Goldman Sachs latest global LED industry report pointed out decreasing LED lighting products are driving LED lighting market growth. Goldman Sachs believes LED and general lighting demands have climbed up 70% and 40% respectively in 2013 and 2014. The financial institute upheld its previous outlook that LED lighting penetration rate will reach 70% by 2020, but indicated future lighting demand growths will be much faster than expected.

Guangdong LED industry market value grew at a Year-on-Year rate of 27.73% this year to RMB 125. 17 billion (US$ 20.45 billion), according to the “2Q13 Guangdong Province LED Industry Operation Monitoring Report” published by Guangdong Semiconductor Lighting Industry Joint Innovation Center (GSC) recently. This is the fourth consecutive year that the LED market value surpassed 20%. In addition, the region showed outstanding performance in exports, patents and other key indicators. The GSC report was officially released at the Guangdong Province’s LED industry forum recently. Highlights of the report are listed below:

Taiwanese LED wafer manufacturer Genesis Photonics has benefited from the drive in demands. Performance in the 3Q was outstanding and September revenue is expected to be a driver for lighting product line deliveries and maintain a high level.

As previously announced, Osram addresses structural challenges for its reporting segment Luminaires & Solutions business in line with the lighting market’s shift to semiconductor based products and solutions. In a first step the company will restructure its traditional lighting maintenance service business in North America, Sylvania Lighting Services (SLS), and focus on the growing demand for energy-efficient lighting upgrades and new value-added services. These measures will affect around 900 positions in total.

After a two year "Strategic Alliance," LED Canada, with this partnership, extends its ability to produce proprietary niche, Canadian LED Lighting designs and innovation, while ensuring product quality every step of the way. LED Canada is extending its LED Lighting technological leadership and manufacturing capabilities by joining forces with the proven track record and manufacturing excellence of the Shenzhen Optoelectronics Technology Company. From the beginning of the LED revolution, Shenzhen Optoelectronics Technology Company has been producing innovative high power and industry specific niche LED solutions that solve real world problems in sustainable and cost effective ways.

Arbrux Manufacturing, the leading designer and manufacturer of floating lake fountains, pond aerators and marine dock de-icers, has announced plans to develop an LED light for fountains, ponds and reflecting pools after the success of its submersible light kit, which launched earlier this year.

Renovation.com.my, Malaysian company for all resources on renovation, homemaking and fittings will be launching a new range of LED lighting services

Foxconn announced its future smartphone business strategy plan will be focused on diversifying its products to avoid “solely munching on Apple,” according to high ranking company official Chen Hui Long at the Zhengzhou factory’s third anniversary celebration.  Foxconn is extending its product range in its “eight monitor” plan to include smartphones, tablets, notebooks, all-in-one computers, portable TV, smart TV, electronic billboards, and large outdoor LED displays, said Chen. 

Applied Materials, Inc. and Tokyo Electron Limited announced a definitive agreement to create a global innovator in semiconductor and display manufacturing technology via an all-stock combination which values the new combined company at approximately US$29 billion (¥2.8 trillion). This combination, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, brings together complementary leading technologies and products to create an expanded set of capabilities in precision materials engineering and patterning that are strategically important for customers.

The Satechi Touch USB LED Lamp turns nearly any empty bottle into a table lamp. Rather than throw away empty bottles, simply place the lamp into the opening of a bottle, plug the lamp into a USB port, and touch the silver top of the lamp for an instant environmentally-friendly desk lamp.

One problem in developing more efficient organic LED light bulbs and displays for TVs and phones is that much of the light is polarized in one direction and thus trapped within the LED. University of Utah physicists believe they have solved the problem by creating a new organic molecule that is shaped like rotelle – wagon-wheel pasta – rather than spaghetti.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced that it has strengthened its presence in Asia by establishing Singapore as its Global Headquarters for Standard Products, Global Headquarters for Operations, and ASEAN Headquarters for Sales & Marketing. This move brings NXP closer to its growing number of Asian customers, and establishes a base for further growth in the region.

Investigators at University of California, Santa Barbara, led by material scientists Kristin Denault and Michael Cantore, have devised an alternative means of creating high-power white light by using a different excitation source -- a laser diode in combination with inorganic phosphors, instead of the traditional LEDs.

Collaboration will support the Bay Area Next Generation Street Light Initiative, a region-wide project designed to facilitate the upgrade of 200,000+ municipal streetlights to advanced solid-state lighting technology in the San Francisco Bay Area.

GE Lighting recently published in a blog entry Gary Allen, Principal Engineer and Physicist at GE Lighting’s views on future LED lighting trends. Though the upfront costs are currently high, the future of LED light bulbs is bright. Gary Allen of GE Lighting notes the trend of falling costs per lumen—and what that means for the accessibility of the LED bulb.

Fortified Bicycle Alliance founded by 10 MIT students recently launched a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter for their latest anti-theft LED bike lights Aviator Front Light and Afterburner Rear Light. The new lights are available in four different lumen models of 30, 60,150 and 300 lumens.

A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture blog entry introduces Purdue University's research resulgs on LED grow lights. Banks of LED illuminate plants in greenhouses. Purdue University researchers discovered that LEDs can provide a more beneficial light spectrum to greenhouse plants than conventional lighting while using 75 percent less electricity. 

Every year, we are reminded of the hidden beauty that lies beneath the surface of nature's foliage with the coming of fall and changing color of leaves. SoLux® natural daylight lamps reveal the true colors and beauty in painting by Van Gogh, Poplars in Autumn, and others by Monet, Rembrandt, and Picasso.

At ISAL 2013 from 24t to 25 September in Darmstadt, OSRAM presents its latest innovations in automotive lighting. ISAL, the International Symposium on Automotive Lighting, is one of the most important and recognized symposia on automotive lighting in the world.

LEDforum 2013 Taipei will be hosted by LEDinside on October 16th-17th, 2013. Aside from inviting International and local Taiwanese big named manufacturers to the conference, China LED wafer manufacturer San’an and LED packaging manufacturer MLS Lighting will also be in attendance. With the recent rise in Chinese LED companies becoming supply chains, after securing its top position in the Chinese market, San’an has aggressively sought out partnership with Taiwanese and downstream manufacturers branching out its domain. MLC likewise has obtained a fair portion of market shares through aggressive price competition. During the conference, San’an will discuss the technology development of the LED wafer and MLS Lighting will focus on commercial lighting. This will be the first time for both manufacturers to participate in LEDforum.

San'an Optoelectronics announced on September 25th that the company's wholly owned subsidiary Suncore Photovoltaic Technology Co. drew up an equity fund of RMB$200 million to establish a factory in Xiamen.

Intematix Corp., a leading manufacturer of phosphor solutions for LED lighting, announced that patents covering its green and yellow GAL® phosphor products and certain LuAG phosphors have been issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patent numbers 8,529,791 and 8,475,683 regarding green and yellow emitting, garnet-based phosphors used in lighting and display applications were issued on September 10, 2013 and July 2, 2013, respectively. Intematix GAL phosphors enable exceptional performance for LED lighting compared to other options in these color ranges.

The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free trade Zone to be launched at the end of this month will be lifting a 13 year ban on game console sales in the zone that is expected to benefit IR LED manufacturers. Internet restrictions will also be lifted within the zone. The zone approved in August by the Chinese government was established to attract foreign investments.

Samsung announced it will be launching a bendable OLED smartphone in Oct., 2013, according to reports by Verge, Gizmodo, BBC and others. The flexible OLED screens will be introduced into the smartphone model GALAXY Note 3, and only a limited number will be sold. As the first OLED smartphone to enter the market, it is expected to catalyze OLEDs commercial applications.

Ian Williams, Linear Applications Engineer at Texas Instruments tackles printed circuit board (PCB) solder flux issues that affect circuit functionality in a recent blog entry. When troubleshooting non-functional or poorly performing circuits, engineers often run simulations or other analyses that consider the circuit at the schematic level. If these methods fail to resolve the issue, even the best engineer might be left feeling stumped, frustrated, or confused. I’ve felt this pain myself. To prevent you from reaching a similar dead end, I present to you one simple, but crucial, tip: keep it clean!

3M introduced one of the first LED A19 lamps approved for enclosed fixtures in commercial applications. 3M manufactures the LED A19 lamps in the U.S. with U.S. and globally sourced components.

Cree Inc. introduces the new XLamp® XQ-E LED family enabling lighting manufacturers to significantly reduce the size and total cost of their LED luminaires without sacrificing light output, efficacy or reliability. The new game-changing LED packs the lighting-class performance of the XP-E2 into a package that is 78 % smaller. The XQ-E LED family opens up new design possibilities for a wide spectrum of lighting applications such as portable, indoor directional, architectural and vehicle lighting.

New Intertek-certified in-house LED light lab guarantees that LEDs from Smart Vision Lights comply with new international photobiological damage standards, protecting customers from possible fines and loss of European CE, North American UL, and Asian safety marks for sales across global markets.

LED Strip Lights Co. has responded to GE Lighting’s new LED light bulb, which combines their existing brand with that of LEDs.

Global Security Experts is excited to announce its latest revolutionary security product: the new STARTLE high-intensity LED security light. The new security innovation wards off even the most determined criminals and protects homes or business with the brightest and most intimidating outdoor motion sensor security light manufactured.