phase II participants have succeeded in making 275nm LEDs with output powers in the milliwatt range under DC conditions, have demonstrated UV biosensor and communication systems, and have developed lasers operating below 350 nm.� Program manager John Carrano has called the results to date �wildly successful" and says that DARPA is �now intending to expand the goals of the program to get all the way down to 265 nm LEDs."� [Article in Compound Semiconductor ( page 1, page 2) ]
May 10, 2004	Color Kinetics signed an OEM agreement with Main Light, allowing Main Light to incorporate Color Kinetics technology in its Soft-LED LED-based drapery for entertainment applications.� The Soft-LED drapery is composed of programmable points of light that can be used as dynamic backdrops at a variety of venues.� Main Light will use the Color Kinetics LED control technology to allow for precise control of individual tri-color LED nodes.� [ Press release ]
May 10, 2004	Agilent Technologies debuted a line of extra-bright InGaN LEDs targeted for the outdoor electronic sign and signals market.� The LEDs have brightness ranging fromfrom 0.31 - 27 cd on 20 mA forward current (depending on color and model), and are available in blue (470 nm), green (521 nm) and cyan (505 nm).� [ Press release, Data sheets ( HLMP-Cxxx, HLMP-Hxxx) ]
May 10, 2004	BivarOpto has introduced the SMPT RGB Series of surface mounted LEDs designed exclusively for use with the company�s Flexible Light Pipes.� The product eliminates the need for through-hole PCBs typically required for light pipe installation.� Each SMPT RGB module can be used as an individual full color pixel in either fixed or moving messages in a display ranging in length from 2.5" to 328 ft (100 m).� [ Press release ]
May 6, 2004	Cree announced the XT-21, the newest product in their Xthin� line.� This 460 nm blue-spectrum device features a brightness of 21 mW minimum.� The product is targeted for white light applications, including LCD backlighting for mobile phones and digital camera flashes. [ Article in CompoundSemi News, Press release ]
May 4, 2004	Cree introduced two new versions of its green LED product line, including the XT-290™ LED (527nm version with a typical radiant flux of 9mW at 20mA and a typical forward voltage of 3.2V) and the XB-900™ LED (the 527nm version has a typical radiant flux of 30mW at 350mA, and the 505nm version has a typical radiant flux of 45mW at 350mA). Key uses for these products are white light applications using RGB technologies, traffic signals, and signage. [ Press release ]
May 3, 2004	Osram Sylvania recently announced plans to donate LED technology to the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation (LDC) for "Lighting the Boulevard," a doorway lighting project developed for Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn. The technology will illuminate 150 residential and commercial doorways. Lighting artist Leni Schwendinger has been retained by the LDC to conceptualize, design and manage the program. [ Press release ]
April 27, 2004	Osram and Vishay announced that, on payment of a license fee, Vishay is acquiring the right to manufacture and sell LEDs for white light with conversion technology and surface-mount LEDs for high-current applications (Power SMT LEDs) for which Osram hold patents. Typical applications include automotive interior lighting. The Osram technology being licensed enables white LEDs to be produced with blue emitting InGaN chips by using a suitable phosphor converter [ Press release ]
April 27, 2004	Osram says that it has made a red surface-emitting LED with a high luminance -- 100 lm/W -- thought to be a record for the 618 nm emission wavelength. The LED emits more than 12 lm through a 300x300 �m surface at a 70 mA drive current and uses Osram�s thin-film technology. The company also noted that InGaN-based blue- and white-emitting devices based on the thin-film technology will be launched within the next few weeks. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
April 27, 2004	�Solid State Lighting Will Save Billions of Pounds By Reducing The Amount Of Electricity Needed To Light Homes And Offices� � this article covers work at University of Bath by Dr. Nang Wang. Some 30 million LEDs based on the resonance tunneling structure developed by Professor Wang�s team are being produced commercially each month by Arima Optoelectronics in Taiwan, according to the article. Wang�s team was funded by a �400,000 grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Department of Trade and Industry. [ Item at Azom.com ]
April 26, 2004	Veeco Instruments announced that it has received a $10 million plus order for multiple MOCVD production systems from Fujian Quanzhou Sanan Group Ltd. (Fujian Province, China), a manufacturer of HB-LEDs. The order is for Veeco TurboDisc® MOCVD GaNzilla® systems, which can be used for the production of white, blue and green HB-LEDs. [ Press release ]
April 23, 2004	NIST has developed a portable "rainbow source" light that can be tuned across the entire visible light spectrum, from red to blue light. The device exploits recent materials advances in LEDs of different colors. By mixing exact percentages of LEDs at different wavelengths of visible light with the desired brightness, the optical properties of the source (such as the color) can be changed and tailored for a particular application. [ Item at EurekaAlert ]
April 23, 2004	Optics.org featured a �White light emitting device� by Toyoda Gosei in their patent highlights section (international patent application WO 2004/032251) �The devices are based on a purple LED which is sealed into the package using a transparent resin. The resin contains red, green, blue and yellow-emitting phosphors. The phosphors emit a range of different wavelengths, resulting in an LED that emits white light.� [ Item at Optics.org ]
April 23, 2004	Beeman Lights is developing "turtle-friendly" LED lighting for beachfront buildings that won't attract hatchlings as they emerge from their nests. [ Article at Bradenton Herald, Beeman�s sea turtle lighting webpage ]
April 22, 2004	Nichia/Nakamura Litigation: Nichia, ordered to pay damages of 20 billion yen to Shuji Nakamura, said that the financial value of the LED product was "overrated" in an appeal hearing and asked the Tokyo High Court to reduce the damages set by the district court. Lawyers for Nakamura said that Nichia's claims were groundless and asked the court to dismiss the appeal. [ Item in Mainichi Daily News, see also item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
April 22, 2004	Nichia and Sony have a cross-licensing agreement for Blue-Violet Laser Diode (LD) related patents for optical disc use. According to a Nichia press release, in December 2002, Nichia and Sony agreed to collaborate on the development of a Blue-Violet LD for optical disc recording/ play-back use. The cross-license agreement will further strengthen the collaboration and will enable use of all related patents on Blue-Violet LD, with no time limit, in the field of the optical disc recording/playback usage. Collectively, there are a total of approximately 800 patent applications filed by both companies. Both Sony and Nichia will mass-produce the lasers. [ Press release, item at Optics.org]
April 21, 2004	Kopin announced that its CyberLite™ LED was chosen as Product of the Year by Electronic Products magazine. The magazine's 28th annual award series recognizes outstanding electronic components from the thousands of products introduced in 2003. The selection of winners was based on significant advances in technology or its application, and its innovation in design. [ Press release ]
April 20, 2004	Asian LED Production: LED production continues to ramp up in Asia. Developments at Epistar and Formosa Epitaxy in Taiwan, and Nichia of Japan are covered in an article at CompoundSemiconductor.net
April 20, 2004	Seoul Semiconductor (a LED packaging company in Korea) and TridonicAtco (a lighting company and an affiliate of the Austrian group Zumtobel AG) have developed a high brightness LED for use in technical and general illumination. The "Alpha Power LED" can be assembled in surface mounting technology. [ Item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ] (Seoul Semiconductor also says that it has an agreement from the Solid State Lighting and Display Center at UC-Santa Barbara to license key technologies for manufacturing LEDs for illumination � see item dated 12-24-2003 on the company�s website.)
April 19, 2004	Catalyst Semiconductor has expanded its white LED product family with the introduction of the CAT37, an inductor-based white LED driver boost converter. Designed for color LCD and keypad backlighting, the CAT37 delivers a regulated output current at a constant switching frequency of 1.2MHz that allows the device to be used with very small value external inductor and ceramic capacitors. [ Press release ]
April 15, 2004	�A Better Way of Making Blue Laser Diodes?� � this article in IEEE Spectrum features Jon Heffernan�s work at Sharp using MBE for creating InGaN blue-violet laser diodes. [ Article ]
April16 , 2004	Taiwan�s National Science Council (NSC) held a press conference on LED developments, saying that their two-year, NT$12-million research project on highly efficient LEDs had led to 14 patents, licensed in both Taiwan and the US, and more than 20 new manufacturing process technologies. NSC also demonstrated epiwafers with high-efficiency LEDs with special mirror substrates fabricated by wafer-bonding technology, which make it possible to produce larger but cheaper LEDs with high thermal conductivity. [ Taipei Times article ]
April 15, 2004	Color Kinetics announced two new patents. US 6,717,376 is a utility patent covering �Automotive Information Systems� that, in part, relates to color-controllable automotive lighting systems. US 6,720,745 (�Data delivery track�) relates to a LED lighting system where the lighting control signals are communicated through a light track. [ Press release ]
April 15, 2004	TIR Systems (Canada) has introduced a new product, LightScript™ The company claims it has been able to improve to traditional channel lettering with this product � it ensures visual uniformity, protects the LEDs (lengthening their life), and is designed for maximum flexibility -- the product can fit into spaces too small for neon. [ Press release ]
March - April, 2004	CHINA�s SEMICONDUCTOR LIGHTING INITIATIVE: China has released information about its semiconductor lighting initiative. It will open four industrial base areas to support the initiative, in Xiamen (Fujian Province), Dalian, Shanghai, and Nanchang. China plans to invest US$1.2 billion initially in the semiconductor lighting project. It has set a goal of semiconductor lighting output of US$3.6 billion by 2010. AXT's optoelectronics business, which was sold to the US-based "Lumei Optoelectronics" is part of this Chinese effort at Dalian. A joint venture company, Dalian Lumei Optoelectronics Corp (DLOC), has been formed by Lumei Opto and Dalian Luming Science and Technology Group ("the largest supplier of patented afterglow materials around the world"). [ Item at People�s Daily, item from CCTV/China View, carried by xinhuanet.com, item from Asiaport carried by Laser Focus World, item 1, item 2 at globalsources.com, item from Shanghai Daily News ]
April 13, 2004	LEDtronics has introduced the PNL-1145 series of LED lamps, which are designed as direct replacements for incandescent high-voltage panel indicator lamps. The lamps are available in aqua green, warm white (3200 K), super blue, ultra yellow, and ultra red. [ Item at compoundsemiconductor.net ]
April 13, 2004	Nitronex has raised $6 million in venture capital, bringing the company�s total venture funding to $50 million, and has appointed an acting CEO, Charles Shalvoy, who was previously at superconductor manufacturer Conductus. [ Item at compoundsemiconductor.net]
April 12, 2004	DARPA has issued BAA04-19 for work related to Wide Band Gap Semiconductors for RF Applications. The overall objective of this effort is to exploit the properties of wide band gap semiconductors to enhance the capabilities of microwave and MMICs and, in turn, enable future RF sensor, communication, and multifunction military capabilities. [ Synopsis, Proposer Information ]
April 12, 2004	Color Kinetics announced its initial IPO. The prospectus includes detailed information about the company. [ Press release ]
April 12, 2004	Dialight has launched a new specialist division, the Luxeon Design Center, to serve the needs of users of HB Luxeon LEDs. [ Press release ]
April 12, 2004	Shenzhen Lanke Electronics Co (China) has released its 1004WC ultra-bright LEDs that feature a luminous intensity of 3cd to 9cd. Available in white, blue, green, red, and yellow, the 10mm LEDs have a wavelength of 1.5nm minimum and 2.9nm maximum, and forward voltage of 3V to 3.6V. [ Item at EE Times ]
April 11, 2004	*CompoundSemi News* has provided commentary by patent expert Stephen Smith on Nichia�s recent statement about white LED patents. It has also reported on Japan�s effort to �prevent patent outflow,� to protect their state-of-the-art technologies. [ Items ]
April 6, 2004	The China Fangda Group has developed a �powerful semiconductor chip used for illumination � two to three semiconductor chips � are able to form a high-powered illumination � [whereas more than] 100 semiconductor chips are [usually] needed to make a reading lamp.� [ Item from Xinhua News Agency ]
April 6, 2004	The Lighting Research Center is investigating the performance characteristics -- light output depreciation and color shift -- of five types of high-power LEDs: single-die red, green, blue, and white, and multiple-die white, with each package containing multiple emitters. Over the last year, LRC has gathered more than 7,500 hours of light output and chromaticity data. The results to date show a large variation in LED product performance. Individual white LEDs in each package show significant color variations, which �creates an aesthetic challenge for general illumination with LEDs,� says LRC. [ LRC Newsletter item ] April 6, 2004 - Cree acquired the GaN substrate business of ATMI for $10.25 million, which includes related intellectual property (a pioneering white LED patent as well as others, according to the company), fixed assets and inventory. [ Cree press release, CompoundSemi News article, ATMI press release ]
April 1, 2004	Linear Technology has released its LT3466 dual, full function, step-up dc/dc converter designed to drive up to 20 white LEDs from a Li-Ion battery. The product's high efficiency, current mode and fixed frequency operation ensure uniform LED brightness, low noise and maximum battery life, while on-chip Schottky diodes eliminate both the added cost and space requirements of external diodes, according to the company. [ Item at EE Times Asia ]
April 1, 2004	Lightfair International announced the winners of this year�s New Product Showcase Awards. Many of these awards have been given for LED-based products, including: � io Lighting got the �Best New Product of the Year� award for LINE - an exterior LED based linear luminaire for applications where "light pollution" and "light trespass" are an issue in fa�ade lighting. � Enlux Lighting got the �Energy Award� and a �Best of Category for LED Lamps� award for a new LED floodlight that generates equivalent light of a 60-watt incandescent flood, while using 1/3 of the power and offering longer life. � Traxon USA got the �Judge�s Citation� award for a new Mood Light Objects line, LED-based color-changing objects that are rechargeable and remote-controlled. � Element Labs got the �Roeder Award� and the �Best of Category Award for Theatrical and Entertainment Lighting Category� for Versa™TILE, a glowing LED light tile controlled by video signal that generates visual effects when used in large arrays. � GELcore got the �Best of Category Award for Site and Roadway Lighting� for its LED light kit. [ Press release, detailed product award list, Special Awards, LED �new product showcase� list ]
March 31, 2004	Osram Opto showcased a number of developments at Lightfair [ list ]. These include: � News that its research labs have developed red, thin-film LED technology that is able to deliver energy-efficient performance of up to 100 lm/W at 20 mA. Among the product configurations using the thin-film technology are the Golden DRAGON™ LED that, when driven at a maximum 750mA, delivers 45 lumens of output with 30 lm/W efficiency. [ press release ] � A lead-free, two-watt white Golden DRAGON LED that can be operated up to 500mA with a typical output of 40 lm and a broad 120-degree viewing angle. The white Golden DRAGON delivers 23 lm/w, and additional efficiency improvements are planned for rollout in the near future. [ press release 1, press release 2 ] � Demonstration of its 6-lead MULTILED®, a high-power SMT LED that contains red, green and blue chips and is designed specifically for accent and color-changing lighting applications. [ press release ] � A color-on-demand LED that consists of a blue InGaN chip, encapsulated in a surface-mount package with pre-selected red, yellow and green phosphors. Customizing colors within CIE focus is now possible. [ press release ] � A new Colormix LED system, the first all-in-one LINEARlight Colormix and OPTOTRONIC® RGB Control System lighting package. The package features LINEARlight Colormix LED modules, OPTOTRONIC power supplies with individual color control and color sequencing capabilities. It is designed for the retail, hospitality and architectural industries. [ press release ]
March 31, 2004	Lumileds forms the Luxeon Lighting Network™, a certification, training and technical support program designed to assist the lighting specification community. [ Press release ] TIR announced that it had become a founding member of this network. [ Press release ]
March 31, 2004	CEIEC (China) has introduced CEIECSXD6-004 super-bright LEDs featuring rated forward voltages of 3.2V to 4V, current of 20mA, power dissipation of 70mW, and luminous intensity between 10mcd and 7cd. They are available in super-bright blue, purple or white. [ Item at EE Times ]
March 30, 2004	Agilent has introduced what it claims to be the industry�s smallest surface-mount LEDs for mobile phones and PDAs. The HSMx-C120 series LEDs are available in a variety of colors. With dimensions of 1.6 mm (L) x 1.0 mm (W) x 0.6 mm (H), the LEDs are compatible with the industry-standard 0603 footprint. Their height is 0.5mm less than most competitive packages, according to the company. [ Item at Planet Analog ]
March 30, 2004	OptiLED has signed a memorandum of understanding with California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC), a newly-formed lighting innovation center based at the University of California, Davis, involving the California Energy Commission, the state's utility companies, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, and various other lighting companies. OptiLED will work with the CLTC to identify emerging applications for LEDs and develop them to be used in residential and commercial settings. [ Business Wire item at TCMnet.com ]
March 30, 2004	Crystal IS, and subcontractor University of Albany, has won two new SBIR Phase 1 awards from DARPA to investigate epi-ready substrates and quantum dot technology (which it says has the potential to enable the first, high-efficiency deep green LEDs). [ Item at compoundsemiconductor.net, article at CompoundSemi News ]
March 29, 2004	The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation launched its new LED Traffic Signal Upgrade Grant Program, which supports Illinois municipalities in upgrading traffic signals to low-energy consuming LEDs. The Foundation will review grant applications this summer. [ Press release ]
March 25, 2004	South Epitaxy of Taiwan has recently purchased five Veeco GaNzilla MOCVD tools for producing blue and green HB LEDs. [ Press release, articles at CompoundSemi News]
Undated, 2004	The proceedings of the MRS 2003 Fall Meeting are now online and available to members. [ Proceedings ]
March 18, 2004	Researchers at National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan) report that red LEDs based on a copper substrate can produce a luminous intensity that is three times higher than that of traditional GaAs-substrate LEDs. They also claim that these LEDs can operate at injection currents 8 times higher than that of traditional GaAs-substrate devices (research reported in Applied Physics Letters 84 1841). [ Item at optics.org, paper abstract ]
March 17, 2004	Nichia posted a statement on its website, warning producers about patent infringement. It mentions Osram's recent patent licenses to Asian manufacturers for white LEDs that combine LEDs with fluorescent substances. Nichia says that it also holds valid and enforceable patents in many countries, and a "license granted under Osram patents does not necessarily mean license under Nichia patents." [ Full statement by Nichia ]
March 16, 2004	*Optics.org* featured a new patent application by GELcore in its weekly "Patent highlights" column. WO 2004/021461, entitled "Coated LED with improved efficiency", claims a LED with increased efficiency. The design features a light-emitting chip and a hemispherical lens which is positioned a set distance from the chip. The invention involves coating the lens with a uniformly-thick layer of a fluorescent phosphor, which converts some of the radiation emitted by the chip into visible light. A key claim is that the surface area of the lens should be at least 10 times that of the LED chip. [ Item at optics.org ]
March 16, 2004	Giga Epitaxy (Taiwan) will introduce LED epiwafers grown by liquid phase epitaxy. The company plans to start production of both single-hetero and double-hetero structures for red LEDs in July of this year. [ Item at compoundsemiconductor.net ]
March 15, 2004	Elma-Malachit (Russia) has ordered a new Veeco TurboDisc D180 GaN MOCVD tool for the purpose of expanding its GaN epiwafer manufacturing capability. The company will use the D180 for the production of high-level GaN high brightness LEDs for several industrial applications. [ Item in CompoundSemi News, Veeco press release ]
March 15, 2004	The market for GaN laser diodes will grow at a CAAGR of 97% through 2008, according to a new study from Strategy Analytics (UK). "Gallium Nitride Laser Diodes: Markets and Applications" describes the established markets for GaN-based laser diodes. Growth, however, will be driven by optical storage applications with the emergence of violet-DVD players, accounting for over 97% of unit shipments by 2008. [ Strategy Analytics' Press release, article at compoundsemiconductor.net (note: this item reports the CAAGR figure as 195%, which is incorrect according to Strategy Analytics) ]
March 16, 2004	Cree and Boston University have dropped their patent infringement lawsuit against substrate maker AXT. Brought against AXT in June 2003, the lawsuit was related to US patent number 5,686,738 entitled "Highly insulating monocrystalline GaN thin films". AXT has now dropped all of its counterclaims. Financial terms were not disclosed. [ Press release, item at optics.org]
March 15, 2004	Sarnoff Corporation unveiled the FabriLED^tm product, a programmable sign that integrates superbright LEDs with woven fabric to create a low-cost, lightweight messaging medium for trade shows, aisle or point-of-purchase displays, and other applications. The signs, which roll up into a shipping tube for transportation, were to have been demonstrated at exhibitions in Las Vegas.[ Press release ]
March 10, 2004	Super Vision (Orlando, FL) has acquired exclusive rights to a patent on "Variable Color Lighting Systems" owned by High End Systems of Austin, TX. According to the article in EE Times, the patent development dates back to Richard Belliveau's inventions in the late 1980s, which resulted in multi-color lighting systems for entertainment applications, including High End's Color Pro products. Super Vision is expected to use this patent to incorporate all future development of its LED lighting systems for the lighting, sign, pool, and landscape industry. [ Item in EE Times Asia ]
March 8, 2004	Orca Green Marine Technology (OGM) has started shipping its LX Series LED Anchor Light, the latest product in their expanding Argo Navis^tm Series of LED Navigation Lights. The LX Series uses 2 Luxeon^tm LEDs from Lumileds for 2 mile visibility and uses patent-pending regulation circuitry to allow the light to maintain constant full brightness from 8VDC up to 36VDC. Anchor lights have long been seen as necessary power drains, as they use up to 25W of battery power during a time when the engine is not running to replenish battery banks. With the OGM Anchor's power consumption at only 3W (0.3 amps), boats at anchor can ensure anchoring safety all night while limiting power drainage. [ Press release carried at eMediaWire ]
March , 2004	*Compound Semiconductor* magazine featured white LEDs in its March issue, in the article "Lighting Community Outlines Challenges for LED Industry," written by Tim Whitaker. At the conference, "LEDs: Meeting the Design and Performance Challenges," held in London in late January, it was evident that many designers and specifiers in the lighting community remain unsure of how to adopt this new technology in their products and projects. The article covers meeting highlights, including challenges and benefits of using LEDs, metrics for evaluating LEDs and the need for standardization, variation of white LED color within batches, thermal management, and improvements in LED efficacy (lm/W) and total luminous output. Companies mentioned in this article include Lumileds, Osram Opto, and Color Kinetics. [ Article page 1, page 2 ]
February 26, 2004 / March 5, 2004 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY	� DOE has issued a funding opportunity announcement for collaborations on SSL core technologies.� The deadline for submission of proposals is April 15, 2004.� Applications are sought in six areas: � LEDs:� Area of Interest 1 - High efficiency visible and near UV (>380 nm) semiconductor materials for LED based general illumination technology [ detail ]; Area of Interest 2 - Advanced architectures and high power conversion efficiency emitters� [ detail ]; Area of Interest 3 - High temperature, efficient, long-life phosphors, luminescent materials for wavelength conversion and encapsulants [ detail ]. � OLEDs: Area of Interest 4 - High efficiency, low-voltage, stable materials for OLED-based general illumination technology (hosts, dopants, and transport layers) [ detail ]; Area of Interest 5 - Strategies for improved light extraction and manipulation [ detail ]; Area of Interest 6 - Novel device structures for improved performance and low cost [ detail ].The number of expected awards is 3-6, with total available funding of up to $6 million.� Synopsis, Full Announcement document ] � In addition, DOE/NETL is seeking proposals from the DOE National Laboratories for applied research in the SSL Core Technologies Program.� Applications to this Laboratory Call are due by April 22, 2004.� [The full text of the call is available here: http://www.netl.doe.gov/business/solicit/nlc/030404/labcall.pdf ]
March 4, 2004 / March 8, 2004	White LED prices: � White LED prices have dropped by 8% per unit since December 2003 according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper.� The price charged to large-lot users by manufacturers Nichia, Toyoda Gosei, and others is roughly 54 yen or $0.49 per unit.� Blue LED price drops and projected sales for camera-equipped phones are also discussed.� [News item at compoundsemiconductor.net]�� � There are also reports that Nichia may be dropping the price of white LEDs for wireless applications by as much as 40%, perhaps triggered by Osram�s recent aggressive licensing of its technology to several of Nichia's competitors.� However, no direct confirmation of this price drop has yet been received (from Nichia, its competitors, their distributors, or packagers) by CompoundSemi News, the publication that reported this story.� [See "The McDonald Report" and news item in CompoundSemi News here and an updated "McDonald Report" item� here. ]
March 3, 2004	Lumileds announced the availability of Luxeon DCC, the first fully assembled LED-based RGB light sources for use as an alternative to cold cathode fluorescent lamps in LCD backlights. �Available in five sizes for backlights ranging from 5" to 18.1", these ready-to-use systems use high-powered Luxeon LEDs.� Each Luxeon DCC integrates red, green and blue emitters in a one-piece unit that can be deployed with light guides and other components to form a complete illumination system for LCD backlighting.� [ Press release at Yahoo Finance ]
March 2, 2004	Osram Opto is supplying LEDs for use in a head-up display in the new BMW 5 Series being launched this spring.� The head-up display appears to float over the bonnet of the car and presents drivers with important data such as current speed, warnings and navigation information so drivers no longer have to take their eyes off the road.� The LED light source has a luminance of more than 500,000 cd/m² and comprises a total of 128 high-brightness red and green LED chips arranged in groups of four in a matrix of 32 chip modules. �This light source acts as the backlight for a LCD, the image from which is projected onto the BMW's windshield. �[ Item at compoundsemiconductor.net ]
March 1, 2004	Strategies Unlimited issued an official press release on its new report, " Asian Producers of High-Brightness LEDs (Taiwan, South Korea, China)," providing this detail from their analysis: � The non-Japan region of Asia, including Taiwan, South Korea and China, has become the world's largest volume producer of HB LEDs.� 23 companies in the region produced the equivalent of 13.4 billion red-orange-yellow (InGaAlP-based) LED chips and 3.4 billion blue and green (GaN-based) LED chips in 2003, representing 80% and 40% of the world totals, respectively. The total regional revenue for merchant epitaxial wafers and chips amounted to $403 million in 2003 � While Taiwan has long led the region in HB-LED production, South Korea has become a significant producer in recent years, and mainland China began ramping up its production capacity and sales in 2003 � While the vast majority of chips produced to date from this region have been of low-to-medium performance levels, technology and performance are steadily improving, and several Asian producers are beginning to target the higher-performance HB LED markets now served by top-tier suppliers such as Nichia, Cree, Toyoda Gosei, Osram and Lumileds. [ Press release ]
March 1, 2004	*Business Week* featured blue LEDs in the article "For High Technology, A Bolt From The Blue".� The article briefly covers the use of blue LEDs in DVDs and illumination applications.� Last year, Toyoda Gosei, according to the article, sold $300 million worth of blue LEDs for use in cars and other applications.� [ Article ]
February 24, 2004	Industry Technology Intelligence Services forecasts that the optoelectronic components sector in Taiwan, including super-bright blue and white-lighting LEDs, will reach a production value of NT$44.41 billion ($1.33 billion) this year, an increase of 24.1% over 2003.� [Article at EETimes Asia ]
February 17, 2004	Nichia expects 2004 sales to be 220 billion yen ($2.1 billion) according to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, representing an increase of about 18% over 2003 sales (180 billion yen or $1.7 billion). About 80% of Nichia�s sales in 2003 came from LEDs.� [ Item in compoundsemiconductor.net, article in CompoundSemi News ]
February 17, 2004	The Lighting Research Center will hold an internet teleconference seminar on May 12, 1:00 � 2:30 pm EST, on "LEDs � The Solid-State Lighting Revolution" (a fee is charged).� [ Announcement ]
February 12, 2004	Senator Pete V. Domenici introduced a new energy bill, S.2095, called the "Energy Policy Act of 2003."� The Next Generation Lighting Initiative (NGLI) is included in this legislation and supports R&D, demonstration, and commercial application activities related to advanced solid-state lighting technologies based on white light emitting diodes.� Some highlights: � Funding for the NGLI:� FY04 -- $20 million (M); FY05 -- $30 M; FY06 -- $50 M; FY07 -- $50 M; FY08 -- $50 M.� In addition, extended authorization for $50 million for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 is included � The bill contains provisions for the formation of a competitively selected Industry Alliance, intellectual property rights of participants, and periodic reviews of the NGLI by the National Academy of Sciences.� (See Section 905, pp 494-500, for the applicable portion of the bill; full bill text online here: http://energy.senate.gov/legislation/energybill2004/full_text.pdf.)
February 12, 2004	Osram has granted Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. Ltd a royalty-bearing license to manufacture and sell white LEDs with conversion technology, for which Osram holds patents. The conversion technology enables white LEDs to be produced using blue emitting InGaN based chips and a suitable fluorescent converter. [ Item in EE Times Asia (free registration required) ]
February 10, 2004	Optics.org featured a new international patent application from Philips on an efficient white light made by combining the output of a blue and green emitting fluorescent lamp with a red-yellow emitting AlGaInP LED or a red emitting AlGaAs LED. ["Patent Highlights" item]
February 9, 2004	PIDA reports that Taiwanese LED makers produced about 4.3 billion super bright LEDs in 2003, valued at $830 million. Growth in 2004 is projected at 20% and a number of Taiwanese manufacturers have announced expansion plans. [ Item in EE Times Asia (free registration required) ]
February 8, 2004	CompoundSemi News reports on new figures supplied by Strategies Unlimited on the dramatic ramp-up of HB-LEDs in Taiwan, Korea, and China. Production/ sales totals for 2003 of epi-based HB LED companies in Taiwan, Korea and China combined: 8.9 billion InGaAlP chips and 3.0 billion GaN chips. Epiwafer output for these three countries, compared to 2002, shows a 25% increase in InGaAlP (80% of the world's output) and a 700% increase in GaN production (40% of the world's total output). [ News item ]
February 8, 2004	CompoundSemi News, reporting on the Strategies in Light conference held in California, included these developments: [see " Strategies in Light Roundup"] � HB-LED Market: Robert Steele of Strategies Unlimited reported that the HB-LED segment experienced 47% revenue growth in 2003, growing to US$2.7 billion, and the market is expected to reach $6 billion in 2008. � High Power LEDs Panel: Representatives from Cree, Lumileds, Nichia, Osram, and Toyoda Gosei discussed latest advances, particularly for white LEDs � problems with reliability, color balance, and heat extraction are being tackled successfully; luminous efficacies are generally in the 30-50 l/W range for warm white; and multi-watt devices are making their way into production.
February 5, 2004	Supra Opto announced that, in cooperation with Sumitomo, it has completed the development of white LED lamps made from ZnSe-based blue LEDs plus PL substrates. It plans to expand capacity to for these LED lamps to 10 million during the 4^th quarter of 2004. These LED lamps feature a driving voltage of <2.7V; a static resistance of <8kV; a life span of 7,000h; brightness of 5 -7 cd; and light efficiency of 20-25W. [ Item in EE Times Asia (free registration required) ]
February 2, 2004	Osram Opto reports that the next-generation Golden DRAGON, Advanced Power TOPLED, and Power TOPLED will include OSRAM state-of-the-art advancement in thin-film chip technology, which has demonstrated engineering efficiency of 96 lm/W at 20mA in 617nm color. The company's SMT LEDs were used in automobiles debuting at auto shows held in Chicago and Detroit in January and February of this year. [ News item ]
February 2, 2004	EE Times reviewed the blue spectrum device market, touching on solid-state lighting. In this article, the author reports on the latest figures for MOCVD installations in Taiwan -- about 240 - which keeps the country in the lead for the most platforms installed. [" Blue-Spectrum Market is Growing "]
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY OPEN THROUGH 2004	DARPA's Advanced Technology Office issued its CY'04 BAA (BAA04-09) soliciting research, development, design, and testing in a wide variety of areas, including solid-state lighting devices and systems (topic #31).� The solicitation is open through the end of 2004, but offerors are strongly encouraged and advised to submit an executive summary no later than October 15, 2004; proposal abstracts no later than October 29, 2004; and full proposals no later than November 26, 2004.� All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal.� [ FBO posting,� solicitation page, � proposer pamphlet ]
January 30-31, 2004	Shuji Nakamura lawsuit:� The Tokyo District Court has ruled on the Nakamura case, ordering Nichia Corporation to pay Shuji Nakamura ~ $189 million (20 bn yen) for developing the blue LED.� The development has earned Nichia millions of dollars a year.� Nichia filed an appeal shortly after the verdict.� [ News widely carried, see New York Times item, BBC News item and Japan News item, for example ]
January 28, 2004	Zero-Energy Home:� The International Builder's Show in held in Las Vegas in mid-January featured tours of the "Ultimate Family Home" that, over the course of a year, will produce as much electricity as it uses.� Among this home's energy saving features are fluorescent and LED lighting.� (DOE started the Zero Energy Homes initiative to bring the latest research out of its national laboratories and into homes. �DOE and NREL partnered with Pardee Homes and Consol Energy Consultants to build the Ultimate Family Home.) [ EERE news item ]
January 28, 2004	Osram has signed a patent cross-license with Lite-On Technology (Taiwan).� Osram is granting Lite-On a royalty-bearing license to manufacture and sell its patented surface-mount LEDs and white LEDs with conversion technology. In return, Osram will be able to access Lite-On's patented LED manufacturing processes.� Lite-On is expected to start volume shipments of white LEDs in March, with blue LEDs purchased from two Taiwanese companies, Epistar and South Epitaxy. (Lite-On is a major shareholder of Epistar.)� [ Article in Digitimes, item at Business Wire ]
January 27, 2004	BivarOpto introduced the "Infinite 1" LED lamp that features an all-in-one LED-based lighting alternative for incandescent spot and flood lamps.� The product design includes an Edison based housing assembly directly interchangeable with industry-standard PAR stylespots and floods. Thirty-nine �LEDs are arranged in a grid-array pattern to project an evenly distributed light pattern. �[ Item at EE Times Asia (free registration required) ]
January 26, 2004	Agilent announced the "industry's first" super bright white InGaN LED with a protective zener diode for electrostatic discharge protection (the HLMP-CWx8 and HLMP-CWx9 series).� The new lamps are also rated at 30% duty factor at 100 mA, which is 3 times that of similar white LEDs offered by other manufacturers, according to Agilent.� The LEDs are ideal for outdoor lighting applications as well as backlighting.� Samples are now available.� [ Press release ]
January 22, 2004	Sensor Electronic Technology (SET) has been awarded two SBIR Phase II contracts to develop technology for high-power microwave transistors and deep UV light emitters using novel single crystal bulk AlN substrates. SET is purchasing novel single crystal bulk AlN substrates from Crystal IS.� [ Article at Compounsemiconductor.net ]
January 16, 2004	Lighting Coalition:� Lighting industry leaders have founded a coalition to embark on a five-to-ten year effort to chart a new socially responsible course for the field of lighting. �The Bridges in Light advisory council, composed of researchers, utility officials, government agencies and manufacturers, met in December to begin developing an action plan. [ Article in LRC News ]
January 16, 2004	The Lighting Research Center's ASSIST program (Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies) has been active in a number of research projects and other activities to advance and promote LED technology.� These activities were summarized in the most recent issue of �LRC News, and include studies of color rendering and color tolerance, applications of LED lighting beneficial to older adults, aircraft reading lighting specifications (with Boeing), and the "ASSIST Recommends" program to promote consistency and standards.� [ Article ]
January 14, 2004	Lumileds Luxeon LEDs have been incorporated into the Audi A8 6.0, the first production vehicle to feature LED headlights. Each headlamp uses five white LEDs arranged in a five-point pattern to form a combination daytime running lamp and night-time position lamp.� [ press release ]
January 9, 2004	Sharp Laboratories of Europe has developed the world's first blue-violet laser diodes fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy. The ridge waveguide InGaN multiple quantum well lasers operate at room temperature with an output wavelength of 400 nm. The diodes are grown on a sapphire substrate. This work was reported on in a recent paper in Electronic Letters. [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]
January 8, 2004	Cree introduced two higher brightness versions of its Xthin^tm LEDs. The new versions include the XT-15^tm LED with brightness levels at 15 mW minimum, and the XT-18^tm LED (18 mW minimum). These products, available in 460 nm and 470 nm versions, have a lower forward voltage and thinner design. [ Press release ]
January 8, 2004	The New York Times ran a story, "Let there be L.E.D.s", which featured the use of LEDs in architectural design and described an apartment lit completely with LEDs. [New York Times article (free registration required), item also carried at cnet.com ]
January 6, 2004	Japanese LED manufacturers Nichia, Toyoda Gosei and Matsushita Electric Works are working with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to draw up a common set of standards for LED-based lighting equipment. [ Article at CompoundSemi News, Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]
January 5, 2004	The European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) has been formed by five European companies: Aixtron AG, Cambridge Display Technology Ltd, Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH, Philips Lighting BV, and Sagem SA. EPIC's goal is to build sustainable growth for the European optoelectronics industries by bringing together manufacturers of fabrication equipment, components manufacturers and users of photonics components and systems. [ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net, Article at CompoundSemi News ]
January, 2004	The January 2004 issue of IEEE Spectrum featured an article, "The Great Gallium Nitride Gamble," in which approaches to growing gallium nitride single crystals by Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, GE, Global Research Center, and ATMI are discussed. [ Article ]
December, 2003	The December issue of *Compound Semiconductor* magazine featured Solid-State Lighting. (Table of Contents here.) These articles are of particular interest: � Backlights, airports and vehicles boost LED market: A report from the Intertech LEDs conference; includes information on developments at Osram and Cree. � HB-LEDs: the market drive towards solid-state lighting: An analysis of the solid-state lighting market by Bob Steele of Strategies Unlimited. The market for HB-LEDs in illumination is forecast to grow at 44% per year, to reach $520 million in 2007, according to the company's estimates. � Any color, as long as it's white: The article describesToyoda Gosei's recent technological progress. � Mirror adhesion technique boosts LED chip brightness: Epistar has developed a new technique for producing HB LED chips.
December 28, 2003	CompoundSemi News reports that Nichia has introduced a new 365nm, 100mW line called the "i-LED" with a peak wavelength that makes it the most powerful in the market, according to Nichia. [ Article, product description. ]
December 22, 2003	The global LED market will grow from $3.2 billion to $5.6 billion over the next five years, according to a report by Communications Industry Researchers. General illumination will be the "hot growth application" reaching $844 million in sales by 2008, according to the company's estimate. [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net, press release ]
December 15, 2003	OptiLED won a new product award for its recently introduced LED linear light at the Entertainment Technology Show - LDI 2003. OptiLED's newest light, which received an honorable mention for debuting product/promising prototype of the year, was selected from over 300 exhibitors that were displaying the newest innovations in lighting, sound design and production for the entertainment industry.� [ Business Wire item ]
December 8, 2003	Showa Denko (Japan) introduced red and orange AlInGaP LEDs that are three times as bright as its existing products.� The newly developed LEDs, which feature a flip chip structure, have levels of brightness comparable to existing products on the market, according to the company.� [ Press release, Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]
December 3, 2003	George Craford of Lumileds presented a talk on the current status and future challenges of LED lighting at the fall meeting of the Materials Research Society (MRS), held in Boston. [ Item in MRS Meeting Notes ]
December 2, 2003	Steven Ringel and colleagues at Ohio State University presented work at the MRS fall meeting claiming to have overcome a major barrier in the manufacture of high quality light emitting devices.� They have created silicon substrates topped with III-V materials, such as gallium and arsenide, that are virtually defect free using molecular beam epitaxy.� [ Press release ]
December 2, 2003	Kyma Technologies has received the "Early Stage Company of the Year" award from the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technologies Association ( NCEITA ).� NCEITA President Joan Myers expressed enthusiasm about Kyma's work in the industry, stating that the company's "aggressive approach to developing new applications in the microelectronic and optoelectronic markets is impressive." �[ Press release ]
December 1, 2003	The Inquirer (UK), referencing statements originating in an article in Nikkei Business Daily reports that Rohm (Japan) has succeeded in creating a white LED that is the brightest in the world, and competes with Japanese company Nichia. Rohm uses zinc oxide to avoid patent problems with Nichia and has successfully made a super-bright white LED using this compound. [ Article in the The Inquirer ]
December 1, 2003	ilight Technologies has won the "Product of the Year Award" for its Plexineon ® LED neon in the Lighting/Architecture category at the LDI show, the largest U.S. conference and trade show for the entertainment industry.� [ Item at eedesign.com ]
December 1, 2003	Lumileds has received an Innovation Award in the semiconductor catergory from The Wall Street Journal Europe for its new warm white Luxeon LED. The aard reflects Lumileds' "achievement in providing an interior - friendly alternative to the cooler blue tones of conventional white LEDs and thereby enabling lighting designers to take advatage of the longevity and energy savings of LEDs in general lighting products."[ Press release ]
November, 2003	A summary of the Solid-State Lighting Workshop, held Nov 13-14, has been posted on DOE's Building Technologies website. This workshop represented the first annual meeting of DOE's newly established effort to accelerate advances in SSL technology. Goals for this effort are discussed. DOE plans to issue at least three competitive solicitations in the near-term, including 1) a SSL Partnership composed of manufacturers and allies that are individually or collaboratively capable of manufacturing and marketing SSL products; 2) Core Technology Research conducted at universities, national laboratories, and other research institutions, and 3) SSL product development, demonstrations, and market conditioning activities from interested companies or teams of companies. More information on these solicitations will be posted as it becomes available. [ Workshop Highlights ]
November 25, 2003	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. [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]
November 25, 2003	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, in contrast to other GaN wafer products that have a low dislocation density only in select regions, which restricts device size and placement. [ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net , press release ]
November 25, 2003	Cree has settled the lawsuit with Eric and Jocelyn Hunter. The agreement does not involve any payments to the Hunters. [ Press release ]
November 24, 2003	China National Electronics Imp & Exp Shaanxi Co. (CEIEC) has released its CEIECSXD6-004 super-bright LEDs and surface-mountable SMD LEDs in blue, purple, and white. The LEDs feature 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. [ Item in EE Times Asia ]
November 23, 2003	CompoundSemi News featured a profile of recent activities of Osram Opto, including noting that the company has posted a technical paper online, "Consideration of White LED Chromaticity Classification," and a review of their new MultiLED line of products, for brighter, more uniform backlighting of 17" color displays. [Article]
November 18, 2003	Sandia National Laboratories recently demonstrated 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. [ Press release 1, Press release 2 ]
November 18, 2003	DOE has released two new studies analyzing and estimating energy savings potential from solid-state lighting. Produced by Navigant Consulting Inc., the reports describe the energy savings potential in niche applications today and in general lighting applications in the future. [ Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net; reports available here. ]
November 17, 2003	The University of Technology Sydney's Geoff Smith (Australia) and Poly Optics have created a light pipe (a solid, flexible plastic rod that glows), potentially meters long, using LEDs and nanotechnology. The new invention has been branded the "Supersidelight" and will initially be used for safety purposes, such as illuminating stairwells. [ Article in The Age]
November 15, 2003	JPSA Laser has introduced a new ChromaLift Excimer Laser system for advanced LED "lift-off" applications in the compound semi and wafer fab industries. [Article at CompoundSemi News]
November 13, 2003	Powerchip Semiconductor (Taiwan) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Cable Industries (Japan) to license manufacturing technology for UV LED chips. 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. [ Article in Digitimes (subscription required)]
November 11, 2003	Norlux, the former Uniroyal subsidiary manufacturing LED-based lighting products, is now established as a private company. Norlux specializes in chip-on-board technology, with the capability to mount LED die on a wide variety of different substrates. [ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net ]
November 6, 2003	In a ceremony on November 6, 2003, President Bush awarded National Medals of Science and Technology for 2002 to Calvin Carter (Cree), a pioneer in the development of SiC materials, and to the team of Nick Holonyak (U of Illinois), George Craford (Lumileds), and Russell DuPuis (Georgia Tech) for their innovations in LED technology. [IEEE information page, 10/22 Press release]
November 3, 2003	Emcore has sold its TurboDisc MOCVD business to Veeco Instruments. Emcore did so to concentrate on its optical communications product lines. The transaction is valued at up to $80 million. Emcore will maintain its part in the joint venture with GE concentrating on high brightness LED's. [Emcore press release, Veeco press release, Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net]
October 30, 2003	CompoundSemi News provided a detailed update on the Nichia - Epistar/ Everlight litigation: Nichia was granted a preliminary injunction order against Everlight, a Taiwanese GaN LED assembly manufacturer that uses Epistar GaN products. [Article]
October 28, 2003	� Cree announced its new XLamp^tm product family, which combines the XBright® power chip with innovative packaging technology. It is targeted at high power lighting applications using solid-state LED technology as a replacement for conventional light sources. The XLamp^tm product will be available in multiple colors. Pre-production sampling of a 1 Watt surface mount XLamp^tm device is targeted for early calendar year 2004 with initial production targeted for mid-year. [Press release] � Cree is moving into packaged devices, starting with their power white advanced LED line. Chuck Swoboda said, "The introduction of the XLamp product family is the next step in our plan to drive the market for LED based lighting. We believe that our ability to offer a high power packaged LED product in addition to our power chip will be critical in accelerating the adoption of this important technology into the lighting market." [Article at CompoundSemi News]
October 27, 2003	Lumileds is shipping the first warm white LED version of its HB Luxeon LEDs. The LEDs have a CRI of 90, a CCT of 3200K, and an output of 20 lumens. Lumileds reports that it is the first manufacturer to offer warm white LEDs in production quantities. [Press release]
October 23, 2003	AXT sold its optoelectronics business to Lumei Optoelectronics (a company in California) for $9.6 million. [Item at Compoundsemiconductor.net; Item at CompoundSemi News]
October 22, 2003	DOE announced the award of $20.4 million to 13 projects that will advance energy efficiency in buildings (10/15). Among these awards are projects involving LED light sources using nanomaterials, organic materials, and other novel materials. [EERE news item, DOE press release - see detail on awards to Brown University, Cermet, Inc., Cree, Georgia Tech, and Osram Opto.]
October, 2003	The October issue of Compound Semiconductor magazine featured the Rensselaer Lighting Research Center's development of non-invasive methods for measuring the lifetimes of LED lighting systems. [ Article ]
October 16, 2003	Osram Opto has signed a patent license with Everlight Electronics (Taiwan) enabling Everlight to manufacture and sell surface-mountable LEDs for white and colored light. The agreement also enables Everlight to manufacture and sell other white LEDs with conversion technology, for which Osram holds patents. Conversion technology for LEDs was developed by an Osram Opto Semiconductors subsidiary, according to the press release, enabling white LEDs to be produced using blue emitting InGaN-based chips and a suitable fluorescent converter. [ Press release]
October 15, 2003	Color Kinetics has introduced "Digital Light Engines", an OEM technology / support / services product that includes LED-based lighting modules designed for rectangular and circular light fixtures, integration guidelines, reference guidelines for developing systems, support services to facilitate the development and application of Digital Light Engine-powered products, access to the company's advanced power, control and authoring products to deliver complete systems, and a license to use applicable Color Kinetics-issued patents. [ Press release ]
October 14, 2003	Color Kinetics has received recognition as being among North America's fastest growing technology companies. It was named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, which ranks public and private companies according to percentage of revenue growth over five years (1998- 2002). [ Press release ]
October 14, 2003	Micrel Semiconductor has released two new small sized DC/DC boost converters optimized for driving white LEDs in cellular, PDA, GPS, digital still camera, and camcorder applications. According to the company, the MIC2289 offers the smallest total size PWM DC/DC boost solution available in the market (available in a 2mm x 2mm MLF-8L package and requiring only four external components). [ Press release ]
October 13, 2003	Lumileds announced the immediate availability of Luxeon III, a new high-power 100,000-hour LED that generates typical light output of 65 and 80 lumens from a single emitter at 700 and 1000 mA operation, respectively. The Luxeon III is available in white, blue, royal blue, green and cyan. [ Press release, data sheets and other information ]
October 12, 2003	Toyota Motor Corp has test-manufactured an automobile that uses white LEDs for headlights. The vehicle will be shown at the Tokyo Motor Show, which opens on October 25th. [No URL available]
October 10, 2003	Eric Hunter has dropped accusations of securities fraud against Cree and his brother, Neal Hunter. [ Article at compoundsemiconductor.net] At the same time, Cree issued a statement that the special committee of its Board of Directors had completed its previously announced investigation into allegations of corporate wrongdoing made by Eric and Jocelyn Hunter in court filings and otherwise. The special committee's report stated, "Based on the Investigation, the Committee concludes all of the allegations lack merit." [ Press release]
October 8, 2003	Color Kinetics announced that it's been awarded a U.S. patent covering the application of LED illumination for machine vision systems: # 6,624,597, "Systems and Methods for Providing Illumination in Machine Vision Systems." [ Press release]
October 8, 2003	Toyoda Gosei plans to build a new plant in Japan to produce white LEDs that will begin operating as early as 2005. Details on the plant's location and size will be decided by the end of this year. (No URL available)
October 7, 2003	Supertex, Inc. announced the HV9903, a fixed frequency DC-DC boost converter IC designed to drive one to 6 white LEDs with constant current at efficiencies over 85%. It features a built-in soft-start implementation for minimizing in-rush current to only 30% over steady state current. The driver is intended for applications such as color LCD backlighting in cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, Pocket PCs, organizers, digital cameras, MP3 players and other handheld devices. [Press release, data sheet and other information]
October 7, 2003	BivarOpto has announced a new, optional, high-contrast material for its light pipe products family. The second generation materials provide a 60% improved contrast ratio for light transmission of surface or through-hole mounted LEDs. [ Press release carried by M. Rutty & Co. ]
October 6, 2003	Kopin Corporation has been profiled by the publication, Small Times. This article covers the technology used in Kopin's Cyberlite LEDs, company revenues, and touches on competitor Cree's Xthin LEDs which are aimed at the same cyber-display market. [ Article in Small Times ]
October, 2003	oe magazine (a monthly publication of SPIE) featured several articles and discussion forums on solid-state lighting in the October issue. One article, authored by GELcore staff, covers LED efficiency, performance and packaging. Another article, authored by Doug Ruttan of Welch Allyn, reviews issues of brightness compensation, thermal management and power conversion management in using this technology. [See "Let there be light", "The bright side of incumbent technology", in oe magazine]
October 1, 2003	Cree has signed an agreement with OSRAM Opto Semiconductors for the purchase of at least 500 million LED chips over a 21-month period. The agreement covers Cree's entire Opto product line, including standard, mid-bright and Xbright® LED chip families as well as SiC wafers. [ Article at Compoundsemiconductor.net]
October 1, 2003/ September 23, 2003	Color Kinetics has been ranked by Inc. Magazine as among the top 15% of America's fastest growing private companies (the "Inc. 500" list), with a rank of 71. [ Press release] The company was also recognized as being among the fastest growing technology companies in New England by Deloitte & Touche. [ Press release]
October 1, 2003	Carmanah Technologies has received a total of approximately $1.1 million in military aviation orders during 2003. Carmanah now has more than 2,600 solar-powered LED lighting units in the Middle East, SW Asia and the U.S. for permanent, temporary, or expedited airfield lighting at military installations. [ Press release ]
September 30, 2003	Nitronex has been issued US patent 6,617,060 -- "Gallium Nitride Material and Methods" -- relating to process technology used for growing GaN on silicon substrates and including Nitronex's SIGANTIC ^tm core platform technology. [ Press release]
September 25, 2003/ October 1, 2003	Nichia is suing Epistar for the infringement of Nichia's Taiwan patent 160,722 by Epistar's blue LED products. The Taiwanese court order freezes some of Epistar's bank accounts to preserve funds in the event that damages are awarded to Nichia. [ Article at Compounsemiconductor.net, Press release, detailed coverage in an article in CompoundSemi News]
September 23, 2003	Cree announced that it has demonstrated a blue LED with 35% quantum efficiency at 20 mA, based on their XBright chip technology. White LEDs using these XBright chips produced 4.1 lumens of light in industry-standard LED packages with an electrical energy conversion efficiency of 65 lm/W at 20 mA. In laboratory packages, the XBright chips produced 4.7 lumens of light with 74 lm/W. According to Cree, these are the highest known efficiencies publicly reported for blue- and white-spectrum LEDs. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net, Press release]
September 23, 2003	Cree announced it had begun volume production of its new XThin ^tm series of InGaN-on-SiC LEDs. The vertically structured LED chips are ~ 115 microns in height, about 50% of the typical height of Cree's LEDs. The XThin devices have a lower forward voltage than Cree's standard XBright products. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net, Press release]
September 19, 2003	Crystal IS demonstrated the bulk growth of high quality AlN boules from which 25 mm substrates have been produced with dislocation densities of 1000 /cm² or lower. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net]
September 18, 2003 / September 16, 2003	Valeo (France) debuted an automotive white-LED based headlamp at IAA 2003 in Frankfurt, Germany. Valeo is developing LED technology for a wide range of front lighting applications that could be in series production in three years. At the front of the car, the company is developing position lamps, turn signals, front fog lamps, daytime running lights, fixed bending light and low beams with LEDs. [ Article in CompoundSemi News, Press release ]
September 15, 2003	Microsemi has introduced a second product in their line of visible light sensors that allow automatic brightness control of artificial lighting and other applications affected by ambient light. The LX1971^tm Wide Range Visible Light Sensor provides a 4-decade usable light range, broadening its potential use in applications having high precision and accuracy needs. Target applications include LED signage, LED displays, and other lighting applications. [ Press release]
September 10, 2003	The Department of Energy announced $12.3 million in funding awarded to 21 cost-shared research projects for clean energy and energy efficiency. The awarded projects include: � Georgia Tech Research Corp. - To develop a new lattice-matched, solid-state emitter using non-native III-Nitride substrates such as AlGaN on lithium gallate and GalN on zinc oxide, and techniques that minimize residual defects. (DOE share, $500,000; applicant share, $100,000) � Lumileds Lighting - To design, make and integrate nanoscale photonic crystal structures into light-emitting diodes to increase external quantum efficiency. (DOE share, $500,000; applicant share, $100,000) � University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. - To develop more efficient solid-state lighting sources using ultraviolet/light-emitting diodes and phosphor combinations by focusing on improving phosphor-coating efficiency in UV/LEDS. (DOE share, $418,068; applicant share, $95,143.) [Full list of awardees shown in DOE press release]
September 9, 2003 / September 10, 2003	Dow Corning announced the formation of a new business, Compound Semiconductor Solutions, to serve the wide bandgap semiconductor industry. According to the company, the business is founded on an expertise developed from years of in-house and academic research investments, and recent acquisitions of business and technology assets in bulk SiC, SiC thin film technology, and GaN thin film technology. The business will be located in Midland, Michigan. [ Press release] The company also announced that it had launched a new global Photonic Solutions business. [ Press release]
September 9, 2003	Hella (Germany) announced that it will show a prototype automotive LED headlamp at the IAA 2003 in Frankfurt Germany. The headlamp incorporates the dipped beam, main beam, indicator and daytime running light functions (can be dimmed and used as a positional light). [ Press release ]
September 9, 2003	Osram Opto has released the 6leadMultiLED, which the company claims is capable of outperforming previous LED designs in terms of homogeneity and brightness. The package allows the LEDs to be arranged very close together and flat on the board, which results in an even distribution of light. The LEDs are suitable for 17-inch displays. [ Press release, Article in EE Times Asia (free registration required) ]
September 4, 2003	According to an article in DigiTimes, Taiwan's LED manufacturers will be able to start volume production of white LEDs by the end of 2003. [ Article from DigiTimes carried by iocombo.com on September 8, 2003 ]
September 4(?), 2003	According to the SBIR Gateway website, DOE anticipates the date for the release of the FY04 SBIR/STTR solicitation to be October 7, 2003, with a due date of January 6, 2004. Topics will include new technologies for general illumination applications, and OLEDs for general lighting. [ News item at the SBIR Gateway]
September 4, 2003	Osram Opto has introduced blue thin-film InGaN-on-sapphire LEDs, dubbed "ThinGaN" LEDs, with an extraction efficiency of up to 75%. Prototypes of 5 mm radial blue (460 nm) LEDs achieve brightness of up to 16 mW at an operating current of 20 mA. Production of the thin-film LEDs is expected to start in 2004. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
September 2, 2003	Color Kinetics has received two new patents covering methods of controlling LED sources for entertainment systems (use of lighting tracks encoded into any media - see U.S. Patent 6,577,080) and networked lighting systems (see U.S. Patent 6,608,453). [ Press release ]
August 29, 2003	Vishay Intertechnology announced it has completed the ultra-bright LED TLCx5100 Series. The new TLCW5100 5mm InGaN LED for lighting applications provides a typical luminous intensity of 4000 mcd, and chromasticity of 0.33. [ Article in EE Times Asia ]
August 26, 2003	A collaboration between Hokkaido University, Mitsubishi Cable and Nippon EMC has resulted in the first demonstration of a UV LED with an active layer made of GaN quantum dots grown onto an AlGaN surface using Si as anti-surfactant. [ Article at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]
August 25, 2003	Microsemi Corporation has introduced two new ICs in a single package that boost drive for LEDs while simultaneously providing an adjustable bias voltage for the LCD displays they light. The new regulators save space and system costs in handheld applications, according to the company. [ Press release]
August 20, 2003	Kopin has exclusively licensed three patents from North Carolina State University, invented by Prof. Jagdish Narayan and his team. One patent is on Domain Epitaxy and the other two related to ZnCdO and ZnMgO. The patents are important, according to the company, because they can be used to produce LEDs and lasers of any color across the visible spectrum, including the three primary colors needed for white LEDs. [ Press release]
August 18, 2003/ August 26, 2003	Nolan Enterprises, a small Texas company run by Cherie' and Steven Nolan and Donald Hebert, has been awarded two US patents related to incorporating HB-LEDs in lamps. One is for "Interior lamp for producing white light using bright white LEDs" [U.S. Patent 6,599,000 - see article in CompoundSemi News ] and the other is for "LED interior light fixture" (U.S. Patent 6,609,804).
August 19, 2003