The LED market is growing with LED lighting applications expanding. LED lighting has grown from 22 percent in 2012 to 26 percent in 2013, according to Kuo, and is expected to grow further in 2014 to 30 percent. The market has benefited a lot by the introduction into smartphones by companies such as Samsung and LG. Smartphone applications surpassed feature phones in 2Q13 and have continued to dominate.

The LED industry’s fierce price competition is putting manufacturers under increasing pressure to cut costs. To stand out from the crowd, Russia based manufacturer Monocrystal has sought alternative sapphire substrate market applications other than LEDs, such as smartphone markets. Mikhail Berest, Senior VP Global Sales Director, Monocrystal sheds light on the company’s sapphire substrate technology that has enabled these high end applications at day one of LEDforum Taipei 2013 that took place at Evergreen International Convention Center on Oct. 16-17, 2013.

Korean electronics manufacturer LG Display is rumored to become one of Apple iWatch’s OLED suppliers, according to a report by the Korean Herald. The report noted Apple has a tendency of diversifying its supply chain, and Taiwan’s RiTDisplay is a strong OLED candidate. The OLED supply chain is likely to be led by RiTDisplay with LG Display as the secondary Apple OLED supplier. 

Panasonic recently decided to slash 7,000 jobs in the semiconductor business to boost earnings in fiscal 2014 due to rising competition from Asian manufacturers and eroding sales. However, this has not deterred the financially ailing company from donating 100,000 solar LED lamps to people in areas with limited access to electricity.

Rubicon Technology, Inc.yesterday reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2013.

Rubicon announced the launch of the first commercial line of large diameter patterned sapphire substrates (PSS) in four-inch through eight-inch diameters. This new product line provides LED chip manufacturers with a ready-made source of large diameter PSS to serve the needs of the rapidly growing LED general lighting industry.

Light meets high performance design, with the launch of Hubbell Industrial Lighting's LunaBay Series LED Highbay. The new fixture delivers an exceptional combination of low glare light, energy efficiency, and long life to attractively light retail spaces, schools and light industrial facilities.

Korean designer Lee Myung Su first released his SEIL Bag, a LED bag for bikers in 2010. The company is now trying to take the product into the mass production phase with its Kickstarter project. 

The LUXEON TX LED combines the highest luminous flux with extreme efficacy-- a feature mix formerly reserved for premium luminaires Today Philips Lumileds introduces LUXEON TX emitters, which deliver high luminous flux and maximum efficacy for a variety of directional and omnidirectional lighting applications. “These emitters are truly transformative in that they enable customers to achieve performance metrics -- such as a true 50W equivalent MR16 lamp at 2700K that meets ERP/DIM2 requirements -- which LEDs simply could not meet previously,&rdquo...

In LEDforum 2013, CN Sun, Principal of GUANG Lighting Design, had a speech on "LED Lighting in Hotels and Grand Residences". In the presentation, he mentioned an important idea -- awareness of light, and pointed out the benefits of control system. Previous article: Think With the Right Brain – Interview with CN Sun, Alexander in LEDforum2013 (1/2)

The world’s second largest lighting expo, the 15th edition Hong Kong International Lighting Fair which runs from Oct. 27-30 this year, successfully kicked off at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on Sunday. The fair broke another all time high record by attracting 2,360 manufacturers from more than 38 countries and regions to attend. This exhibition emphasized on the innovative application instead of lighting technology so visitors did have a tour of fancy lighting fixtures.

Chinese LED manufacturer Elec-Tech released their 3Q financial report on October 29th, 2013.

The world’s second largest lighting expo, the 15th edition Hong Kong International Lighting Fair which runs from Oct. 27-30, 2013 this year successfully kicked off at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on Sunday. The fair broke another all time high record by attracting 2,360 manufacturers from more than 38 countries and regions to attend the show.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer Laster Tech has set its sights on the automotive lighting market as LED technology matures in this particular field. The company has settled most production order for 2014 and have recently announced the increase in funds in its Shanghai factory to meet capital turnover demands from soaring 2014 shipment orders.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a new report, Color Maintenance of LEDs in Laboratory and Field Applications. Although concern for parametric failure of LED lighting products has largely been focused on lumen maintenance, color shift is a cause of early failure for some products, especially in applications where visual appearance is critical.

Everlight Electronics CO., LTD. showcases varieties of new series of LED lighting components and fixtures at 2013 Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition). This year, Everlight represents most updating series of high efficient LED lighting packages including High, Mid and Low Power LED and COB LED packages and certification listed including CE, UL or Energy Star LED retrofits and fixtures to show customers the ability of OEM/ODM and the one stop purchasing experience.

Silver Spring Networks, Inc., a leading networking platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks, announced today it has been selected to deliver the networking platform for a citywide intelligent street lights project in Copenhagen, Denmark. Under a new partnership with Citelum, the global leader in lighting, traffic management, and other urban electrical systems, Silver Spring is expected to begin networking 20,000 street lights in Copenhagen in 2014. 

Tridonic recently launched a new laser LED module. The new compact TALEXXengine STARK NEW DLE modules are 80 percent more efficient than their predecessors. A larger light emission surface also leads to a lower luminance and better glare reduction options for downlights. 

Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has announced the first devices in its second generation of LETERAS white LEDs fabricated using a gallium nitride-on cilicon (GaN-on-Si) process. The 1W TL1F2 LEDs offer a cost-competitive alternative to current LED packages, allowing manufacturers of general purpose and industrial LED lighting to drive down costs.

TSMC Solid State Lighting Ltd and Xiamen Topstar Co., Ltd. will announce their strategic cooperation at the 2013 Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition). Inaugurating the cooperation, a series of lighting products were released together. The new product series applies TSMC Solid State Lighting’s industry-leading package-free PoD technology to Topstar’s newest generation of lamp products. Topstar’s renowned brand name and excellent manufacturing capability joining forces with TSMC Solid State Lighting’s advanced LED technology create a strong partnership able to provide world-class products for the China and global LED lighting markets.

Soraa, manufacturer of GaN on GaN™ LED technology, announced today that Jeffery (Jeff) Parker has joined the company as the new Chief Executive Officer. A seasoned lighting executive and innovator, Parker will leverage his keen business acumen, acquired expertise grooming companies to financial maturity, and his reputation as one of the industry's primary thought-leaders to propel Soraa forward on a trajectory of sustained growth and success.

LG Electronics (LG) has officially taken the wraps off the LG G Flex, a smartphone curved to follow the contour of the face, the first device to offer such a design in the smartphone market. The latest device in LG's premium G Series, the G Flex incorporates proprietary innovations from other LG companies in the form of the display and battery that have never been seen before. The LG G Flex also boasts new user experience (UX) features that take advantage of the curved form factor.

Regarding application and cognition of light, there are completely different opinions from technological and design aspects. CN (Alexander) Sun, Principal of GUANG Lighting Design in Taiwan, talked about the application of LED in hotels and grand residences and discussed the “quality of light” in LEDforum 2013. This way of aesthetical thinking is from our right brain.

With big smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and LG introducing sapphire substrate into smartphone camera lens protector caps and home buttons, the market predicts that in 2014 sapphire substrate will also be used to replace glass in smartphone screens. Glass substrate manufacturer Corning, however, maintains a guarded opinion towards the replacement as production costs for sapphire substrate are high and sapphire substrate, which is as thin as glass substrate Gorilla Glass has a higher damage rate. 

Mid-power LEDs performance in 2013 has been stellar. Mid-power LED has become the mainstream for interior lighting, including retrofit bulbs, remarked Sean Zhou, Asia Regional Marketing Director, Philips Lumileds during the LEDforum Taipei 2013. Large volume of mid-powered LED are applied in downlights and panels.. Indoor lighting applications for downlights and panels is hoped to turn to mid-powered LEDs in the future. The Philips Lumileds flip-chip high voltage currents and small sized packaging can achieve better luminosity (lm/w) and price/performance ratio (lm/$) through. The company plans to introduce flip-chip technology into the mid-power LED market in the future.

Taiwanese LED packager High Power Lighting Corp. has alleged fellow Taiwanese LED packager Lustrous for violating trade secrets laws. Lustrous announced on Oct. 25, 2013 that the Taiwan Taipei District Court plans to schedule the preliminary hearing for the case on Nov. 14, 2013. Lustrous has hired lawyers to defend them at court.

Dramatic advances in the field of quantum dot light emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) could come from recent work by the Nanotechnology and Advanced Spectroscopy team at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

To make the case of Glasses Free 3D Displays in public areas viable, the size and quality of displays are critical. Thanks to Osram Opto Semiconductors’ cutting edge technology, a recent Glasses Free 3D Display introduced by Atech Korea Co., Ltd. measures up to 500 inches. These video display walls are intended to be used in indoor public areas, such as shopping mall and exhibition hall. With a contrast ratio of 4000:1 and screen brightness at 4,500 cd/m2, the viewing distance can be up to 30 meters.

Mighty Bright, designer and manufacturer of innovative personal LED lights, has launched Baby Bright, a unique line of LED Nursery Lights with nursery-friendly designs and utilitarian features to enhance and enlighten both parents’ and infants’ lives. Baby Bright lights provide nursery-essential lighting for furniture and changing tables, and are available at //www.mightybright.com, an online shopping destination for LED lights for everyday life.

A 7W LED bulb that will not suppress the production of melatonin is now available from Photonic Developments LLC at //www.lowbluelights.com for US$ 34.95. This compares with US$ 69.95 for a competing LED good night bulb that only cuts blue light in half.