Shuiji Nakamura, the blue LED inventor and the winner of Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014, visited Taiwan last week and delivered speeches in Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University and Chung Hsing University, as well as in Micro LED company PlayNitride. Nakamura shared his research experiences in Japan and the U.S. on the way of blue LED development and pointed out the trends and potentials of the LED industry. Shuiji Nakamura was invited to PlayNitride Back in the 1990s, ZnSe was the material that the majority believed to be critical for...

Recently, the topic of blue light harming the eyes has been taken seriously and new LED development has focused on reducing the negative effect of blue light on the body. Theoretically, blue light wavelength ranges from 420nm to 480nm. According to one of the reports done by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the shorter wavelength range of blue light from 415nm to 460nm is most likely to damage the eye. The report also mentioned that when exposed to these short blue light ranges, the risk of getting eye disease such as Macular degeneration will increase. Most...

Dr. Hiroshi Amano, a 2014 Nobel laureate in physics, delivered a lecture at Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan on October 3rd, sharing his research progress on GaN blue LED with Prof. Isamu Akasaki and how he has transferred his research focus from blue LED to UV LED and GaN power. He also highlighted the potential applications of GaN technology in the era of IoT and 5G. 

Dr. Hiroshi Amano, Nobel Laureate in Physics 2014, will deliver a lecture on October 3rd at Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. The topic of the lecture is “The History of the Development of Blue & UV-LEDs and Their Future Prospects.”

Taiwan-based LED chip manufacturer Epistar reported a decrease of 8.59% MoM and a growth of 11.52% YoY in its revenue for January 2018. The slow season and the price decline of LED are factored in for the decrease.

Finance of Taiwanese LED giant Epistar saw a noticeable recuperation last year. The market this year anticipates Mini LED, one of Epistar’s new lineup, to generate a revenue for the company in 2H18.

Tridonic Jennersdorf GmbH, a subsidiary of Tridonic GmbH & Co KG, Dornbirn and thus part of the Zumtobel Group lighting group, has filed a lawsuit against the company S-KON eKontor24 GmbH based in Germany. The subject of the legal action brought before Munich District Court is the sale of smartphones manufactured by HTC of Taiwan.  

Cree, Inc. announces the new XLamp® XP-G3 Royal Blue LED, the industry’s highest performing Royal Blue LED. The new XP-G3 LED doubles the maximum light output of similar size competing LEDs and delivers breakthrough wall-plug efficiency of up to 81 percent. This superior performing Royal Blue LED expands Cree’s leading high power portfolio, enabling lighting manufacturers to deliver differentiated LED solutions for applications such as horticulture, architectural and entertainment lighting.

Regarding the performance of LED industry in Taiwan, due to low season, demand for InGan (blue) LEDs has dropped in the first quarter, while that of AlINGap (red) LEDs is still strong. Thus, institutional investors estimate that business operations of LED manufacturers will significantly improve in the second quarter. For fiscal 2017, the overall industry profitability is expected to increase, and price competition in the blue LED segment will be less intense. 

Japanese Nobel Laureate Shuji Nakamura, known for his invention of blue LED manufacturing technology and several subsequent LED innovations, disclose the history of blue LED and shared with the public his insights concerning the future of the LED industry on 8th Feb. at Academia Sinica. As general lighting has lately come to the stage of maturity, which hindered the LED industry, LED manufacturers are now seeking potential markets where they could recuperate and thrive. In his speech, Nakamura 'illuminated the industry’ by unveiling three future LED applications: Micro-LED, laser lighting, and the Li-fi technology.

Bennett McIntosh for the Office of the Dean for Research at Princeton University analyzes the future of light technologies in this feature article. One hundred years ago, Italian chemist Giacomo Ciamician predicted a future society that would run on sunlight.

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.

A blue glowing device the size of a peppercorn can activate neurons of the brain, spinal cord or limbs in mice and is powered wirelessly using the mouse's own body to transfer energy. Developed by a Stanford Bio-X team, the device is the first to deliver optogenetic nerve stimulation in a fully implantable format.

Latest research from Netherlands Health Council indicate there are certain health risks associated to blue lights emitted by LEDs, and further investigations are required, reported NL Times.

LEDs reduced U.S. CO2 emissions by an estimated 12 million tons in 2013, produce the greatest amount of light for the energy used, and have the longest lifetime of any lighting source available. In recognition of the significant benefit to society created by the initial development and commercialization of LED technologies 20 years ago, five pioneers will receive the $500,000 Draper Prize for Engineering.

A study reveals that different color LED light influences layer production, according to a report of World Poultry, citing paper released by researcher from Federal University of Grande Dourados, Brazil.

Epistar announced revenue last month was down, due to low blue light LED utilization rate.

Purdue University researchers' success in using red and blue LEDs as the only source of light to grow ornamental plant seedlings indoors has led to a new phase of determining whether they can reduce production time with more colors.

UC Santa Barbara Nobel Laureate Shuji Nakamura has been selected to receive one of Japan’s highest honors: the 2014 Order of Culture Award. The medal, which recognizes contributions to the nation’s culture, will be presented by Emperor Akihito in a ceremony at the Imperial Palace on Nov. 3, which is also Day of Culture in Japan.

Scientists have created a drug for type 2 diabetes that is switched on by blue light, which they hope will improve treatment of the disease.

AIXTRON AG announced that in the third quarter of 2009 Formosa Epitaxy Inc. ‘FOREPI’, based in Lung-Tan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, placed an order for multiple MOCVD reactors which will be used for the production of ultra-high brightness (UHB) InGaN-based blue LEDs.

The Inamori Foundation today announced that Dr. Isamu Akasaki will be among the 25th annual laureates of its Kyoto Prize, an international award honoring significant contributions to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind. Dr. Isamu Akasaki This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Kyoto Prize - a major milestone in the history of the award, which is presented on November 10 each year in three categories.

The researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York of the US announced the development of a new type of blue LED in collaboration with Samsung Electro-Mechanics. The researches said the blue LED that improves light output by 18%, and the amount of electricity the LED converts into light by 22%.

Murata Power Solutions has introduced its low-power, high brightness, three-and-a-half digit, DMS-20PC digital panel voltmeters. The company announces that they are now available with 'brilliant blue' or 'pure green' LED colors in addition to the current 'low-power red'. The DMS-20PC series provides a sub-miniature, low-cost solution in applications such as battery chargers, power amplifiers, rack-mounted power and high-end consumer electronics.

Taiwan LED maker Epistar is reportedly that it has increased its high power blue LED efficacy to 100lm/W. The company expects to begin mass production of the blue LEDs in the first half of 2009. It’s disclosed that its small blue LEDs should reach 150 lm/W in 2009, and its high-power blue LEDs should increase in efficiency to 120 lm/W.

It’s reported that Intematix Corp.has added an amber-color LED family to its growing line of packaged device solutions. Its new amber-color product line leverages Intematix' patented phosphor technologies in combination with InGaN blue LED chips to create the breakthrough product family. Blue-excited amber LEDs offer substantial increases in efficiency and temperature stability compared to traditional AlInGaP-based amber LED technologies. Follow-on blue-excited color LED families are also under development.  

Recently, Microsoft is readying a mouse that uses a blue LED rather than red lasers because the former can be used on a greater number of surfaces; this would mark the fourth great revolution in the way mice have evolved over the past few decades or so.