ANADIGICS announced that, on January 15, 2016, it entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which II-VI Incorporated ("II-VI") has offered to acquire all of the outstanding shares of ANADIGICS common stock on a fully diluted basis for $0.66 per share net in cash, pursuant to an all-cash tender offer and second-step merger (the "II-VI Merger Agreement").  The offer price in the II-VI Merger Agreement constitutes an increase of $0.31 per share over the November 11, 2015 agreement and plan of merger pursuant to which affiliates of GaAs Labs, LLC offered to acquire all of the outstanding shares of ANADIGICS common stock on a fully diluted basis for $0.35 per share net in cash, pursuant to an all-cash tender offer and second-step merger (the "GaAs Labs Merger Agreement").  On January 12, 2016, the Company announced that the $0.66 per-share offer from II-VI (an "Excluded Party," as defined in the GaAs Labs Merger Agreement, and referred to in the Company's January 12, 2016 announcement as "Party A") had been determined by the Company's Board of Directors to constitute a "Superior Offer," as that term is defined in the GaAs Labs Merger Agreement.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer Unity Opto Technology and Sercomm Corporation, a manufacturer of broadband and wireless networking equipment forged a partnership for smart lighting R&D. After Toshiba authorized Unity Opto as its distributor in Europe, the company expected to expand market presence in Europe in the future, projecting approximately 30% revenue growth in 2016.

Leading U.S. LED company Cree will be setting back the spinout of its radio frequency and power product businesses, the company CEO Chuck Swoboda told analysts Tuesday.

Cree, a market leader in LED lighting, today announced revenue of US $436 million for its second quarter of fiscal 2016, ended December 27, 2015. This represents a 5% increase compared to revenue of $413 million reported for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, and a 2% increase compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2016. GAAP net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 was $14 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $12 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2015. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 was $30 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 of $38 million, or $0.33 per diluted share.

In an effort to study the effects of lighting on human health and diseases, the Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center (ERC) atRensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), recently installed a novel hospital inpatient lighting testbed for the study of automated lighting at theUniversity of New Mexico Health Center (UNMHC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The testbed is a demonstration of the success of the multi-institutional, interdisciplinary Engineering Research Center Program funded by the National Science Foundation.  

One of the most triumphant moments in the book and recent movie The Martian comes when lead character, Mark Watney, successfully grows a potato crop on Mars. It’s more than food for survival; he’s also nourishing his spirit.  In space, there is no scent of baking bread, no wind on your face, no sound of raindrops hitting the roof, no favorite kitten to curl up in your lap. Over time, being deprived of these common earthbound sense stimulations takes a toll. Having limited access to stimuli to the senses is identified as a significant risk by NASA’sBehavioral Health and Performance team.

Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG, and Grant Wright, CEO and CFO of OSRAM Americas, unveiled the new OSRAM Americas headquarters at a ribbon cutting ceremony recently in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Shortly after Epistar held its board meeting on Monday, numerous reports from Taiwanese media claimed the company was about to be merged. MLS, Philips and even Lumileds were named by speculators as potential buyers, following the reports Epistar’s shares climbed up to NT $29.5 (US $0.88) per share, reported TechNews. However, Epistar Spokesman Rider Chang has denied all these claims.

A sharp eyed Twitter user has spotted a code implying Li-Fi functions might be incorporated in later generation Apple iOS, reportedTechRadar and other media.

The Indian government has rolled out numerous large scaled LED bulb distribution projections across the nation, but not all Indian consumers are warming up to the low-priced bulbs, according to a report from The Deccan Herald.

The collaboration, which is partly funded by Innovate UK under the £14m Energy Catalyst Programme, follows on from work by Anvil Semiconductors and the Cambridge Centre for GaN at the University of Cambridge where they successfully grew cubic GaN on 3C-SiC on silicon wafers by MOCVD. The underlying 3C-SiC layers were produced by Anvil using its patented stress relief IP that enables growth of device quality silicon carbide on 100mm diameter silicon wafers.  

A representative from Samsung Electric has recently rebutted Korean media Edaily report recent claims it has rolled out unpaid vacation schemes for employees working in its LED business department.

Puducherry, a Union Territory of India, has launched its second phase LED bulb distribution project, The Hindu reported Puducherry Electricity Minister T. Thiagarajan saying recently.

Sigma Designs® (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) solutions focused on Internet of Things ( IoT) , Smart TV and media connectivity  markets , and QD Vision, the global leader in quantum dot display technology, announced a strategic partnership to develop a cost-effective UHD TV platform with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Rec. 2020 performance. The platform will be based on Sigma’s TV SoC and frame rate conversion (FRC) chips, and QD Vision’s Color IQ™ quantum dot (QD) technology.

Osram, one of the world's leading lighting manufacturers, continues to make progress with the carve-out of its general lighting lamps business. After the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG approved the carve-out of the unit in June 2015, the name of the new company has now also been decided. “We have opted for a combination of the terms ‘LED’ and ‘advance’ and will call the newly established company LEDVANCE,” said Olaf Berlien, Chief Executive Officer of OSRAM Licht AG. “The name reflects the trend toward LED in the lighting market as well as the opportunities arising from this development – opportunities LEDVANCE will actively exploit.”

A MIT research has caught on like wild-fire in the industry this week, since it holds the potential of reviving the nearly phased-out incandescent bulbs. The research claims that by using nano optic crystal structures, they were able to raise incandescent luminous efficiency to 6% and holds the potential of reaching 40% rivaling LEDs. However, there was a slight glitch in the press release. The cited luminous efficiency data was a bit outdated, most likely traced to 2013 results. Thanks to a reader from Epistar, who pointed us into the right direction

Use of copper as a fluorescent material allows for the manufacture of inexpensive and environmentally compatible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) ensures high light yield. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), CYNORA, and the University of St. Andrews have now measured the underlying quantum mechanics phenomenon of intersystem crossing in a copper complex. The results of this fundamental work are reported in the Science Advances journal and contribute to enhancing the energy efficiency of OLEDs.

Universal Display Corporation, enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED® technology and materials, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Universal Display its 2,000th patent, U.S. Patent No. 9,231,218 (the '218 Patent) for a new family of “Phosphorescent Emitters”. Additionally, UDC’s 2,001st patent was issued on the same day, U.S. Patent No. 9,231,227 (the '227 Patent) for a novel “OLED Display Architecture”.

A report from Korean media ET News pointed out that Samsung Display will be supplying flexible OLEDs for the next generation Apple iPhones.

A Zambia-based power utility company Zesco has distributed more than 480,000 energy efficient lamps nationwide out of its 1 million bulb target, according to reports by Zambia Reports and others.

Osram, one of the leading lighting companies, has granted Taiwan’s Unity Opto Technology Co. Ltd. a royalty-bearing license to produce white LED packages under Osram core patents covering phosphor conversion technology. This technology is widely used in the LED industry for the generation of white light based on a semiconductor chip emitting blue light that is partially converted into one or more other colors by suitable phosphor materials.

In the fabrication of solid state lighting devices, scientists are learning, oxygen also plays a two-edged role. While oxygen can impede the effectiveness of gallium nitride (GaN), an enabling material for LEDs, small amounts of oxygen in some cases are needed to enhance the devices' optical properties. GaN doped with europium (Eu), which could provide the red color in LEDs and other displays, is one such case.

Apple’s latest software update iOS 9.3 has built in blue light reduction features to make it easier for users to sleep at night, according to a Mac Rumors report.

Researchers combine the warm look of traditional light bulbs with 21st-century energy efficiency. Traditional light bulbs, thought to be well on their way to oblivion, may receive a reprieve thanks to a technological breakthrough. Incandescent lighting and its warm, familiar glow is well over a century old yet survives virtually unchanged in homes around the world. That is changing fast, however, as regulations aimed at improving energy efficiency are phasing out the old bulbs in favor of more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and newer light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs).

Leading Dubai-based AV and IT specialist, Almoe Group - which operates across the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India - have invested in 100 Chroma-Q Color One 100 premium performance colour-changing LED PAR fixtures for their busy rental inventory.

STG Aerospace, the pioneering aircraft cabin lighting company, is delighted to announce that Icelandair has selected its next generation saf-Tglo® SuperSeal UltraLite® (SSUL) photoluminescent floorpath lighting  for its 767 aircraft, becoming the first 767 operator for this newly certified system.

By replacing traditional luminaires with LEDs, India could save US$ 6 billion annually by 2018, said Piyush Goyal, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy in the Government of India.

The Optical Society (OSA) has announced that Dr. Gregory Quarles has joined The Optical Society as Chief Scientist. In this position, Dr. Quarles is responsible for the scientific infrastructure of the society. This includes content development for OSA incubators, annual meetings and the establishment of partnerships with research laboratories around the world. Quarles is a globally recognized leader for his strategic partnerships with the federal government, industry and academia, as well as his innovative work in the progression of global materials research, specifically developing new laser devices for medical, military and industrial applications.

U.S. football team Miami Dolphins’ home stadium, Sun Life Stadium, will become one of the leading NFL football stadiums in the country to replace traditional lights with LEDs, reported Miami Herald.

Anne Kustner Haser, president and design principal at Anne Kustner Lighting Design (AKLD) in Evanston, Illinois started her professional career as a graphic designer, but quickly fell out of love with graphic design in favor of lighting design. Perhaps this decision was influenced by the way some photographers she worked with utilized lighting to instill excitement into an otherwise ordinary product. Or, maybe it was an instinctive aptitude that Anne displayed while arranging lighting throughout her house as a young teenager. Even more so, it could have been the influence of her supportive family and especially her encouraging father, who himself was involved in electrical engineering. Since that fateful decision, and after opening her own lighting design studio 21 years ago, Anne has created stunning lighting environments for a unique blend of commercial, hospitality, and high-end residential clients that allow their individual personalities to shine through.