The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is threatening all over the globe with continuously surging cases in nearly every countries. In order to reduce the risks of infection, disinfecting applications utilizing UVC radiant have attracted attentions in both the medical and consumer market. UV light solution providers across the world are offering their expertise to help medical institutions eliminating bacteria and viruses to prevent healthcare-associated infections. Bolb, the U.S.-based UV LED company, provided their UVC LED products to decontaminate infectious disease...

AR applications and devices are one of the major focuses of Apple at the moment. The company has shown its interests in AR technology development and considered that AR wearable glasses may replace smartphones in the near future. Rumors about Apple to reveal its AR smart glasses soon have been going on as well. Apple launched the new iPad Pro adopting LiDAR Scanner and releases the latest ARKit 3.5 which enables app developers to take advantage of the new LiDAR Scanner to capture 3D features of the surrounding environment. ARKit 3.5 also includes instant A...

Wearable devices with AR/VR applications are regarded as the next generation consumer electronics that might replace smartphones. Currently, the technology is more applied in industrial or professional areas as the devices are still relatively bulky and expensive as they require complex integration of cameras, image processing solutions, power and more. To tackle the issue, Nvidia developed a new technique for gaze tracking solution, the fundamental technology for VR wearable devices as agreed by many leading industry players, reported VentureBeat. Researchers at Nvidia used...

Signify launched the upgraded portfolio of compact Philips Xitanium Sensor Ready Xtreme LED drivers with the recently granted D4i certification for wider adoption of IoT connectivity in lighting and aid smart city or building projects. (Image: Signify) By Q2 2020, Signify will also upgrade the complete non-isolated Philips Xitanium Dimmable Sensor Ready drivers portfolio for indoor applications to the new D4i standard, to facilitate the rapid market adoption of energy-saving technologies and drive standardization. Launched by the Digital Illumination Inter...

LEDVANCE will close its Eastern Distribution Center in Pennsylvania, USA, according to a letter sent to its customers by Matt McCarron, Vice President of US and Canada Sales at LEDVANCE, reported lightED. (Image: LEDVANCE) The letter noted that LEDVANCE will move Eastern Distribution Center located in Bethlehem Pennsylvania into its facility in Kentuchy given the close proximity of these two sites. The company will cease operations of the Eastern Distribution Center by July 1, 2020. Impact of the world sweeping coronavi...

Sensor solution supplier AMS updated the progress of its acquisition of Osram and reported its financial expectations for the first quarter of 2020 after assessing the COVID-19 situation. (Image: AMS) After AMS started its takeover process for Osram since December 2019 and reported further update that the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020. The Austrian sensor maker is processing its EUR 1.65 billion (US$1.78 billion) rights issues for the takeover and noted that they only require “the receipt of the required regulatory approvals&rd...

Could there be a new kind of light in the universe? Since the late 19th century, scientists have understood that, when heated, all materials emit light in a predictable spectrum of wavelengths. But a new research published in Nature Scientific Reports by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute presented a material that emits light when heated that appears to exceed the limits set by that natural law. The new material discovered by Shawn Yu Lin, lead author and a professor of physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, defies the theory proposed by Max Planck in ...

NEC and Sharp announced that they will combine NEC Display Solutions (NDS) with Sharp to create a joint venture to leverage their strengths to advance display technology development. Sharp will obtain over 66% share of NDS with JPY 9.24 billion (US$ 82.96 million). The transfer is scheduled to be concluded on July 1st, 2020 and the joint venture will continue to provide NEC branded products. Hisatsugu Nakatani, President, NEC Display Solutions, said, "This joint venture between Sharp and NEC Display Solutions will bring even greater valu...

The National Lighting Bureau (NLB), through its members, is offering free LED lights for the remote sites being set up across the U.S. to test for the coronavirus. (Image: Pixabay) The Bureau provides its services to the public free of charge with the funding of the organization's sponsors, which include individuals, professional societies, trade associations, labor unions, manufacturers, and agencies of the U.S. government. The participated associates include: BIOS Lighting Finelite GE Current, a Daintree Company Healthe by Lighting...

Austria-based lighting company Zumtobel announced on March 23 2020 that due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Executive Board of the company is expecting a negative impact on the revenue and earnings development. Following extensive state measures based on the global spread of the coronavirus, the Zumtobel Group also implemented set of measures covering temporary production capacity adjustment and short-term remotely working. The company noted that it will temporarily shut down production sites depending on the situation. These measures have resulted in noticeab...

U.S.-based LED technology company Ecosense announced that it has acquired assets from Soraa, co-founded by Nobel Laureate Shuji Nakamura focusing on full-spectrum LED lamps. Under the terms of the deal, Ecosense acquires the Soraa name, intellectual property and lamps, including the company's signature VIVID, BRILLIANT™ HL and HEALTHY™ product lines. This move is the first foray into the professional lamp category for Ecosense. (Image: Soraa) "This acquisition accelerates our strategy into the next wave of lighting,&q...

On March 17, 2020, Nichia filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Tokyo District Court against IPF Corporation, a Japan-based distributor of automotive aftermarket parts. Nichia accused IPF of selling LED headlamp that infringes Nichia’s patent and sought an injunction and compensation for damages. The accused product in this lawsuit is a LED headlamp bulb (product number: 301HLB2) incorporating LED jointly developed with the Taiwanese LED manufacturer Lextar (see photo). Nichia alleged the LED infringes Nichia’s patent JP5526782 related...

A team from Yokohama National University in Japan believes they have developed a method to obtain a sensor by taking advantage of slow light and published the results in the Optica, a journal published by The Optical Society, on January 2020. A small-sized silicon photonics chip that can be used for non-mechanical beam steering and scanning. (Image: Yokohama National University) In modern LiDAR sensors, many of the systems are composed of a laser source; a photodetector, which converts light into current; and an optical beam steering device, which directs the light...

The threat of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic continues to affect the industry. Companies have cancelled events, shut down facilities and adjusted their business outlook for the year to not only prevent their employees, clients and partners from infection but also evaluate. Signify, the first lighting company who announced withdrawal of Light + Building 2020 before the organizer postponed the event, again noted that it will not participate in the world biggest lighting event which was moved to September 2020. According to EdisonReport, who covered the news that Signify wil...

In response to the wide spreading coronavirus infection across the globe, many world-leading automobile companies are temporarily closing their factories in the U.S. and Europe. These facility closures are expected to affect the supply chains of automotive components covering lighting and displays. (Image: LEDinside) Ford, General Motors (GM), Fiat Chrysler and Honda have shut down their manufacture facilities in North America. European automobile makers Volkswagen, Renault, PSA Group, BMW, Daimler also suspend production in Europe. Bloomberg reported th...

Blickfeld, the German LiDAR start-up Blickfeld based in Munich, announced that it has completed Series A financing round. The new financing was led by the venture capital unit of Continental together with Wachstumsfonds Bayern with participation of the existing investors Fluxunit – OSRAM Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, TEV (Tengelmann Ventures) and Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners. With the new financial resources, Blickfeld will them to ramp up production, qualify its LiDAR sensors for the automotive market and strengthen the app...

GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) and ON Semiconductor announced on March 17 the execution of a five-year agreement which GTAT will produce and supply its CrystX™ silicon carbide (SiC) material to ON Semiconductor. The agreement is valued at a potential of US$50 million. Greg Knight, president and chief executive officer at GTAT, said, “Our agreement today helps address the very steep trajectory for SiC as the preferred semiconductor substrate material for power electronics applications.” By leveraging ON Semiconductor’s hi...

U.S.-based lighting company Energy Focus reported financial results of fiscal year 2019 and announced new contract with U.S.-based shipbuilder. For fiscal 2019, Energy Focus posted US$ 12.7 million for net sales, which were down by 29.83% compared to 2018. Net sales from commercial products were US$7.9 million, or 62.0% of total net sales for 2019, compared with $8.7 million, or 47.8% of total net sales, for 2018. Military and maritime products in 2019 accounted for 38.0% of total net sales with US$4.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of US$5.9 million for 201...

GE Current offered some advices for LED horticulture grow lights for how to choose the most suitable LED lightings for controlled environment. A few concepts were proposed by the company regarding the idea of full-spectrum. The first thing GE Current pointed out that it is critical to learn that “full spectrum” actually has no strict definition and is not specific to any industry, standard or code. The term, according to GE Current, is rather a marketing label to describe light sources that emulate natural daylight (“white” light). As such, full ...

Automotive lighting and electronics product manufacturer Hella reported that due the coronavirus pandemic, the company has adjusted its company outlook for the current fiscal year 2019/2020. Despite that Hella has developed sales and earnings that are in line with its expectations for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2019/2020, it still considered adjustment of the business guidance necessary. Hella indicated that on a provisional basis, currency and portfolio-adjusted sales decreased by 3.7 percent to EUR 4.8 billion (previous year: EUR 5.0 billion). The adjusted ea...

The world’s biggest lighting company, Signify, announced to its customers that it will raise price on all LED and lamp electronics as the cost in its logistics chains keep rising due to coronavirus spread. Signify sent a letter to its customers in the U.S. noting that the company is treating the coronavirus epidemic as a force majeure event which had led to considerable additional costs in its logistics chain. As a result, the company is going to charge a temporary increase of 3% on all LED electronics (including Emergency products), and Lamp electronics (Magnetic a...

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the progress of Micro LED technology continues to go on. After AIXTRON reported that it has received orders from the Konka Group for Micro LED pilot production, another equipment supplier, CyperOptics, who specialized in high precision 3D sensing technology, also announced orders for Micro LED production. Based in Minnesota, USA, CyberOptics develops and manufactures 3D sensing technology solutions for inspection and metrology in the SMT and semiconductor markets to improve yields and productivity. (Image: CyberO...

Many businesses are updating their outlook of the year as the global business has been affected by the continuously spreading coronavirus across the world. Osram announced on March 18 the withdrawal of the guidance for its fiscal 2020 as the German photonics company thinks it is unlikely to achieve its corporate targets due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (Image: Pixabay) Osram noted that the unprecedented operational and financial challenges posed by the spread of COVID-19 and the uncertain developments in the coming weeks are leading to economic impact on the...

AU Optronics (AUO), the Taiwan-based panel manufacturer, held an annual press event displaying its new products and applications in 2020 including 8K TVs, Micro LED automotive displays, Mini LED backlit displays. (Image: LEDinside) The wide range of displays target diverse fields covering medical applications, gaming displays, public information displays, automotive displays and more. AUO noted that orders for medical and educational applications such as electronic whiteboards and digital X-ray panels have increased with rising needs in home education and med...

The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreaks across the world has forced the industry to take actions as impacts brought the epidemic continue to expand. In the U.S., equipment provider Veeco said that the epidemic is inevitably affecting its business for 1Q20 and thus withdrew its guidance for the first quarter. LiDAR maker Velodyne also noted that its offices in Bay Area, San Francisco are closed, following the mandatory “shelter-in-place” order in the area. (Image: Pixabay) Veeco said that it puts the health and well-being of its employees, customers, suppli...

AIXTRON announced that Konka Group has ordered multiple AIX G5+ C and AIX 2800G4-TM MOCVD systems to build its own volume production of GaN-based (gallium nitride) and AsP-based (Arsenide-Phosphide) Mini- and Micro LEDs. Konka, which recently announced its plans to enter the North American consumer electronics market in 2020, established its Micro LED initiative as a joint venture with Chongqing Liangshan Industrial Investment. The company also increase an investment of over US$210 million for Micro LED development. Most recently, ...

UV light exposure not only kills microorganism, it can also assess meat quality. A research team with scientists of Sechenov University in Russia, Macquarie University and University of New South Wales in Australia proposed a method incorporating UV light emission to classify meat into standard quality categories. The study was published in Journal of Biophotonics under the title “Autofluorescence excitation-emission matrices as a quantitative tool for the assessment of meat quality.” Conventionally, to evaluate the quality of beef, specialists pay attentio...

Korea’s LED company, Seoul Semiconductor, announced that its former R&D employee (“Kim”, age of 40) was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment as he divulged key LED technology from the company. At the end of February, the Incheon Criminal District Court sentenced eight months in prison, two years of probation and 120 hours of community service to a former R&D employee of Seoul Semiconductor, who resigned in December 2014, charged with the Act on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology. The Court sa...

85,000 lights points in the city of Cologne, Germany, are connected with Signify’s Interact City lighting management system to make the city smarter. The installation is expected to increase the city’s energy efficiency and reduce costs while improve the safety and quality of life of the citizens. The system can also accommodate the integration of sensors into the luminaires, providing data that offer environmental benefits that go beyond lighting. RheinEnergie, which is responsible for the city’s lighting, will replace all the light points with connected luminaire...

LED suppliers in Taiwan are seizing their opportunity in Mini LED with their production capacities in Taiwan which are less impacted by the coronavirus epidemic and free from tariffs. With Apple reportedly to launch iPad and MacBook based on Mini LED backlight technology, many expect that demands for Mini LED will surge. Seeing the trends, industry players in Taiwan believes that they can take the advantages in both technology development and production. Many Taiwan-based companies own capacity in Taiwan, China and also other countries. Since the trade disp...