August 7, 2006

Researchers from National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan have nearly tripled the front side luminance intensity of InGaN-GaN LEDs through "double" roughening both the p-GaN and undoped-GaN surfaces. The team increased the luminance intensities to 133 and 178 mcd for the front and back sides respectively, at 20 mA injection current. Research results were reported as "Improved luminance intensity of InGaN-GaN light-emitting diode by roughening both the p-GaN surface and the undoped-GaN surface," Wei Chih Peng and Yew Chung Sermon Wu, Applied Physics Letters, 89, 041116, July 24, 2006. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

August 7, 2006

TechNewsWorld published an opinion column by Rob Enderle on "LEDs: Fighting Global Warming, One Bulb at a Time." [ Article at TechNewsWorld ]

August 3, 2006

DOE awarded seven Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants targeting advances in solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. [ Award information ] Phase I awards include:

·   K Technology Corporation, Advanced Materials for Thermal Management in III-Nitride LEDs

·   Physical Optics Corporation, Highly Efficient Organic Light Emitting Devices for General Illumination

·   Physical Optics Corporation, Microporous Alumina Confined Nanowire Inorganic Phosphor Film for Solid-State Lighting

·   Universal Display Corporation, Novel Plastic Substrates for Very High Efficiency OLED Lighting

·   Universal Display Corporation, Novel High Efficiency High CRI Phosphorescent OLED Lighting Containing Two Broad Emitters

Phase II awards include:

·   Fairfield Crystal Technology, Novel Growth Technique for Large Diameter AlN Single Crystal Substrates

·   Universal Display Corporation, High Recombination Efficiency White OLEDs

August 2, 2006

Universal Science (UK) has launched a new website designed to provide comprehensive data and material selection guidance to engineers tasked with solving thermal management problems. The website includes a wide range of products such as thermal interface materials and thermally efficient LED lighting modules. [ Press release ]

August 1, 2006

Radiant Imaging introduced a new LED test and measurement device. The IS-LI measures luminous intensity data in seconds or less, and can measure color variations as they relate to emission angles. The IS-LI comes in 10-, 12-, 14-, and 16-bit dynamic range models. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]

July 31, 2006

Lighting Science Group was awarded its eighth patent, U.S Patent 7,086,756, "Lighting element using electronically activated light emitting elements and method of making same," for its Optimized Digital Lighting™ technologies. Twelve more patents are pending in the U.S., and more in other countries, according to the company. [ Press release ]

July 31, 2006

Trumpf Medical Systems announced that the FDA has approved the Trumpf iLED surgical light for the U.S. market. The iLED uses 184 white and color LEDs to provide 160,000 Lux of low-heat, virtually shadow-free illumination. The iLED was introduced in Europe in November 2005. [ Press release ]

July 29, 2006

Steuler Design (Germany) introduced a line of LED-illuminated wall and floor tiles. The tiles have an LED in the center, flush to the tile's surface, and can be used as safety features for stair edges and other applications. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]

July 28, 2006

DOE released the report, "Compact Fluorescent Lighting in America: Lessons Learned on the Way to Market." Prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the report provides an analysis of the market introduction of compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) in the U.S., with an emphasis on identifying lessons that could be applied to the market introduction of other new lighting technologies, such as solid-state lighting (SSL). [ Announcement, report ]

July 28, 2006

BluGlass (Australia) plans to build a pilot manufacturing plant for its low-temperature, low-cost GaN-on-glass technology. BluGlass, a spin-out from the III-nitride department at Macquarie University in Australia, launched an initial public offering to fund commercialization of the process, which is compatible with glass substrates up to 8 inches in diameter and can produce GaN-based light emitters at temperatures below 700°C. BluGlass hopes to raise at least AUS$6 million ($4.6 million) through the sale of 30 million shares. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net]

July 27, 2006

H.C. Starck develops and manufactures thermal management components suitable for HB-LEDs, such as MoCu composites, Cu/Mo/Cu laminates, and plated Mo-flat products. Products under development provide enhanced thermal conductivity along the z-axis (through-thickness) and the unique capability to tailor excessive heat dissipation along localized hot spots, using a special, patent pending process developed by H.C. Starck. [ Press release ]

July 27, 2006

LuxDrive released a high brightness LED linear light engine with driver on board capable of delivering greater than 600 lumens per foot. The LuxStrip 6007 uses up to six Luxeon devices per 12-inch strip and is suitable for general lighting applications, fluorescent replacement, sign or channel letters, or architectural lighting applications. [ Press release at Electronicstalk.com, specs ]

July 25, 2006

Future Lighting Solutions, a division of Future Electronics, established LED Lighting Resource Centers (LRCs) for customers developing Luxeon® LED-based applications. Each LRC has two principal laboratories: a Luxeon® Retrofit Lab, for proof of concept development and technology validation in applications; and a Light Measurement Lab for product measurement. The LRCs are located in Montreal, Canada, and Shenzhen, China. [ Press release ]

July 25, 2006

China will invest about $44 million in its nation solid-state lighting program, in order to save energy and stimulate domestic LED production, according to a report on the third annual China International Forum on Solid-State Lighting (CIFSSL). The conference, held in Shenzhen on July 12-14, was attended by more than 520 delegates from China, U.S., Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The LEDs Magazine report, by Robert Steele, discusses China's 11th Five Year Plan, growth in its high-tech sector, energy savings goals, government investment, and intellectual property. [ News item in LEDs Magazine ]

July 24, 2006

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center (LRC) will hold a three-day, hands-on seminar Sept. 13-15, 2006 at its LED Lighting Institute, to teach industry professionals about incorporating LEDs into lighting applications. Participants will take part in workshops and hands-on lab sessions highlighting LED technology, lighting design, and optical modeling, while using the newest LED products on the market. [ Press release ]

July 21, 2006

Permlight residential LED lighting products were used in the Fiori at La Costa Ridge model homes built by Warmington Homes. Enbryten HI-EF LEDs are used for overhead lighting and undercabinet lighting in the homes, which offer LED lighting as a standard feature. Permlight's line of Enbryten products is being used extensively by homebuilders in California to comply with Title 24, a new energy law. [ Press release ]

July 20, 2006

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers have made LEDs more than seven times brighter by etching nanoscale grooves in a surrounding cavity to guide scattered light in one direction. The NIST team used infrared GaAs LEDs with InGaAs quantum dots, backed with an alumina mirror to reflect the light emitted backwards. The periphery of each LED was turned into a cavity etched with circular grooves, in which the light reflects and interferes with itself in an optimal geometry. The NIST nanostructured cavity boosts useful LED emission to about 41 percent and may be cheaper and more effective for some applications than conventional post-processing LED shaping and packaging methods that attempt to redirect light. Research results were reported as "Enhanced light extraction from circular Bragg grating coupled microcavities," M.Y. Su and R.P. Mirin, Applied Physics Letters, July 17, 2006. [ Abstract, Press release ]

July 20, 2006

TIR Systems received a $2.7 million order from Dubai Festival City to supply TIR's Destiny Series and ColorTrace products. Dubai Festival City is the Middle East's largest, privately funded mixed-use real estate development project and TIR's products have been chosen to create unique visual effects for the retail shopping experience area. [ Press release ]

July 20, 2006

An industry alliance in Taiwan says it has developed an LED headlamp ready to enter production for cars and motorcycles, according to China Economic News Service and LEDs Magazine. The LED headlamp has passed brightness tests and is expected to be commercialized soon by local OEMs and aftermarket parts suppliers. [ News item at LEDs Magazine ]

July 18, 2006

Chi Mei Optoelectronics (Taiwan) will launch a 32-inch LED backlit LCD panel, according to Digitimes and LIGHTimes. LEDs will be supplied by Epistar, South Epitaxy and Tekcore. The panel reportedly features a brightness of 500 nits, a response time of 6.5ms, a contrast ratio of 1,200:1, and almost 100% coverage of the NTSC color gamut. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]

July 18, 2006

DOE released the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Product Development Funding Opportunity (Round III). Applications are sought in the following areas of interest: LED product development; OLED product development; Establishment of a technical information network. DOE seeks applications from industrial organizations for high-priority product development activities that will advance the state-of-the-art of SSL used for general lighting applications. Technical activities are to be focused on a targeted market application with fully defined price, efficacy, and other performance parameters necessary for success of the proposed product. DOE also seeks to establish a technical information network for sharing updates on SSL technology, performance, and appropriate applications within key residential and commercial market sectors. This is a new area that will engage energy efficiency program sponsors and related organizations in the production and distribution of SSL technical information. Application Due Date: 09/12/2006. [ Funding information ]

July 18, 2006

Osram Opto Semiconductors announced Oslux™ and Ceramos™, "super-bright" LEDs that are ideal for flash light applications in mobile communication devices such as phones and digital cameras. Oslux has a luminous efficacy of 48 lm/W, and achieves more than 50 lx. Ceramos can be combined with various lenses, handle higher than normal currents (1000 mA) and flash rapidly in succession. [ Press release ]

July 18, 2006

Philips Lumileds has supplied LEDs for exterior lighting on several 2006 automobiles. According to the company, Luxeon LEDs are being used as: the first power LED backup lamps, featured in the 2006 Cadillac DTS and the 2006 Jaguar XK; the first power LED stop-tail lamp in the U.S. market, on the 2006 Lexus IS; the first power LED rear fog lamp, for the 2006 Jaguar XK; the first power LED front turn signal, on the 2006 Porsche Turbo; the first single, power-LED mirror side-turn lamp, featured on both side mirrors of the 2006 Audi Q7. [ Press release ]

July 18, 2006

Lighting Science Group announced that its new LED-based MR-16 and R-30 lamps will use Osram's Ostar® Lighting product. These new lamps are intended to compete with the MR-16, or metalized reflector halogen lamp, and the standard R-30 incandescent and PAR-30 halogen lamps currently used in the industrial, commercial and consumer markets. The MR-16 retails at $39.99, the R-30 at $89.99. [ Press release ]

July 18, 2006

Samsung introduced a 56-inch, 1080p, LED-backlit DLP television. The HL-S5679W has a 4000:1 contrast ratio, HDMI input, analog/digital tuner, and retails for $4,199. [ News item at Engadget.com ]

July 17, 2006

DOE and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on strong industry lighting standards. [ Announcement ] The agreement outlines five broad goals for joint DOE-IESNA efforts:

·   Promote and support the DOE Building Technologies Program and the development of DOE efficiency standards by gathering input from technical experts, and by developing appropriate IESNA standards and procedures

·   Develop and maintain guides and procedures to assist the lighting community in the photometric measurement of SSL devices and other technologies to support DOE programs (including the development of ENERGY STAR® criteria for solid-state lighting), and to provide consistency and uniformity in photometric reports

·   Develop and maintain standards that include a focus on energy conservation strategies to benefit design professionals and users

·   Encourage the participation of DOE personnel in IESNA technical committee activities and provide the opportunity for dissemination and publication of related research

·   Develop and maintain appropriate education modules for inclusion in IESNA course materials for use by IESNA members and other organizations

July 14, 2006

American Bright Optoelectronics introduced a series of modular AC solid state lighting products for the commercial lighting fixture market. The BWCL series of AC infrastructure-compatible modules produce more than 400 lm (6500K CCT) and are daisy chainable, suitable for modern lighting fixture designs as well as retrofitting existing incandescent or florescent fixtures. The devices are available in warm (2800K CCT ) and cool (6500K CCT) white and in viewing angles of 60 or 120 degrees. [ Press release ]

July 12, 2006

Coast Products introduced LED-based MR 16 halogen bulb replacements, Leflectors. The devices, which use Lumileds Luxeon LEDs, are suitable for track lighting, retail displays, and decorative home lighting. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]

July 2006

LedEngin introduced three new LED emitter families, including ultra-small 10W and 15W LED emitters. The company launched a total of 24 new products, including a family of 1W, 3W, and 5W emitters in red, green, blue, and white colors; and 10W and 15W LEDs in various colors and with a 7.0 mm X 7.0 mm footprint. [ Press release ]

July 2006

LED Professional reported on several new patents and applications [ Recent patents ], including:

·   "Method of making a vertical light emitting diode," Semileds Corp., WO 2006076256

·   "Semiconductor light emitting diode having textured structure and method of manufacturing the same," Samsung Electro Mechanics, EP1677365;

·   "High output light emitting diode and method for fabricating the same," LG Electronics Inc., EP1677366

·   "LED lighting system," Luminator, US7067995.

July 2006

Researchers at Kansas State University, led by Hongxing Jiang, reported successful growth of high-quality crack-free GaN epilayers on 6-in.-diameter silicon substrates using MOCVD. The team's 492-nm blue multiple-quantum-well LEDs achieved an optical-power output of about 0.35 mW at 20 mA, measured from the top surface of unpackaged LED chips. [ News item in Laser Focus World ]

July 2006

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories demonstrated that semiconductor nanocrystals acting as color-conversion phosphors can be directly coupled to an LED by nonradiative energy transfer. The approach improves the color-conversion efficiency of the devices by avoiding the sources of energy loss associated with intermediate steps in traditional color conversion with phosphors. Research results were reported as "Nanocrystal-Based Light-Emitting Diodes Utilizing High-Efficiency Nonradiative Energy Transfer for Color Conversion," M. Achermann, et al., Nano Letters, 6(7): 1396 - 1400, published online June 16, 2006. [ Abstract, News item at Photonics.com ]

July 2006

LEDs Magazine published a three-part series on intellectual property. "Patents: are they a blessing or a curse?," by attorneys Alice Martin and John Wappel of Barnes & Thornburg, addresses questions such as what is a patentable invention; can a combination of well-known technologies be patented; and how to tell what a patent excludes others from doing. [ Part 1, part 2, part 3 ]

July 2006

New approaches to GaN material quality improvements were discussed in a feature article in Compound Semiconductor Magazine, "Researchers seek material solutions to GaN deficiencies at ISBLLED 2006," by Richard Stevenson. The article summarizes a presentation made by Werner Goetz, director of epitaxial technology at Philips Lumileds, at the recent International Conference on Blue Lasers and LEDs. According to Goetz, meeting efficacy goals for solid-state lighting will require improvements to internal quantum efficiency: from 20 to 40% for green LEDs and from 50% to almost 100% for phosphor-converted blue LEDs. [ Feature article in Compound Semiconductor Magazine ]

June 2006

Research and Markets has published a new report describing the market and technology trends for HB LEDs in automotive applications and lighting. According to the report, "LED4Auto - LED & HB-LED for Automotive Applications," GaN-based LEDs will reach a higher luminous efficiency than fluorescents in 2007, and the solid-state lighting industry will increase then, especially for automotive applications, both interior and exterior. [ Report information ]

July 7, 2006

DOE's solid-state lighting program was featured in an article from the McClatchy News Service. The article, by Robert S. Boyd, includes information from representatives at Sandia National Laboratory, Lamina Ceramics, and Cree. [ Feature article in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune ]

July 6, 2006

BridgeLux (formerly eLite Optoelectronics) introduced the KO family of LEDs, including a 60-mil chip. The KO blue family is available in 60, 40, 30 and 24-mil chip sizes (1.5mm to 0.6mm) and in colors from 445 nm to 475 nm blue, as well as high efficiency cyan and green. The 60-mil KO can support up to 1.2A drive current enabling an output of 140 lm when combined with phosphors to generate white light. [ Press release ]

July 4, 2006

The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) issued a notice about the upcoming EuP (Energy-using Products) Directive. The EuP Directive, which becomes law in the UK in August 2007, aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions from inefficient household appliances and other equipment and establishes a framework for ecodesign requirements for EuPs in order to ensure their free movement within the internal market. [ News item in LEDs Magazine, directive, information ]

June 30, 2006

The International Energy Agency (IEA, France) has outlined policies necessary to ensure that energy-efficient lighting technologies such as HB-LEDs will be put in place to curb carbon dioxide emissions. The book, "Light's Labour's Lost," includes a detailed global analysis of the energy used for lighting, as well as a detailed review of the technologies that could be implemented to reduce this energy consumption. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

June 28, 2006

AlbEO Technologies released three new versions of its Talea white LED lighting system. These new configurations include Talea-HD high density, with 50% more LEDs; Talea-HB high brightness, with 33% brighter output; and Talea-AC dimmable, with standard low-voltage electronic dimmers. The devices feature illumination levels of more than 925 lux at 18 inches (model # ELS-J615-2KH, 55°VA). Applications include under-counter retail, commercial task, industrial task, and residential lighting. [ Press release ]

June 28, 2006

The European Parliament's Restriction of the use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, limiting the amount of certain hazardous substances used in electric and electronic equipment sold into Europe, takes effect July 1. The restricted materials include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Compound semiconductor companies including Bookham, Color Kinetics and Lumileds have announced that their products are RoHS compliant, and other companies are expected to follow suit. [ News item in LIGHTimes, UK RoHS site ]

June 28, 2006

Philips Lumileds achieved new luminance performance records for 1A LEDs. The company reported that its white devices achieved luminance of 38 meganits (Mcd/m2), approximately 50% more luminance than that of an automotive headlamp halogen bulb (~25 meganits); InGaN blue devices realized a radiance of 200 mW/mm2sr; and InGaN green devices achieved luminance of 37 meganits (Mcd/m2). The development is expected to significantly affect the performance and design of light intensive applications such as automotive headlamps, rear-projection televisions (RPTV), and commercial lighting. [ Press release ]

June 28, 2006

Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST): Cree, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Seoul Semiconductor are new sponsors of ASSIST, an alliance designed to identify and reduce major technical hurdles and help LED technology gain widespread use in lighting applications. The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance recently signed on as a new sponsor of the ASSIST Recommends initiative to help fund research for future recommendations. Under this initiative, LRC is conducting research to identify metrics for evaluating LED systems which then would be used for developing guidelines for testing and evaluating LED luminaires. ( Existing ASSIST sponsors include Boeing, GELcore, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Nichia America Corporation, Osram Sylvania, Philips Lighting, and the U.S. EPA.) [ Press release ]

June 28, 2006

Nichia has settled its white LED patent infringement lawsuit with Intermatic, a former Nichia customer. Intermatic reportedly agreed to respect Nichia's intellectual property, and the companies have worked out a business arrangement resolving the issues raised in the January 2006 lawsuit. [Nichia press release ]

June 26, 2006

Cree will acquire privately held Intrinsic Semiconductor Corporation, a leader in research and development of low defect density SiC substrates. Integration of Intrinsic's technology into Cree's materials product line should accelerate development of larger-diameter, high-quality SiC wafers, which should enable new high-power semiconductor devices and lower-cost LEDs, according to the company. [ Press release ]

June 23, 2006

Avago Technologies introduced its first high-power LED, a 1W device that operates at 350 mA and delivers 40 lm in green, 10 lm in blue and 35 lm in white. The ASMT-MX00 product is the first in a series of 1W LED devices, according to the company, and indicates a shift in emphasis away from the low-power LEDs used to backlight small displays in mobile phones and other portable appliances towards high-power LEDs for emerging applications such as general illumination and car headlamps. (Avago, previously known as Agilent's semiconductor products group, was sold in late 2005 to two investment banks, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Silver Lake Partners.) [ News item at Optics.org, news item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

June 22, 2006

Lynk Labs will collaborate with TT Electronics Optek Technology and American Bright Optoelectronics to develop AC LED system solutions for different target markets. Lynk Labs has also teamed with Brillianz, a UK-based lighting and signage specialist, to offer a series of AC LED lamps, SnapBrite™, which are direct replacements for fluorescent tubes. [ News item in LEDs Magazine ]

June 22, 2006

UK Displays & Lighting network will host Lighting Debate, a "debate workshop" addressing competing technologies for different applications. Speakers from academia will discuss the principles of how their technology works, as well as theoretical efficiency levels, absolute power handling levels, and absolute light flux densities; speakers from industry will discuss the practical implementation of lighting technologies, identify major obstacles to achieving the theoretical performance levels, and suggest how these may be addressed. Industrial system integrators will comment on the various lighting technologies and offer their own vision of how the markets may develop in the future. The event will be held July 19, 2006, at Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, UK. [ News item in LEDs Magazine, agenda ]

June 21, 2006

Highlink Technology will increase its high-brightness GaN wafer fabrication capacity with two MOCVD reactors from Aixtron. The AIX 2800G4HT tools are the largest-capacity offerings from the German equipment vendor and support 42 x 2-inch wafer manufacturing. The machines also feature an improved gas inlet that is said to significantly improve both wafer yields and device uniformity. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

June 21, 2006
and
June 12, 2006

Optek introduced several new devices at the Lightfair International conference in Las Vegas. The Lednium OVTL01LGA Series includes high-brightness surface-mount 1W LEDs with a thermal resistance of 2C/W. The devices emit up to 38 lm, feature a full 120-degree viewing angle and are available in amber, blue, green, red and white. Optek also introduced the Lednium OVTL09LGM Series of 10W RGB assemblies capable of producing any color light. [ OVTL01LGA Series press release, OVTL09LGM Series press release, both carried by ElectronicsTalk.com ]

June 21, 2006

Strategies Unlimited published "High-Brightness LED Market Update and Forecast - 2006," which reports that HB LED market growth is slowing but still healthy. For the next five years, growth rates may be expected to be in the range of 15-20% per year, rather than the 40-50% that the industry has come to expect. However, even with these lower growth rates, the HB LED market is still expected to reach $8.3 billion in 2010, well over twice the level of 2005. Growth will be driven by emerging applications such as illumination, automotive headlamps, and backlights for LCD monitors and TV screens. Reasons for the slowing growth include the saturation of the mobile phone market for full color displays and overcapacity in Asia leading to price erosion. [ Press release ]

June 20, 2006

Cree has reported white LED efficacy of 131 lm/W in tests using prototypes with Cree EZBright™ LED chips operating at 20 mA and a correlated color temperature of 6027 K. The results were confirmed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. [ Press release ]

June 16, 2006

Shuji Nakamura was awarded Finland's $1.26 million Millennium Technology Prize for his groundbreaking research on LEDs. The biennial award, which is funded by Finnish corporations and the government of Finland, was established in 2004 and is one of the world's top technology awards. [ News item in the Los Angeles Times ]

June 15, 2006

Bookham launched the ZoroLight LED multiplexer module, designed to support LED-based rear-projection television and pocket projectors. The device comprises specially designed optical thin film filters mounted into what the company claims is a compact and optically efficient package, and it multiplexes red, blue and green LED signals to enable Digital Light Processor projection devices. [ News item at Optics.org ]

June 15, 2006

DOE NETL released its national laboratory call for nanoscale research in SSL core technology. Areas of interest include: LED-1: Improvement of internal efficiency of green, yellow, and red nitride LEDs using nanostructure control; LED-2: Improvement of internal efficiency of nitride LEDs by reduction of defect density; LED-3: Improvement of extraction efficiency of nitride LEDs; LED-4: Nano-particle and quantum dot phosphors; and four topics on OLED technology. Proposals are due July 14, 2006. [ Lab call information ]

June 14, 2006

Sony has developed an RGB LED projector that it says is the world's smallest. The 410cc device uses three transmissive LCDs as display devices, with a prism to couple the three light beams together. The LED unit emits 50 lm and runs on 20 W, with the entire projector consuming 30 W. Pricing and availability was not announced. [ News item at NewLaunches.com ]

June 13, 2006

Harvatek will enter the high power LED market, due to concerns over reduced demand for handset panel backlighting, according to Digitimes and LIGHTimes. The company plans to develop its high powered product line for larger size panel backlighting such as LCD TVs, and has taken orders from customers in Europe for high-power LEDs used in decoration and supplementary lighting. Handset applications currently make up about 80 percent of Harvetek's revenue, according to the article. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]

June 12, 2006

MicReD introduced the TeraLED, a novel tester for thermal and radiometric characterization of LEDs. The TeraLED system, which can be used stand-alone for optical measurements or combined with Micred's T3Ster for a complete thermal and radiometric measurement, was developed in response to demands from LED manufacturers and provides a complete solution for LED testing. MicReD is a member of the Flomerics Group. [ Press release at ElectronicsTalk.com ]

June 12, 2006

Osram plans to expand its Malaysian LED manufacturing facility, according to the Malaysian Star and LIGHTimes. The company will allocate about 13 percent of its €500 million 2005 revenue to expand the back-end packaging capacity at its Bayan Lepas plant, which produces surface-mounted LEDs, high-power laser diodes, OLEDs and LEDs for intelligent displays. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]

June 12, 2006

Strategy Analytics published "Gallium Nitride Markets: Commercial Markets Drive Power Electronics," which concludes that military and high power electronic (HPE) applications will be the catalysts for the development of a GaN device market through 2010. Commercial wireless infrastructure applications will also drive demand in the future and the study forecasts that the total market for GaN microelectronic devices will grow at a CAGR of 151 percent through 2010. [ Press release ]

June 2006

Luger Research (Austria) launched LED Professional, a new web portal providing information about the LED market, technologies and research results for general lighting applications. The website includes information on business topics; products and applications for luminaries, lamps, systems and components; research and patents; product analysis; and company and institute profiles. [ Website ]

June 2006

LEDs Magazine published highlights of Lightfair International, held in May 2006 in Las Vegas. The article includes news from TIR Systems, Lighting Services Inc., Journée Lighting, Renaissance Lighting, GELcore, Lumileds, Nichia, Permlight Products, Seoul Semiconductor, Osram, Lamina Ceramics, and more. The June 2006 issue of LEDs Magazine Review also included features on several recent lighting events: "LEDs move to the next level at Light+Building," "LED manufacturers unveil latest advances at lighting shows," and "SID 2006 reinforces emerging role of LEDs in electronic displays." [ Feature article ]

June 2006

Researchers at National Chung Hsing University (Taiwan) have fabricated micropillar 409 nm LEDs that deliver 39% more output power than conventional devices. The team used a patterned sapphire substrate and a laser lift-off technique to eliminate surface defects caused by plasma etching and to combine the lower dislocation densities produced by growth on patterned sapphire with the high thermal conductivity of a copper substrate. Research results were reported as "Fabrication and efficiency improvement of micropillar InGaN/Cu light-emitting diodes with vertical electrodes," Wang et al., Applied Physics Letters 88 181113 (2006). [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

May 18, 2006

Researchers at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone made an AlN LED operating at 210 nm, the shortest wavelength at which such a device has been shown to emit light. The team used a refined doping strategy to make the PIN LED and grew the device epilayers using MOCVD. The device, which operates at 25 V, is an important step towards the development of very low wavelength emitters that could be used to detect or destroy harmful biological species. Research results were published as "An aluminum nitride light-emitting diode with a wavelength of 210 nanometres," Y. Taniyasu et al., Nature 441: 325-328 (18 May 2006). [ News item at Optics.org ]

June 6, 2006

DOE NETL announced the selection of five applications in response to the recent Solid-State Lighting Product Development Funding Opportunity Announcement. The selections have a total value of $10 million, with 30 percent provided as cost-share. Recipients include [ Announcement ]:

·   Color Kinetics, "An Integrated Solid-State LED Luminaire for General Lighting." This proposal seeks to develop replacement lamps for 60 watt incandescent light sources with a 4x increase in efficacy to 80 lumens per watt. The proposal targets package and system integration technology through the development of a novel hybrid-LED source which combines direct emission sources with phosphor down converted emissions.

·   Eastman Kodak, "OLED Lighting Device Architecture." The objective of the proposal is to increase performance in OLED devices to 50 lumens per watt at 1000 cd/m2. This will be accomplished by focusing on light extraction efficiency enhancement, low operating voltage materials and structures, high quantum efficiency and stable white emitters, and stacked-architecture techniques.

·   General Electric Global Research, "Phosphor Systems for Illumination Quality Solid State Lighting Products." The proposal seeks to build upon previous successful work that incorporates the use of novel nanophosphors to create white light from violet LEDs. The target is the replacement of incandescent light sources reaching 96 lumens per watt at color rendering indexes in excess of 80.

·   OSRAM SYLVANIA Development, "Phosphor White LED with High Package Extraction Efficiency." The proposal seeks to increase the external quantum efficiency using remote phosphors and employing a multi-layer thin film coating technique to increase the probability that scattered light will escape out of the device. The team targets 80 lumens per watt as an end device.

·   SRI International, "Cavity Light-Emitting Diode for Durable, High-Brightness and High-Efficiency Lighting Applications." The proposal seeks to develop cavity OLED devices in which the cavities are filled with a light emitting polymer. The result is an increase in efficiency by channeling light out of the device thereby reducing optical loss. The team goal is a 5x increase in the external quantum efficiency over standard OLEDs at twice the brightness.

June 2, 2006

The Internal Revenue Service issued an advance copy of a notice on how commercial building owners or leaseholders can qualify for the tax deduction for making their building energy efficient. The notice establishes a process to certify the required energy savings in order to claim the deduction. The commercial building deduction, which was enacted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, allows taxpayers to deduct the cost of energy-efficient property installed in commercial buildings. The amount deductible may be as much as $1.80 per square foot of building floor area for buildings that achieve a 50-percent energy savings target. The notice provides that buildings below the 50-percent threshold may, nevertheless, qualify for a deduction of up to 60 cents per square foot of building floor area if they meet a 16.67-percent energy savings target.[ Press release, notice 2006-52 ]

June 2, 2006

Tokyo University of Science researchers have developed a large circular blue LED chip, Nikkei Net Interactive and LIGHTimes reported. The 1-cm diameter chip is capable of emitting light evenly over its entire surface. Further details were not reported. [ News item at LIGHTimes ]

June 2006

LEDs Magazine published a list of LED-related products that won awards at Lightfair International, held May 28 to June 1 in Las Vegas. "Best of Category" awards went to the following [ Feature article ]:

·   Specialty Lamps: Luxeon K2 from Lumileds

·   Downlights, Wallwashers, and Accent Lights: LumeLEX from Lighting Services Inc

·   Systems: Lexel from TIR Systems

·   Chandeliers, Pendants, Sconces, Task Lights and Suspended Luminaires: Mira from 3G Lighting

·   Landscape, Pool and Fountain: Nalu from Dreamscape Lighting

·   Theatrical and Specialty Luminaires: Ultimate Architectural Floor Tiles from LightWild

May 31, 2006

Cree announced that its Japanese distributor, Sumitomo Corporation, has agreed to purchase $180 million of Cree's LED and wafer products during Cree's fiscal year ending June 2007, subject to end-customer demand and other terms and conditions. According to the company, the $180 million represents about a 10 percent increase over Cree's current estimate for fiscal 2006 sales to Sumitomo, but the Associated Press reported that it is a 10 percent decrease from the $200 million in orders announced at this time last year. Both companies anticipate that purchases will be made across Cree's full line of wafer and LED chip products, including MegaBright®, XBright®, XThin® and EZBright™ LEDs. [Cree press release, AP news item ]

May 31, 2006

Philips Lumileds announced that its LUXEON® K2 1000 mA capability enables twice the light output, with no performance degradation, compared to 350 mA devices. According to the company, as the first and only LED tested and binned at 1000 mA with specified minimum performance and no sacrifice in lumen maintenance, LUXEON® K2 allows more light to be extracted from each emitter than any other single-chip LED. This delivers a lower cost per lumen and expands LED lighting design possibilities beyond the standard 350mA LEDs. [ Press release ]

May 30, 2006

Dominant Semiconductors introduced the high-power RGB SPNovaLED. The surface-mount device emits 50 lm at 250mA and combines a 130° viewing angle with a compact package outline of 6.0 x 6.0 x 1.5 mm. [ Press release ]

May 30, 2006

iLight Technologies launched the Plexineon White 2X Series at Lightfair International. This second generation of white light developed by iLight is offered in three Kelvin color temperatures, produces high efficiency white light, and has stable and consistent color temperature. The company claims that the Plexineon White 2X has longer lifetimes than other white products on the market due to its unique construction, and is almost twice as bright as the original white series. White 2X is produced using a patented process which uses standard high intensity blue LEDs and a proprietary diffusing technology which avoids the phosphor degradation issues of standard white LEDs as well as the individual LED degradation issues of the RGB approach. [ Press release ]

May 30, 2006

LED Lighting Fixtures (LLF) announced that its most recent recessed downlight achieves 80 lm/W. The product was tested by an independent lab as providing 600 lm of warm white light at a color temperature of 3100 K, with a color rendering index of 92, at 7.5 W AC. LLF expects to manufacture its initial light fixtures, using LEDs from Cree, by the end of the year. [ Press release ]

May 30, 2006

Renaissance Lighting announced the availability of its Linear series of LED fixtures, including outdoor floodlights and indoor wall washers. The devices produce more than 350 lm output of white light per linear foot by mixing the light from red, green and blue LEDs. The RGB LEDs also can be controlled to produce any of the thousands of colors and shades in the lighting spectrum. The Linears are the second product in the new evo™ family of LED lighting fixtures. [ Press release ]

May 26, 2006

Clemson University researchers have developed quantum dots made from carbon, which show less potential for toxicity and environmental harm and may be less expensive than metal-based quantum dots. The finding "represents a new platform for the development of luminescent nanomaterials for a wide range of applications," according to lead researcher Ya-Ping Sun. Potential applications include biosensors, medical imaging devices and tiny LEDs. Research results will appear in the June 7 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. [ News item at Photonics.com ]

May 25, 2006

Highlights of Photonics Cluster's recent EuroLED conference were published in LEDs Magazine [ News item ].

·   Keith Scott from Philips Lumileds discussed how to compare apples to apples when selecting LEDs, and the trade-offs that need to be considered between luminous flux, efficacy, color-rendering index (CRI) and lifetime.

·   Mark McClear of Cree identified streetlighting as one of the "big white" applications that are emerging now and will drive the demand for white LEDs.

·   The UK's Department of Trade and Industry through its Global Watch Service recently sent two missions to Japan and the USA. The team reported its findings as a follow-on to EuroLED.

May 25, 2006

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have grown nanowires made of GaN alloys and made prototype devices and nanometrology tools. The wires are grown under high vacuum by depositing atoms layer by layer on a silicon crystal. The wires are generally between 30 and 500 nanometers in diameter and up to 12 micrometers long. When excited with a laser or electric current, the wires emit an intense glow in the ultraviolet or visible parts of the spectrum, depending on the alloy composition. Research results were published as "Polarization-resolved photoluminescence study of individual GaN nanowires grown by catalyst-free MBE," J.B. Schlager, N.A. Sanford, K.A. Bertness, J.M. Barker, A. Roshko and P.T. Blanchard, Applied Physics Letters, 88, 213106 (May 22, 2006). [ News item at PhysOrg.com, abstract ]

May 25, 2006

Permlight and Progress Lighting will launch a range of more than 50 LED residential lighting fixtures at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, to be held in San Francisco in June, according to LEDs Magazine. One of the products, a recessed LED, reportedly achieves a luminous efficacy of more than 40 lm/W. The new fixture delivers warm-white output at 2750 K, is fully dimmable using standard off-the-shelf dimmers, contains no mercury or cadmium, and is expected to be priced below dimmable fluorescent recessed cans. The new products are based on warm-white LEDs supplied primarily by Nichia and Cree. [ News item in LEDs Magazine ]

May 24, 2006

Lamina Ceramics launched a product line, Titan, which it says features the only 3000K, 25-watt warm white LED light engine available on the market. The Titan warm white light engine boasts an output of over 600 lm in roughly two square inches, while the Titan daylight white model emits 1,200 lm, making it competitive with compact fluorescent bulbs. The Titan RGB LED light engine has 800 lm output and produces any of 16 million saturated and blended colors (including white with variable color temperature) from a single point source. [ Press release at Lightboard.com]

May 24, 2006

Philips Lumileds announced that it has demonstrated LUXEON® Flash performance that exceeds any phone-based Xenon flash performance. With light output of 1.0 lux sec. at 3 meters, compared to 0.67 lux sec. for a Xenon solution, LUXEON® Flash LED technology delivers the necessary light for high quality imaging and could help move cell phone camera image capture capabilities closer to those of digital still cameras. Lumileds' LUXEON® Flash LEDs are available as a surface mount LED or as a module with a lens to simplify engineering. [ Press release ]

May 23, 2006

Dow Corning has launched an expanded family of silicone materials for the LED market. Building on the company's existing product line of gels, elastomers and resins, Dow Corning's newest products include three new LED-protecting encapsulants: DOW CORNING® EG-6301, DOW CORNING® OE-6336, and DOW CORNING® JCR 6175. The line also includes a new resin: DOW CORNING® SR-7010, a moldable material that combines the durability and transparency of a silicone to make hard discrete lenses and other components for LED applications. The products are the first to emerge from Dow Corning's new Light Management group. [ Press release ]

May 22, 2006

Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Kwangju Institute of Science and Technology announced a jointly established LED research center located at the institute's New Material Engineering building. This new center will focus on the development of high efficiency and high performance LEDs. According to Samsung, the center aims to broaden its business sector from mobile phones to LCD TVs and LED modules. The company also plans to expand its workforce and cooperate with other institutions locally and overseas to upgrade its R&D. [ News item at EETimes Asia ]

May 22, 2006

Osram filed a patent infringement suit against Kingbright (Taiwan) and its subsidiary Kingbright Europe (Germany) in a German regional court. The complaint claims that Kingbright has infringed and is still infringing Osram's patents by importing, selling and offering certain white and surface mountable LEDs in Germany. Similar action was taken against a distributor, D. Schuricht (Germany), who is selling Kingbright's LEDs in Germany. [Osram press release ]

May 22, 2006

Nichia has filed a patent infringement suit against Moeller Electric, the Japanese subsidiary of Moeller (Germany). The suit seeks damages for past infringement as well as an injunction against any further infringing activity. The lawsuit alleges that the blue LED mounted on the LED element sold by Moeller infringes Nichia's patents No. 2770717, No. 3356034, No. 3656456, and demands that Moeller cease the infringing activities. [ Press release ]

May 20, 2006

Science News published a cover story on advances in lighting technology. "Illuminating Changes: Conventional lightbulbs may soon be obsolete," by Janet Raloff, discusses solid-state lighting as well as automatic dimming systems for fluorescent lightbulbs and fiber bundles that feed daylight into a building. Technologies being developed by ORNL, RPI, and Luxo, and the DOE SSL program are mentioned. The biological effects of light are discussed in part two of the series, "Light Impacts: Hue and timing determine whether rays are beneficial or detrimental." [ Part 1, part 2 ]

May 19, 2006

A new LED lamp from Herman Miller was featured in Business Week. The Herman Miller Leaf lamp, designed by Yves Béhar, is described in "A Lamp to Light the Way," by Reena Jana. The article details the design process and challenges. [ Feature article ]

May 18, 2006

Osram plans to set up a second manufacturing plant in India, according to The Economic Times (India). Company executives did not confirm details of the plans, but indicated that Osram is interested in expanding its manufacturing capability in the country, citing labor cost savings as a factor in the decision. [ News item ]

May 17, 2006

UCSB's Shuji Nakumura reports on the first light emitters grown on non-polar and semipolar substrates. Although the output powers were lower than expected (the best blue devices made by the team had an output of 1 mW at 20 mA drive current, while the best green LEDs produced 0.26 mW at 250 mA), the novel devices are showing other benefits that Nakamura had predicted, such as being less sensitive to changes in output power, lower series resistance, and suitability for direct backlighting of LCD displays. Results were presented at the International Symposium on Blue Lasers and LEDs (ISBLLED) in Montpellier, France. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ].

May 17, 2006

A new report from Insight Media predicts that LEDs will be used in far greater numbers as backlight technology in >30" LCD-TVs than is generally expected. According to the report, "2006 LCD-TV Backlight Report: Opportunity Analysis of CCFL and Alternative Technologies," penetration will accelerate rapidly after 2008, driven by edge illuminated backlight units (BLUs). BLU costs must come down in order to maintain the rapid growth of large-screen LCD-TVs, according to the report. [ News item ]

May 17, 2006

NanoDynamics has licensed nine issued and pending patents from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, covering a low-energy route to plasma-based synthesis as well as products enabled by the versatile technique. NanoDynamics will use the technology for a number of applications, including preparation of fluorescent nanomaterials for high-efficiency LED lighting. The company plans to produce a lighting package technology that increases light output and LED life by reducing UV emission. [ Press release ]

May 2006

Combining HVPE and MOVPE into a single process could result in LEDs that perform better than those based on GaN substrates, according to a feature article in the May 2006 issue of Compound Semiconductor magazine. In "Complementary growth technique promises improved LED performance," Glenn Solomon of NIST describes the advantages of using a combined method, allowing HVPE to provide an inexpensive high-growth-rate process for the low dislocation-density thick buffer layer, and MOVPE to contribute a very thin, initial starting layer and the final device layers. [ Feature article ]

May 2006

Laser Focus World published a feature article, "White-light LEDs range from 'warm' to 'cool'" by Ian Ashdown, Marc Salsbury, Ingo Speier and Brent York of TIR Systems. The article describes the two current approaches to creating white light (RGB LEDs; phosphor-coated blue LEDs) and addresses issues such as thermal drift, color rendering and energy efficiency. [ Feature article ]

May 2006

Shuji Nakamura, Steven DenBaars and co-workers at UCSB, in partnership with Henri Bensty from the Charles Fabry Institute of Optics (France), claim to have fabricated the first LEDs that feature photonic-crystal-assisted light extraction and are made using laser lift-off. The team believes that its approach can improve the performance of GaN LEDs by combining the increased extraction efficiency of photonic structures with the efficient thermal dissipation and broad injection area produced by laser bonding onto a different substrate. Research results were reported as "Photonic crystal laser lift-off GaN light-emitting diodes," A. David et al., Applied Physics Letters, 88 133514 (Mar. 27, 2006). [ News item in Compound Semiconductor magazine, abstract ]

May 2006

Emerging high-volume applications such as solid-state lighting and automotive headlights will drive vigorous growth in the LED market, according to a feature article, "Solid-state lighting set to boost LED growth," in LEDs Magazine by Rob Lineback of IC Insights. To address performance standards, IC Insights recommends that the LED industry consider adopting a milestone-tracking system, similar to the approach taken in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). The ITRS requires at least two suppliers to be shipping volume products at a certain generation before a new technology generation can be declared for the IC industry, in order to cut through the marketing claims and help benchmark technology generations for the entire industry. [ Feature article ]

April 25, 2006

Purdue University researchers have developed a tiny "micro-pump" cooling device small enough to fit on a computer chip that circulates coolant through channels etched into the chip. The new MEMS device has been integrated onto a silicon chip that is about 1 cm square. Research results were published as " Micropumping Technologies for Electronics Cooling," Brian D. Iverson, Suresh V. Garimella, and Vishal Singhal, Electronics Cooling 12(2), online publication (May 2006). [ Press release ]

May 15, 2006

DOE NETL has released its national laboratory call and funding opportunity for core technologies, round III. Program areas of interest: Internal Quantum Efficiency (LEDs); Extraction efficiency: Device approaches, structures, and systems and strategies for improved light extraction (LEDs); Materials Research - High efficiency, low voltage, stable materials (OLEDs); Approaches to OLED structures between the electrodes for improved performance low-cost white-light devices. Proposals are due June 27 (core technologies) and June 30, 2006 (lab call). [ Lab call information; funding opportunity information ]

May 12, 2006

A U.S. district court awarded Color Kinetics $1.4 million in costs and attorneys' fees in its patent litigation against Super Vision International. This decision follows an August 2005 ruling granting all of Color Kinetics' motions for summary judgment against Super Vision relating to the patents. Super Vision announced its intention to appeal the rulings. [Color Kinetics press release, Super Vision press release ]

May 10, 2006

OptoLum announced its FineLine low profile linear lighting system, available in a variety of brightness configurations ranging from subtle accent and cove lighting to superbright task lighting suitable for showcase and under cabinet lighting. FineLine is available as a raw LED lighting module and with custom finished aluminum extrusions that can be incorporated into many applications, in warm white (2700K to 4000K), cool white (4000K to 7000K), and colors including red, green, blue, royal blue, and amber. [ Press release ]

May 9, 2006

Cree has signed a five-year supply agreement with Seoul Semiconductor (Korea), which has committed to purchase at least $40 million of LED products during the first five quarters of the agreement. The companies have agreed to cross-license certain patent rights relating to white LED technologies and have agreed to cooperate in defending these rights. The license granted by Cree to Seoul Semiconductor includes Cree's U.S. patent 6,600,175 and is one of several Cree has granted to its strategic partners under that patent. [ Press release ]

May 5, 2006

Strategy Analytics published a market report indicating that televisions will succeed mobile phone handsets as the key driver for growth in the LED industry in the next five years. According to the report, "Now Showing on a Television Near You: LEDs Are the Ones to Watch," Strategy Analytics believes that LED-based backlighting will account for almost 25% of the total LCD TV market in 2010 as well as finding application in rear-projection TVs. [ Report information ]

May 4, 2006

BridgeLux (formerly eLite Optoelectronics) and Intematix jointly announced the formation of the Intellectual Property Secure Lighting Alliance (IPSLA). IPSLA is a network of solid-state lighting component suppliers who believe that respecting intellectual property is essential to accelerating the adoption of solid-state lighting. IPSLA members are required to certify that qualified patent attorneys have reviewed their products and processes, with reference to existing IP, and found them to be non-infringing at all levels. [ Press release ]

May 2, 2006

Renaissance Lighting introduced its evo™ family of LED products which address key challenges such as degradation in the quality of light over time, visible LEDs within a fixture, and the delivery of a full spectrum of light, including white light. The first product in the evo line is the ED Series, a recessed downlight that produces more than 600 lm output of white (2800 K to 5600 K) or colored light. [ Press release ]

May 2006

Highlights of Light+Building 2006, including a Siteco 20,000 lm luminaire (containing 49 high-power Ostar LEDs from Osram Opto Semiconductor), individual Philips LED spotlights, and luminaires based on TIR's Lexel technology, were published in LEDs Magazine. Products from CML Innovative Technologies, Color Kinetics, ERCO, Zumtobel and Ledon, Spectral, Philips, Siteco, Industrial Micro Systems, MoMo Alliance, and Trilux are described. [ Feature article ]

May 2006

Findings from a UK Department of Trade and Industry Global Watch mission to Japan and the U.S. were to be presented at a meeting in Birmingham, UK, on May 18, according to LEDs Magazine. Japan's national "Light for the 21st Century" program has driven developments in areas vital to mass-market, high-volume lighting solutions, mission participants found. The mission was intended to gather information to enable UK companies to appreciate state-of-the-art LED technology and its diverse applications. [ Feature article ]

May 2006

LEDs Magazine published a feature article on technology developed by Lynk Labs allowing LEDs to be driven directly from an AC power supply. The article, "Running LEDs from an AC supply," by Tim Whitaker, describes the advantages to using an AC supply and details the differences between Lynk Labs' approach and that of other AC-LED technologies, such as those developed by Seoul Semiconductor and III-N Technology. [ Feature article ]

April 27, 2006

Osram formed a new global LED Systems (LS) organization in order to respond to growing customer needs for LED system solutions in the general lighting, automotive lighting and display/optic lighting markets, according to LEDs Magazine. The new LS organization is intended to bridge the gap between individual systems components, such as LEDs, heat-sinks and primary optics, and complete LED lighting systems, and to accelerate the adoption of LED technologies for lighting. [ News item ]

April 26, 2006

LEDs will account for half of general lighting sales or installations by 2009, according to a survey conducted by Cree at Light+Building 2006 in Frankfurt, Germany. Out of 123 trade show participants polled, 50 percent of respondents said they have seen a 20 percent to 60 percent growth rate for LED lighting applications in their businesses over just the past six months, and 61 percent of respondents believe LED lighting will replace fluorescent lighting in office and commercial spaces within five years. [ Press release ]

April 26, 2006

Nichia has filed a patent infringement complaint against Everlight in a Taiwanese court. In the complaint, Nichia alleges that Everlight LEDs infringe on one of Nichia's design patents concerning SMD-type LEDs, used as the backlight for LCD displays in mobile phones and other applications. [ Press release ]

April 24, 2006

Cree released its EZR™ LED chip, for use in mobile LCD backlight applications. The EZR chip will be offered in several brightness bins, including the industry's first 30-mW bin for very high performance side view applications. "The EZR LED chip features low Vf and a proprietary optical design delivering an ideal Lambertian radiation pattern that reduces emission losses and significantly increases efficacy over previous designs." The Cree EZR LED chip is the second product based on Cree's recently released EZBright™ product platform. [ Press release ]

April 24, 2006

LED Lighting Fixtures announced that independent third-party testing has confirmed that the company's recessed luminaire has an efficacy of 73 lm/W, a gain in efficacy of 35 percent over test results of its predecessor two months ago. LLF's fixtures continuously produced more than 700 lumens using less than 10 watts from a wall-plug AC source, a significant improvement over the company's 54 lm/W achieved in February. Color temperature was measured at 3200 Kelvin, with a color rendering index of 92. The company used LEDs supplied by Cree. [ Press release ]

April 21, 2006

LEDtronics announced its Series STP50XC Super White Inter-Connectable 5 mm LED Light Strips, that may be used alone or connected to one another, making it easy to configure lighting solutions for channel, reverse-channel letters, signs, displays, under-the-counter, cove lighting, desk, workbench, and architectural applications. [ Press release ]

April 21, 2006

Cree's chip output was capacity-limited in its most recent quarter, due to unexpectedly high demand from mobile applications. Cree hit a revenue high of $107.7 million in the quarter that ended on March 26, but was limited by capacity constraints across production of high-brightness LEDs, XLamp products and Schottky diodes. The company will soon be increasing its capacity at a new facility in Research Triangle Park. [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net]

April 20, 2006

Cyberlux will introduce new Aeon products, Aeon ProHB and Aeon Flex, that increase light output capability by more than 50%. The Aeon ProHB produces up to 560 Lux of white light at 3000K (warm) and 5000K (cool). The Aeon Flex can be custom cut in 3 ft increments, providing flexible lighting for custom installations. [ Press release ]

April 20, 2006

Lamina Ceramics plans to introduce a new line of ultra-bright LED light engines, including a record-setting warm white model designed to replace halogen and tungsten filament competitors and a powerful "daylight white" model designed to replace fluorescents. The new Atlas line has an identical footprint to the company's BL-4000 line, but is up to twice as bright. The Atlas Warm White produces more than 100 lm, and its enhanced red and orange color spectrum provides light output similar to a 10-W halogen bulb. Atlas Daylight White "rivals the quality of natural sunlight," and has an output of more than 200 lm. [ News item at LEDs Magazine ]

April 19, 2006

DOE's Solid-State Lighting program released a report on its program planning workshop held in February in Orlando. The meeting was attended by more than 180 participants from industry, academia, trade associations, research institutions, and national laboratories. The report includes outlines of presentations and activities from the BES Contractors' Meeting; a review of the DOE SSL Program Updates and Project Presentations; a summary of updates on SSL Commercialization Support Activities; and a description of several upcoming activities for the DOE SSL program. [ Workshop report ]

April 19, 2006

Bivar's Design Center Solutions Business Unit has introduced a 1W LED Block series designed for use in industrial, automotive, architectural, backlighting and intense single or multiple lighting applications. The B3 Series Hi-Brite Block (patent pending) is designed to enable a choice of three different spot light lenses from Cree and Fraen, or optional low profile diffused lenses and flood light lens styles. A choice of mountings include interlocking, mounting tab or quick-mount adhesive backing for installation simplicity, and all are suitable for creating a grid or in-line arrays to suit size and display needs. Each Hi-Brite Block unit is provided in a compact, 1-by-1-inch footprint, enabling ease of implementation while reducing the time to market constraints associated with non-integrated offerings. [ News item at EE Times]

April 18, 2006

A team of researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley, claims that it has produced the first evidence for p-doping in InN films. The work could aid the development of solar cells, LEDs, and laser diodes based on the AlInN material system that has an exceptionally wide direct band gap range (0.7-6.2 eV). n-type InN growth is already established, but p-type material is also needed for device fabrication. The team grew the 500 nm-thick InN films on sapphire substrates and a 200 nm-thick GaN buffer layer using MBE and a magnesium dopant. Research results were published as "Evidence for p-Type Doping of InN," R. E. Jones et al., Physical Review Letters, 96 125505 (2006). [ News item at CompoundSemiconductor.net, abstract ]

April 17, 2006

The CAO Group introduced a 3-dimensional, 60 lm/W packaged LED solution targeted at general, ambient, interior, and exterior types of lighting applications. The Dynasty™ Integrated Power LED combines multiple HB-LEDs to achieve a high lumen output, and a broad projection pattern, in a flexible design that requires no secondary heat sink. The 3-dimensional lead frame design allows the use of higher efficiency and lower heat standard HB-LED chips. Efficacy ranges from 50-70 lm/W for white with a color temperature from 5000K to 7000K. [ Press release ]

April 16, 2006

LED-based advertising billboards were featured in an article in Time Magazine, "Getting on Board." The article notes that LED signs now on buses in London can show updated ad messages within 10 minutes, or can match an ad with the neighborhood the bus is passing through. [ Feature article ]

April 13, 2006

TIR Systems is restructuring its operations in order to concentrate its resources on the commercialization of products and technology for general lighting applications, including its LEXEL™ technology. TIR has already entered into collaborative agreements for general lighting products with The Genlyte Group, Zumtobel AG, Lighting Services Incorporated, and Spectral GmbH. According to the company, future investment activity will be focused on the development and commercialization of TIR's LEXEL™ technology and its expanding intellectual property portfolio. [ Press release ]

April 12, 2006

Nanosys has been awarded new US government contracts that collectively total approximately $4.6 million. The contracted programs focus on the development of products and capabilities that incorporate Nanosys' proprietary inorganic nanotechnology for use in thin-film electronics, solid-state lighting, communications, taggants, and high performance textiles. The new contracts are with NSF, DARPA, DOE, DTRA and the U.S. Army. [ Press release ]

April 12, 2006
and
April 7, 2006

Nichia reached an agreement with Epistar to amicably settle the current IP litigations between the companies in Korea and Japan. Nichia acknowledged Epistar's promise that it will respect Nichia's IP rights, an understanding that is largely based on Epistar's merger with United Epitaxy Co., which has maintained a good business relationship with Nichia for years. Nichia decided to settle all pending IP litigations between the companies. No further details of the settlement are disclosed. The settlement will result in a ramp-up in Taiwan's LED manufacturing, according to reports in Digitimes and Compound Semiconductor. Ongoing consolidation of the LED chip manufacturing industry in Taiwan has also contributed to the increased production. Epistar will more than double its blue LED capacity from 150 million chips per month to 350 million this year, after its consolidation with UEC, according to the report. Epistar recently purchased five new reactors from Aixtron for GaN production. South Epitaxy recently acquired Epitech, and has reportedly signed a supply deal with GaN specialist Toyoda Gosei, again a result of Nichia relaxing its intellectual property position. South Epitaxy will thus see a doubling of AlGaAs capacity to at least 300 million chips per month, and a similar number of blue LEDs, Digitimes also reported. [ Nichia press release, news item at CompoundSemiconductor.net ]

April 11, 2006

Color Kinetics introduced its EssentialWhite™ series, a cost-effective product line designed to provide entry-level LED lighting solutions that meet specifier-grade standards. The first EssentialWhite systems are suitable for architectural, hospitality, and retail applications, including cove and accent lighting, displays and exhibits, tracks, rails, cables and pendants. They include: eW Cove, a dimmable, 12" or 6" linear system for common, medium-luminance alcove applications; and eW MR, a compact lamp designed to retrofit into most standard MR16 fixtures and sockets. [ Press release ]

April 10, 2006

CML Innovative Technologies (CML-IT) introduced its ConnectandGlo program, a system of linking LED lighting units that anyone can connect together, just as easily as ordinary lamps. Part of the ConnectandGlo program and specifically targeted at the architectural lighting market is CML-IT's Arcilume range of products, including the Acsentio series of accent lighting, available in blue, red, green, yellow and white, and in 12, 24 and 240V versions. Other products include LEDules, a system of LEDs mounted on PCBs in a whole variety of shapes and sizes; and Color Line, a range of rigid and flexible light guides complete with light engines that offer a linear light in either straight or curved form. [ News item at Electronics Talk ]

April 6, 2006

Group4 Labs announced a Ga-facing GaN-on-diamond semiconductor wafer, the third product in the Xero Wafer family. The 10-mm wafer's GaN exterior is an atomically smooth finish with a gallium-facing surface that is epi-ready for further epitaxial deposition. This new surface resembles the conventional crystallographic structure that many customers are accustomed to using, according to the company. [ News item at Laser Focus World]

April 6, 2006

Researchers at National Institute for Materials Science and at Sharp (Japan) have developed a white LED with an improved yellow phosphor that produces a color similar to sunlight. The device yields 55 lm/W, about twice as bright as commercially available products operating in the same degree of whiteness. Research results were reported as "Highly efficient white-light-emitting diodes fabricated with short-wavelength yellow oxynitride phosphors," Rong-Jun Xie, et al., Applied Physics Letters, 88, 101104 (2006). [ News item at Physics News Update ]

April 5, 2006

A new report from LED Quarterly Insights notes that continuing advances in fabrication techniques and device design are now yielding white LEDs with enough lumen output to start challenging traditional light sources in a number of applications. For example, suppliers to the automotive industry predict that car headlamps based on LEDs will appear on high-end production models by 2007. Some of the earliest adopters of white LEDs will be in the industrial and medical sectors, according to the report, which discusses key issues such as the efficiency of phosphor conversion, the search for alternative materials systems, the need for color consistency, and the emerging applications for white LEDs. [ News item at LEDs Magazine ]

April 2006

LEDs Magazine published a feature article, "Standardisation requirements and safety concerns drive developments in LED test and measurement," by Paul Miller, Teresa Goodman and Simon Hall of the Optical Radiation Measurement Group of the National Physical Laboratory (UK). The authors discuss issues with optical radiation measurement, standards and safety, and describe the NPL's role in helping the industry conform to international regulations and standards. [ Feature article ]

April 2006

Developments in nitride substrates are discussed in a feature article in Compound Semiconductor Magazine. In "Crystal growers push nitride envelope," author Michael Hatcher reviews recent funding deals and the commercial shipment of AlN substrates, and notes that Kyma Technologies and the Fox Group have adopted a promising boule growth process, while Group4 Labs has had success with diamond substrates. [ Feature article ]

April 2006

LEDs Magazine published an article summarizing several recent reports on LED markets. According to the article, "Strong growth expected for LEDs in displays and illumination," display backlighting and illumination will drive growth in the HB-LED market, and automotive applications will also flourish. The article includes reports from Bob Steele of Strategies Unlimited; Ashwini Meena of Frost & Sullivan; Linnea Brush of Darnell Group; and Eric Mounier of Yole Développement. [ Feature article ]

April 3, 2006

Toyoda Gosei and Philips Lumileds have agreed to allow the companies (including subsidiaries) to use each other's patents for certain blue LEDs and red LEDs. The two companies agreed "to construct an environment wherein they will respect and mutually utilize each other's technologies in order to further advance the market for LED products," according to a statement. [ Press release ]

April 3, 2006

National Central University and Jenn Feng Co., Ltd. (Taiwan) have developed what they say are the world's brightest 18- and 30-W LED light bulbs. The rollout of the light bulbs was a milestone in Taiwan's LED manufacturing and will help the island gain a competitive edge in the industry, according to officials from both groups. Mass production of these LED bulbs will begin in August, when the products will be distributed under original equipment manufacturing deals with international firms as well as marketed under Jenn Feng's own brand. The products are suitable for residential and outdoor uses. [ News item in China Post ]

April 2006

Optics.org published a feature article summarizing analysts' recommendations for helping HB-LEDS penetrate the general lighting market. The article, "Firms must join forces to tackle light bulb culture," suggests that HB-LED makers should concentrate on building relationships with their customers in order to break down the incumbent culture based around the light bulb. The article includes information from NanoMarkets, Strategies Unlimited, Osram Sylvania, and others. [ Feature article ]

The information presented in this section has been developed by Perspectives, a firm that specializes in technical and market intelligence, with assistance from Sandia National Labs.
NOTE:  The provision of summaries and mention of specific manufacturers or products does not constitute an endorsement by Sandia National Laboratories or Perspectives; nor is the information presented warranted or guaranteed by either Sandia National Laboratories or Perspectives.

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