The first quarter just ended and the continuously spreading coronavirus (COVID-19) has turned the world upside down in the first three month of 2020. Many companies across the world have reported their measures in response the impacts brought by the epidemic. LEDinside has collected industry information announced by worldwide companies to keep our readers updated. Signify Suspend Financial Outlook for FY2020, Increases 3% Product Price and Asks Employees to Cut 20% Wage The world’s largest lighting company Signify has taken several actions to cope with C...

At CES 2020, Taiwan-based laptop manufacturer MSI introduced its notebook product adopting Mini LED backlit display, Creator 17. The Mini LED laptop with 4K UHD resolution will be launched on April 15, 2020 at US$ 1799. Creator 17 is a 17.3 inch laptop with Mini LED backlit display, achieving a resolution of 4K and a brightness of 1,000 nits based on the 240 dimming zones. With the launch of the Mini LED laptop, many LED manufacturers are looking forward to a booming market for the display technology. (Image: MSI) Consumer products adoptin...

Cree announced preliminary results for its third quarter of fiscal 2020 ended March 29, 2020 and provided a business update in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a greater impact than originally anticipated when the company provided the third quarter outlook on January 29, 2020. Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 is expected to be approximately US$216 million, compared to US$274 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and US$240 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. The Company expects GAAP net loss for the third quarter of fiscal 20...

US Lighting Group announced it is developing a new UV LED Plug-n-Play 4-foot, commercial bulb which can be used for surface sterilization to help combat viral pathogens like COVID-19. Paul Spivak, CEO of the US Lighting Group, currently holds two patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for UV LED Light Projection Method and Apparatus using ultraviolet and LED lighting technology. (Image: Pixabay) "We are ecstatic to announce that we have engineered the latest Plug-n-Play 4-foot, commercial replacement bulb with...

LightFair 2020, originally taking place during May 3-7, 2020 and previously postponed, is now canceled due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to the announcement of International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Market The organizers noted that they have received feedback from IALD, IES, exhibitors and attendees that a trade show and conference in 2020 during the available summer dates is not feasible. As a result, the event will return in 2021 in New York and the next year in Las Veg...

Seoul Viosys and Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (SETi) announced that that they have succeed in achieving 99.9% sterilization of coronavirus (COVID-19) in 30 seconds. Tests were conducted with the research group of Korea University by using a compound semiconductor Violeds technology that is being mass-produced. As COVID-19 spread throughout the world, SETi and Seoul Viosys devoted resources to show how Violeds technology can directly sterilize the virus. The goal has always been to provide technology for a cleaner world, and this includes minimizing the...

Since last year, manufacturers of LEDs, panels, and systems across the globe have displayed Micro LED-related products at major international exhibitions. Applications include automotive and indoor fine-pitch displays. This has kick started a Micro LED trend across the world. At the beginning of this year, leading industry players including Taiwan’s ITRI, Japan’s Sony, and Korea’s Samsung, LG, and Seoul Semiconductor have all presented the latest Micro LED technology at CES 2020. As one of the major focuses in the display industry, Mi...

Cree Lighting announced that it will collaborate with lighting control expert Lutron Electronics to introduce a variety of new connected lighting products to the market. Based on the partnership, Cree Lighting’s indoor and outdoor fixtures are connected with Lutron wired and wireless digital fixture control technologies. (Image: Cree Lighting) The connected lighting portfolio includes the integration of Cree Lighting’s architectural and outdoor lighting series with Lutron’s wireless and digital LED drivers, as well as the ZR Series LED troffers...

Chinese LED companies including chip makers Sanan Optoelectronics and HC Semitek and LED packager MLS reported that they have received subsidies from the government. (Image: Pixabay) Sanan Semiconductor, the subsidiary of Sanan Optoelectronics announced that it has received RMB 200 million (US$28.15 million) from local government based on the agreement of investment collaboration. The company was just granted RMB 143 million (US$ 20.13 million) last week for equipment purchase. The government of Yiwu, Zhejiang is issuing two subsidies to the second...

Samsung Display announced that it will stop LCD panel production by the end of this year and turns its business to OLED and other display technology. Samsung Display currently has LCD production lines in China and South Korea and is planning to turn one of its LCD facilities in South Korea into quantum dot screen production, reported Reuters. As for the facilities in China, Samsung has not yet decided the further operation. The display industry has been gone through a tough time due to oversupply and price competition. LG Display announced earlier that i...

Affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide businesses continue to update their measures and business outlook in the past weeks. Veeco, who announced withdrawal of its 1Q20 business guidance, provided business update; while LED maker Lumileds reported price increase due to COVID-19. (Image: Pixabay) MOCVD equipment provider Veeco provided a business update related to COVID-19 and a preliminary estimate of first quarter 2020 revenue. The company withdrew its original guidance for the first quarter of 2020 ending March 31, 2020 due to the possible...

The Global LED Summit, focusing on the LED video wall market, will be held in London on May 13, 2020, during London Digital Signage Week from May 11-15. The Global LED Summit invites experts of the industry to share their insights of LED video walls, covering technology progresses, application techniques and the current trends of the market. The event will gather industry professionals and researchers focusing of the technology and industry to address on the opportunities of LED video wall applications in the West Europe market. As the display technology ...

Applied Optoelectronics, an optical products manufacturer, announced the release of a high power and narrow linewidth laser specifically designed for LiDAR applications, particularly for automotive use. Current automotive LIDAR systems are based on near infrared lasers, however these lasers are not eye safe and therefore are limited in terms of emitted power. This power limitation, in turn, restricts the effective sensing range of the LIDAR system. AOI’s laser operates at longer wavelengths near 1550-nm where eye-safe emission limits are much higher and therefore...

Plessey, the UK-based Micro LED display developer focusing on AR/MR display application, announced that it is collaborating with Facebook, providing its technology to support Facebook building prototype and develop new technologies for potential use in the AR/VR space. (Image: Plessey) Plessey has been focusing on Micro LED-based AR display technology and it was rumored that Apple had plan to acquire Plessey with its interest in AR smart glasses. However, now Plessey teams up with Facebook and will license its technology to the social media giant for cr...

To address the wafer size mismatch and to tackle the yield challenge in Micro LED production, ALLOS has applied its unique strain-engineering to show outstanding uniformity and reproducibility for 200 mm GaN-on-Si epiwafers. Additionally the company reports about its success on the roadmap to 300 mm. Yield plays a crucial role to make Micro LED displays successful. It has a direct impact on the manufacturing complexity and cost. To enable the needed cost reductions, large wafer diameters are essential. This is particularly true for Micro LED applications in which...

Canadian automotive component supplier Magna updated its current actions responding COVID-19. The company reported withdrawal of its business outlook for 2020 and mentioned that it is helping to source and produce health care supplies and equipment to combat the coronavirus epidemic. Magna noted that a number of its OEM customers, particularly in North America and Europe, have initiated production downtime or have reduced production rates. It is uncertain whether OEMs will extend production downtime or further lower production rates as circumstances evolve. While spe...

A team with researchers at Seoul Viosys and University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) published a study focuses on features of Micro LEDs as their size goes smaller at 1 to 10 μm. External quantum efficiency (EQE) of Micro LEDs usually reduces when Micro LEDs get smaller, which becomes an issue for Micro LED technology builders. To further understand the relation between EQE and chip size, a research team of Seoul Viosys and UCSB focus on Micro LEDs down to 1 μm to compare the EQE trend for blue and green InGaN Micro LE...

Kyocera Corporation announced that it entered into a share transfer agreement with NEC Corporation on March 25, 2020 to acquire all of NEC's shares in Showa Optronics Co (SOC), an optical components manufacture. With the transfer agreement, Kyocera will own 93.53% of SOC's shares and operate the company as its subsidiary on June 1, 2020, under the name Kyocera Showa Optronic. Kyocera's optical components business has engaged in producing diversified lenses in small to large diameters from a wide variety of materials. The products have been used in var...

The spreading coronavirus epidemic did not stop industry players from progressing advanced technology development. Chinese companies recently reported new orders and subsidies for equipment to push Micro LED technology development. (Image: LEDinside) The biggest LED wafer and chip producer Sanan Optoelectronic reported that its subsidiary Sanan Semiconductor has received subsidies from the Quanzhou government in March for purchasing equipment. The amount of the subsidies was RMB 143 million (US$ 20.16 million). Sanan Semiconductor has formed partnership with...

More companies published their response to the impacts resulted by coronavirus pandemic. Signify announced several measures of the company including suspending its fiscal 2020 outlook postponing Capital Market Day. Infineon Technologies reported withdrawal of its business outlook of fiscal 2020. (Image: Pixabay) Signify said that it has taken considerable action focused on the health and safety of its employees, on customer engagement and supply chain continuity and on free cash flow generation and operating expenses. The company also decided to suspend its financial outlook...

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is threatening all over the globe with continuously surging cases in nearly every countries. In order to reduce the risks of infection, disinfecting applications utilizing UVC radiant have attracted attentions in both the medical and consumer market. UV light solution providers across the world are offering their expertise to help medical institutions eliminating bacteria and viruses to prevent healthcare-associated infections. Bolb, the U.S.-based UV LED company, provided their UVC LED products to decontaminate infectious disease...

AR applications and devices are one of the major focuses of Apple at the moment. The company has shown its interests in AR technology development and considered that AR wearable glasses may replace smartphones in the near future. Rumors about Apple to reveal its AR smart glasses soon have been going on as well. Apple launched the new iPad Pro adopting LiDAR Scanner and releases the latest ARKit 3.5 which enables app developers to take advantage of the new LiDAR Scanner to capture 3D features of the surrounding environment. ARKit 3.5 also includes instant A...

Wearable devices with AR/VR applications are regarded as the next generation consumer electronics that might replace smartphones. Currently, the technology is more applied in industrial or professional areas as the devices are still relatively bulky and expensive as they require complex integration of cameras, image processing solutions, power and more. To tackle the issue, Nvidia developed a new technique for gaze tracking solution, the fundamental technology for VR wearable devices as agreed by many leading industry players, reported VentureBeat. Researchers at Nvidia used...

Signify launched the upgraded portfolio of compact Philips Xitanium Sensor Ready Xtreme LED drivers with the recently granted D4i certification for wider adoption of IoT connectivity in lighting and aid smart city or building projects. (Image: Signify) By Q2 2020, Signify will also upgrade the complete non-isolated Philips Xitanium Dimmable Sensor Ready drivers portfolio for indoor applications to the new D4i standard, to facilitate the rapid market adoption of energy-saving technologies and drive standardization. Launched by the Digital Illumination Inter...

LEDVANCE will close its Eastern Distribution Center in Pennsylvania, USA, according to a letter sent to its customers by Matt McCarron, Vice President of US and Canada Sales at LEDVANCE, reported lightED. (Image: LEDVANCE) The letter noted that LEDVANCE will move Eastern Distribution Center located in Bethlehem Pennsylvania into its facility in Kentuchy given the close proximity of these two sites. The company will cease operations of the Eastern Distribution Center by July 1, 2020. Impact of the world sweeping coronavi...

Sensor solution supplier AMS updated the progress of its acquisition of Osram and reported its financial expectations for the first quarter of 2020 after assessing the COVID-19 situation. (Image: AMS) After AMS started its takeover process for Osram since December 2019 and reported further update that the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020. The Austrian sensor maker is processing its EUR 1.65 billion (US$1.78 billion) rights issues for the takeover and noted that they only require “the receipt of the required regulatory approvals&rd...

NEC and Sharp announced that they will combine NEC Display Solutions (NDS) with Sharp to create a joint venture to leverage their strengths to advance display technology development. Sharp will obtain over 66% share of NDS with JPY 9.24 billion (US$ 82.96 million). The transfer is scheduled to be concluded on July 1st, 2020 and the joint venture will continue to provide NEC branded products. Hisatsugu Nakatani, President, NEC Display Solutions, said, "This joint venture between Sharp and NEC Display Solutions will bring even greater valu...

Austria-based lighting company Zumtobel announced on March 23 2020 that due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Executive Board of the company is expecting a negative impact on the revenue and earnings development. Following extensive state measures based on the global spread of the coronavirus, the Zumtobel Group also implemented set of measures covering temporary production capacity adjustment and short-term remotely working. The company noted that it will temporarily shut down production sites depending on the situation. These measures have resulted in noticeab...

U.S.-based LED technology company Ecosense announced that it has acquired assets from Soraa, co-founded by Nobel Laureate Shuji Nakamura focusing on full-spectrum LED lamps. Under the terms of the deal, Ecosense acquires the Soraa name, intellectual property and lamps, including the company's signature VIVID, BRILLIANT™ HL and HEALTHY™ product lines. This move is the first foray into the professional lamp category for Ecosense. (Image: Soraa) "This acquisition accelerates our strategy into the next wave of lighting,&q...

On March 17, 2020, Nichia filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Tokyo District Court against IPF Corporation, a Japan-based distributor of automotive aftermarket parts. Nichia accused IPF of selling LED headlamp that infringes Nichia’s patent and sought an injunction and compensation for damages. The accused product in this lawsuit is a LED headlamp bulb (product number: 301HLB2) incorporating LED jointly developed with the Taiwanese LED manufacturer Lextar (see photo). Nichia alleged the LED infringes Nichia’s patent JP5526782 related...