|
ARCHIVE OF SELECTED HEADLINE NEWS (2004) (These links are not maintained) |
|
(These links are not maintained) |
|
|
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 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) ] |
|
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 ¾ (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 ] |
|
(These links are not maintained) |
|
|
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 ] |
|
(These links are not maintained) |
|
|
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] |
|
(These links are not maintained) |
|
|
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 hav |