Apart from helping to improve eyesight, LED light is now used to restore hearing, according to a new study conducted by University of Göttingen, Germany. The scientists created an optical cochlear implant based on LED lights that can safely and partially restore the sensation of hearing in deaf rats and gerbils. Their design's light-based approach allowed it to deliver more accurate and pinpointed signals to auditory nerves compared with current implants based on electricity, which often suffer from poor sound quality. The technology also offers some improvements ove...

Mini LED backlight display, featuring high brightness, contrast, reliability as well as longer lifetime, is regarded as a great competitor to OLED display, which is the current dominant display technology for high end consuming electronics. But higher production cost is still a pain point for Mini LED backlight display. From the viewpoint of the supply chain, driver ICs that control the local dimming zones of Mini LED backlight display could actually be a critical component to help reducing production cost. The increased production cost of Mini LED comes from the ...

Two recent researches of LiDAR introduced new solutions to improve the sensing technology. The study by University of Colorado Boulder described a new silicon ship without moving parts or electronics that enhances resolution and scanning speed for LiDAR sensor. In addition, researchers from Purdue University and École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) unveiled their development with FMCW LiDAR. For the research of Univerity of Colorado Boulder aims to develop small chip to replace existing big LiDAR system. The research t...

U.S.-based LiDAR maker, Velodyne Lidar, announced that it has entered a long-term global licensing agreement with Hesai Photonics Technology encompassing 360° surround-view LiDAR sensors. Based on the agreement, Velodyne and Hesai have agreed to dismiss current legal proceedings in the U.S., Germany and China that exist between the two companies. The license agreement covers both existing and future patents of both company. David Hall, Velodyne Founder and Chairman of the Board, commented, “We think this agreement will expand the adoption of LiD...

Ushio announced that it has commenced production of the latest high-powered short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) LEDs, which achieves the world’s highest output power and efficiency. Low-power chips are mounted in SMT packages and moulded type LEDs; while with 1 mm2 high-powered chips, the SWIR D-Series can be mounted in EDC, SMBB, and TO-66 packages. For the majority of wavelengths, a two-fold improvement of output and efficiency is attained; however, the high-power versions have ramped up their forward current to 1 A and gain a boost of up to four times...

ALLOS Semiconductors announced its collaboration with Prof. Ohkawa and his team at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) for realizing high efficiency nitride-based red LEDs on large diameter silicon substrates. The collaboration will focus on solving fundamental issues like the large lattice mismatch and the quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) which limit the adoption of red nitride-based LEDs for practical industry usage. In particular, for the emerging field of Micro LED displays there is a strong demand to enable red LEDs on ...

Upon the closure of Semi Materials in Korea on July 1st, Hilco Industrial Acquisitions (www.hilcoind.com/sale/semimaterials) has acquired (2011) late-model semiconductor complete GaN-on-sapphire LED production line. Featuring 89 items of production equipment and facilities. Roderik Huber, vice president of Hilco in Amsterdam commented on the transaction, “The receivers handled the sale of the assets in a quick, professional, fair and transparent bidding process, we were the winning bidders for the entire package of assets.” Hilco Industrial in partnership ...

Many leading LED companies across the world including Cree, Nichia and Osram see horticulture LED lighting a growing market with expanding applications. Apart from the well-known application of vertical farming supplementary lighting for greenhouses is also a major growing segment for horticulture LED lighting. A recent study published agriculture journal Agronomy demonstrated that LED lighting can improve yield and precocity of greenhouse tomatoes in the Mediterranean, where sunlight is considered sufficient comparing to other region. Researchers of the University o...

One critical issue of Micro LEDs is that their luminous efficiency decrease as their dimension shrink, leading to increasing problems in inspection and repair. Technology developers thus try to improve Micro LED efficiency at the phase of epitaxy wafer production. A group of researchers from UCSB, including Nobel winner Shuji Nakamura, recently published a paper describing the method of fabricating high performance InGaN Micro LED with epitaxial tunnel junctions (TJs Micro LEDs). Published in Optics Express, the paper, titled “Size-independent Low...

Researchers of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have been working on improve efficiency of red Micro LEDs and they recently announced the achievement of manufacturing stable red Micro LED based on InGaN. (Image: KAUST) A major challenge facing the development of Micro LEDs is to integrate red, green and blue light into a single LED chip. Current RGB LEDs are made by combining two kinds of materials with InGaP red LEDs and InGaN blue and green LEDs. "Creating RGB displays requires the mass transfer...

LG Electronics released its preliminary earnings results for the second quarter of 2020. The Korean company posted tentative consolidated revenue of KRW 12.8 trillion (US$ 10.64 billion) in the second quarter of 2020 with an operating profit of KRW 493.1 billion (US$ 409.77 billion). (Image: LG) Comparing to the number last year, LG said the sales of 2Q20 is expected to drop by 17.9% and operating income also decreased by 24.4% YoY. Comparing to the previous quarter, 2Q20 revenue would decrease by 13% and operating profit down by 54.76%. In 1Q20, LG bro...

LED applications covering lighting and disinfection have become crucial technologies to support people’s safety when COVID-19 is still posing a threat globally. During the pandemic, technology builders continue to enhance applications and create new possibility to leverage the functions of LEDs aiming to provide safer environments for people. Enlighted, a IoT platform provider, added workplace digital contact tracing application to its IoT platform to help employees return safely to manufacturing facilities, pharmaceutical labs, offices and more. The application pr...

A research team led by Shin-Tson Wu, Professor from the College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida, USA, conducted a comprehensive analysis on the current display technologies: LCD, OLED, Mini LED and Micro LED. The researchers analyze the performance of self-emitting Mini LED, Micro LED and OLED display, as well as Mini LED backlit LCD, evaluating the power consumption and ambient contrast ratio of each display in depth and systematically compared the dynamic range, motion picture response time, color gamut, and adaptabili...

MaxLite has filed petitions for inter partes review (IPR) aiming to invalidate the patents of Jiaxing Super Lighting to fight against the Chinese company’s accusing of patent infringement. MaxLite provided an update on the status of the pending lawsuit. (Image: MaxLite) In May 2019, Super Lighting filed a patent infringement lawsuit against MaxLite, accusing MaxLite of infringing several Super Lighting’s US patents. In response, MaxLite filed petitions for IPR before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Pat...

As COVID-19 sweeping across the world, most large scale activities have been cancelled, rescheduled or moved online. So are the fashion events. Milano Fashion Week is now hosted entirely online from July 14 to 17 and people in the city can see the shows on the large LED signage provided by Samsung hanging on Duomo Cathedral. (Image: Samsung) By moving the showcase online, the organizer of the event, the National Chamber of Italian Fashion and Urban Vision, streaming partner of the Milano Digital Fashion Week, hopes to offer fans of fashion and design a sen...

According to the analysis of LEDinside, demands of the European and the US horticultural lighting market grew steadily in 2019. Compared with other lighting applications, the horticultural lighting market demand in 2020 is still increasing in a stably. To learn more about the market, LEDinside had a talk with Paul Scheidt, Leader of Product Marketing at Cree, one of the leading industry suppliers of the market to learn how innovative LED technology supports current horticultural lighting applications. (Paul Scheidt, Leader of Product Marketing at Cree; image: C...

We have now learned that COVID-19 is transmitted through droplets or surfaces contact of the infected individuals. As a result, wearing mask and intensifying disinfection are considered effective ways to prevent infection. Combining above two solutions, a UVC LED embedded mask was developed and raised more than US$ 1 million on a crowdfunding platform. (Image: UM System) The product, named UVMask, was launched by UM System, a subsidiary of Measure Inc. focusing on optical and bio-technology, on June 25, 2020. According to UM System, UVMask is a reus...

Since many places have ended lockdowns and return to usual life but the threat of COVID-19 continues, it is important to maintain social distance and intensify disinfection in public areas. UV light disinfection, which has been a popular application ever since the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak, is now supported by scientists as an effective solution to prevent COVID-19 transmission for indoor environment. A study recently published in ACS Nano by experts in the fields of virology, immunology, aerosols, architecture, and physics, have surveyed the possible methods t...

LiDAR sensor developer Quanergy Systems shared that its new generation QORTEX People Counter solution can deliver over 98% accuracy from pitch dark or indoor to very bright lighting conditions in full sun light. By combining the system with Quanergy’s LiDAR product, a wide range of flow management can be deployed to enhance security and safety in public areas especially at the critical time of reopen. According Quanergy, QORTEX People Counter provides information about the flow and number of people in retail stores, public transportation centers, stadiu...

ROHM introduced its newly launched blue-green LED products SMLD12E2N1W and SMLD12E3N1W that support the adoption of Color Universal Design (CUD). (Image: ROHM) Color is used in a variety of ways but there are approximately over 200 million people have problem distinguishing between red and green color. In addition, each individual perceives color differently. Since people’s perception of color varies, there is a growing need in the society to implement Color Universal Design that takes into account the various types of color vision in order t...

A new study reveals how outdoor artificial lighting at night links with sleep and mental disorder of adolescents. Researchers of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found that teenagers who live in areas that have high levels of artificial light at night tend to get less sleep and are more likely to have a mood disorder comparing to teens who live in areas with low levels of night-time light. The research, titled “Association of Outdoor Artificial Light at Night with Mental Disorders and Sleep Patterns among US Adolescents,” was based on a cro...

TrendForce’s latest LED Industry Demand and Supply Data Base finds that, by 2024, the global Mini/Micro LED market is projected to reach US$4.2 billion in revenue. The positive outlook of the Mini/Micro LED industry has attracted many investors. Since 2019, total investments in Mini/Micro LED-related projects in China have reached RMB 39.1 billion, with more than 14 newly added projects, according to TrendForce’s investigations. This massive influx of capital is expected to accelerate the overall pace of Mini/Micro LED commercialization. ...

GE Current and Pointr announced their partnership to leverage the edge of smart lighting based on IoT technology for safe reopens of large buildings. Especially at the time when COVID-19 still post threat to the communities. The smart lighting technology of GE Current combined with Pointr’s location-based services developed enhanced space management applications for retailers, warehouses and industrial premises. Through mobile devices, owners of buildings and public areas can understand the precise location of employees and visitors. (Image: GE Current) G...

The U.S.-based material supplier Coretec Group who focus on silicon-based materials utilizing Cyclohexasilane (CHS) development announced that it has filed a provisional patent with its CHS derived silicon. The provisional patent notes three LED applications that Coretec believes its CHS technology is suited for. The first application is the ability to create a cost-efficient, high intensity UV LED capable of killing COVID-19 and other microorganisms. As one of the existing challenges of UV LED is the limitation of reaching needed intensity light, C...

Self-driving technology startup Aurora announced its self-developed LiDAR sensor FirstLight LiDAR last week. The LiDAR sensor was tested on Aurora’s test vehicles to help the perception system to see and track objects farther, faster, and with greater precision. (Image: Aurora) Aurora acquired LiDAR company Blackmore last year eyeing the expertise of FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) technology. FMCW LiDAR delivers a constant stream of light and changes the frequency of that light at regular intervals. With the technology, Auro...

A mosquito lamp deploying UV LED was launched in a Japanese website Gloture. The product, according to its description, uses UV light to attract insects including mosquitoes, flies and other. The UV LED mosquito lamp delivers UV light and special sound waves that are appeal to insects. Once the bugs fly towards the light, they are tapped within the lamp. (Image: Gloture) The idea of using UV light to trap insects is not new. LEDinside interviewed Everlight last year and the company has introduce the idea of UV LED integrated gravitrap and mosquito l...

GE Current, a Daintree company, has unveiled two extensions to its Tetra family, as well as a third generation update to the Select TX™ that improves loading by 25%. (Image: GE Current) The Tetra® Snap features a snap design that allows sign makers to snap LED modules into an aluminum extrusion. This design eliminates the need for screws, and allows users the flexibility to customize the product choosing between three different light levels, hitting a maximum 1,000 lumens per foot. Combined with Current’s patented OptiLens X optical design, this ...

Vuzix, who focusing on smart glasses and AR technology, announced the recent granting of a series of patents and patents pending, focused on wearable computer and AR smart glasses. The company said that its patent portfolio has grown from 90 patents and patents pending to 166 over the last 36 months. Vuzix’ patent portfolio encompasses a range of IP including waveguides with holographic optics, laser and Micro LED display integration, fashion forward industrial designs and optics that support low cost single layer waveguides to multilayer large field of view solutions. ...

People usually only know that UV light is viable to kill bacteria and viruses, but they are not aware of the details about wavelength or ililluminance. For the manufacturers who had planned to end production of conventional lighting, this UVC trend for lamps become a big surprise. Take Signify for example, it is magnifying product categories and lines and invested UV lamp producer, GLA, in Netherland, indicating that the heat of UVC conventional lamp will not fade away in short. As a connector supplier, Amphenol LTW Technology has been collaborating with manufactur...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created severe impacts on the global economics. People around the world are getting used to a new lifestyle in response to the crisis as well. In order to prevent infection, UV technology applications are returning to the center of the industry. UVC, with the wavelengths between 200 – 280 nanometers (nm) and can deactivate bacteria and viruses, is gaining unprecedented attention in particular. In the past few months, the effects of UVC light on coronaviruses have been discussed and reported. LED manufactures also hurriedly devoted to UV...