Macroblock, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of LED driver, has released its half-year results of 2009, assessed the business environment, and outlined the business strategy at the investor conference on August 05, 2009. In 2009 half-year financial report, Macroblock reached revenue of NTD553 millions, decreased by 12.4% compared to that of the same period of last year. The consolidated gross profit margin reached 42.8%. The net income was NTD69.8 millions and the earnings after income tax was NTD2.28 per share.

Evluma, a SSL manufacturer located in Seattle, the U.S., announces the new Clearlight 40W Wide Optic LED luminaire for dusk-till-dawn area lights, the latest in its line of energy efficient, LED replacement lamp / luminaries. With a peak intensity vertical angle of 53º the new wide optic delivers light in an evenly dispersed NEMA Type 5 (circular) pattern.

Dongwoon Anatech today announced it has selected Tower Semiconductor, Ltd. as its sole manufacturing partner for high volume, energy saving LED lighting devices used in both home and industrial applications. Tower was chosen for its 20V to 60V scalable LDMOS power management process technology which provides design optimization and the lowest die size at any given breakdown voltage.

OptoElectronix, a LED light engine manufacturer, today announced a five-year (or 35,000-hour, whichever comes first) warranty on their complete line of LED Universal Light Engine(TM) products. These light engines provide full plug-and-play functionality, making it simple for designers to incorporate solid-state lighting into a wide variety of existing and new luminaires. OptoElectronix Universal Light Engines include the LED, a thermal network, optics, the electronic driving system for the LEDs, and a range of control functions.

As the promotion of the 2009 "Beijing City Green Light Project" draws to a close, Beijing’s public institutions will gradually realize the vision of “Green Lighting” in the city. In accordance with the set requirements, Beijing City’s public institutions will be advocating the adoption of 1.85 million high-efficiency lights in 2009, and it is mandatory that Beijing municipal government institutions purchase and recycle 90% of the fluorescent lights that are replaced by the energy-efficient ones.

Infineon Technologies AG has recently introduced the low cost LED driver IC BCR 450 which was specifically designed for driving high power LEDs. As BCR 450 produces no electromagnetic radiation, it is well-suited for applications sensitive against electromagnetic interference (EMI) as well as medical applications with communication bus systems, and wide range of other applications, according to the company.

According to institutional investors, Taiwan-based Epistar Corp. and Unity Opto Technology Co. are both expected to post increased sales for July from June, the Taiwan Economic News reports.

In an effort to boost growth by moving into new businesses, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is in talks to purchase companies in the solar and light-emitting diode (LED) industries, the company’s Chairman and CEO Morris Chang said, according to a report on Bloomberg.

UK LED manufacturer i-Pix launches a new version of its BB7 LED luminaire - with wider angles than the original 10 degree BB7 Beam Light fixture developed last year. The new BB7 optics offer a 10 (spot), a 20 degree and a 35 degree (flood) angle - in one fixture.

A study on the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of LED lamps by OSRAM shows the latest generation of lamps achieves a very high score for environmental friendliness. This study involved a close look at their entire life-cycle – how much energy and raw materials the lamp consumes in terms of production, use and disposal and the environmental impact involved in the process. The result was that today’s LED lamps achieve the LCA values of compact fluorescent lights and are far superior to conventional incandescent lamps.

Optoga has introduced an update on their line of light Engines called OptoDrive. With integrated driver to secondary optics, just plug and play modules! OptoDrive Felicia and Clara are complete light modules that can easily be fitted into most types of light fitting. The compact modules give superbly balanced light, both in terms of color reproduction and spread, according to the company.

Applied LED technology specialist Dialight has introduced Powerwhite® AR111 and MR16 fully modular circular arrays using the latest ultra high brightness LEDs as highly efficient and long lasting retro-fittable alternatives for conventional lighting fixtures.

With this new range of designer LED ceiling lights, ICONIC LIGHTS have found that energy saving lights can not only save money but can be designer or contemporary too. LED lights use a fraction of the electricity that a traditional light would do and they last 25 times longer. And homes or businesses can not only create a dramatic impact but can save up to 80% electricity too, the company said.

Interview with Dr. Christian Geng, Vice President Greater China, General Manager AIXTRON Taiwan and Mr Bernd Wachtendorf, Director of Operations: Encouraged by lower sapphire substrate price, the 4 inch MOCVD equipment is expected to become mainstream next year.

A new burglar deterrent device from Opto-Electronic Design, FakeTV, uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and optics to produce exactly the same sort of light a television does. The idea is that when a burglar sees the light from an operating television shining through the curtains, he probably thinks that somebody is home and that he should move on to an easier mark.

Barcelona's RCD Espanyol football club hosted the first game in its new, purpose-built stadium in Cornellà-El Prat on August 2nd. Two 7.6 x 4.3 metre Diamond Vision screens and more than 90 Mitsubishi Electric LCD displays help maximise enjoyment for visitors to Spain's most modern sporting venue.

LG Electronics has recently launched its new LH90 series HDTVs to the U.S. market. The new series are the first LCDs to receive THX Display Certification in the U.S. market, the company claimed.  

As the largest enterprise in Asia’s glaze industry, China Glaze Group expands its business field into the LED industry. The target monthly output of LED phosphor powder was raised to 450kgs~600kgs from its initial 100kgs. The production is expected to grow fourfold, and the visibility exceed 1 ton. Due to the low cost of raw materials, the group may achieve NT$50 million in profit during Q209, which is 4 times that of 1Q09.

Himax Technologies Inc., a designer of driver IC chipsets and affiliated with Taiwan-based Chi Mei Group, has announced a plan to kick off mass production of white LED (light emitting diode) driver ICs at the end of the third quarter of this year, according to an article on Taiwan Economic Times.

AIXTRON announced its consolidated financial results for the first half of 2009. Stimulated by the adoption of LED backlight in LCD TV, AIXTRON recorded 23% increase in sequential quarterly revenues from EUR 46.2 million in Q1 to EUR 56.7 million in Q2.

SemiLEDs announced today that it has entered into a joint cooperation with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to initiate a pilot program to convert part of ITRI’s campus street lamps from metal halide into LED systems.

The roof of Melbourne’s new Rectangular Stadium would be covered with thousands of LED lights that can shine in any color and be programmed into a multitude of patterns, Tim Pallas, Major Projects Minister of Australia recently announced. The lighting scheme would put the AU$267.5 million Rectangular Stadium up there with Beijing’s water cube and the 2006 World Cup stadium Allianz Arena in Munich, Mr. Pallas said.

Mr. Beams LED Lighting has just released the new Energy-efficient Wireless Lights for dorm rooms. The new products can be placed anywhere and are activated by motion sensors, and provide the right amount of light in the dorm room for the roommate who is awake, while not disturbing the sleep of others, according to the company.

Diguang International Development Co., Ltd. recently announced that a press conference was held exclusively for Diguang to introduce its LED display products at the Yangzhou New Light Public Service Center in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province in July.

GE Consumer & Industrial announces that Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. has replaced approximately 12,000 standard incandescent and halogen lights in more than 150 Red Robin® restaurant locations in the U.S. with new, more efficient 7-watt GE light emitting diode (LED) PAR 20 flood and spot lights. Red Robin is using the GE LED lights for general down lighting applications that require a high quality of light, measured as lamp-to-lamp white LED color consistency.

The establishment of an LED industrial park in Changzhou, China consists of upstream components (epi wafer, chip), midstream (packaging), downstream LED lighting fixtures, LCD display LED backlight applications, solar-powered LED lighting, and high-power LEDs. The industrial park is an assembly of over 40 LED application makers. Changzhou’s Zouqu Lamp City, the largest market in China, is expected to boost the momentum of Changzhou’s solid state lighting development. The park’s development schedule is drafted in three stages:

Samsung Thursday announced in the U.S. its new 8500 HDTVs with a dynamic contrast ratio of 7,000,000:1. The new 46 and 56-inch models feature local-dimmer LED backlighting. Samsung said that their new LED technology delivers a more uniform illumination across the full width of the frame, and improves black levels, contrast and color saturation.

Utilizing metal heat sink, Liquidleds invents Liquid Immersed Thermal Management Solution (LITMS) that subverts conventional solution of heat dissipation and creates the first liquid-filled LED lightbulb in the world.

Lighthouse Technologies announced to have begun the installation of high definition LED screens at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Working with long time partner TS Sports, 25 Lighthouse LED screens, including four 1080p full HD screens on the center hung display, will be installed at the facility. The upgrade will be completed over the summer for the 2009-2010 Dallas Mavericks’ and Dallas Stars’ seasons, according to the company.

Litepanels, Inc., the provider of LED (light emitting diode) television and motion picture lighting equipment, announced that it will be awarded a Technology & Engineering Emmy(R) Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for its proprietary lighting systems.