Linear Technology announces the LT3519, a 45V, high side current sense DC/DC converter designed to drive high current LEDs. The LT3519’s 3V to 40V input voltage range makes it ideal for applications such as automotive and industrial lighting. The combination of an internal 45V, 750mA switch, Schottky diode and internal compensation provides a highly compact LED driver solution.

East Japan Railway Co. will install blue LED lighting along Tokyo's Yamanote Line, in hope that the emotionally calming effect of blue light could make suicidal people think twice about jumping in front of trains, according to asahi.com. The lights will be installed at all 29 stations on the loop line by the end of October, a JR East official said.

As all incandescent bulbs will be banned by the end of 2012 in Japan, and the Energy Act Amendment will go into effect in the first quarter of 2010, many public places in Japan are likely to gradually switch to LED lighting.

Wataru Ito, a student at the Tokyo University of Arts, spent four years creating “Castle on the Sea,” a one-of-a-kind origami cityscape made of Kent paper. The 2.4 m x 1.8 m model, constructed using only a knife, glue and a hole punch, debuted on April 30th and won top prize at the University’s Grand Prix of Art Festival. The exquisite artwork is meticulously illuminated using Martin Professional LED and fiber optic lighting sources.

Aixtron AG announced today that Mitsubishi Chemicals headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, has ordered one AIX 2800G4 HT Planetary Reactor® system in the third quarter of 2009. The MOCVD tool is to be delivered in the 42x2 inch wafer configuration and will be used for the production of InGaN-based white UHB LEDs.

Panasonic Corporation Thursday unveiled new bulb-shaped LED (light-emitting diode) lamps, the latest addition to its EVERLEDS LED lighting products. The new line-up consisting of eight types of bulbs offers the industry's most energy-efficient, lightest and smallest LED bulbs. They also include the industry's first compact type LED bulbs and dimmable lamps.

Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd (DNP) of Japan has developed a "Shining & Speaking Poster" by combining an OLED panel, an inorganic EL panel and a panel-like speaker.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced today that it has completed installation of two multi-screen Diamond Vision large-scale display systems, called “Turf Vision,” at the Japan Racing Association (JRA)’s Nakayama Racecourse in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The new screens will be illuminated on Saturday September 12, 2009, the opening day of the “Fourth Nakayama Keiba (horse race).”

After Toshiba Lighting and Sharp Corp, NEC Lighting Ltd will also introduce two new LED light bulbs Sept 24, 2009 in Japan. The new 6W LED bulbs will provide illuminance equivalent to that of a 60W incandescent light bulb.

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research institute, and Showa Denko K.K. (SDK), a Japan-based chemical industry company in partnership with Itochu Plastics Inc. (CIPS), have achieved record-breaking results using SRI’s new cavity organic light-emitting diode (COLED) technology and SDK’s light-emitting polymers to produce a highly efficient light source that could one day replace incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs.

Solid-state floodlights recently installed in Tokyo’s Chidorigafuchi Park were developed specifically to reduce the park’s carbon footprint, particularly during the annual cherry blossom viewing season when the park plays host to thousands of people every night. The new luminaires utilizing LUXEON® LEDs from Philips Lumileds were designed by Nagasaki-based lighting manufacturer INEX Corp.

Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) recently announced that it had developed a new structure for its organic electroluminescent (organic EL) devices achieving approximately 40% in light output, which represents the highest level in the world.           

Sony X5500 LED TVs are set to launch September or October this year and are expected to be exhibited for the first time on the big consumer electronics fair IFA 2009 in Berlin this September. According to the FlatpanelsHD site, X5500 will feature a LED backlight with local dimming, which means that LEDs are located behind the LCD panel and can be controlled in a number of zones, just like on the Philips LED Lux model.

Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has recently expanded its family of high-power, high-brightness white LEDs with two new versions. The new devices provide designers with neutral white and warm white options that can replace conventional bulb technologies in commercial, residential and industrial lighting applications.

Breakthrough New Line of LED Backlit LCD TVs Bring Superior Brightness and Image Quality Combined with Industry’s Lowest Power Consumption for True Value

According to the industry research institute LEDinside, as demand for LED TV and LED NB expands, LED chips are running short of supply during the second quarter of this year, which has resulted in a more stable price of white LED compared to that of 2008.

Yasufumi Fujiwara, professor of Osaka University in Japan, has recently created a prototype red LED element by using gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor. Though blue and green LED elements using GaN semiconductor have already been commercialized, this is the first time that a red LED element has been prototyped by using GaN semiconductor, Fujiwara said.

Sanyo is jumping on the bandwagon of LED lighting development. Its new Eneloop Lamp is incredibly versatile: in addition to serving as a desk lamp, it can double as an emergency lamp, and there also a “Healing Light” mode that emits a blue glow.  

Japan’s OKI Electric Industry (TOKYO:6703) and OKI Data Corp., which markets under the OKI Printing Solutions brand recently announced that the OKI Group will increase its LED (light-emitting diode) production for print heads used in its non-impact printers, and enhance new LED-related businesses. This will be achieved by acquiring an LED production facility in Japan’s Takasaki City in Gunma Prefecture with a ‘clean room’ that is approximately twice the area of the room used currently.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has today begun marketing an LED-UV (ultraviolet ray) ink-drying system using light-emitting diodes (LED) which enables significant energy saving in printing. The system, which MHI has commercialized, leveraging its know-how as a leading printing machinery manufacturer, is suitable for installation on larger sized (DIAMOND V3000 Series) sheet-fed presses that can accommodate sheets up to 1,050mm (41-11/32 inches) wide.

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.

Sharp Corporation will introduce into the Japanese market nine models of LED lamps. With the same standard screw-in base and fit in the same sockets as ordinary incandescent lamps, the lamps are easy to use as replacements for ordinary lamps.

NEC LCD Technologies, and its sales and marketing channel in the Americas, NEC Electronics America, Inc., last week announced the development of a new amorphous-silicon color thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) module that achieves an ultra-wide color gamut for 100 percent of the Adobe® RGB color range by incorporating a newly developed LED light-source unit into the backlight system and a newly developed color filter.

Seiko Epson Corporation today announced it has established inkjet technology that enables the uniform deposition of organic material in the production of large-screen organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions. The new technology is said to represent a major step toward the realization of 37-inch and larger full-HD OLED TVs by resolving the uneven layering that had previously been an issue with the inkjet method.

Sony plans to launch its 9.9mm-thin Bravia ZX1-series in Singapore in June. The super-slim KLV-40ZX1 is Sony’s answer to the latest LED TVs from Samsung. Unlike the Korean comany's 29.9mm-thin offerings, this Japanese concoction uses an A/V media box that communicates wirelessly with its full-HD LCD panel. In addition, the screen has a 10-bit color reproduction to render a billion discreet hues, plus Motionflow 100Hz and image blur reduction technology for smoother and sharper motion.

Seisakusho Co Ltd, a Japan-based company, was showing off an LED headlight used in Toyota's new Prius at Automotive Engineering Exposition 2009, which took place from May 20 to 22, 2009 in Japan. The low beam headlight for the new "Prius" The LED headlight for the new Prius is a low beam assembly which consists of a double projector unit for emitting a focused beam and a unit for emitting a diffused beam.

In Japan, a digital signage system using OLED panels is being tested at Ebisu station this week. The test is carried out by JR East Group's JR East Mechatronics Co Ltd and East Japan Marketing & Communications Inc. Last year at the same ticket gate, the two companies tested a digital signage using color electronic paper modules made by Hitachi Ltd and Fujitsu Ltd, and the pixel counts of the modules were 320 x 640 and 400 x 600, respectively.

Researchers of the University of Tokyo in Japan have created a flexible organic electroluminescent display (OLED display) that can be stretched and folded like rubber without influencing the image quality or damaging the display.

Nichia and General Led/AgiLight have entered into an agreement whereby AgiLight will utilize Nichia's white LEDs for its ThinRayz and ThinRayz Extra product line. General LED/AgiLight has chosen Nichia as its preferred supplier for a range of new white LED products currently under development, as a result of evaluating their world-class white LED products, coupled with Nichia's strong patent portfolio and clear leadership in the LED industry.

With the efficiency improvement and technology advancement, the application field of LED has gradually been expanded from the backlight and signal light segments to the Lighting-Class field. To solve the problem of light and heat, the LED manufacturers have put forward their own solutions covering the chip making, packaging and even the light fixture sections by offering products of various specifications.