As China witnesses the phenomenal growth of its display industry, its global counterparts also face new challenges. Large-scale production of traditional LCD panels has fallen into a “dilemma of abundance”, where the current focus of display enterprises has shifted to how to best develop the potential of new technologies. Vehicle-equipment industry - five major visible development trends In recent years, panel makers such as JDI, Innolux, AUO, LGD and BOE have made significant efforts on the layout of the vehicle display industry, which shows immense ma...

Researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology in the U.S. proposed a new designed vertical integration of GaN LED which enables improved efficiency of Micro LED displays. Matthew Hartensveld and Jing Zhang from Rochester Institute of Technology published a new study on IEEE Electron Device Letter describing how they managed to vertically integrated nanowire GaN field-effect transistors (FETs) and InGaN LEDs. The novel structure places the transistor below the LED which for controlling and dimming. (Image: Hartensveld and Zhang) Comb...

Delta, a Taiwan-based power and thermal management solutions provider, announced the acquisition of Amerlux, a U.S.-based LED architectural lighting solutions company, to enhanced IoT-based green solution portfolio for smart buildings and cities. Delta has signed a definitive agreement pursuant that its wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Delta Electronics (Netherlands) will acquire 100 percent of Amerlux's interests for US$ 90 million. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2019. With the acquisition, Delta aims to extend its portfolio ...

The worldwide LED industry had suffered from low price due to oversupply in 2018. China, as one of the major LED chip producers and exporters, has continued to expand LED chip capacity despite declining price and the lukewarm market. However, the accelerating development of Mini LED and fine-pitch displays in the China market might be a way out for the industry in 2019. According to LEDinside, Mini LED is making its way into displays of consumer electronics in 2019 and 2020. It is estimated that the market value of Mini LED will reach US$ 1.699 billion in 2...

LED integrated wearables are becoming more and more common in the modern society for various functions. Motorbike clothing manufacturer Held is cooperating with Osram to improve visibility on the road by launching motorbike clothing that can be retrofitted with LED light modules from Osram. The lighting modules developed by Osram can be integrated into the clothing through a fabric tube and connected to a rechargeable battery pack which riders can switch on the light easily. According to Osram, the light strips offer up to seven hours of active lighting in continuous operati...

Do you have problem waking up in the morning? The right lighting can help people overcome morning drowsiness, according to a study by Korean research team. Researchers from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) suggested that a blue-enriched LED light can effectively boost morning alertness. This study further supports the concept of human centric lighting and provides the basis for major changes in future lighting strategies. The 2017 Nobel Prize winning research unveiled the molecular mechanisms that control circadian rhythms. In the early 2...

Technical glass specialist Kopp Glass launched a UV LED product database which covers a wide range of UV LED products from worldwide manufacturers for users to easily compare various options and simplify the selection process. According to Kopp Glass, the comprehensive resource contains over 700 UV LEDs from 29 different manufacturers, including products from Seoul Viosys, LG Innotek and Rayvio. The sortable database provides specifications including peak wavelength, product type (Chip, COB, SMD, T-Type), product code, radiant flux, forward curran...

WESCO International announced that its WESCO Services subsidiary has completed the purchase of Sylvania Lighting Solution (SLS), the North American service business of Osram, following the previous announcement in January. Osram has planned to sell the SLS business in the U.S. and Canada since May 2018. On January 16, 2019, Osram announced the sale of the business to WESCO International. SLS offers a full spectrum of energy-efficient lighting upgrade, retrofit, and renovation solutions with annual sales of more than US$100 million and appro...

On March 5, 2019, the U.S. government announced the notice to postpone the 25 percent tariffs on Chinese imported products and the duty will remain 10 percent until further notice. Before the official notification released, U.S.-based companies Acuity Brands and Eaton have announced the pause of their scheduled price increased in response to the delayed tariff implementation. Eaton planned to increase price on March 1 due to the expected extra tariffs on Chinese-manufactured products including components and finished goods. Acuity Brands also announced a price increased ...

Researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) published a new finding of LED medical application for correcting heart rhythm disorder. The research team used a bioelectronics defibrillator implanted with LED to reset irregular heartbeat. They developed a system which detects fast arrhythmias in the atrium of a rat’s heart and sends a signal to an LED device placed near the heart. “The flash of light from this LED then causes the heart to generate an electric current itself to halt the arrhythmia. This is made possible by using gene therapy...

LED industry players have accelerated their development in niche products including Mini LED and sensing components IR LED and VCSEL. Taiwan-based LED company Lexter began mass producing Mini LED products since the third quarter of 2018. Apart from the initial applications in gaming monitor and notebook, Mini LED backlight has also been adopted in automotive display. The company estimates that Mini LED products will account for five percent or more of its 2019 revenue. Lextar also strengthened red LED business and pushes development in IR LE...

Indoor farming with controlled environment and LED lighting has brought agriculture to another level. Osram, as a leading photonic producer, has been an active player in the development of horticulture lighting. The company announced the development of LED-based luminaire system, Phytofy RL, which is designed to meet the increasing demands of horticulture researches at universities, private institutes and plant production in greenhouses and vertical farms. (Image: Osram) Phytofy RL is a tunable lighting system integrated UV to far-red LEDs to create various growth...

In order to avoid pedestrian related traffic accidents caused by distraction, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) has developed a smart crosswalk system with LED warning light to alarm both drivers and pedestrian. Researchers at KICT have designed the “next-generation pedestrian traffic accident prevention system” that integrated LED embedded pavement, thermal imaging cameras, electronic sign and an app. When the thermal cameras detect pedestrians approaching the crosswalk, it will activate the LED light embedded...

Power management company Eaton announced its plan to spin off its lighting business to create an independent, publicly traded company by the end of 2019. The lighting business of Eaton covers a wide range of products and systems to maximize energy efficiency which records sales of US$ 1.7 billion in 2018. Eaton’s lighting business provides services to customers in commercial, industrial, residential and municipal market. The spin-off will include Eaton’s global airport lighting business and Mains lighting. According to Eaton, Goldman Sachs will be Eaton&rsq...

Seoul Semiconductor announced that it has joined LightingEurope, the industry association that represents the lighting industry in Europe aiming to promote efficient lighting practices for the benefit of the global environment, human comfort, and the health and safety of consumers. (image: Seoul Semiconductor) Seoul Semiconductor becomes a member of the association so that the company will be informed with the latest EU lighting policies that impact its corporate strategies for LED technology development and application, for better and faster response to the European lig...

German equipment manufacturer AIXTRON posted its 2018 financial results. The company reported increased on-year revenue and gross margin due to continued demand for its MOCVD systems for lasers, red-orange-yellow (ROY) LEDs and specialty LEDs production. According to AIXTRON, its order intake in 2018 grew by 15% YoY to EUR 302.5 million (US$ 344.26 million), which led to a yearly revenue of EUR 268.8 million (US$ 306 million), up by 17% YoY. Adjusted for previous year's sales from discontinued operations, the sales increased by 40% compare...

A Micro LED equipped with 5G connection was showcased at MWC this year by the Fibocom International Alliance (FIA), an organization focuses on 5G IoT devices established by Chinese wireless communication specialist, Fibocom. According to FIA, the 5G Micro LED display, named FIA One, combines the two attention-drawing technologies and integrates existing access devices such as gateways, routers, set-top boxes, or IP TV services into a single display. FIA said the integration opens a door for new digital experiences and IoT innovations. "W...

German semiconductor maker Infineon announced that it has teamed up with LG Electronics to introduce Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology adopted front-facing camera on the latest smartphone of LG which will be revealed at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona. Infineon has provided its REAL3™ image sensor chip to LG’s upcoming G8 ThinQ. With Infineon’s pmdtechnologies in algorithms for processed 3D point clouds (a set of data points in space produced by 3D scanning), the innovative sensor will deliver a new level of front camera capability in a...

The penetration of Mini LED is expected to increase in the coming years with applications including gaming display and other professional monitors. The technology is also becoming popular for automotive applications. WitsView, a division of Trendforce, suggested a high possibility of Mini LED backlighting mass production in 2019 and noted that the cost of display production may increase by 20 to 100 percent depending on the number of Mini LED used. LEDinside noticed that Mini LED has been adopted as backlight for automotive displays such as HUDs, dashboards, in-...

Seoul Semiconductor announced that it has concluded a patent infringement lawsuit as Mouser, an international electronic component distributor agreed to stop selling certain LED product manufactured by Everlight in Japan. (Image: Pixabay) February 2018, Seoul Semiconductor filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court, accusing the LED product manufactured by Everlight and sold by Mouser of infringing an LED patent of Seoul Semiconductor’s affiliate. The company announced on February 21 that it agreed to withdraw the lawsuit as M...

People are becoming more aware of the effects of artificial lighting on the human body and wildlife, especially the impacts of lighting at night. A new study led by researchers from Newcastle and York universities found that street lights may disrupt plant pollination as they attract moths; however, by switching off street lights for part of the night, the interruption can be minimized. Apart from bees, moths also play an important role in the pollination of plants to supplement the day-time work of bees and other pollinating insects. These night-time pollinators are critical even f...

Sweden-based horticulture lighting specialist Heliospectra reported that it has re-branded its technical services under the new name, helioCARE. The company also revealed an order from a medicinal plant research facility in Spain. With its expertise in intelligent lighting technology for greenhouse and controlled environment, Heliospectra offers a team of experts and a range of turnkey services to help growers and businesses to increase yields, accelerate harvests, and achieve consistent crop quality and production cycles. (image: Heliospectra) The re-branded helioCAR...

In order to improve the efficiency and lighting quality of LEDs, metal halide perovskites have been considered as a next generation material. Perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs) as emerging light-emitting technology have attracted attentions with the advantages of low manufacturing cost, high light quality and energy efficiency. A research co-led by the scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Shanghai University developed a new manufacturing process to enhance optical properties and stability of perovskite LEDs. The research team used cesium trifluoroacetate...

Perception solution developer AEye announced that eight patents related to its perception system iDAR (Intelligent Detection and Ranging) have been confirmed. AEye’s iDAR is an integrated system combining solid-state MEMs-based agile LiDAR, fused HD camera, and software definable AI technology. With the aim to solve the challenges of robotic vision for autonomous vehicles, AEye developed iDAR, the artificial perception system that combines LiDAR, HD camera and AI intelligence to create a smart perception sensor that mimic human visual cortex fo...

Signify is speeding up its LiFi development and implement. The leading lighting company announced the trail of LiFi in Europe, North America and Asia through cooperation with more than 30 customers. Signify and its customers set up pilot LiFi installations in worldwide cities. In India, Signify works with Incubex, an incubator for product and business solution, to set up a LiFi implemented meeting room where new startups and firms can apply the technology with Signify’s Philips LiFi-enabled luminaires. In Europe, Signify collaborate with telecoms company...

Zumtobel announced that it has teamed up with pureLiFi, the UK-based LiFi company spun off from the University of Edinburgh, to empower its LED solution with capacity of data transmission. With the partnership, Zumtobel installed pureLiFi’s system with its LED lights. The trial will allow Zumtobel to evaluate the market demand for the technology over the coming months. Then the company aims to leverage LiFi to create value for lead adopters from industries such as medical, defence, industrial and manufacturing. (Image: Zumtobel) Alfred Felder, Zumt...

The importance of LED lighting applications in the horticultural industry is increasing with the on-going trend of indoor and vertical farming applications. With controllable spectrum and illuminance, LED lighting is widely used in cultivation for various kinds of crops including tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, greens and cannabis. LEDinside notices that many LED and lighting companies have increased their product portfolio for horticulture lighting and pushed related technology development. According to the report of LEDinside, titled “2019 Light LED and LED ...

The way fireflies light up their lanterns has become an inspiration to increase the efficiency of LED. Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) found out that LEDs made with firefly-mimicking structures could improve lighting efficiency. Enhancing luminous efficiency of LED has been a research field for many scientists. Stuart (Shizhuo) Yin, professor of electrical engineering at Penn State, noted, "Overall commercial LED efficiency is currently only about 50 percent. One of the major concerns is how to improve the so-called light extra...

Signify announced that its EnabLED Licensing Prgram for LED luminaires and retrofit bulbs has included more than 1000 members and is providing more than 400 inventions and over 2800 granted patents for them. Signify reported in May 2018 that it has signed 900 licensees with the program covering 2600 patents. The program has added 150 more innovations to its portfolio early in 2018 and increased the licensing members to 1000. (Image: Signify) The new innovations added to the program are related to filament-based LED products, warm dimming incandescent emulation, om...

Chinese panel producer BOE will become a supplier of OLED panels to Apple for iPhone aside from Samsung and LGD, reported Etnews, a South Korean media. According to the report, BOE might be providing flexible OLED panel for the folding iPhone scheduled for 2020. However, currently the flexible OLED panels of BOE have not passed Apple’s final validation yet. For officially supplying its OLED products to Apple, BOE has to provide further sample products and go through the demanding process of quality control. As a result, it might take more...