Japanese manufacturers in the Tohoku region went about business as usual, despite a 7.4 magnitude quake at a depth of 10 kilometers that struck off the shores of Fukushima earlier this morning, reported TechNews.

Growing number of Chinese smartphone makers are raising investments in OLED panels, including BOE Technology Group and six other major local players have constructed new factories and invested in total more than 2 trillion Japanese Yen (US $9 billion), reported Nikkei Asian Review.

Xiaolan, a small town with a population of 157,000 residents located in Guangdong Province in Southern China has seen its LED industry market value balloon in a short span of 8-years, reported Zhongshan Daily.

The 13th China International Forum on Solid State Lighting (SSLCHINA 2016) and 3th International Forum on Wide Bandgap Semiconductors China（IFWS）were held in Beijing International Convention Center from November 15 to 18, 2016. The forums and conferences realized China’s 13th Five- Year Plan by providing strategic highlights of electronic material projects. LEDinside has summarized talks of professionals and experts in each area, including Micro LED, Laser lighting, VCSEL, Li-Fi Communication, smart lighitng and well-being lighting.

With their research on nanomaterials for optoelectronics, scientists from Heidelberg University and the University of St Andrews (Scotland) have succeeded for the first time to demonstrate a strong interaction of light and matter in semiconducting carbon nanotubes. Such strong light-matter coupling is an important step towards realizing new light sources, such as electrically pumped lasers based on organic semiconductors. They would be, amongst other things, important for applications in telecommunications. These results are the outcome of a cooperation between Prof. Dr Jana Zaumseil (Heidelberg) and Prof. Dr Malte Gather (St Andrews), and have been published in “Nature Communications”.

The Necklace of Lights is a string of more than 4,000 lights encircling the 4.82 kilometers (3.4-mile) Lake Merritt waterfront in Oakland, California. The last major re-lamping of the 90-year-old landmark took place in 2006, when 11-watt incandescent bulbs were replaced with 3-watt cold cathode compact fluorescent bulbs. As the cold cathode bulbs aged, replacements became increasingly expensive and hard to find. The City of Oakland needed a solution that would deliver high-quality illumination, energy savings and longevity. Working with local MaxLite distributor San Leandro Electric Supply, the city recently replaced the 4,500 cold cathode bulbs with MaxLite 2.5-watt LED Marquee Lamps.

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS, a leading player in the global LED and optoelectronics industry, introduces the ALS-PD50-42C. The new ambient light sensor operates at a 550nm and has a very low signal calculation failure rate and a high current efficiency.  The/An ideal application for this device is heart rate signal detection in wearable electronics for the health and fitness industry. 

UBM Malaysia is organizing Ecobuild Southeast Asia 2017, to be held from 12 to 14 April at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), hosted by Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. This event will mark the fourth year of partnership with the International Construction Week 2017, positioned as the region’s leading event for sustainable design, construction, energy and the built environment. This year’s theme, “Towards Enhancing Quality & Safety in Construction”, pits perfectly with one of the pillars of the Malaysia Construction Industry Transformation plan till 2020(CITP).

The 22nd edition of the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE), the most influential and comprehensive lighting and LED event in Asia, is set to take place from 9 – 12 June 2017 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, China. Based on positive feedback from the industry, the “THINKLIGHT” show concept was a resounding success and will continue to develop at the 2017 show under the theme “The convergent future”. In the LED era, lighting has capabilities that are greater than basic on/off and dimming functions. The totality of lighting has moved beyond the scope of illumination and the industry is witnessing the creation of a future that converges different sectors and elements that revolve around human wellbeing.

The 13th China International Forum on Solid State Lighting (SSLCHINA 2016) and 3th International Forum on Wide Bandgap Semiconductors China（IFWS）were held in Beijing International Convention Center from November 15 to 18, 2016. The forums and conferences realized China’s 13th Five- Year Plan by providing strategic highlights of electronic material projects. LEDinside has summarized talks of professionals and experts in each area, including Micro LED, Laser lighting, VCSEL, Li-Fi Communication, smart lighitng and well-being lighting.

Taiwanese IC driver manufacturer Macroblock has successfully developed LED drivers for small pitch displays, and is eyeing driver solutions for an innovative display technology next year, reported China Post.

German MOCVD manufacturer Aixtron and Chinese investor Grand Chip Investment are determined to complete the acquisition business transaction despite objections raised by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

U.S. LED manufacturer Cree has filed a lawsuit against another LED competitor MaxBrite over design patent and trademark infringement last week, reported Triangle Business Journal.

Boston Electronics Corporation (BEC), a leader in the distribution and advanced electro-optical products and solutions, announces a new partnership with Nikkiso USA.  This partnership combines Boston Electronics’ presence in the ultraviolet (UV) market with Nikkiso’s advanced ultraviolet light emitting diode products (UV-LED).  Under the new agreement BEC will distribute Nikkiso’s UV-LED products into the North American market.

NIPSCO announced plans to convert existing street lights to LED)technology through its LED Street Light Program. NIPSCO-owned street lights will be changed at no additional cost to participating communities. This program is the first of its kind in Indiana.

Rayvio CIO Yitao Liao has launched an Indigogo campaign to finance the launch of portable medical grade UV LED sterilizer, Ellie.

Latest developments in Germany this week are making a Chinese investor takeover of Osram, and the outlook of the approval of IDG Capital consortium’s acquisition of LEDVANCE appear rather dim. Germany’s biggest labor union has become one of the latest advocates against a Chinese merger of Osram, as it seeks to keep factory jobs and others in the country.

Since early November, many Chinese carton factories began to reject new orders or restrict orders. The situation has been ongoing till now, with factories in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas responded the most. As many as 18 local large and medium-sized carton factories issued emergent notices of the rise in price on the single day of November 12. Paper suddenly became in short supply. Carton factories couldn’t buy base paper even with cash in hand, causing a chain reaction of the entire manufacture industry.

Apple is asking some of its key iPhone suppliers including Foxconn and Pegatron to shift production to U.S. following President Donald Trump’s policies promoting “made in America,” reported Nikkei Asian Review.

For the first time, researchers have created light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on lightweight flexible metal foil.

Exiting from cut-throat price competitions in the blue LED lighting segment, LED epitaxial wafer and chip manufacturer Arima Optoelectronics (Arima) has halted manufacturing of blue LED chips altogether and shifted to AlGaInP production, reported DIGITIMES.

Philips Photonics, a wholly owned business of Royal Philips announced that it is doubling capacity at its laser-diode facility in Ulm, Germany, to provide the key components for some of the latest developments in data communication, consumer sensing and industrial thermal processing.

Littelfuse  announced that Gordon Hunter, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, will transition to the role of Executive Chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Dave Heinzmann, Chief Operating Officer, will assume the position of President and Chief Executive Officer at that time and will join the company’s board of directors, bringing the size of the board to eight members.

Last night at the Printed Electronics USA conference in Santa Clara, Calif., Kateeva’s YIELDjet™ FLEX inkjet printing system was named the winner of the prestigious Technical Development Manufacturing Award. Presented annually by conference organizer IDTechEx, the award honors the most significant development of a manufacturing device process or production plant in the printed electronics industry over the previous 24 months. In particular, manufacturing developments that optimize the process of lab-scale or mass-scale production by improving productivity, quality, reliability, uniformity, or scale.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, has created a sneak preview of what urban life could be like in 2030, in a future-gazing virtual reality experience. At Smart Cities Expo World Congress in Barcelona today, Philips Lighting Research unveiled a picture of how connected lighting technology will play a key part in underpinning the smart cities we can expect to inhabit in just over a decade. 

Star Li, a senior application engineer at NXP automotive solid-state lighting team explains how automotive lighting systems can be designed using multi-phase driver IC in headlamp lighting controls.

Marktech Optoelectronics, a supplier of visible, infrared, and SWIR LED products, introduces its latest series of high-reliability metal can packages, which incorporate Cree's robust LED die. Cree combines highly efficient InGaN materials with proprietary substrates to deliver superior performance for high-intensity LEDs. Marktech's metal can packages, offered in different heights and lensing options, are available for single or multichip die configurations, depending on the application needs.

Joining the A5 model line, the all-new Audi A5 and S5 Sportback will make their US debut at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show. Featuring the distinctive Sportback body style, first introduced on the successful A7 model line, and generous interior space, the five-door coupe is a sporty yet functional choice for customers.

EarthTronics, dedicated to developing innovative energy efficient lighting products that provide a positive economic and environmental impact for its customers, offers a new line of EarthBulb filament LEDs as an energy-efficient solution for replacing incandescent decorative and general service bulbs for home, hospitality, restaurant, and commercial locations.

The value of the global market for disinfection reaches US $ 500 billion with applications across residential market, medical and industrial areas. The emergence of energy-efficient products and policy of mercury prohibition contribute to the high value of disinfection industry, enabling deep UV LED products one of market strategy in entering niche markets. Epileds, an UV and IR LED chip and High Power Lighting, manufacturer of LED packages and modules are optimistic about the potential DUV LEDs hold. The two companies reached agreement to actively develop and deploy a Taiwan-based DUV LED supply chain. Epileds and High Power Lighting announced at a product conference at the end of 2016 the joint venture company named Bioraytron. The joint company will enable vertical integration of DUV LED applications, starting from epitaxy to LED chip manufacturing while focusing on the sales of UV-C LED packages and modules.