LED chipmaker Epistar November revenues decreased to NT$1.663 billion (US$55.161 million), down 2.8% sequentially but up 26.4% from 2009. Revenues from January through November grew 60.16% on year to NT$18.327 million.

According to a report from China Daily, the mainland's first company Visionox which manufactures OLED panels and Tsinghua University have jointly made up a research team to develop a proprietary technology to prolong the life time of OLED.

Monocrystal, a leading manufacturer of electronic materials for LED and solar industries, announced availability of the company’s innovative ultra-large 10-inch C-plane epi-ready sapphire substrate. Monocrystal’s 10-inch sapphire substrate vs 2-inch sapphire substrate Source: Monocrystal

It’s reported that Coretronic entered the supply chain for the second generation iPad, and would supply BLUs to Chimei Innolux (CMI) and LG Display. But Coretronic had declined to comment. In the end of 1Q11, the second generation iPad was expected to hit the market and it’s estimated that suppliers in the supply chain started to ship in 1Q11.

US-based sapphire wafer manufacturer Rubicon Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: RBCN) was enjoying sapphire wafers for the LED market price increasing and was paying more attention to own production capacity. In 3Q10, Rubicon's overall revenue grew by 30% sequentially to $20.5 million. Only in the LED market alone, revenue was $19.4 million, up 39% compared with $14 million in 2Q.

According to a recent statement from Philips’ subsidiary Assembleon, Philips has agree to sell 80 percent of Assembleon to independent private equity firm H2 Equity Partners.

Chinese conglomerate Jin Hui Holdings have developed a partnership with LED International joint venture Strongbase New Shenzhen for energy saving solutions. According to an energy management contract, the JV will complete the installation of LED energy saving light bulbs. Strongbase New Shenzhen is a JV between LED's wholly-owned subsidiary, LED International Energy Conservation Holdings, and So Hing Chung, Ip Po Kwong, Hui Shun and Yung Chiu Hong.

GE has developed a 9-watt GE Energy Smart® LED bulb to replace a 40-watt incandescent bulb in desk, bedside or hallway lamps, as the first standard incandescent shaped (A-line) LED bulb to earn an ENERGY STAR® rating.   The GE Energy Smart® 9-watt LED has a unique fin-like design, allowing it to direct light downward on the intended surface and all around, not just out the top of the lampshade.

In Taiwan market, industry sources thought that  LED backlit LCD monitors’ market penetration had increased rapidly,with the price gap over CCFL models narrowed and LCD monitor shipments in 2010 was going up to 1.3 million units. For example, the price gap between 22-inch LED and CCFL models has narrowed to NT$300, and about NT$100-150 for the 19-inch segment. So the source noted that  in Taiwan market in 2010  22-inch LED backlit widescreen LCD monitors would replace CCFL models and 19-inch widescreen products as the industry mainstream.

Wellypower Optronics reported NT$807 million (US$26.78 million) in November 2010 consolidated revenues, up 5.66% sequentially, in which Taiwan company's LED chip packaging and CCFL businesses contributed NT$429 million and NT$340 million, respectively, to represent 53.18% and 42.24% of November revenues.

Philips cooperates with the Rijkswaterstaat (RWS - the Dutch highway authority), contractors Gebroeders Van der Lee and consultants Spectrum, has installed LED lighting along a 7km-length of the A44, one of the busy highways of Amsterdam. The installation will be officially operated in February.

Long Island, Smithtown in America is replacing over 10 percent of its streetlights with LED.   According to Traffic Safety Director Mitchell Crowley, who is overseeing the project, the new lights, paid for with federal stimulus money through a grant of more than $1 million, will convert about 1,500 of the town's 11,600 streetlights to LED. So far, the town has installed about 200 light fixtures. The switch is expected to save about $225,000 a year or $2.2 million over the fixtures' 10-year life.

Philips Lumileds 's three design, development and manufacturing sites, including San Jose, Singapore and Penang have been recertified for ISO9001:2008 (General Quality System Standard) and TS16949:2009, (Automotive Quality System Standard) with zero non-conformities, following a comprehensive audit by TUV NORD.

Walsin Lihwa , supplier of electrical wires and cables from Taiwan, has officially starting its US$200 million LED-production project in its LED venture in Xian of mainland China, to tap into mainland China`s LED-lighting market. Reportedly, it will start tooling the venture by the end of 2010 and begin mass production in the first half of 2011.

Ultratech is building its global headquarters in Singapore to serve its Asian customer. It will invest up to US$250 million in its Singapore operations in the next five years. According to Arthur Zafiropaulo, chief executive officer of Ultratech, they plans to start manufacturing in the first quarter of 2011, and in the second half, to ramp up our high-brightness LED and our lithography products.

Royal Philips (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG) announced that it has acquired the privately owned NCW Holdings LTD (NCW). Headquartered in Hong Kong and with a manufacturing subsidiary in mainland China, NCW is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED, conventional entertainment lighting and lighting control solutions for global markets. No financial details on the transaction were disclosed.

25th DGKK Workshop in Aachen promotes technology transfer in Germany

Backlight unit (BLU) supplier Radiant Opto-Electronics consolidated revenues for November was NT$4.59 billion (US$151.64 million), up 1.1% sequentially and 45.01% on year, which made a new monthly record. The consolidated revenues for the first eleven month totaled NT$43.78 billion, up 30.12% on year.  

Taiwan Aeon Lighting Technology (ALT) has introduced its latest 2010 Q4 products on a huge product launch press conference held on December 1st in Taipei World Trade Center. ALT has announced the products, including new generation LED T8 tube; high-brightness LED candle light; one to many MR16 GX5.3 dimmable series; the latest small lens angle BR indoor lighting series on the conference.

According to an interview from South Korea, bell pepper farmers are using LED lights used as a substitute for sunlight to grow the plant. One famer in the interview pointed that they are desperately lacking sunlight because of the recent climate change. So they installed LED lights as a substitute.   For the past eight months this farm has been experimenting with using LED lights to grow bell peppers.

Reportedly, Dongguan Kingsun Optoelectronics Co. Ltd recently completed the retrofit of high-pressure sodium lamps and light fixtures with 98W LUXEON LED based luminaires from Philips Lumileds on Dongjiang Main Road in Dongguan City, China.

Taiwan LED chipmaker Epistar has teamed up with China Electronics Corp (CEC), one of China’s state-owned conglomerates, to set up a joint venture, aiming at tapping into an expected boom in demand for LEDs across the Strait.

Germany LED test and measurement company Instrument Systems revenues for 2010 rose by 47.1% to EUR 10.3 million, compared with EUR 7.0 million in 2009, which was a best result since the company was founded in 1986.

With the upcoming IT Month, it’s expected that LED-backlit TV's share in the Taiwan LCD TV market and LED-backlit monitors’ market share was to reach 20% in the end of 2010. Industry insider noted first-tier vendors' price-cuts would focus on specific models and that was to edge out other products which also the Taiwan vendors worrying about. So Taiwan vendors cut price on other models.

Osram Opto Semiconductors is aligned with Wavien Inc. to develop RGB LEDs for pocket projectors and picoprojectors small enough to integrate in cellphones. Osram's LED technology with the LED light recycling technology of Wavien, a licensor of technologies for enhancing lighting will be combined in the new LEDs.

South Korea is seeking the investment opportunities with Brunei Darussalam on the fields of Smart Grid and LED technology. A South Korean investment mission led by the Asean-Korea Centre and comprising 16 Korean company representatives and related experts have presented a meeting with the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB). According to the Director of ASEAN-Korea Centre, Mr Cho Jae-Hyun, as a part of their investment promotion programmes, their Asean-Korea Centre regularly dispatches investment missions to Asean countries.

Smallest Product in its Class Now Also the Only One Approved for Obstruction Lighting in Explosive Environments Dialight (LSE: DIA.L), an innovative global leader in LED lighting technology, announced that its smallest-in-class LED L-864/L-865 flashing dual (white/red) strobe has been certified for use in Class I, Division 2 hazardous locations, making it ideal for application in the oil and gas, petro-chemical and other potentially explosive environments.

SAFC Hitech intends to set up a new, dedicated facility in Kaohsiung of Taiwan to strengthen reinforce its commitment to the Asia-Pacific electronics markets. According to the member of the Sigma-Aldrich Group, the new facility is expected to be operational by late 2011. It will extend the company's ability to serve the Asian market, leveraging the knowledge and capabilities developed at its existing Kaohsiung facility.

Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is applying for U.S. Energy Star certification on the test of LED lighting products. According to Chuang Po-nien, deputy director of the ITRI's Center for Measurement Standards (CMS), the accreditation is expected to be achieved in the first quarter of 2011. The CMS is an organization authorized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs's Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection to conduct testing for products, including LED lighting, seeking national CNS certification.

On December 1,  China new flat-panel TV energy efficiency standards was carried out, which contained three level standards: level one for most efficient products; level two for products that meet the lowest requirements for being labeled energy-efficiency products; and level three for products meeting the minimum requirements for being allowed on the market. It’s estimated that would stimulate more price-cut promotion on products that did not meet the standard.