Australia-based BluGlass updated its business operation recently, presenting its developments in its direct-to-market Laser Diode business unit (launched October 2019) and recent progress on its Micro LED and LED programs. (Image: Pixabay) BluGlass has processed new RPCVD tunnel junction laser diode test structures which replaces the heavily lossy and resistive p-AlGaN cladding layers needed in standard laser diodes, paving the way for laser diodes improvement with reduced optical loss. The BluGlass US based Test Facility is on track for completion and f...

Acuva, the Canada based UVC LED water disinfection solution provider, shared professional understanding about how much UV radiation is required to deactivate the novel coronavirus and how UVC LED technology may support the disinfection process. Dr. Babak Adeli, Director of R&D at Acuva Technologies, explained the ways of novel coronavirus (COVID-19 virus/SARS-CoV-2) transmission and its reaction to UV radiation, showing the possible approach of using UVC LED to diminish the virus. Adeli addressed that the novel coronavirus, is a new strai...

Poro Technologies (Porotech), is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge focusing on GaN material technology. The company has closed a GBP 1.5 million (US$ 1.86 million) seed round investment. According to the report of Cambridge, the investment will support Porotech to develop a pilot plant in Cambridge and its first major products. The seed round was co-led by Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialization arm of the University of Cambridge, and IQ Capital Partners, with the additional participation of Martlet Capital and a syndicate of angel investors from ...

Seoul Viosys announced that its Violeds technology has been adopted by China-based automotive component supplier Yanfeng for in-vehicle UV disinfection. Adopting Violeds technology, the Yanfeng’s in-vehicle UV sanitizer can detect for absence of occupants before activating lamps for a period of 10 minutes that can sterilize the cabin including cockpit, seating and steering wheel. The sterilization lamp is embedded in the ceiling for maximum coverage and allows for sterilization of the harmful bacteria and viruses inside. (Violeds technology adopted by Yanfeng for ...

A report of Thomson Reuters Foundation pointed out that cities lockdowns across the globe due to COVID-19 pandemic has made people to rethink the way they obtain food. Urban farming taking places in rooftops or other spare spaces in the city may be the solution for food supply. Horticulture LED lighting can thus become a critical supporting equipment for household or community farming applications. Panic buying has been reported in many countries during the coronavirus crisis. Kotchakorn Voraakom, the landscape architect who designed Asia's largest urban rooftop farm...

Korean electronics giants LG and Samsung both revealed their preliminary earning guidance for the first quarter of 2020 and the spreading coronavirus pandemic did not seem to impact much on their business. LG Electronics reported tentative consolidated revenues of KRW 14.7 trillion (US$ 12.03 billion) and with an operating profit of KRW 1.1 trillion (US$ 899.8 million) for 1Q20. Compared to 1Q19, the sales was about 1.2% lower but the operating income increased by 21.1% on year. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics posted its 1Q20 earnings guidance with consolidated...

Environmental scientists at IGB, The Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, the research institute in Germany, found that artificial lighting at night affects melatonin reproduction in fishes. It is widely acknowledged that melatonin plays a critical role in regulating circadian rhythm of human bodies. And a research team now proved that lighting also suppresses production of melatonin in fishes. The team of IGB researchers investigated melatonin production in European perch and showed that light pollution, like nighttime urban sky glow, is bright...

Nichia reported that the company has reached a judicial settlement with Corlant, a distributor of automotive aftermarket parts under the brand of Valenti, during the proceeding at Tokyo District Court on March 19, 2020. Under the settlement, Corlant acknowledged that the accused products fall within the scope of Nichia’s patents in relation to PSS technology. Further, Corlant agreed to cease manufacturing and selling accused products, and to pay settlement money. Nichia filed the patent infringement lawsuit against Corlant on January 7, 2019, accursing Corlan...

Osram has appointed Kathrin Dahnke as the new CFO and the new position will begin on April 16, succeeding Ingo Bank, who will become CFO of AMS on May 1. Dahnke was appointed by the supervisory board of Osram as the CFO of the Management Board of Osram. Dahnke was most recently a member of the Management Board of the Neuss-based conglomerate Werhahn KG, which operates in the fields of building materials, consumer goods and financial services. The supervisory board of Osram expects Dahnke to take the challenge faced by the company during the transform...

The first quarter just ended and the continuously spreading coronavirus (COVID-19) has turned the world upside down in the first three month of 2020. Many companies across the world have reported their measures in response the impacts brought by the epidemic. LEDinside has collected industry information announced by worldwide companies to keep our readers updated. Signify Suspend Financial Outlook for FY2020, Increases 3% Product Price and Asks Employees to Cut 20% Wage The world’s largest lighting company Signify has taken several actions to cope with C...

At CES 2020, Taiwan-based laptop manufacturer MSI introduced its notebook product adopting Mini LED backlit display, Creator 17. The Mini LED laptop with 4K UHD resolution will be launched on April 15, 2020 at US$ 1799. Creator 17 is a 17.3 inch laptop with Mini LED backlit display, achieving a resolution of 4K and a brightness of 1,000 nits based on the 240 dimming zones. With the launch of the Mini LED laptop, many LED manufacturers are looking forward to a booming market for the display technology. (Image: MSI) Consumer products adoptin...

A research team consisting of scholars from Sweden, UK, China and the Czech has developed a perovskite LED with both high efficiency and long operational stability. The result has been published in Nature Communications, titled “Perovskite-molecule composite thin films for efficient and stable light-emitting diodes.” Perovskites are a large family of semiconducting materials that have aroused the interest of scientists around the world. Their special crystal structure means that they have excellent optical and electronic properties, while they are both easy and ...

Cree announced preliminary results for its third quarter of fiscal 2020 ended March 29, 2020 and provided a business update in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a greater impact than originally anticipated when the company provided the third quarter outlook on January 29, 2020. Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 is expected to be approximately US$216 million, compared to US$274 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and US$240 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. The Company expects GAAP net loss for the third quarter of fiscal 20...

US Lighting Group announced it is developing a new UV LED Plug-n-Play 4-foot, commercial bulb which can be used for surface sterilization to help combat viral pathogens like COVID-19. Paul Spivak, CEO of the US Lighting Group, currently holds two patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for UV LED Light Projection Method and Apparatus using ultraviolet and LED lighting technology. (Image: Pixabay) "We are ecstatic to announce that we have engineered the latest Plug-n-Play 4-foot, commercial replacement bulb with...

LightFair 2020, originally taking place during May 3-7, 2020 and previously postponed, is now canceled due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to the announcement of International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Market The organizers noted that they have received feedback from IALD, IES, exhibitors and attendees that a trade show and conference in 2020 during the available summer dates is not feasible. As a result, the event will return in 2021 in New York and the next year in Las Veg...

Seoul Viosys and Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (SETi) announced that that they have succeed in achieving 99.9% sterilization of coronavirus (COVID-19) in 30 seconds. Tests were conducted with the research group of Korea University by using a compound semiconductor Violeds technology that is being mass-produced. As COVID-19 spread throughout the world, SETi and Seoul Viosys devoted resources to show how Violeds technology can directly sterilize the virus. The goal has always been to provide technology for a cleaner world, and this includes minimizing the...

Since last year, manufacturers of LEDs, panels, and systems across the globe have displayed Micro LED-related products at major international exhibitions. Applications include automotive and indoor fine-pitch displays. This has kick started a Micro LED trend across the world. At the beginning of this year, leading industry players including Taiwan’s ITRI, Japan’s Sony, and Korea’s Samsung, LG, and Seoul Semiconductor have all presented the latest Micro LED technology at CES 2020. As one of the major focuses in the display industry, Mi...

Cree Lighting announced that it will collaborate with lighting control expert Lutron Electronics to introduce a variety of new connected lighting products to the market. Based on the partnership, Cree Lighting’s indoor and outdoor fixtures are connected with Lutron wired and wireless digital fixture control technologies. (Image: Cree Lighting) The connected lighting portfolio includes the integration of Cree Lighting’s architectural and outdoor lighting series with Lutron’s wireless and digital LED drivers, as well as the ZR Series LED troffers...

Chinese LED companies including chip makers Sanan Optoelectronics and HC Semitek and LED packager MLS reported that they have received subsidies from the government. (Image: Pixabay) Sanan Semiconductor, the subsidiary of Sanan Optoelectronics announced that it has received RMB 200 million (US$28.15 million) from local government based on the agreement of investment collaboration. The company was just granted RMB 143 million (US$ 20.13 million) last week for equipment purchase. The government of Yiwu, Zhejiang is issuing two subsidies to the second...

Samsung Display announced that it will stop LCD panel production by the end of this year and turns its business to OLED and other display technology. Samsung Display currently has LCD production lines in China and South Korea and is planning to turn one of its LCD facilities in South Korea into quantum dot screen production, reported Reuters. As for the facilities in China, Samsung has not yet decided the further operation. The display industry has been gone through a tough time due to oversupply and price competition. LG Display announced earlier that i...

Affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide businesses continue to update their measures and business outlook in the past weeks. Veeco, who announced withdrawal of its 1Q20 business guidance, provided business update; while LED maker Lumileds reported price increase due to COVID-19. (Image: Pixabay) MOCVD equipment provider Veeco provided a business update related to COVID-19 and a preliminary estimate of first quarter 2020 revenue. The company withdrew its original guidance for the first quarter of 2020 ending March 31, 2020 due to the possible...

The Global LED Summit, focusing on the LED video wall market, will be held in London on May 13, 2020, during London Digital Signage Week from May 11-15. The Global LED Summit invites experts of the industry to share their insights of LED video walls, covering technology progresses, application techniques and the current trends of the market. The event will gather industry professionals and researchers focusing of the technology and industry to address on the opportunities of LED video wall applications in the West Europe market. As the display technology ...

Applied Optoelectronics, an optical products manufacturer, announced the release of a high power and narrow linewidth laser specifically designed for LiDAR applications, particularly for automotive use. Current automotive LIDAR systems are based on near infrared lasers, however these lasers are not eye safe and therefore are limited in terms of emitted power. This power limitation, in turn, restricts the effective sensing range of the LIDAR system. AOI’s laser operates at longer wavelengths near 1550-nm where eye-safe emission limits are much higher and therefore...

Plessey, the UK-based Micro LED display developer focusing on AR/MR display application, announced that it is collaborating with Facebook, providing its technology to support Facebook building prototype and develop new technologies for potential use in the AR/VR space. (Image: Plessey) Plessey has been focusing on Micro LED-based AR display technology and it was rumored that Apple had plan to acquire Plessey with its interest in AR smart glasses. However, now Plessey teams up with Facebook and will license its technology to the social media giant for cr...

To address the wafer size mismatch and to tackle the yield challenge in Micro LED production, ALLOS has applied its unique strain-engineering to show outstanding uniformity and reproducibility for 200 mm GaN-on-Si epiwafers. Additionally the company reports about its success on the roadmap to 300 mm. Yield plays a crucial role to make Micro LED displays successful. It has a direct impact on the manufacturing complexity and cost. To enable the needed cost reductions, large wafer diameters are essential. This is particularly true for Micro LED applications in which...

Canadian automotive component supplier Magna updated its current actions responding COVID-19. The company reported withdrawal of its business outlook for 2020 and mentioned that it is helping to source and produce health care supplies and equipment to combat the coronavirus epidemic. Magna noted that a number of its OEM customers, particularly in North America and Europe, have initiated production downtime or have reduced production rates. It is uncertain whether OEMs will extend production downtime or further lower production rates as circumstances evolve. While spe...

A team with researchers at Seoul Viosys and University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) published a study focuses on features of Micro LEDs as their size goes smaller at 1 to 10 μm. External quantum efficiency (EQE) of Micro LEDs usually reduces when Micro LEDs get smaller, which becomes an issue for Micro LED technology builders. To further understand the relation between EQE and chip size, a research team of Seoul Viosys and UCSB focus on Micro LEDs down to 1 μm to compare the EQE trend for blue and green InGaN Micro LE...

Kyocera Corporation announced that it entered into a share transfer agreement with NEC Corporation on March 25, 2020 to acquire all of NEC's shares in Showa Optronics Co (SOC), an optical components manufacture. With the transfer agreement, Kyocera will own 93.53% of SOC's shares and operate the company as its subsidiary on June 1, 2020, under the name Kyocera Showa Optronic. Kyocera's optical components business has engaged in producing diversified lenses in small to large diameters from a wide variety of materials. The products have been used in var...

The spreading coronavirus epidemic did not stop industry players from progressing advanced technology development. Chinese companies recently reported new orders and subsidies for equipment to push Micro LED technology development. (Image: LEDinside) The biggest LED wafer and chip producer Sanan Optoelectronic reported that its subsidiary Sanan Semiconductor has received subsidies from the Quanzhou government in March for purchasing equipment. The amount of the subsidies was RMB 143 million (US$ 20.16 million). Sanan Semiconductor has formed partnership with...

More companies published their response to the impacts resulted by coronavirus pandemic. Signify announced several measures of the company including suspending its fiscal 2020 outlook postponing Capital Market Day. Infineon Technologies reported withdrawal of its business outlook of fiscal 2020. (Image: Pixabay) Signify said that it has taken considerable action focused on the health and safety of its employees, on customer engagement and supply chain continuity and on free cash flow generation and operating expenses. The company also decided to suspend its financial outlook...