Monocrystal, a global leader in synthetic sapphire growing and processing, recently produced the world’s first 300 kg KY crystal.

Flash LEDs in smartphones have evolved from being a “marketing gimmick” to “standard equipment.” LED usage in smartphones have also jumped up from single to dual flash LEDs, and it is increasingly common for flash LEDs to be found in latest smartphone models.

China’s biggest display manufacturer, BOE, has proposed establishing an OLED joint venture business with LG Display and Samsung Display, reported The Korea Times.

Cree, a market leader in silicon-carbide (SiC) power and RF products announced the acquisition of APEI, a global leader in power modules and power electronics applications. Combining two highly complementary innovators, the acquisition enables Cree’s Power and RF business to extend its leadership position and help to accelerate the market for high-performance, best-in-class SiC power modules.

Global semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer OEM Group announced today that a leading maker of LED products has placed a repeat order for an AGHeatpulse® RTP system. The system will be used for annealing gallium-nitride (GaN) films deposited on 150mm sapphire substrates, one of the critical process steps needed in advanced LED fabrication. This repeat order validates again the AGHeatpulse® RTP system's demonstrated capabilities meeting the exacting thermal requirements of new LED manufacturing technologies, and supports the LED industry's move from batch processing of smaller diameter sapphire substrates to single wafer processing of 150mm sapphire substrates.

LG Display will be investing 900 billion won (US$802.75 million) to build a new production line for small and medium OLED displays, reported Korean newspaper DongA Ilbo.

Following Chinese governments declining subsidies in 2015, industry insiders projected a slowdown in global LED production capacity growth rates, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. The industry, though, still faces oversupply situation as the total volume of MOCVDs will reach 2,000 this year, said Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee.

The Thai government plans to take the lead in replacing about three million light bulbs in government agency offices within a six year time frame, reported the country’s National News Bureau.

Saffron aims to bring Silk, a smart LED bulb capable of color tuning to people’s circadian rhythm throughout the day onto the market by January 2016.

Through its Transportation Lighting and Safety program, the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is evaluating the potential for new lighting technologies and approaches to improve driving safety at night, including new car headlight systems. For the study, vehicle manufacturer Audi AG has provided the LRC with an A7 equipped with adaptive high beam “matrix lights” that allow drivers to benefit from using high beams all the time while selectively dimming a portion of the beam in the direction of other drivers to prevent glare. In the Audi system, the beam pattern is split into numerous individual LEDs arranged in a grid or “matrix” that adapts to the surroundings in real-time. The lighting system is being evaluated by LRC researchers this June.

AIXTRON, a worldwide leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced today that Epileds, a leading supplier of LED chip products, has qualified the Company’s AIX R6 tool for LED epitaxy mass production.

Aledia, a developer and manufacturer of next-generation 3D LEDs based on its Gallium-Nitride-on-Silicon platform, announced today the closing of its Series B financing round and the execution of development and supply contracts with major LED buyers. 

Led by Young Duck Kim, a postdoctoral research scientist in James Hone’s group at Columbia Engineering, a team of scientists from Columbia, Seoul National University (SNU), and Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) reported today that they have demonstrated—for the first time—an on-chip visible light source using graphene, an atomically thin and perfectly crystalline form of carbon, as a filament. They attached small strips of graphene to metal electrodes, suspended the strips above the substrate, and passed a current through the filaments to cause them to heat up. The study, “Bright Visible Light Emission from Graphene,” is published in the Advance Online Publication (AOP) on Nature Nanotechnology's website on June 15.

Pixelligent Technologies, producer of PixClear®, the leading producer of nanocrystal dispersions for demanding applications in LED lighting, OLED Lighting, and Optical Coatings and Films markets, announced today that it closed US $3.4 million in new funding. The funds will be used to support accelerating customer growth throughout the world and to increase its manufacturing capacity to 40+ tons per year starting in 2016.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published LE 6-2014 Procedure for Determining Target Efficacy Ratings for Commercial, Industrial, and Residential Luminaires. It was updated to explicitly include LED (light-emitting diode) technology and is of particular interest to recessed luminaire manufacturers, fluorescent lamp manufacturers, and HID (high intensity discharge) manufacturers.

Inspirato (www.inspirato.com), the world’s largest destination club, and global technology leader LG Electronics (www.lg.com) today launched an exclusive partnership that exemplifies the intersection of luxury travel and cutting-edge technology.

Major advances in the field of organic electronics are currently revolutionising previously silicon-dominated semiconductor technology. Customised organic molecules enable the production of lightweight, mechanically flexible electronic components that are perfectly adapted to individual applications. Chemists at the Goethe University have now developed a new class of organic luminescent materials through the targeted introduction of boron atoms into the molecular structures. The compounds described in the professional journal "Angewandte Chemie" (Applied Chemistry) feature an intensive blue fluorescence and are therefore of interest for use in OLEDs.

The Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST), a program of the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has released a publication that proposes a new method of evaluating human perception of directly observed light source flicker. The publication, ASSIST recommends…Recommended Metric for Assessing the Direct Perception of Light Source Flicker, provides specific measurement procedures and calculations to objectively determine whether the amount of flicker from a light source is above or below the threshold of human perception. The metric is applicable to any waveform shape and frequency and is based on peer-reviewed laboratory and human factors experiments.

FUJIFILM Corporation (Fujifilm) and nano-electronics research institute, imec, have demonstrated full-color OLED by using their jointly-developed photoresist technology for organic semiconductors, a technology that enables submicron patterning. This breakthrough result paves the way to producing high-resolution and large organic Electroluminescent(EL) displays and establishing cost-competitive manufacturing methods.

Osram has obtained a favorable first instance judgment in a patent infringement lawsuit against the Taiwanese consumer electronics manufacturer ASUSTek Computer Osram had claimed that certain white LED such as those incorporated in first generation ASUS Nexus 7 tablets infringe its German patent DE 196 55 185. The District Court in Düsseldorf has awarded Osram an injunction and found that ASUS has to compensate Osram’s damage caused by the patent infringement. ASUS has filed an appeal against this judgment. Osram has initiated the provisional enforcement of the judgment against the provision of a security.

Shopping in a big department store can quickly devolve from a simple errand to an odyssey filled with frustration. What section do they put the bath towels in again? Is there a route to take that avoids the chemical attack of the perfume aisle on the way to kitchenware? Where do they put the on-sale jackets?

Sony is expanding its Life Space UX product series this month in Japan with the launch of a new Bluetooth speaker LED bulb.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on May 5, 2015 the competitive selection of nine projects for solid-state lighting (SSL), in response to the SSL R&D funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001171. The one- to two-year projects will focus on the areas of Core Technology Research, which involves the application of fundamental scientific concepts to SSL technology; Product Development, which involves using the knowledge gained from basic or applied research to develop or improve commercially viable SSL materials, devices, or systems; and U.S. Manufacturing, which involves accelerating SSL technology adoption through manufacturing innovations and improvements that reduce costs and enhance quality and consistency.

Osram Opto has released new green LED products specifically designed for heart monitoring. The green LEDs for heart rate monitoring are probably similar to the ones used in Apple Watch for heart rate tracking. The mechanism used to measure heart rate is similar, in which it relies on measuring light absorbed by blood vessels and surrounding tissues. For further details about the new green LEDs please see Osram Opto’s full press release below:

Litecool (//www.litecool.co.uk), a innovator in LED packaging and thermal performance, announced today that it has filed a patent on a PCB-free LED package known as Lumen Block™. This new technology enables the assembly of LED arrays with no circuit board putting the LED package directly on the heat sink for ultimate thermal performance and cost reduction.

Imagine a future where our homes, businesses, and cities are powered completely by the most abundant and unlimited energy resource on earth: the sun. Harry Verhaar, the Philips Lighting Head of Global Public and Government Affairs, is doing just that by creating a blueprint for a future lit by solar-powered, energy-efficient lights. In 2003, Verhaar started the global initiative to phase out inefficient lighting technology in favor of LED lights and has since led Philips to become a world leader in the solar-LED market. With the recent release of PHILIPS NEW LINE OF CONSUMER SOLAR-LED LUMINAIRES, we spoke with Verhaar about the future of solar light and how Philips is playing a role in such an important endeavor.

OLEDWorks, the leading U.S. OLED light engine and panel manufacturing company announced that it reached an agreement  with Royal Philips , the global leader in lighting, to buy selected parts of its OLED light source components business.  

Research by scientists at The University of Manchester has revealed that the color of light has a major impact on how our body clock measures the time of day.

Technavio, a tech-focused research firm, has published a new report on the global OLED material market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.5% from 2015-2019.

A Michigan federal jury on Wednesday granted a favorable ruling to Everlight Electronics Corp. by declaring two of Nichia’s US LED patents to be invalid, according to Law360.