Philips transfer of its LED component and automotive lighting business Lumileds to Go Scale Capital was abruptly halted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) over national security concerns, reported The Economic Times on Monday.

Middle East country Bahrain plans to initiate the second phase II of its LED Traffic Signals Project next month, said Kadhim Abdul Latif, Acting Roads Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning.

The UN and The World Bank Group are seeking alternative clean lighting and solar energy to reduce global poverty, reported UAE media The National.

Soraa’s Chief Scientist Aurelien David shares his insight on LED lighting challenge beam quality in this latest blog entry.

At this week’s Meeting of the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS 2015), imec and CMST (imec’s associated lab at Ghent University) present a novel technology for thermoplastically deformable electronics enabling low-cost 2.5D free-form rigid electronic objects. The technology is under evaluation in Philips LED lamp carriers, a downlight luminaire and a omnidirectional light source, to demonstrate the potential of this technology in innovative lighting applications.

An Israeli design group kicked off a fundraising campaign for a sound activated gaming dice called Boogie Dice on Kickstarter, targeting a US $50,000 fund and has received US $113,842 so far.

v2 Lighting Group, an innovator in the specification lighting market, is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Shelly as the Central Regional Sales Manager. His industry experience and knowledge will promote v2 Lighting Group’s continued growth in the region.

Plessey announced today that it will provide CIRCADIAN ZircLight, a global leader in providing 24/7 workforce performance solutions, with an LED package solution for the development of circadian-modulated, smart LED lighting systems and lamps.

Philips plan to sell Lumileds to Chinese investment consortium led by Go Scale Capital for US $2.8 billion might “unravel following opposition from U.S. regulators,” reported Bloomberg on Monday.

AIXTRON, a worldwide leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced today that LandMark Optoelectronics Corporation, a supplier in gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP) based epitaxial wafers for optical communication, industrial application, and special-purpose usage, has purchased another AIX 2800G4-TM system for the production of laser diode devices. The tool is due for delivery in the first quarter 2016. 

Neuroscience researchers at Dalhousie Medical School and the Brain Repair Center in Canada have found a way to bypass the nervous system to stimulate muscles that have lost their connection to the nervous system through injury or disease.

A world-first study by Queensland University of Technology's (QUT) Sleep in Early Childhood Research Group has revealed pre-schoolers exposed to more light earlier in day tend to weigh more.

Chung Hoon Lee, CEO of world’s leading LED manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor (//www.seoulsemicon.com) announces that Wicop, following its massive success in LCD backlighting applications, is experiencing rapid adoption in the global lighting market after the September 2015 release thanks to its ultra compact size and outstanding efficiency.

As Beneq continues to expand its business of Lumineq® displays for extreme conditions, there is a growing need for wider distribution of the company’s rugged thin film electroluminescence (TFEL) displays as well as the fully transparent TASEL® displays, which have a substantial installed base and range of interesting future applications in the defense, transportation outdoor instrumentation and medical electronics markets.

There has been a lot of LED streetlight upgrade projects rolled out in the North America market this week, most are concentrated in the U.S. market, with only one lighting case in the Canadian market. Unlike most countries where governments fund the streetlighting project, energy utilities company Xcel Energy is financing large scale streetlight conversion projects in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Haydale, the group focused on the commercialisation of graphene and other nano particle products using its proprietary plasma process, is pleased to announce confirmation from the European Patent Office (“EPO”) of the decision to grant a European Patent to Haydale (“European Patent”).

Bridgelux, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance, solid-state LED arrays, announced the selection of Bridgelux® Décor Series™ LED arrays for a new lighting installation at the Lower Basilica of San Francesco of Assisi in Italy, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Founded in 1228, the Basilica is decorated with frescoes painted by medieval artists, illustrating the unique development of Italian art. The new lighting system will highlight the unique quality of the stunning frescoes, while providing safe illumination over the delicate paint and colors.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are occurring at a rapid pace in the LED industry. Based on incomplete statistics compiled by LEDinside editorial team in China, more than 37 mergers have occurred in the LED industry during first half of 2015, averaging three acquisitions per month. Acquisitions in the industry are maturing, and new M&A trends have emerged.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer Everlight has issued a statement Thursday rebutting a DIGITIMES report released a day before claiming it has forced employees to take one week unpaid leave in November.

The California Energy Commission released a final staff report proposing the first standards for small-diameter directional lamps and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Directional lamps are often used in commercial track lighting, while LEDs replace screw-based incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) typically found in homes. Prompted by legislation requiring the Energy Commission to adopt standards to reduce energy use of lighting in homes by 50% and businesses by 25% from the 2007 levels by 2018, the proposed standards will save energy and improve the quality of the light bulbs that Californians are buying every day.

Saignow City in Michigan, U.S. has borrowed US $5.2 million for city projects including vehicle and LED streetlight upgrade project, according to a MLive report.

Sensity Systems, the pioneer of Light Sensory Networks (LSN), today announced that Simon Property Group is expanding its NetSense Light Sensory Network deployments to multiple retail properties across the United States. Ranked among the largest shopping mall owners in the country, Simon plans to go well beyond energy efficiency with Sensity LSNs. They are currently deploying the NetSense platform in their parking lots and garages for advanced lighting control. Smart parking, public safety and other operational applications will be implemented in the future to help the mall operator reach their strategic business goals and deliver superior shopping experiences at their properties nationwide.

Howard County General Hospital and the Howard Hospital Foundation thank all of you who have volunteered, participated or sponsored Symphony of Lights over the past 21 years. Symphony of Lights festivities will be postponed until fall 2016 to allow for the redevelopment of Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods in Columbia, Md.

The Town of Lincoln is partnering with Realterm Energy through the Association of Municipalities of Ontariol/Local Area Services for the conversion of the Town's streetlights to new LED technology.

Digital Lumens, the market leader in intelligent LED lighting systems, today announced the appointment of Steve Ronneberg as Vice President of Worldwide Sales. Ronneberg joins Digital Lumens from Montreal-based Grass Valley, part of St. Louis-based Belden Inc., which delivers end-to-end television production and content distribution solutions to meet the mission-critical network infrastructure needs of broadcast markets.

Leyard Optoelectronic, a leading worldwide provider of LED display products and auxiliary systems announced its 3Q15 financial result. The company’s revenue rose to RMB 523 million (US $82.39 million), reflecting 68.12% year on year (YoY) growth, while its net profit skyrocketed 182.67% YoY to RMB 103 million (US $16.23 million). Meanwhile, Leyard's 41.24% consolidated gross margin is considered relatively high among the manufacturers within the LED industry.

Cree, a market leader in LED lighting, announced revenue of US $425.5 million for its first quarter of fiscal 2016, ended September 27, 2015. This represents a 1% decrease compared to revenue of $427.7 million reported for the first quarter of fiscal 2015, and an 11% increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. GAAP net loss for the first quarter was $23.6 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $11.1 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2015. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2016 was $22.1 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 of $29.6 million, or $0.24 per diluted share. 

Electric utilities company Xcel Energy will be installing LED streetlights across Wisconsin city Hudson in the U.S., according to a report by Star Observer.

Illumitex is pleased to announce that Indoor Harvest, design-builder of farms for indoor agriculture, has selected Illumitex as the preferred lighting provider for their systems, which are sold to innovative growers around the world. Together, Illumitex and Indoor Harvest will engage in R&D and coordinated business development activities to offer a complete hardware solution for the indoor farming industry, all at the bleeding edge of agricultural science.

Danish researchers have found blue and turquoise LED phototherapy are equally effective in reducing hyperbilirubinemia in infants, according to a recent entry in scientific journal Nature.