Chinese Yangzhou Zhongke Semiconductor Lighting Center Co. Ltd has ordered two CRIUS 31x2-inch configuration deposition systems from AIXTRON AG. Zhongke placed the order in the fourth quarter of 2009 and after delivery in the second quarter of 2010 they will be used for GaN high brightness LED production for streetlight and display backlighting applications. The local AIXTRON support team will commission the new reactors at the facility within the company’s research group, ISCAS, in China.

Planar Systems, Inc. has announced to ship the Clarity(TM) LED Series of LED-illuminated rear-projection video wall displays. With no consumable parts and a 60,000 hour life, the Clarity LED Series illumination system eliminates the ongoing costs and interruptions associated with lamp changes.

Lemnis Lighting has entered a joint venture agreement with Beijing-based Tsinghua Tongfang Co Ltd, to drive manufacturing and development of LED products for both the indoor and outdoor markets. Tsinghua also will expand its competitive strength in LED industry through the agreement with Lemnis.

The University of California, Berkeley, USA has ordered one 4-inch Black Magic deposition system from AIXTRON AG. The Black Magic system was selected for its unique ability to grow both SiGe nanowires and CNTs uniformly, rapidly and repeatably, and will be installed in the Laboratory for Nano Materials & Electronics by the local AIXTRON support team in the first half of 2010.

Taiwan No.1 LED chipmakers Epistar Inc. pay over NT$8.6 billion for a 47.88% stake in Huga Optotech Inc to boost strength of Taiwan’s LED industry. Epistar will acquire the Huga shareholding through stock swap, with an Epistar share for 2.23 Huga shares, and cash pay combined.

Osram appointed Don Klase to take over for Shottes as CEO of Osram Opto Semiconductors Inc. Osram reports that both of the changes will go into effect June 1, 2010. Shottes' responsibilities will include heading the new Professional Lighting, Solid State Lighting and Light Management System groups as Senior Vice President.

It’s reported that Sujana Energy Limited, a subsidiary of the city-based Sujana Group, entered into a strategic partnership with Nichia Corporation of Japan. The two companies will collaborate to produce LED Lighting and Display Products, according to the agreement.

The Chinese Company LongDeXin, a joint venture by Zhejiang Longfei Industry Co., Ltd., and China Delixi Holding Group Co., Ltd., founded in October 2009 for the purpose of strategic cooperation, has ordered AIXTRON AG MOCVD systems.

Luminus Devices and Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia, part of the global technology distributor Avnet, Inc., announced a partnership through which Avnet Electronics Marketing will distribute Luminus PhlatLight LEDs to customers in Asia.

Ringdale of Austin, Texas USA, has signed an exclusive licensing, manufacturing and distribution agreement for the region of Japan with Sojitz Systems Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, Sojitz manufactured lighting fixtures for streets, parking structures, billboards, building exteriors, warehouses, offices, retail spaces, parks and restaurants will be based on Ringdale's ActiveLED technology.

QD Vision, a USA company, has purchased a patent portfolio from Motorola pertaining to the use of quantum dot technology in display and lighting products. QD Vision is a developer of Quantum Light nanotechnology-based products for solid state lighting and displays. Included in the acquisition is U.S. Patent No. 5,442,254 of James E Jaskie.

Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) has ordered AIXTRON AG 6-inch Black Magic Nanomaterial deposition system. The system has been installed and commissioned in the Materials Joining Laboratory.

Sunon, the world famous mini fan leader, has been granted Taiwan Excellence Silver Award 2010 for its world leading innovative mini heat sink technology, making Sunon Mighty Mini Fan & Blower 1cm Series the only innovative product prize-winner in the electronic parts and components industry. Shih Yen-Shiang, the Minister of MOEA, emphasized in his speech at the award ceremony the importance of mini motor solutions to global industries. Mr.

El Dorado Ventures has awarded the 2010 Bourne Technology Award to Bridgelux, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of technologies and solutions transforming the global lighting industry.

LED manufacturers are shining at 2010 Shanghai Expo in China, showcasing innovations such as the world’s largest LED screen at the grand opening. At the exhibition, Neo-Neon International Ltd is providing the LED lighting techniques seen in the 2,300-unit system on the Expo Culture Center’s performance stage.

The city’s Department of General Services selected LED lighting as part of the city’s overall effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is reported that the city of Durham joins a growing global community working to evaluate and deploy LED lighting technology across municipal infrastructure. It is in the process of retrofitting three City-owned parking garages with 573 new LED lighting fixtures using Cree LEDs.

It is reported that Optogan Group of Finland has acquired the industrial facility of CJSC Elcoteq in St. Petersburg, Russia. CJSC Elcoteq is a subsidiary of Elcoteq SE of Russia. Elcoteq started the production of electronic devices and telecom equipment on its plant in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2006. Total area of the fab is 15 500 m2, and its production area is over 5 000 m2.

Veeco Instruments Inc., announced Epistar Corporation of Taiwan has qualified Veeco's TurboDisc(R) K465i(TM) gallium nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) System for high volume LED production.

In November of 2009, Nichia Corporation filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas alleging that certain white LED-application products marketed Jiawei and its international corporate subsidiaries contain patent infringing white LEDs.

Visual Photonics Epitaxy Co. Ltd. (VPEC) of Taiwan has ordered AIXTRON AG eight 2600G3 IC MOCVD tools. In the fourth quarter 2009 VPEC placed its order for multiple additional epitaxial growth reactors making it the single largest purchase of its kind for the company this year. The systems will be commissioned at the company’s modern facility in Ping-Jen City, Taoyuan, Taiwan during the second and third quarters of 2010.

Taiwan government plans to install LED streetlights in 2011, which has inspired local makers, including Epistar Corp., Delta Electronics Inc. and Nan Ya Photonics Inc., to collaborate to shoot for the market, which is estimated at over NT$10 billion.

Lithonia Lighting, an Acuity Brands company based in Atlanta, Georgia USA, has introduced the new product RTLED and announced that Lithonia Jumps into LED lighting market. RTLED is a volumetric recessed luminaire that delivers ambient white light throughout an entire space. RTLED boasts 50,000 hours of light without having to replace lamps or ballasts, thereby reducing downtime.

It’s reported that Cleveland, Ohio's mayor, Frank Jackson, announced to delay vote on LED fixture contract with Sunpu-Opto Semiconductor Ltd.

According to a report, Applied Materials plans to enter MOCVD market as a new MOCVD equipment supplier as the company responds to soaring demand from consumers and OEMs for LED backlit TVs.

Fast-growing market for high-brightness LEDs in LCD TVs will be restricted by a shortage of key semiconductor materials in the second half of 2010, according to a report. The paper points out that demand has soared with the rapid penetration of LED backlighting modules in LCD TVs. This has also lead to a soaring demand for capital equipment, especially metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors used to make gallium nitride (GaN) LEDs.

Cree, Inc. and Habitat for Humanity International announce a three-year, $1.5 million pledge to provide high-efficiency Cree LED downlights for the kitchens in all new Habitat homes built in the United States. The Cree LED kitchen lighting packages can help reduce energy costs for Habitat homeowners, as kitchens generally see some of the highest lighting energy usage in a home, according to ENERGY STAR®.

2010 4th Road Lamp Patio Lamp & Outdoor Lighting Fair(RLF2010) is one of the leading trade fair for all lighting industry in China. The exhibition will be held from Sep. 15 to Sep.17 2010 at Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Centre which is being organized by City Illumination Committee of China Municipal Engineering Association and Guangzhou Grandeur Exhibition Service Co., Limited.

Taiwan-based Delta Electronics Inc., a globally leading supplier of power supplies, has decided to pay more attention to green business deployment, and invest more than NT$20 billion (US$625 million at US$1: NT$32) in output expansion related to the matter. This is Delta’s biggest investment in capacity expansion in Taiwan in the decade.

Taiwan’s LED chipmaker Tekcore Co. Ltd. will persistently expand production capacity to cope with flooding orders, which have inundated the company’s production lines。 According to company president Jonathan Lu, Tekcore will increase the number of metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) machines to 46 by the end of this year from 38 systems recorded in the second quarter.

Cree Inc. has not settled with Gertrude Neumark Rothschild about LED patent. Now William G. Young, the district judge in the case in Massachusetts ordered the case to go before a jury.