British Micro LED expert Plessey continues to expand partnerships with other industry players to accelerate Micro LED development. The company reported its collaboration with Axus Technology (Axus), a global provider of CMP, wafer thinning and wafer polishing surface-processing solutions for semiconductor applications, to bring high-performance GaN-on-Silicon monolithic Micro LED technology to the mass market. (Image: Plessey) Plessey continues to invest heavily in its manufacturing facility to boost Micro LED display capabilities with the purchase of met...

Japan’s Panasonic Corporation announced that it has entered into a share transfer agreement with Munich-based Fidelium Partners, under which all shares of Panasonic Lighting Europe, which focuses on the lighting device business in Europe as a wholly owned consolidated subsidiary of Panasonic, will be transferred to the German investment firm. Panasonic acquired German lighting device manufacturer Vossloh Schwabe in August 2002 to expand its lighting device business in Europe and worked to strengthen sales of lighting devices for conventional light sources such as f...

Acuva Technologies announced the closing of a US$5.4 million growth financing with a syndicate of existing and new investors to deliver the Company's innovative drinking water purification systems to global consumers. The proceeds of the financing will be used to meet the rapidly growing demand for Acuva's proprietary products in global markets and to fund the growth of the Company's teams both in Canada and abroad. Acuva has established global leadership is UV-LED disinfection technology and secured partnerships with several major international Original Eq...

UVphotonics and Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) are presenting novel UV LED developments with emission wavelengths from 330 nm to as low as 230 nm at Photonics West 2020. The versatile light sources are configurable to various application requirements. UV LEDs have opened up new prospects due to benefits like increased design flexibility, energy savings and reduced overall cost. Their customizable wavelengths, low operation voltages, ability to be rapidly switched and dimmed along with their compact size make them ideal for a multitude of applications. These include ...

After a year of ups and downs, Osram announced that it has kicked off its 2020 with slightly grown revenue and profit for the first quarter of its fiscal year. Osram posted a revenue of EUR 873 million (US$ 960.78 million) with 0.5% on-year growth. Its Adjusted EBITDA increased by 22% YoY to EUR 114 million (US$ 125.46 million). The adjusted EBITDA margin also climbed 2 percentage points to 13%. Business segment Opto Semiconductors performed stably with revenue amounted EUR 359 million (US$ 395 million). In the segment Digital, revenues climbed...

Cepton Technologies announced that it has raised over US$50 million in Series C funding. This brings Cepton’s total funding to nearly US$100 million, providing a strong foundation to substantially ramp up its R&D efforts, expand its footprint in the automotive market and support major customers worldwide. The latest funding round was led by automotive lighting system developer Koito, the automotive Tier 1 and world-leading provider of automotive lighting systems. As part of the transaction, Koito will obtain non-exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Cepton&r...

Coronavirus outbroke in China before Lunar New Year and led to the delay of operation resume in many cities. Chinese authorities have announced to postpone the working day until February 2 and February 10 and Wubei province, which most impacted by the novel coronavirus, will be back to work after February 14. As the global production center of LED, China’s decisions on workday delay and city seal-off are bringing impacts to the LED supply chain. LEDinside learned that most of the LED industry players in China are expected to be back to operation on February...

Cree published the financial results for the second quarter of its Fiscal 2020 which ended December 29, 2019. The company registered revenues of US$239.9 million for the quarter which decreased by 14% YoY and 1% QoQ. GAAP net loss from continuing operations attributable to controlling interest for the second quarter was US$52.8 million. On a non-GAAP basis, net loss from continuing operations attributable to controlling interest for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 was $10.4 million. GAAP and non-GAAP net losses from continuing operations attributable to c...

CEA-Leti announced at Photonics West 2020 its new development of a silicon nitride (Si3N4) 200mm platform for developing photonics in UV through mid-infrared wavelengths. Available in CEA-Leti's SiN platform in a multi-project-wafer program, the breakthrough targets designers in integrated quantum optics, LiDAR, biosensing, and imaging whose projects require ultralow propagation losses and high-power handling capability. (Image: CEA-Leti) According to CEA-Leti, this ultralow-loss SiN layer is available for multi-level photonic circuits. It can be c...

UK-based Micro LED technology developer Plessey announced at Photonics West its’ new partnership with WaveOptics, a designer and manufacturer of diffractive waveguides. (Image: WaveOptics/Plessey) This two companies aim to create a new optical module for next generation smart glasses incorporating Plessey’s native green Micro LED full HD display with WaveOptics’ Katana waveguide technology and projector design. The full HD Micro LED display from Plessey is the result of its previously announced partnership with Compound Photonics, t...

Fluence by OSRAM is expanding its business in Europe and announced the partnership with growers and other horticulture specialists in Papenburg, the Emsland region of Germany. Given Papenburg’s decades-long history of attracting horticulture experts, Fluence’s innovative lighting solutions for horticulture are a natural fit for the region’s tomato, cucumber, leafy greens and herb growers. Elektro Evers, an engineering firm specializing in greenhouse technology, is Fluence’s exclusive systems integrator in the Papenburg region. Elektro Evers as...

Signify published its fourth quarter and full-year 2019 financial results on January 31. The Dutch company reported full-year sales of EUR 6.2 billion (US$ 6.87 billion) which decreased by 4.6% YoY decrease but improved in profitability by 30bps to 10.4%. Its LED-based sales grew by 1.4%YoY, representing 78% of its sales. For 4Q19, Signify, registered sales for EUR 1.75 billion (US$ 1.94 billion) which improved by 1.4% compared to 4Q18. The adjusted gross margin increased by 30 bps to 37.8%, including a positive currency effect of 30 bps. Adjusted EBITA am...

The ZKW Group, which was acquired by LG Electronics in 2018, announced that it has established a branch in Incheon, Korea in December 2019, with the integration with the rear light business of LG Electronics. The company also integrated the rear light production of LG Electronics in Ningbo, China. These new locations are added with the aim to further expand business in the Korean automotive market and the Asia-Pacific region. (Image: ZKW) At the time ZKW was acquired by LG in 2018, it was already agreed that the “Exterior Lighting for Automoti...

University of Sheffield in the UK announced the launch of its new spin-out company focusing on Micro LED technology on January 31, 2020. The company, named EpiPix is developing and commercializing Micro LED technology for photonics applications covering AR/VR wearable devices, 3D sensing and LiFi. A research team of the university recently published a new manufacture method to develop green InGaN Micro LED. The research team leader, Professor Tao Wang at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, and th...

Samsung Electronics announced its collaboration with Niio Art, a platform for new media art, to launch an open call for new media artists for the Samsung The Wall x Niio Art Awards. The award aims to discover inspiring digital art from around the world. Entrants will compete for a chance to be exhibited internationally on Samsung’s The Wall, the highest quality, large form factor 4K Micro LED digital art canvas, and qualify for up to $15,000 in cash prizes. The competition will culminate in summer exhibitions at ten showcase locations including Korea, Singapore, ...

On January 27, Nitride Semiconductor announced that it won a patent infringement lawsuit against RayVio Corporation, a California UV-LED company. On January 13, The California Northern District federal court issued a judgment in favor of Nitride, declaring that RayVio has infringed Nitride's patent and that the asserted claims of Nitride's patent are not invalid. A one month ago, U.S. Patent Office has also confirmed the validity on the key claims of Nitride's patent in its final judgments of the Inter Parte Review case filed by RayVio. ...

Viavi Solutions and LG Innotek have settled VIAVI’s complaints regarding its patented optical filters with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Pursuant to the agreement, VIAVI has withdrawn the lawsuits against LG Electronics. Further terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential and are not being disclosed. The ITC and California complaints remain active and proceed forward with regard to defendant Optrontec. The complaints pursue claims t...

Wireless lighting control expert Casambi announced that it has signed an agreement with Osram to extend their technology partnership. The two companies will leverage their expertise to develop further intelligent Casambi-ready hardware, as well as lighting control software solutions for the professional lighting market. (Image provided by Casambi, photo credit: NicoElNino / Shutterstock) Casambi’s embedded Bluetooth module is designed for integration with LED drivers, lighting control systems and light fixtures. The module is pre-programmed with Casambi’s ...

Mojo Vision, a U.S.-based startup who presented Micro LED display with ultra-high resolution, announced its current project working on the world’s first true smart contact lens, called the Mojo Lens. According to Mojo Vision, the smart contact lens with a built-in display provide people the useful and timely information without the needs to at a screen. Mojo calls this eyes-up experience Invisible Computing, a platform that enables information to be instantaneous, unobtrusive and available hands-free. (Image: Mojo Vision) The company aims to demonstrate a w...

iBeam Materials announced that it has successfully demonstrated the ability to make high-performance GaN Field-Effect Transistors (FETs) directly on thin, flexible and rollable metal foil substrates. These transistors can be produced without the need for a transfer step and can be integrated side-by-side with Micro LED emitters previously demonstrated by iBeam for use in a display. iBeam expects to see the technology available for large-scale manufacturing by 2022. The advent of paper-thin, ultra-flexible Micro LED displays using iBeam technology eliminates the trad...

Nichia filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Feit Electric (Feit), a US-based manufacturer and distributor of LED lighting products on January 13, 2020, in California. With the lawsuit, Nichia claimed that Feit has infringe Nichia’s filament LED patent at issue with approximately 200 different products. The infringed patent, Nichia’s U.S. Patent No. 9,752,734, is directed to an LED light bulb in which the LEDs are configured to resemble the appearance of a traditional incandescent bulb. (Image: Pixabay) Nichia filed its application ...

Jade Bird Display (JBD) from China revealed its latest Micro LED development at CES 2020. The company showcased a 0.31-inch display with a brightness of 3 million nits and another ultra-fine pitch display, reported online media Road to VR. (Image: Pixabay) The high brightness Micro LED display has a resolution of 1280*720 and a pixel pitch of 5µm. Despite its small size, JBD realized a brightness of 3 million nits, which is 4800 times brighter than the display of iPhone 11. With ultra-brightness, the display is made for AR/VR application in o...

Right after CES 2020, there are more international shows coming up and LiDAR technology builders continue their journey. LeddarTech and its Japanese distributor Nagase are exhibiting at CAR-ELE as part of Automotive World 2020 in Tokyo starting January 15. Meanwhile, Israeli weighing technology expert and Hitachi unveiled their collaboration result at NRF 2020 Vision (Retails Big Show). Canadian LeddarTech will join its Japanese distribution partner, Nagase, at Automotive World 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The Automotive World show brings together a va...

At CES 2020, many exhibitors showcased their innovative applications incorporating LiDAR technology, including autonomous vehicles, robot cleaning service, autonomous food delivering service and more. Several LiDAR companies also introduced their new products or announced new partnerships with other industry players at the event. SOS LAB, a LiDAR startup for self-driving cars, reported that it has signed a LiDAR collaboration memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ON Semiconductor. They aim to advance the development and commercialization of LiDAR tec...

MICLEDI Microdisplays, a spin-off of Belgium-based research institute imec, announced that it has raised EUR 4.5 million (US$ 5 million) seed capital from imec.xpand, with participation of PMV and FIDIMEC. The funding will be used to develop Micro LED displays for next generation Augmented Reality (AR) glasses. MICLEDI’s vision is to make AR smart glasses available for everyday personal use, featuring small, lightweight, long battery life, and reasonable cost. To achieve its goal, MICLEDI is developing the world smallest and brightes...

Even though it is likely that most of us would be more impressed with fascinating Micro LED displays or next-gen vehicles during big shows such as CES, LED lighting products still have their place at CES 2020 and are “connected.” Ring announced its new Control Center alongside six new products at CES 2020 that further expand its whole-home security lineup and enable users to have even more control of their devices and security. (Image: Ring) The new Control Center, expected to come to the Ring mobile app later this month, will initially enable R...

CES 2020 officially kicked out on yesterday in Las Vegas with more than four thousands companies all over the world presenting their novel applications and technologies. Automotive applications covering autonomous driving technologies are one major field targeted by worldwide technology builders. After SONY demonstrated the conceptual electronic vehicle Vision S at its press conference, several LiDAR companies also revealed their new LiDAR sensors at CES with a wide range of applications. (Image: Velodyne) Velodyne Lidar introduced Velabit™, the co...

AUO announced its participation to CES to present its latest display technologies and applications that are transforming smart and connected vehicles, and facilitating ultimate user experience at home, at work and on the go. Exhibit highlights include technologies to realize a full digital cockpit: direct bonding lamination of multiple large-sized curved panels, Mini LED backlight with optimal HDR performance, in-cell touch solution with touch and display driver IC integration for thinner structure, plus through-hole design in the display active area to install knobs and b...

Infineon Technologies has collaborated with software and 3D Time of Flight (ToF) system specialist pmdtechnologies to develop the world’s smallest 3D image sensor, and is presenting it at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. The new REAL3™ single-chip solution measures 4.4 x 5.1 mm, allowing it to be incorporated into small size devices to provide high resolution data with low power consumption. (Image: Infineon) “With the fifth generation of our REAL3™ chip we are once again demonstrating our leading position in the field of 3D sensors,” sa...

Seoul Semiconductor and Seoul Viosys announced that they are introducing the new concept display, ‘Micro Clean LED’ at CES 2020. The new concept of Micro Clean LED, which Seoul Viosys developed, is the technology that realizes 4K resolution TV sizes from 42 inch to 220 inch with 1 RGB LED per pixel and is ready for mass production. The Micro Clean LED solutions for a smart watch display also will be demonstrated at CES 2020. (Image: Seoul Semicondutor) Seoul Semiconductor and Seoul Viosys leverage their expertise in developing...