New rumors regarding limited usage of sapphire cover glass usage in iPhone 6 have emerged in Taiwan. According to a Chinese-language Liberty Times report only one out of 10 of Apple's new iPhone 6 will be using the sapphire cover glass.

Lite-On recently announced donating NT $ 5 million (US $170,000) to the gas-explosion devastated Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan.

CIRCADIAN®, the global leader in managing 24/7 workforce productivity, health and safety in businesses that operate around the clock, announced today that it has acquired a controlling stake in ZircLight Inc. with a $2.5 million Series A investment led by ams AG, a leading designer and manufacturer of sensor and analog solutions including sensor-integrated intelligent managers that are enabling the next generation of smart lighting systems.

The latest round of the Department of Energy (DOE) energy standards for General Service Fluorescent Lamp Standard (GSFL) took effect on July 14, 2014, impacting the production of the 700 series T8 fluorescent lamps. These inefficient 700 series T8 lamps cannot be manufactured due to not meeting the efficacy standards. Fortunately the development team at Philips came up with an improved design for the 700 series lamps (designated with “HL” or high lumens in the ordering code)

LeDiamond (LED package manufacturer) announced that its Tesla filament has successfully completed the requirements of the rigorous 6000 hour lumen maintenance test (LM-80) by an international third-party laboratory organization (BACL). It’s a big breakthrough for LeDiamond on its LED filament development.

The U.S. city of Detroit has completed retrofitting 14,000 LED streetlights in three zip codes, according to a report by MLive.

Vishay Semiconductor, Heilbronn, has acquired an MOCVD system from AIXTRON to expand its infrared LED production capacities. The company aims to substantially extend its product portfolio in this area. The system was delivered to Vishay at the end of March.

Xicato continued to expand its sales team and announced the addition of LED lighting specialists Charles Scheibler and Nick Gibbs to its sales team. Charles is based in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and will serve Xicato’s customer base throughout the mid-west. Nick is based in the United Kingdom and will serve customers in the UK and Nordic region.

Apple fans out there might be disappointed with latest news this week from LEDinside analysts that the durable sapphire glass cover will only be released in small volumes for the iPhone 6. Top lighting manufacturer Osram also released its financial results for 3Q14 this week, and in a move of pushing further restructures, the organization has announced plans of slashing 7,800 jobs. MOCVD equipment makers including Veeco and AIXTRON have also announced more profitable businesses, such as LED will become their major focus in the future. 

Governments around the globe have welcomed LED streetlights for its energy saving features and promising cost effectiveness, but a government lighting project in Vadodara, India has recently sparked heated political debate.

Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (“INCJ”), Japan Display Inc. (“JDI”), Sony Corporation (“Sony”), and Panasonic Corporation (“Panasonic”) announced hat they have executed a definitive agreement to establish a new company, JOLED Inc. (“JOLED”), to integrate Sony and Panasonic’s R&D functions for organic light-emitting diode (“OLED”) display panels. Through this collaboration, the companies aim to accelerate the development and early commercialization of OLED display panels. JOLED is scheduled to be launched in January 2015, subject to receipt of any necessary approvals.

Veeco Instruments announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. Veeco reports its results on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) basis, and also provides results excluding certain items. Please refer to the attached table for details of the reconciliation between GAAP operating results and Non-GAAP operating results.

In this case study, the 200W LED flood represents the median option in terms of initial price, with the lowest overall cost of ownership.With a Color Rendering Index of 80 (compared to the average CRI 30 from HID technology) the 5,000K LED floods transmit a daylight white quality of illumination.

New research from npower small business has revealed just how important lighting is for businesses such as pubs and restaurants looking to attract love-struck customers. Eighty-eight percent of Brits said lighting in venues such as pubs or restaurants would affect how much they enjoy a date or romantic meal and 71 percent said lighting is an important consideration when picking a venue for a date; rating above other factors such as price (66 percent) and music (53 percent).

Universal Display Corporation, enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED® technology and materials, today announced that it has broadened its Philips relationship to a commercial material supply agreement. With this, Universal Display will extend its supply agreement from the evaluation phase, to provide Philips with its proprietary PHOLED™ phosphorescent OLED materials and technology for use in its commercial OLED lighting products.

Veeco Instruments (Veeco) announced today that Xiamen Changelight Co. (Changelight) has selected the Company as its primary equipment provider as it enters the market to produce gallium nitride (GaN) based blue/green high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs) for display and general lighting applications.

Philips Lumec Custom Products Designer Jean-François Duquette explores how lights can enhance interactive models and displays in this blog entry.

Major LED EPI-wafer and chip manufacturer Epistar’s revenue was up 30 percent to NT $ 8.13 billion (US $270 million) during second quarter of 2014. Growing backlight and lighting demands have benefited the company, but financial results for first half of 2014 might still be negative, due to huge losses incurred during first quarter, according to a Money DJ report. Third quarter 2014 financial results will be cushioned by the arrival of the peak season, and is estimated to assist the company in maintaining high profits throughout the season. 

To expand its presence in the international market, Leyard Optoelectronic (Leyard) recently announced scaling up financing two subsidiaries to speed up business developments and management.

Chinese PV manufacturer EGing Photovoltaic Technology (EGing PV) recently announced subsidiary Changzhou EGing PV’s sapphire ingot growth technology has matured.

Taiwanese LED lighting manufacturer Lite-On Technology has joined the ranks of two other Taiwanese LED manufacturers’ in selling its 3,900 shares in Epistar, according to a UDN report.

Osram stated in its recent 3Q14 financial earnings press release intentions of implementing various additional measures to further improve the competitiveness of its operating units. The associated capacity adjustments of about 7,800 positions worldwide over the next three fiscal years. A Reuter’s report noted 1,700 positions in Germany would be affected, while the remaining 6,100 job cuts will be directed towards other global jobs. Depending on the implementation speed of the measures and the restructuring costs’ effect on earnings, the reported EBITA margin could be below the targeted 8 percent EBITA margin in the fiscal year 2015. Below is Osram's financial report for 3Q14.

The Ayshire Council located in Scotland, UK has recently approved a streetlight retrofit plan budget of £4.25 million (US $7.20 million) to replace the 13,500 streetlights in North Ayshire to LED within two years, according to an Irvine Times report.

Philips is recalling about 7,500 units of Lightolier Glass Accessory (AF4SY) due to shatter hazards that may cause injury to consumers.

North American lighting leader OSRAM SYLVANIA announced an expanded LED product portfolio that will appear in Lowe's stores and includes seven new OSRAM and SYLVANIA ULTRA brand A-line LED products, the most commonly used type of light bulbs in households.

AIXTRON, a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, today announced revenues of EUR 46.2 million (US $62.06 million) for the second quarter of 2014, 5 percent higher sequentially (Q1/2014: EUR 43.9 million) and 2 percent higher compared to one year ago (Q2/2013: EUR 45.3 million). Q2/2014 EBIT at EUR -10.6 million (Q2/2013; EUR -9.8 million) and net result at EUR -11.6 million (Q2/2013: EUR -11.8 million) were both also broadly unchanged year-on-year.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s CALiPER program has released an Application Summary Report that focuses on the photometric performance of 27 LED MR16 lamps. Entitled Application Summary Report 22: LED MR16 Lamps, it describes initial performance based on light output, efficacy, distribution, color quality, electrical characteristics, and form factor, with comparisons to a selection of benchmark halogen MR16s and ENERGY STAR® qualification thresholds.

cintelliq limited is pleased to announce the release of their latest market report “OLED Lighting: Products, prices, capacity costs and forecasts 2014 - 2023”. According to cintelliq OLED lighting is expected to become a strong competitor to LED lighting by 2016 one year earlier than previously thought. OLED lighting may have had a gentle start but it is now firmly gaining market traction as an increasing number of OLED panels and luminaires reach the market – with the efficacy and lifetimes of current OLED panels at a performance level to last more than ten years under normal operating conditions they are rapidly becoming an alternative to LED lighting. 

LG CNS, a subsidiary of LG, has recently developed a smart LED lighting solution particularly for factory facility applications, according to a report from The Korea Times.

Pueblo City Council, a city located in Colorado, U.S., is planning to acquire a loan of US $4.2 million in Certificates of Participation (COPs) to replace 8,725 high-pressure sodium streetlights with LED lights.