Over the course of two years, three former high ranking officers from Chinese sapphire manufacturer Roshow Technology have been detained by Chinese authorities over insider trading, but the company has tried to downplay the incidents, according to a Chinese media China Times report. Some industry insiders also revealed company officers leaking sapphire investment info as a possible cause over the arrest.

LED manufacturer Lextar released their fiscal first quarter 2014 financial report on May 12, 2014. The company reported revenue dropped 3 percent QoQ to NT $3.22 billion (US $106.7 million) but up 11.6 percent from 1Q13. Gross margin improved 2.3 percent QoQ to 12.5 percent. Net profit for 1Q14 reached NT $21 million with EPS of NT $0.05. 

Leyard’s 0.8mm small pitch TV already has the potential to move into the residential market and will be first promoted in the high-end market. The company claims to be the first company to utilize 0.8mm technology. “No other company has the technological capacity yet,” said Leyard.

Demand for gallium is forecast to rise rapidly between 2014 and 2020 as general lighting moves away from incandescent and fluorescent lamps to light-emitting diodes (LEDs).  This strong growth is not, however, likely to result in any tightness in supply as the market is oversupplied and likely to remain so.  

Luxury vehicles are being targeted by criminal gangs in the UK who steal the LED headlights from the vehicles for use in cannabis factories, according to UK based newspaper The Telegraph. 

Sony is suspending OLED TV production as sales slump. The Japanese manufacturer is instead turning their sights to 4K LCD TVs as they are less expensive to manufacturer and sell at much lower prices compared to OLED TVs, reports Japan’s Nikkei. Half of the TV sets Sony intends to launch on the market next year include 4K sets. 

Orion Energy Systems, Inc. announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2014. Total revenue for fiscal 2014 was US $88.6 million, compared to US $86.1 million in fiscal 2013. Total revenue for the fiscal 2014 fourth quarter declined to US $12.6 million, from US $22.3 million in the prior-year period, largely as a result of delayed lighting sales coupled with a decline in the number of solar projects under construction as Orion deemphasizes its non-core solar business.

Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVLT) (“Revolution Lighting”), a leading provider of advanced LED lighting solutions, today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2014, ended March 31, 2014.

GE Lighting announced three finalists in its 31st annual international GE Edison Award competition from the GE Lighting Institute, a teaching facility at the heart of GE Lighting’s Nela Park world headquarters in East Cleveland, Ohio. This year’s finalists represent an arts performing center, the headquarters for a global investment firm, and an event and conference addition to a cultural center.

China has been actively promoting of smart industry development in response as the country rolls out smart city projects. China’s smart building industry market has already reached RMB 100 billion (US $16 billion) with at least 3,000 different companies. LED lighting fixtures make up around 20 to 30 percent of the smart building market. With increasing LED luminous efficacy, LED lighting fixture market share will most certainly continue to rise. This rising in smart building infrastructure trend will fuel future LED lighting industry growth. 

Aucksun Jiangsu Co. announced recently that People’s Government of Qinghe District, Huai’an has granted a RMB 15 million (US $2.4 billion) technology subsidy to the company’s subsidiary Huai’an Optoelectronics (Huai’an Opto) . The subsidy is related to importing MOCVDs and associated equipment. 

LEDforum 2014, organized by LEDinside, Cnledw.com and Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition, will be held on June 11, 2014, it brings together global famous enterprises and professional analysts from LEDinside. The seminar at the LEDforum will dissect the current situation of LED industry from technology, market demand and other perspectives, and forecast the future market trend on the theme of LED market trends and the development strategy. International LED Giants Gather to Create a Brilliant Show LEDforum 2014 will be held during Guangzhou...

Despite net losses during first quarter of 2014, financial analysts projected Epistar will benefit from U.S. and Europe lighting markets this year, and is expected to benefit from rising general LED lighting demands and stable demands in the display backlight market, according to a Taipei Times report.

Apple has patented a super resolution photo technology that is capable of boosting resolution without the need of adding more megapixels recently, according to Apple Insider and several other reports.

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG AEX: PHIA), the global leader in lighting, has partnered with Green Sense Farms (GSF), a Chicago-area commercial grower, to develop one of the largest indoor commercial farms using LED grow lights tailored to their specific crops. This innovative farming model allows them to harvest 20-25 times a year by using ‘light recipes’ optimized for their produce, using 85 percent less energy. The result will be an increase in crop yields and reduced operating costs, while providing consumers with locally grown, fresh vegetables throughout the year.

As LED becomes increasingly widespread, Microsoft Research has also caught on with LiFi technology developments with proposed LED positioning system, Epsilon. The company’s Asia research division recently published a paper explaining the concept behind the positioning system.

Walt Disney Research Lab and ETH Zurich have designed LED two-wheeled robots named Pixelbots that are able to create animation in real time. 

This week Cree’s sent shockwaves through the lighting industry with its new LED T8 replacement, will it be the terminator of the linear fluorescent lighting legacy in U.S.? DOE has published an updated SSL R&D plan. Apple takes the industry by surprise with its acquisition of micro-LED display startup company Maker LuxVue, and the rumored return of the single flash LED in iPhone 6. Another development in the industry this week has been the emergence of Final LED bulb that uses a new technology based in TV manufacutring to make light with lighting qualities comparable to LED, but without the price tag . For more information please see below:

China’s LED application market scale reached RMB 200 billion (Us $32.1 billion) in 2013, with residential lighting making up around 30 percent, according to statistics by the Guangya Academy of Lighting Research in Guangzhou. LED lighting prices have dropped a staggering 70 percent over the past two years, with LED 3W bulbs priced at around RMB 14. The market has already accepted LED bulb price/performance ratio. Indoor lighting has become the largest driver for LED application market growth in China. 

Sonny Dickson has leaked more images of the Apple iPhone 6 dummy. If the images and information is correct, the new model seems to have taken a step back in terms of LED flash compared to previous models. 

Samsung officials in China have denied recent market rumors that “the company is terminating OLED TV production capacity expansion plans,” according to a China Business News report. Chinese industry insiders interviewed in the report note the company’s is probably considering adjusting large-screened OLED TV production technology.

Chinese investors have recently approached Crystal Optotech to verify whether the company is currently producing sapphire panels for Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi. Crystal Optotech responded it has yet to produce sapphire for mobile phone application. 

A new method of Lipo Suction using LED lights offers patients a non-invasive alternative to surgery. When the body requires energy, the brain sends signals to adipose cells to break down stored fat. This process is called lipolysis. Free fatty acids are then released into the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. Lipo Light acts in a similar manner where heat and light emitted through the device stimulates the release of energy. 

Universal Display Corporation reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014. For the first quarter of 2014, the Company reported net income of US $4.0 million, or US $0.09 per diluted share, on revenues of US $37.8 million. For the first quarter of 2013, the Company reported a net loss of US $4.8 million, or US $(0.10) per diluted share, on revenues of US $15.0 million.

Smart Vision Lights — a designer and manufacturer of high-brightness LED lights for industrial applications, including machine vision — is pleased to introduce the XR256 Series High-Speed Strobe Lights for industrial and machine vision applications requiring high-speed, high-power, pulse initiated, or pulse following strobe lights.

LED chips are a core component in the LED industry. There are currently many domestic and international LED chip manufacturers in China, but there currently are no categorization standards, according to a report by Chinese-language LEDtimes.cc. Comparison of chip technologies show foreign companies are more innovative, while Chinese manufacturers are still focused on production volume.

April has been a good month for LED manufacturers this year, as companies benefit from strong market demand, according to Economic Daily News report. Manufacturers including Epistar, Edison Opto, and Unity Opto have all seen record high performances in April. Industry insiders anticipate the positive revenue performance will continue into May.  

Epistar released first fiscal quarter results for this year on May 7, 2014. The company noted a net operating profit of NT $319 million (US $10.6 million) and profit margin of 15.23 percent. However, impact from two financial evaluations that recognized losses of NT $1.32 billion resulted in Epistar after tax deficit of NT $841 million and EPS of negative NT $0.91. 

GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) released their first fiscal quarter results on Wednesday, which ended on March 29, 2014. GTAT has seen a slight drop in revenue as its joint project with Apple in Arizona gears up to become fully operational by the end of this year. 

Veeco Instruments Inc. has appointed Shubham Maheshwari, 42, as its new Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mr. Maheshwari replaces David D. Glass, who announced his retirement from Veeco last December.