It's reported that AU Optronics (AUO) will roll out LED TV panels in small volume this year, chiefly in the 40-inch class, but the company is still evaluating whether the TV segment will adopt a strategy as aggressive the one for notebooks as far as LED backlighting is concerned, according to Yong-Hong Lu, AUO's vice president for Global Supply Chain Management.

Despite producing a 50lm output with all LEDs illuminated, the SEPW devices are not power hungry, using just 100lm/W (at 20mA) with all LEDs illuminated.

Citizen Holdings Co., a Japanese maker of watches and industrial machinery, plans to increase the number of research workers dedicated to light-emitting diodes as the devices replace incandescent bulbs in homes and offices. The company will allocate almost half its research employees of about 200 to LED development as soon as possible, rising from 10 percent now, Mitsuyuki Kanamori, who was appointed president of Tokyo-based Citizen on April 1, said in a Bloomberg Television interview broadcast today.

To be held in Tokyo on October 16-17, the conference will center on the worldwide market for high-brightness LEDs. 

Springtime doesn't just bring flowers, short shorts and silly Red Sox pranks. No, it also brings new information on HDTVs that will be released throughout the year. Someone at BGR got a hold of Sony's HDTV roadmap for its LCD lineup and it looks like the XBR6, XBR7 and XBR8 will getting a little more than a new coat of paint, the XBR8 especially.

More contrast all round, as Bravia televisions get major boostIn a move that could have a major impact on the display industry, a leaked report discovered on Monday suggests that Sony will offer LED-backlit screens in its high-end Bravia line of HD TVs this autumn.According to the Boy Genius Report, Sony's not-so-secret roadmap includes an LED-backlit display on its Bravia XBR line, as well as support for DLNA media sharing and online program guides, all of which will appear in the as-yet announced XBR7.More contrasty

The Hutchinson City Council will discuss during a study session today whether to place a moratorium on LED signs in Hutchinson.Hutchinson's current sign code does not address LED signs, which are becoming a trend. However, staff and a consultant are working on a new code that will, among other things, regulate LED signs specifically. The new code should be ready by October.

A cycling safety jacket with embedded light-emitting diodes (LED) which was tested around London has won a prestigious James Dyson international design award at an event in New York.UK-based designer Michael Chen developed the Reactiv cycle jacket with LEDs that illuminate and change colour in response to the cyclists behaviour, turning red when brakes are applied, flashing green with acceleration and lighting up in amber to indicate a turn.

The LED Edge Lit Acrylic Point of Sale Sign from Poly Optics Australia is used for sales promotions and can be customised with colour changing signs and custom made company logos or brand. This lighting system uses microprocessor controlled LED’s to provide superior messages when compared to traditional signage.The Step and Aisle lighting systems from Poly Optics Australia turns ordinary stairs into amazing lighting features. These fibre optic strips come in a number of diameters and colours.

Delta Electronics, Inc. announced it has developed an advanced, energy-saving High Brightness 5W/9W/12W LED Lamp, and will demonstrate the new lamp at the Light+Building 2008 exhibition in Frankfurt, April 06-11. The LED lamp is 100% compatible with current sockets (E27) and is similar in appearance to compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) of the same wattage. The lamp is easily installed and readily replaces CFL and incandescent lamps.

Oxford Instruments said it has acquired Technologies and Devices International Inc., which develops hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) technology and processes used to manufacture high-brightness light-emitting diode (LEDs), power ICs and other products. TDI also manufactures compound semiconductors based on gallium nitride and other "III-nitride" materials.The deal comes three months after the death of TDI founder Vladimir Dmitriev, who suffered a heart attack at age 52 in January, shortly after receiving a U.S. patent for HVPE technology.

Intersil Corporation, a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog semiconductors, today announced the release of the ISL78100, a High Power Integrated LED Driver designed for display backlighting and body electronics applications. The ISL78100 is designed specifically to withstand harsh automotive environments.

Nano-Layer Deposition Tool and Processes Will Support Advanced Development for HB-LEDs at one of the world's foremost manufacturers.

Nu Horizons Electronics Corp., a leading global distributor of advanced technology semiconductor, display, illumination, power and system solutions; today announced the availability of the ULE2210A LED Universal Light Engine(TM) platform from OptoElectronix, Inc., a leading general illumination and custom LED product supplier. Taking a giant step towards providing a bridge from the LED supplier to the lighting fixture designer, OptoElectronix is now manufacturing the first in a series of general illumination products to be based on their 40mm circular light platform.

A range of LED modules (LEDules2), from CML Innovative Technologies (CML- IT), is now available with an online 'designer's pack' including application notes and technical data sheets on how to incorporate drivers, heatsinking etc. The 'designer's pack' also includes full technical sales information and data sheets.

Delta Electronics announced it has developed an advanced, energy-saving High Brightness 5W/9W/12W LED Lamp, and will demonstrate the new lamp at the Light+Building 2008 exhibition in Frankfurt, April 06-11.

Avago Technologies  announced on April,9 its first 1-Watt cool white Moonstone™ power LED emitter for use in a variety of street lamps, portable, task, backlighting, and decorative lighting applications. Avago’s ASMT-MW09 LED features a low profile design and delivers high flux output of up to 95 lumens (lm) at 350mA drive current.

BridgeLux has secured a hefty $40 million round to use for product development and expansion, despite facing ongoing patent litigation from giant LED maker Cree. BridgeLux, like Cree, makes the chip that is the light-emitting part of LEDs, which it then sells to other firms. The company's chips are predominantly in electronics and automotive applications, but are also being delivered for use in general lighting for homes and businesses.

Bridgelux Inc., a supplier of LED technology for solid-state lighting founded in 2002, has announced that is it has raised $30 million in private equity investment and approximately $10 million of lines of credit with banks. The financing round was led by VentureTech Alliance, while existing investors DCM, El Dorado Ventures, VantagePoint, Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital and Harris & Harris Group participated with follow-on investments.

Delta Electronics, Inc. announced it has developed an advanced, energy-saving High Brightness 5W/9W/12W LED Lamp, and will demonstrate the new lamp at the Light+Building 2008 exhibition in Frankfurt, April 06-11. The LED lamp is 100% compatible with current sockets (E27) and is similar in appearance to compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) of the same wattage. The lamp is easily installed and readily replaces CFL and incandescent lamps.

Jesco LED has released its new DL-Flex-Up series, a flexible 3/8" X 1/8" X 12" PCB with high output, 110 degree or 65 degree LEDs in three color temperatures. The colors available include 3000K, 4100K, and 6000K white with an outstanding evenness of distribution. The strips are modular with flat mini-plugs eliminating in-field soldering, and special controllers that provide the designer the means to install these mini-light sources in the tightest locations.

Energomera Corporation of Russia, owner of sapphire substrate manufacturer Monocrystal, has acquired Atlas PCF of Belgorodskaya obl, Russia. Like Monocrystal, Atlas also manufactures sapphire substrates for HB-LED and RFIC applications. Vladimir Polyakov, president and chairman of Energomera said, "The acquisition of Atlas gives rise to the largest synthetic sapphire crystal growing and processing company in the world in terms of production capacity. This is a part of our strategy to develop stronger presence in compound semiconductor market."

On April 4, 2008, Avago Technologies today announced its first 1-Watt (1W) high power Moonstone(TM) LED emitter for use in a variety of architectural, garden and decorative lighting applications. Available in one of the industry's thinnest packages, Avago's ASMT-Mx00 is an energy efficient LED emitter that's encapsulated in a heat and UV resistant silicone compound for high reliability and long life.

Sim2 Multimedia and Dolby unveiled here Monday evening one of the first prototype LCD TVs to employ LED backlighting driven by Dolby Labs' set of High Dynamic Range technologies for local dimming control.Representatives from Sim2 USA and parent Sim2 Multimedia present the first prototype of a Sim2 LED-back-lit LCD TV using Dolby's High Dynamic Range (HDR) local dimming technology to produce deep black levels and high brightness. From right: Sim2 USA's Giorgio Corazza and Charlie Boornazian and Sim2 Multimedia's Domenico Toffoli and Marco Rampin.

Recently, Dolby and SIM2 shew off their LED Dynamic Backlight technology, which gives a TV extreme contrast. The 46-inch prototype shown in New York was an LCD panel with an LED backlight instead of a regular (CCFL) one. In fact, the set uses 1,838 LEDs to illuminate the picture, each individually controlled and able to dim in areas so black areas stay black (instead of dark gray, like on most other LCDs).

Multimode charge pump features low-noise constant-frequency operation, automatically optimising efficiency based on the voltages across the LED current sources.The LTC3220/-1 is an inductorless low-noise high-efficiency LED driver for cellphone displays and other programmable lighting applications. The Linear Technology IC provides 18 individually configurable LED current sources for complete flexibility in programming multiple displays. The display currents are set via a precision internal current reference.

Taiwan-based maker of backlight units (BLUs) for use in small- to medium-size panels, Shianyih Electronics, expects to increase its shipments of LED BLUs from 1.3 billion units in 2006 to 1.51 billion units in 2008, and the company has already received orders of LED BLUs for use in 2.5- and 3.5-inch backlights for car mirror applications this year.

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) and SIM2 Multimedia are proud to showcase a new prototype high-dynamic-range (HDR)–enabled LCD flat-screen display using Dolby’s new light emitting diodes (LED) local dimming technology. Dolby’s HDR technologies utilize the capabilities of LED-based backlight units (BLUs) to provide outstanding contrast combined with crisp brightness to deliver picture quality that matches real-world visual perception of depth, detail, and color.

LED International Holdings Ltd. reported a much lower first-half pretax profit, as the company did not take up certain 'high-margin' orders due to the consolidation and moving of its key production plants in Shenzhen, China.The LED screen maker posted a pretax profit of about HK$2.62 million for the six months to Dec. 31, 2007, compared with about HK$13.68 million in 2006, on revenues of about HK$46.61 million, down from HK$55.48 million.

LUXEON power LEDs from Philips Lumileds are poised to rapidly increase their presence in front-of-vehicle applications with expected European Union regulations mandating daytime running lamps (DRLs) on new cars beginning in 2011. One of the major factors driving LUXEON use will be the dramatic reduction in DRL power consumption (Watts), (on the order of 80%), made possible by energy-efficient LUXEON technology.