UV light has been used widely in disinfection with a wide range of medical and non-medical products available in the market. In the time when the whole world is fighting against the coronavirus outbreak, LEDs that deliver virus killing UV lights might be a practical solution for preventing infection. UV light is germicidal because it inactivates microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA with its short wavelength. In addition, oxygen can also absorbed energy from UV light to form ozone for disinfection. (Image: Pixabay) According to curren...

Signify published its fourth quarter and full-year 2019 financial results on January 31. The Dutch company reported full-year sales of EUR 6.2 billion (US$ 6.87 billion) which decreased by 4.6% YoY decrease but improved in profitability by 30bps to 10.4%. Its LED-based sales grew by 1.4%YoY, representing 78% of its sales. For 4Q19, Signify, registered sales for EUR 1.75 billion (US$ 1.94 billion) which improved by 1.4% compared to 4Q18. The adjusted gross margin increased by 30 bps to 37.8%, including a positive currency effect of 30 bps. Adjusted EBITA am...

The ZKW Group, which was acquired by LG Electronics in 2018, announced that it has established a branch in Incheon, Korea in December 2019, with the integration with the rear light business of LG Electronics. The company also integrated the rear light production of LG Electronics in Ningbo, China. These new locations are added with the aim to further expand business in the Korean automotive market and the Asia-Pacific region. (Image: ZKW) At the time ZKW was acquired by LG in 2018, it was already agreed that the “Exterior Lighting for Automoti...

University of Sheffield in the UK announced the launch of its new spin-out company focusing on Micro LED technology on January 31, 2020. The company, named EpiPix is developing and commercializing Micro LED technology for photonics applications covering AR/VR wearable devices, 3D sensing and LiFi. A research team of the university recently published a new manufacture method to develop green InGaN Micro LED. The research team leader, Professor Tao Wang at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, and th...

Samsung Electronics announced its collaboration with Niio Art, a platform for new media art, to launch an open call for new media artists for the Samsung The Wall x Niio Art Awards. The award aims to discover inspiring digital art from around the world. Entrants will compete for a chance to be exhibited internationally on Samsung’s The Wall, the highest quality, large form factor 4K Micro LED digital art canvas, and qualify for up to $15,000 in cash prizes. The competition will culminate in summer exhibitions at ten showcase locations including Korea, Singapore, ...

MEAN WELL, the leading standard power supply manufacturer, continues to promote the building automation technology for a green and sustainable society. In order to enlarge its KNX product variety to meet the needs of end customers and system integrators, MEAN WELL unveiled the KNX LED driver PWM-60/120KN. PWM-KN series is an AC/DC LED driver featuring constant voltage mode with PWM style output, which is able to maintain color temperature and brightness homogeneity when driving all kinds of LED strips. Its KNX interface also helps to ...

CASE – Connected, Autonomous/Automated, Shared and Electric was centered at AUTOMOTIVE WORLD this year. Following the topic, LEDinside visited several LiDAR and LiDAR component companies participating the event and learnt the latest trends and development in ADAS and self-driving technology. Velodyne Lidar showcased the full portfolio to support progresses in ADAS and autonomous driving. Its Alpha Prime carries a sensing range up to 200 meters and 360 degree horizontal FOV, making the highest specification in the industry. Velar...

One of the major focuses at AUTOMOTIVE WORLD 2020 was driver IC, who plays a critical role for automotive lighting technology. Driver IC companies across the world came to the event with their novel technology and components to simplify current management, improve the flexibility of light design and increase applications. Rohm released a new four channel LED driver BD18337EFV-M, which its thermal dispersion outputs can be controlled by one pin to reduce component and installation area. The driver can be applied in rear lights including brake lights and tail...

Comparing to CES, NEPCON is more a low-key show focusing more on the technology communication rather than media exposure. The event style also reflected on how Micro LED technology was presented in the two shows. At NEPCON Japan, even though Micro LED and Mini LED displays are not as highlighted as they were at CES 2020, LEDinside still saw some Japan based exhibitors introducing their proprietary technologies covering mass transferring and inspection. These equipment makers offer mass production solutions for Micro LED displays, which are right ...

MEX Exhibitions in collaboration with IMPACT Exhibition Management is going to launch the 8th edition of LED Expo Thailand + Light ASEAN, the UFI approved event and ASEAN’s Largest International Exhibition on LED Products & Technology. Featuring cutting-edge LEDs, smart lighting and energy saving solutions, as well as a leading industry knowledge platform for modern entrepreneur, this trade exhibition will be held from 24 to 26 June 2020 at Hall 5 - 6, IMPACT Exhibition Centre, Bangkok, Thailand. More than 250 exhibitors and 8...

The progresses of EV and autonomous driving technology bring in new designs and functions for vehicles. Automotive displays also extend its applications from function oriented to entertainment oriented. Rearview mirrors, dashboard and central control system also become more integral, leading to new challenges and opportunities for technology developers. At AUTOMOTIVE WORLD 2020, countless new technology and products were thus presented. Japan’s Asahi KASEI created a conceptual self-driving car at AUTOMOTIVE WORLD, providing a next-gen trans...

Every year at NEPCON and AUTOMOTIVE WORLD, industry professionals and experts across the world come and present their latest progresses as well as exchanging insights of development trends. LEDinside was honored to joined the show this year as well and observed that many companies who used to registered under NEPCON have moved to AUTOMOTIVE WORLD and showcased products of automotive LEDs and panels, marking transformations within the LED industry. EVERLIGHT, Taiwan’s LED packager, was one of the LED companies that m...

On January 27, Nitride Semiconductor announced that it won a patent infringement lawsuit against RayVio Corporation, a California UV-LED company. On January 13, The California Northern District federal court issued a judgment in favor of Nitride, declaring that RayVio has infringed Nitride's patent and that the asserted claims of Nitride's patent are not invalid. A one month ago, U.S. Patent Office has also confirmed the validity on the key claims of Nitride's patent in its final judgments of the Inter Parte Review case filed by RayVio. ...

25 years onwards, the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE) has evolved into Asia’s most distinguished lighting fair. While GILE debuted with a humble 96 Chinese exhibitors in 1996, its last edition in 2019 demonstrated the fair’s considerable growth over the years with over 2,600 exhibitors from 22 countries and regions.   2020 marks the 25th edition of the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition which will be held from 9 – 12 June 2020 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou. The past 25 years not only ...

Autonomous driving technology and related applications continue their heat at NEPCON and AUTOMOTIVE WORLD 2020 with the event host inviting leading industry professionals from DENSO, BOSCH, and Continental to talk about “Evolution of Mobility.” The keynote speech attracted more than 3000 people and was the most popular conference this year. Yoshifumi Kato, Senior Executive Officer at Engineering Research & Development Center of DENSO, opened up the section by pointing out the background of mobility technology development ...

The lawsuit between LED filament bulb developer Liquidleds and lighting company GIRARD SUDRON, filed in December 2018, has come to an end. Liquidleds started collecting evidence and filed a patent lawsuit against GIRARD SUDRON in December 2018. The Mannheim Court of Germany found the European light seller guilty of infringing Liquidleds’ patents and ruled that it should refrain from offering, placing on the market, and/or importing patent-infringing products. As it was also demanded to pay back the loss to Liquidleds, both parties are finalizi...

he concurrent show with NEPCON Japan, AUTOMOTIVE WORLD, consists of six specialized shows including CAR-ELE JAPAN, EV JAPAN, Automotive Lightweight Technology Expo, Connected Car Japan, and CAR-MECHA Japan, making it the world largest exhibition for advanced automotive technologies. Autonomous driving technology and related industry is beyond doubt the most attractive topic at the show. The exhibition invited several industry leaders to share the current trend and technology progress of self-driving technology. The keynote speec...

Viavi Solutions and LG Innotek have settled VIAVI’s complaints regarding its patented optical filters with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Pursuant to the agreement, VIAVI has withdrawn the lawsuits against LG Electronics. Further terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential and are not being disclosed. The ITC and California complaints remain active and proceed forward with regard to defendant Optrontec. The complaints pursue claims t...

The 34th NEPCON Japan was held last week from January 15 to 17 in Tokyo. Launched more than 30 years ago, the show has grown together with the Japanese and Asian electronics industry, gathering specialists of electronic components, materials, packaging devices, LEDs, lasers and more. Worldwide visitors and professionals continuous to participate in the event to learn the latest trend and technology of the industry. This year in LED & Laser Diode Technology EXPO, one of the show under NEPCON, LEDinside observed a trend that most of the exhibitors ...

NEPCON, Japan’s largest exhibition for electronics manufacturing and R&D technology consisting of seven shows, together with AUTOMOTIVE WORLD, the world’s biggest automotive technology exhibition, took place last week in Tokyo Big Sight. The two events gathered more than 2100 exhibitors with 440 global participants, attracting more than 70000 visitors across the world to take a look of the leading technologies. This year, NEPCON Japan focused on AI and the ready to go 5G connection. Companies that expert in 5G component manufac...

Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) showcased its ultra small pitch size Micro LED display module at CES this year. The Micro LED display was the world first display manufactured by directly transfer micron size RGB chips on to PCB backplane. LEDinside interviewed Chih-I Wu, General Director of Eletronics and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories at ITRI, to learn ITRI’s technology progresses in Micro LED and its goal for the next stage. (Chih-I Wu, General Director of Eletronics and Optoele...

After receiving $15 million investment from Google, the Lund University spin-out glō has been proactively presenting its Micro LED technology in the past two years by participating in various international events and expanding partnerships with worldwide display manufacturers. LEDinside interviewed Saket Chadda, CEO of glō USA, at CES 2020 to further understand the company’s progresses on Micro LED technology. During CES 2020, glō presented Micro LED displays that were built with different technologies including a 1.6-inch and a 1.8-inch ful...

A research team in Taiwan measured lamps in the market and found that nearly all the desk lamps are too bright that they may damage the eye. Jwo-Huei Jou, professor at Taiwan’s National Tsing Hwa University (NTHU), and his team consisting of student from Shu Guang Girl's Senior High School and Ho-Shin Chen and NTHU, measured that white CFL with a color temperature of 5600K at an illuminance of 101 lux permits 29-minute reading time, and white LED of 5300K at 196 lux permits only 13 minutes. Situation would become worse with a blue light-enrich...

Wireless lighting control expert Casambi announced that it has signed an agreement with Osram to extend their technology partnership. The two companies will leverage their expertise to develop further intelligent Casambi-ready hardware, as well as lighting control software solutions for the professional lighting market. (Image provided by Casambi, photo credit: NicoElNino / Shutterstock) Casambi’s embedded Bluetooth module is designed for integration with LED drivers, lighting control systems and light fixtures. The module is pre-programmed with Casambi’s ...

Mojo Vision, a U.S.-based startup who presented Micro LED display with ultra-high resolution, announced its current project working on the world’s first true smart contact lens, called the Mojo Lens. According to Mojo Vision, the smart contact lens with a built-in display provide people the useful and timely information without the needs to at a screen. Mojo calls this eyes-up experience Invisible Computing, a platform that enables information to be instantaneous, unobtrusive and available hands-free. (Image: Mojo Vision) The company aims to demonstrate a w...

Osram announced the new generation of its Oslon Square Hyper Red, the LED that support innovative horticulture lighting applications by providing the exact light composition according to the needs of plants for ideal growth or to develop certain characteristics. Plants predominantly need red (640 to 700 nm) and blue light (400 to 490 nm) for their growth. For example, red light promotes the production of biomass in plants. (Image: Osram) The new generation of the Oslon Square Hyper Red with a wavelength of 660 nm. According to Osram, apart from its efficiency valu...

iBeam Materials announced that it has successfully demonstrated the ability to make high-performance GaN Field-Effect Transistors (FETs) directly on thin, flexible and rollable metal foil substrates. These transistors can be produced without the need for a transfer step and can be integrated side-by-side with Micro LED emitters previously demonstrated by iBeam for use in a display. iBeam expects to see the technology available for large-scale manufacturing by 2022. The advent of paper-thin, ultra-flexible Micro LED displays using iBeam technology eliminates the trad...

The law of ‘survival of the fittest’ applies to almost all fields in the world. But, it evolves even more dramatically in the commerce field. Take the lighting industry for an example; in recent years with large investment flocking in and technology revolution, the industry has been undergoing a fast reshuffle. During the upheaval, many large-scale enterprises which boast their major advantage in capital to extend industrial chains end up selling out their business, while some small or medium-sized ones survived and became industry leaders. Shanghai Wellmax Lighting (W...

Nichia filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Feit Electric (Feit), a US-based manufacturer and distributor of LED lighting products on January 13, 2020, in California. With the lawsuit, Nichia claimed that Feit has infringe Nichia’s filament LED patent at issue with approximately 200 different products. The infringed patent, Nichia’s U.S. Patent No. 9,752,734, is directed to an LED light bulb in which the LEDs are configured to resemble the appearance of a traditional incandescent bulb. (Image: Pixabay) Nichia filed its application ...

Taiwan LED packager EVERLIGHT is demonstrating its complete automotive production lines and related modules such as Mini LED lamp, smart multi array lamp and fish scale rear lamps at NEPCON Japan 2020, taking place during January 15 to 17. With continuous evolution of global technology and digital transformation of the automotive industry, EVERLIGHT has adopted the ISELED technology to launch the EL SMARTLED series (3.0x4.1x0.9mm) with embedded smart ICs in order to comply with these trends and target intelligent innovation and R&D...