The market for light-emitting diodes is set to grow significantly throughout the year despite an economic downturn, according to Chinese suppliers. A survey of LED light fixture suppliers carried out by Global Sources revealed that 81 per cent believed that exports would grow at ten per cent or more over the coming year. Some 67 per cent even predicted expert sales to be even higher, with expectations reaching 20 per cent or more. The main driver for the export growth was cited as a growing range of LED-based lighting applications.

LED packaging company Ligitek Electronics is building a new facility at Shulin Datong Technology Park with a total investment of over NT$1 billion (US$32.5 million), and the company expects the new facility to help increase its monthly capacity of SMD LEDs by three times, while doubling its solar module capacity.

The LED sector in Taiwan generally had weaker-than-expected sales in April despite players' optimism that orders would be picking up in the second quarter.LED packagers Unity Opto Technology and Harvatek saw their April sales drop sequentially.Unity said shipments of applications for LED backlighting dipped in April amid clients' inventory adjustments. The company's April revenues declined 4.6% sequentially to NT$292 million (US$9.58 million), which nevertheless represents a 24% on-year increase.

Mitsubishi Electric, the Official High-Definition Television and the Official Large Outdoor Video Display Provider of the PGA TOUR, is supplying 11 additional state-of-the-art Diamond Vision(TM: 105.66, +0.54, +0.51%) LED high-definition scoreboards for PGA TOUR events. This completes the TOUR's initiative to upgrade the scoreboard technology to provide a better on-site experience for fans.

A federal energy bill approved in December will require a 70 percent increase in lighting efficiency by 2020, spelling trouble for the inefficient incandescent lightbulb.The year 2020 is several lightbulb changes away, but Roger Deane is not waiting to tap into the latest in green technology for lighting his Scottsdale home. An admitted electronics enthusiast, Deane has converted all his interior and exterior lighting to light-emitting diodes, or LED lighting.

Lightscape Technologies Inc. (OTCBB: LTSC), an operator of outdoor LED billboards and provider of LED solutions, today announced that it has signed an agreement with a unit of Ogilvy & Mather Group, a leading global advertising agency, in order to secure advertising contracts for Lightscape's growing LED media network in China and Hong Kong.

Darnell Group's first edition of "LED Driver ICs: Worldwide Forecasts" examines the projected growth path for solid-state lighting out to 2013. The forecasts are based on a detailed analysis of 53 application subsegments in small LED backlight units (BLUs) (<7"); medium LCD BLUs (7 to 15"); large LCD BLUs (>15"); automobiles; light trucks; commercial trucks and buses; signs, signals, and billboards; illumination; projection displays; and photographic lighting.

It's reported that Backlight unit (BLU) suppliers are gearing up their shipments of LED BLUs for notebook PCs, with makers' shipments for the segment expected to rise sharply in the second half of the year, according to company and market sources.Demand for LED backlighting in notebook applications has been rising fast, with LCD panel makers generally predicting a 20% penetration rate for LEDs in the notebook PC market by the end of this year.

Wyked Illuzionz, a Maryland-based small business that sells and installs LED (light emitting diode) lights on motorcycles, announced the release of a new website designed to be a nationwide source of information for motorcyclists and to make the online purchase and subsequent installation of motorcycle accent lighting easier.The Wyked Iluzionz sales staff and professionally trained installers are motorcycle enthusiasts themselves so they understand the connection a biker has to his bike and the value they place on their ride.

In early 2008, the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission co-issued the Interim measures on the management of financial subsidies fund for the promotion of efficient lighting products. It is announced that from this year on, the government will promote 50 million energy-saving lamps all over the country annually in the form of financial subsidies fund. The subsidies for users with large-quantity demand such as schools and hospitals are 30 percent of the price for each energy-saving lamp, and for residents in cities and countryside, 50 percent.

It’s reported that Taiwan-based LED maker Wanstar Technology has announced the company will start shipping its newly developed LED street lights to a US-based lighting company and expects to complete 16,000 units before February of 2009. Wanstar's new LED street light features a heatsink cover, which can maintain the light's temperature at around 50-degrees Fahrenheit in an average environment temperature of 68-degrees Fahrenheit.

The Stemi DV4 on the C LED stand features integrated LED illumination units for reflected light, transmitted light and mixed lightCarl Zeiss enhances the performance of its Stemi DV4 stereomicroscope with a new illumination systemThe LEDs provide excellent light intensity with low power consumption and a long service life of the illumination system (approx 25,000 operating hours) Thanks to white light illumination in daylight quality, the objects are visualised in high contrast and natural colors.

On April 28, 2008, Cypress Semiconductor Corp.(NYSE:CY) announced significant enhancements for its award winning EZ-Color™ design solution for intelligent color and white LED lighting systems. The new ColorLock™ feature enables designers to use optical feedback to automatically ensure precise color points over time and temperature for applications such as LCD backlighting, architectural lighting and more. The EZ-Color solution also adds new tools to further support white lighting design.

Quick srl Nautical Equipment, Italian and world leader in the production of nautical accessories, issues a new challenge with the launch of its Quick Marine Lighting division. Through the design and manufacture of lighting fixtures for the marine market, this new division offers high quality in both technology and choice of materials.Qualified, experienced staff constantly search for innovative solutions. A high-tech laboratory with advanced equipment allows rigorous testing. All ensure Quick Marine Lighting products meet the requirements of the nautical sector.

O2Micro(R) International Limited (NASDAQ:OIIM) (SEHK:0457), a leading supplier of innovative power management, and security components and systems, was issued 10 claims under United States patent number 7,339,323 for its LED String Driver Architecture. O2Micro's patented invention is used to drive an LED string. Product applications to drive battery gauge LEDs include cell phones, digital cameras, notebook computers, electric vehicles, power tools and other portable devices.

Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp (2409.TW), the world's third-largest LCD maker, said on Friday its board has approved a plan to set up a T$1.5 billion ($50 million) company making light emitting diode (LED) backlights for displays. The move aims to help the company secure supplies of LED backlights, a key component for thin liquid crystal displays, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. It gave no timetable or other details.

Catalyst Semiconductor has expanded its line of patented, Quad-Mode fractional charge pump LED drivers with two high-resolution brightness devices, featuring 32-dimming levels to provide enhanced LCD backlight control in emerging portable product applications. The CAT3647 and CAT3648 address the need for high-resolution LCD control and longer battery life in cell phones, digital cameras and other handheld devices, where designers constantly need to balance higher performance features with longer battery life.

Kim Lighting, a leading manufacturer of outdoor architectural lighting, announced today its Site Lightform Bollard Series now includes new super bright white LED technology.

Lamina Lighting Incorporated (Lamina), an innovator of LED lighting systems and technologies, has announced that the use of their new TitanTurbo TruColor LED product has been certified to avoid more than 3 tons of CO2 emissions into the earth’s atmosphere as compared to its incandescent equivalent. This certification was awarded to the product by First Climate (formerly called the 3C Group). Lamina is also engaging this Frankfurt-based company to help them achieve total “climate neutrality” throughout all company operations.

The total operating revenue of Taiwan LED companies this March hit $188 million, up 18.4 percent month-on-month compared to the prior month's $161 million and up 17.17 percent y-on-y. This is according to the latest statistics from LEDinside, a subsidiary division of DRAMeXchange Tech Inc.The total operating revenue of LED crystal grain manufacturers grew 15.31 percent over the last month. Operating revenues of LED-packaging manufactures climbed 20.89 percent from February's figures.

LCD panel makers are gearing up their development for the growing market trend of low-cost notebooks, with the makers planning new sizes and applications for the segment.AUO plans to adopt LED backlighting for all of its notebook panels by the end of 2011, in line with its goal to roll out lighter, thinner and more power-saving solutions. The maker will also give heavy emphasis to 16:9 notebook panels, according to Peng.

It's reported that Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) is aiming to have the world's largest capacity for IT panels by the end of 2009 in terms of capacity from its fifth-generation (5G), 5.5G and 6G lines.

Venture capital firm VentureTech Alliance, mostly owned by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), recently put around US$40 million into LED epitaxy-wafer maker BridgeLux of the United States for a seat at the company`s director board.

The ISL78100 can use a DC bias current or an external PWM signal for more accurate control of the LED colour temperature.Intersil has released the ISL78100, a high-power integrated LED driver designed for display backlighting and body electronics applications. The ISL78100 is designed to withstand harsh automotive environments and can be configured to optimally drive from one to eight high-brightness LEDs, while being capable of operating in boost, buck or SEPIC configurations.

Texas Instruments Inc. has released a 16-channel, 50 mA constant-current sink LED driver, with an input voltage of up to 17V. The TLC5943's integrated enhanced spectrum pulse-width modulation (PWM) improves image quality and reduces flicker noise in monochrome, multicolor and full-color LED displays, as well as LED signboards and display backlighting.

It's reported that AU Optronics (AUO) will roll out LED TV panels in small volume this year, chiefly in the 40-inch class, but the company is still evaluating whether the TV segment will adopt a strategy as aggressive the one for notebooks as far as LED backlighting is concerned, according to Yong-Hong Lu, AUO's vice president for Global Supply Chain Management.

Despite producing a 50lm output with all LEDs illuminated, the SEPW devices are not power hungry, using just 100lm/W (at 20mA) with all LEDs illuminated.

Citizen Holdings Co., a Japanese maker of watches and industrial machinery, plans to increase the number of research workers dedicated to light-emitting diodes as the devices replace incandescent bulbs in homes and offices. The company will allocate almost half its research employees of about 200 to LED development as soon as possible, rising from 10 percent now, Mitsuyuki Kanamori, who was appointed president of Tokyo-based Citizen on April 1, said in a Bloomberg Television interview broadcast today.

To be held in Tokyo on October 16-17, the conference will center on the worldwide market for high-brightness LEDs. 

Springtime doesn't just bring flowers, short shorts and silly Red Sox pranks. No, it also brings new information on HDTVs that will be released throughout the year. Someone at BGR got a hold of Sony's HDTV roadmap for its LCD lineup and it looks like the XBR6, XBR7 and XBR8 will getting a little more than a new coat of paint, the XBR8 especially.