San Francisco LED street lighting demonstration is one of DOE Gateway demonstrations that showcase high-performance LED products for general illumination. This Gateway report provides an overview of project results including lighting performance, cost effectiveness, and potential energy savings.

PerkinElmer, Inc. (PKI), a global leader focused on improving the health and safety of people and the environment, announced it has bought Opto Technology Inc., a supplier of LED based lighting components and subsystems, as PerkinElmer looks to broaden its presence in the LED lighting market. PerkinElmer did not disclose a purchase price for the Illinois-based company.

NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd. has announced two new amorphous-silicon thin-film-transistor (TFT) LCD modules incorporating white LED backlights for industrial applications. The company says that the modules consume less power, are substantially thinner and lighter than comparable LCD modules incorporating cold-cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlights.

Luminus Devices Inc. announced that it will make components for LEDs lamps that give off white light with Nichia. That makes LEDs attractive for a wide range of uses. Until now, Luminus has made chips for colored LED lights that go into projectors and TVs.

After landing big orders for LED lightings and winning bids for supplying solar cell panels, Delta Electronics Inc. projected its annual revenue to grow 5% from 2008 to hit NT$150 billion in 2009, despite the lingering global economic downturn.  

There is an umbrella invention that aims to light your way in the rain. The umbrella is created by Korean designer Sang-Kyun Park. According to the writeup on Yanko Design, the outside canopy has a conductive membrane called PDVF. As rain comes down, the impact generates electrical energy that powers built-in LEDs on the umbrella. The harder the rain hits, the brighter the light to help you see your way. Now that's literally a brilliant idea, but the lights better be waterproof or you'll end up as an electrifying light show.

Two rival LED makers, Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. and Nichia Corporation announced that they have settled all litigations on patent and other issues as well as other legal disputes currently pending between them in the United States, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and Korea. The settlement includes a cross license agreement covering LED and laser diode technologies, which will permit the companies to access all of each other's patented technologies.

Introduced at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the new Ford Mustang boasts the latest lighting technology by OSRAM. The American sports car, which hits the market in 2010, features variable LED interior lighting with OSRAM TOPLED. The JOULE LED system is the basis for the American muscle car’s rear signal lighting and gives the car a modern look as well as added efficiency and security.

Gallium Nitride (GaN), a man-made semiconductor used to make LEDs, emits brilliant light but uses very little electricity. New GaN LED lighting has the potential to make LEDs a household fixture, but high production costs have made GaN lighting too expensive for wide spread use in homes and offices. However the Cambridge University based Centre for Gallium Nitride has developed a new way of making GaN which could produce LEDs for a tenth of current prices.

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa's host venue for the Super Bowl, has been temporarily illuminated with state-of-the-art LED technology as part of a city-wide beautification effort for the championship game on February 1. Philips/Color Kinetics is helping illuminate the stadium from dusk to dawn with the newly launched ColorReach™ Powercore, one of the biggest, brightest exterior LED's in the world.

Bridgelux, Inc., a leading supplier of energy-saving LED technology, has introduced an LED array product line which provides high performance, compact and cost-effective light sources for solid-state lighting (SSL). Bridgelux says that its LED Arrays have been specifically developed to provide lamp and luminaire manufacturers with a solution that will simplify system level integration thereby reducing the system cost. The array can be used in applications including task, accent, spot, track, down light, wide area and security lighting.

Japanese component manufacturer Rohm Semiconductor will begin selling LED-based lighting fixtures for offices and commercial facilities in March, according to a recent report. It’s disclosed that the company will sell five types of LED light fixtures, each shaped like an incandescent or fluorescent light and containing several hundred of Rohm's 1-3 mm sq. LED chips. The company had prototype versions of the fixtures on its booth at the Electronica tradeshow in November 2008 (see photo).

South Korea's LG Display, announced that it had signed a deal with U.S.-based Cree Inc. to secure supply of LED chips for its flat screen products. LG Display reportedly signed a supply agreement in early January.

Everlight Electronics Co. Ltd. (TSE: 2393) announced today the restructuring of the company’s business units to better position themselves as a leader in the fast-growing, global LED industry. Everlight’s organizational changes will help the company respond to the worldwide demand for ‘greener,’ more environmentally friendly LED lighting.

CES 2009 helped mark a number of upcoming technological trends that have either already reached the market or are about to do so in the next 12 months. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) display technology made an impact at CES 2009.

CRW Tech has developed new architectural lighting fixtures utilizing its innovative LED Projection Lighting System. The LED projection lighting engine produces nearly double the amount of surface light intensity achievable utilizing standard low power LED bulbs.

Tomar Electronics, Inc. has announced Tomar Custom Designsm a service providing design and manufacturing of LED and strobe based lighting solutions for OEM partners. Tomar Electronics has a 40-year history of manufacturing its own brand of lighting products for emergency warning, industrial safety, and machine vision applications. Tomar Custom Designsm now provides this design and production experience to other manufacturers looking for LED-based solutions for emergency warning systems, industrial safety, and machine vision applications.

Bridgelux Inc., a leading supplier of energy-saving LED technology for high-volume, solid-state lighting markets, announced the award of a U.S. patent for its surface mountable chip (SMC) LED design.  

LED lighting was a $400 million market in 2008, however, experts predicts that this market will see an impressive compound annual growth rate of 35%, which will cause the market to grow to $1,8 billion by the end of the forecasted period.

Arrow Electronics, Inc. and key suppliers of lighting components including Magtech Industries,OPTEK Technology, SRAM Opto Semiconductors and Tyco Electronics will sponsor the LED Luminaire Design Competition in association with the California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at the University of California, Davis.

Tokyoflash recently revealed their latest digital watch. The new Kisai Keisan watch uses a unique convex lens that magnifies the lighting effect from the LEDs behind the numbers in the watch face. To tell the time on this watch, just add the digits in each of the four vertical lines of numbers. The Keisan features an aluminum body and comes in silver (with orange or yellow LEDs), or black (with red or green LEDs). The pricing is at $255.

With the advancing adaptation of LED application in signage, mobile, backlighting and general lighting, Edison Opto continues to exceed industry expectation and introduces 100W EdiStar series into its ultra high power product line.

Baytek Electronics, a high-end LED & LED-lighting manufacturer, announces that it will release its new product line. With the adaption of LED enabled lighting by many lighting companies, the need was created for a high tech replacement of the industrial standard AR111. The company says after many months of development and testing they released their OLS-MPSD16W series with unmatched thermal and optical performance, available in NW and WW this with several viewing angles and 16W power.

Festering market of LCD panels, the major applications of various backlights, has compelled Taiwan Lamp maker Wellypower Optronics Corp. to shift business emphasis to lighting. The company will ramp up output of LED emitters and LED lighting fixtures to find an outlet for LED chips from Lextar Electronics Corp., which is a member of the AUO Group as is Wellypower.

LedEngin, Inc. has bridged the gap between LED technology and conventional lighting with the introduction of LuxSpot, the first in a family of innovative, high brightness LED lighting modules. Ultra-compact LuxSpot is powered by LedEngin's industry leading multichip LED emitters, exceeding performance of 35W halogen equivalent. LuxSpot provides 60% savings in power consumption compared to a halogen source, and with a service life more than 10 times longer.

Avago Technologies announced the availability of one of the world’s brightest 5 mm through-hole (TH) round LED lamps. The company says the LEDs are idea for use in a variety of electronic sign and signal (ESS) applications.

Drayton Harbor Resources, Inc. announces that it has entered an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of LED Power Inc. of Nevada.


Cree, Inc. announced revenue of $147.6 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009, ended Dec. 28, 2008. This represents a 24% increase compared to revenue of $119.0 million reported for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and a 5% increase compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Revenue included $5.6 million in patent licensing fees which were not factored into previously announced targets.

Recently, IST Ltd has appointed three new strategic partners to distribute its downlighters, LED drivers and other LED lighting products in Sweden, Finland, Poland and Ireland. IST’s growing network of distributors will be Stockholm Lighting Company in Sweden and Finland, Alfa-Zeta in Poland and Enlighten, part of the Fantasy Lights Group, in Ireland.

LED market is expected to be a rare bright spot—no pun intended—in what is forecast to be an otherwise dismal year for the semiconductor industry in 2009, according to a recent report. The reported noted that aided by rising demand from LCD TV makers, revenue from LEDs is expected to increase by 2.9% in 2009, following 10.8% growth in 2008. In contrast, the overall semiconductor market is set to decline by 9.4% in 2009.