Flip Chip Opto releases a first-in-class 2400 watt high powered horticultural flip chip COB. The 2400 watt flip chip COB is part of their new Duet series geared towards the grow light industry. The Duet 2400 is based on the company’s 3-PAD Pillar Metal Core Printed Circuit Board technology. This technology allows a breakthrough in high powered horticultural flip chip LEDs, reducing junction temperatures to 0.003˚C/W on Duet 2400 at a maximum power of 2433 watts.

One of the most triumphant moments in the book and recent movie The Martian comes when lead character, Mark Watney, successfully grows a potato crop on Mars. It’s more than food for survival; he’s also nourishing his spirit.  In space, there is no scent of baking bread, no wind on your face, no sound of raindrops hitting the roof, no favorite kitten to curl up in your lap. Over time, being deprived of these common earthbound sense stimulations takes a toll. Having limited access to stimuli to the senses is identified as a significant risk by NASA’sBehavioral Health and Performance team.

Colorado State University and Philips Lighting have forged a long-term collaborative partnership by signing an agreement to create a state-of-the-art LED-lighted education, research and training horticulture facility at CSU.

As LED applications gradually shift towards biology, medical, and health related market sectors, LED grow light applications large market potential has been recognized by the industry, according to a report from CALI. Chinese and international companies have entered the LED grow light market, with traditional lighting manufacturers Philips, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Seoul Semiconductor, Everlight, and Showa Denko all contending for market shares. The LED grow light industry is still mainly led by large multinational companies that have sufficient financing, advanced technology, and strong awareness of market deployment strategies.

To satisfy increasing consumer demand for locally grown, fresh tomatoes during off-seasons, greenhouse tomato growers often need to rely on supplemental lighting. Tomato growers are looking to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), favored for their energy-saving potential, as an alternative to high-pressure sodium lamps (HPS) in greenhouse operations. A recent study offers new information about the feasibility of using LEDs in greenhouse tomato operations.

TP Halo and Thailand’s Provincial Energy Agency are collaborating on launching new LED T8 tube lights in Thailand, said representatives interviewed at EcolightTech Asia 2015, which ran from Nov. 19-21, 2015 at Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand.

LumiGrow Research, the research division of horticultural LED lighting manufacturer LumiGrow released seven new scientific posters that reveal how crop morphology and productivity can be affected through the application of varied light spectra. LumiGrow research, conducted in partnership with commercial growers and universities, demonstrates breakthrough capabilities that adjustable-spectrum LED lighting now provides growers.

Japanese company Spread plans to construct a large fully automated vegetable factory capable of producing 30,000 heads of lettuce per day, according to a recent company statement.

Illumitex, green tech developer and manufacturer of LED grow light technology, announced initial steps in what is expected to be a long-term partnership with Singapore’s largest vertical farm, Sustenir Agriculture. Sustenir is an innovative indoor farming endeavor that brings much-needed local, fresh produce to the island country in Southeast Asia.

Illumitex Inc., LED innovator and maker of the world’s most optically advanced lighting products for horticulture, today announced it has signed a new customer, Green Life Productions (GLP). Based in Nevada, GLP is a pioneer in the organic cannabis cultivation industry. Illumitex’s highly sophisticated lighting technology will enable Green Life Productions to accelerate and maximize sustainable cannabis growth; producing a large yield while using less energy without the use of harmful chemicals.

Heliospectra, a world leader in intelligent lighting technology for plant research and greenhouse cultivation, has had its European patent application approved by the European Patent Office. This marks the seventh region to approve the Company’s core patent, as Europe joins the U.S., Russia, China, Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Illumitex, maker of technologically advanced LED grow lights, today announced an initiative to help innovative indoor growers to secure a portion of a $50M grant fund available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Kenall Manufacturing introduced Indigo-Clean™, a light fixture that uses Continuous Environmental Disinfection technology to continuously kill harmful bacteria linked to hospital acquired infections (HAIs). The technology behind Indigo-Clean™ inactivates a wide range of micro-organisms that are known causes of HAIs, including MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), C.difficile and VRE (Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus).

The Tracerline® OPTI-PRO(TM) Max (P/N TP-8630) is a cordless, state-of-the-art, True UV LED leak detection flashlight. It makes heavy duty/fleet vehicle leaks easy to spot, while slashing valuable diagnostic time for technicians.

The second day of IR+UV Expo 2015 special forum that took place in late April in Yokohama, Japan started off with a semiconductor components for laser diodes (LD) and UV LED developments presentation by a senior researcher from Japan’s prestigious research institute, Riken.

Charles Wei, the Chairman of HP Lighting shed some light on UV LED product development trends and solutions in an exclusive interview with LEDinside at IR+UV EXPO 2015, which took place in Pacifico Yokohama, Japan, from April 22-24, 2015.

Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials and a leading corporate venture firm, announced today that it has participated in a Series B financing round for RayVio Corporation, an advanced UV LED solutions company developing proprietary semiconductor-based technology for manufacturing solid state ultraviolet (SSUV) LED products and applications. RayVio's patented technology is intended to enable large-scale adoption of UV LEDs for the industrial, digital health and consumer sectors, with a variety of applications to benefit society.

Nitride Solutions a developer and manufacturer of advanced nitride substrates for LEDs, lasers, and power electronics—announced today that it has successfully closed US $3 million in new funding as Hansol Chemical, Greenpoint Global Mittelstand Fund, and Silicon Pastures Angel Investment Network joined the company’s investor group. Funds will be used to expand production of the company’s aluminum nitride substrate offerings, as well as to accelerate market introduction of its high-performance thermal management coatings.

Leading global LED manufacturer Nichia’s product lineup for 2015 will include UV LEDs, Mn 4+red phosphor powder, and laser diode products, company representatives revealed at a recent press conference at Hotel Okura in Taipei, Taiwan.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer AOT projected significant growth in the UV LED market after recently announcing last month’s revenues, according to a Chinese-media LaoYaoBao report.

Nikkiso America, a world leader in the development and commercialization of deep ultraviolet LEDs, has announced that it has initiated shipments of the world’s highest power deep UV-LEDs, featuring three times more optical power output than is commercially available from other sources in the UV-C and UV-B range. The Nikkiso UV-LED business will introduce the new high-power deep UV-LED product line for the first time in North America at the SPIE Photonics West exhibition in San Francisco February 10 - 12, 2015, North Hall Booth #4815. The Nikkiso UV-LED products are designed for applications in biomedical instrumentation and treatment, germicidal purification and sterilization, and industrial curing and printing.

Phoseon Technology, the leader in UV LED curing solutions, today announced the launch of the FireJet™ FJ800 area curing solution for electronics manufacturing. The new air-cooled solution is optimized for production lines with large area applications such as micro speakers, camera modules and flat panel displays. Starting from a base curing area of 100mm x 100mm, these modular products can scale in all directions and provide contiguous, uniform UV output. The FJ800 light sources are available in 365nm and 395nm wavelengths and come with a separate controller that uses a simple, intuitive graphical interface.