Automotive component supplier Magna announced the opening of a new electronics manufacturing facility in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, USA. The facility consolidates three nearby locations into a single site which occupies 21,367.7 square meters (230,000 square foot). (Image: Magna) With nearly US$ 50 million investment, Magna expects the new facility to accelerate large-scale deployment of future technologies such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), advanced robotics and Micro LED lighting. Magna built partnership with Micro LED technology p...

UV LEDs are recently replacing mercury light as UV light source for disinfection applications. German researchers have developed a UV LED based disinfection system to purify brewing water and clean the caps for bottled beer and soft drinks. Researchers at the Advanced System Technology (AST) branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB in Ilmenau, Germany, have cooperated in collaboration with PURION, a UV technology solution provider, to create UV LED based purifying module to destroy germs...

Osram said that it has begun talking with AMS on a Business Combination Agreement since August 13, aiming a publication of AMS' takeover offer before the end of September 5. According to Osram, both parties will continue to carefully assess the details the agreement and hope to reach the common goal that ams will be able to start its tender period during the offer period of the existing takeover offer from the financial investors Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group, thus before the end of September 5, 2019. AMS submitted the proposal to Osram on October 11...

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that addition tariffs on certain Chinese-made consumer items will be delayed until December 15 for avoiding the holiday shopping season, according to President Trumps. As a result, USTR has announced two new lists for products with extra tariffs effective on September 1, 2019, and those effective on December 15, 2019. Several items were removed from the tariffs list due to health, safety, national security and other factors, according to USTR. Original list has covered LED products include “Ball...

Mini LED and Micro LED technologies have been the focal point of many Taiwanese LED manufacturers as they attempt to get away from severe price competition with Chinese companies. However, as Micro LED requires higher technology integration as well as production cost, Mini LED becomes an easier target. Vertical integrated LED company Lextar has begun organization restructure since 2018, cutting off LED fixture manufacture and prioritizing Mini LED research and development. Mini LED backlight and signage are the two major areas focused by Lextar. ...

As the industry enters high season, LED chip maker Epistar reported revenue increase with rising demands for consumer products. Epistar registered a revenue of NT$1.396 billion (US$44.32 million) in July, which reached a peak in the past three month with an on-month increase of 14.24%. For 2Q19, the company posted revenues of NT$ 4.027 billion (US$1.279 billion), dropped by 23.95%YoY and 7.3%QoQ. The company has been suffered from operation loss in the past few quarters with market uncertainty caused by the on-going trade dispute between the U.S. and China. D...

Sensor maker AMS officially joined the bidding competition for Osram takeover against Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group. Osram confirmed the proposal from AMS on August 12 and will start negotiations with AMS. AMS announced on August 11 that it has submitted a takeover proposal to Osram at a price of EUR 38.50 per share (US$ 43.08), which is 10 percent higher than the price offered by Bain and Carlyle (EUR 35 per share). Based on the AMS’ offer, the value of Osram is around EUR 4.3 billion (US$ 4.81 billion).   The sensor maker a...

When and in what product Apple will adopt Micro LED display technology has been an ongoing topic for the industry. Apple Watch and AR/VR smart glasses were the two products that are most likely to adopt Micro LED according to industry rumors as well as Apple’s revealed patents. On August 1, 2019, a new Micro LED display patent applied by Apple was published in Europe, reported Patently Apple. The patent abstract described that it states the structure and methods of Micro LED display fabrication, including how LEDs are transferred to a carrier subst...

Fluence by OSRAM announced that it will become the LED provider of choice for The Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD), an organic cannabis company based in Ontario, Canada. TGOD will use Fluence LED lighting solutions for year-round cannabis cultivation, pushing its production capabilities to meet rapidly increasing global demand for organic cannabis. Fluence will supply its high-bay VYPR lighting solutions in two additional hybrid greenhouses of TGOD which measures over 1.4 million square feet. These new facilities will open in phases starting August 2019 ...

On August 1, 2019, President Trump announced an additional 10% tariff on US$300 billion Chinese imports which will come into effect in September. The new listed products which will be imposed with taxes also include several LED products. LED products that are listed in the new 10% tariff list include “Ballasts for discharge lamps or tubes”, “electrical lighting equipment of a kind used on bicycles”, “flashlights”, and a series of electrical filament lamps, as well as LED lamps. (Image: Pixabay) According to data from the Chi...

Following the global autonomous driving technology development, LiDAR companies worldwide are speeding up their business expansion in different part of the world. Germany-based LiDAR sensor maker Ibeo announced the establishment of its U.S. subsidiary and Ouster reported its expansion into Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. In June 2019, Ibeo Automotive Systems has established a wholly owned subsidiary in Detroit, USA. This step allows Ibeo to cater to the growing demand for LiDAR technology in the U.S. and expand its business segment into one of the most i...

US-based equipment provider VEECO reported its financial results of the second quarter of 2019. The company registered revenues of US$97.8 million, compared with US$157.8 million in 2Q18. VEECO said that its sales in the market of LED lighting, display and compound semiconductor were limited in the second quarter of 2019, taking 10% of the total revenue with US$ 9.69 million. However, VEECO underlined that it recently shipped an advanced MOCVD system to a leading compound semiconductor manufacturer who is piloting the system for ROY LEDs as well as ...

Cree and ON Semiconductor announced the execution of a multi-year agreement where Cree will produce and supply its Wolfspeed silicon carbide wafers to ON Semiconductor. The agreement, valued at more than $85 million, provides for the supply of Cree’s advanced 150mm silicon carbide (SiC) bare and epitaxial wafers to ON Semiconductor for use in high-growth markets, such as electric vehicle and industrial applications. “ON Semiconductor continues to be a leader in driving the development of energy efficient innovations and devices,” said ON Semico...

The European Union announced an establishment of a new three-year project, ELIoT (Enhance Lighting for the Internet of Things), which aims to develop mass market Internet of Things (IoT) solutions using LiFi. With LiFi, the ELIoT consortium will explore a networked wireless communication technology operating in the previously unused light spectrum, besides Wi-Fi and cellular radio. LiFi can be used in environments where certain radiofrequencies are not possible or allowed. For outdoor usage, it could offer high bandwidth point-to-point links from rooftops, ...

Last week has been busy for LiDAR related technology builders all over the world. Seoul Robotics, a South Korea-based perception software developer for autonomous system, introduced a new 3D perception platform compatible for 3D LiDAR sensors. Meanwhile, China-based RoboSense announced partnership with automotive electronics system provider ControlWorks for Koreans OEMs. Seoul Robotics revealed SENSR, which is the industrial-grade software solution that provides scalable 3D perception and can integrate multiple different LiDAR sensors. According to th...

A French/Chinese design store NOERDEN launched a smart bottle which can autonomously sterilize water with built-in UV-C LED sterilization system and remind people to drink more water with the hydration reminder. The smart bottle, named LIZ, is featured with a touch responsive smart lid with UV-C LED that can destroy up to 99.9% of harmful viruses and bacteria, according to NOERDEN. Users only have to tap the lid twice to start the sterilization process, which sends the UV-C light through the empty bottle or through the water in the bottle to destroy ba...

Seoul Semiconductor revealed its consolidated revenues of 2Q19 which came to KRW 283.3 billion (US$ 233.16 million), which has dropped by 2% YoY. The gross profit was KRW 69.3 billion (US$ 57.03 million) and operating profit was KRW 6.6 billion (US$ 5.43 million). The company said the business performance has achieved its guided range for revenues of the quarter. In comparison to other LED companies who have suffered from drastic decrease due to the weak market impacted by the US-China trade dispute, Seoul Semiconductor said it was able to achieve stable rev...

Singapore-based Kulicke & Soffa Industries (K&S) and Micro/Mini LED technology provider Rohinni, announced that they have received initial orders of their co-developed PIXALUX™, a Mini and Micro LED placement solution. (Image: Rohinni) The two companies further noted that the PIXALUX™ advanced placement machine was honored with an Equipment of the Year Award by the Japan Electronics Packaging and Circuits Association (JPCA). The award was presented to K&S and Rohinni at JPCA’s annual trade show and conf...

Shulin District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, July 30, 2019-Everlight has filed invalidation trial procedures against Nichia ‘s YAG patents in United States, Australia, China and Taiwan. Everlight has received these winning judgements. Supreme Court of the United States has decided that the asserted claims of Nichia’s US YAG patents US5,998,925 and US7,531,960 are invalid. Full Court of Federal Court of Australia has decided that the asserted claims of Nichia’s Australia YAG patent 720234 are invalid. On May 9, 2019, Beijing Inte...

Scientists have demonstrated blue light’s anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects and they turned it into a flexible bandage to heal wounds. MEDILIGHT, a European research project which aims to develop smart and wearable medical devices, have presented a prototype of the LED embedded light solution for treating chronic wounds. Within the framework of the European project MEDILIGHT, seven partners including research teams from Germany France, Switzerland, Cyprus, the UK and Czech, were coordinated by the Technical University of Berlin (TUB)....

LASER COMPONENTS, specialized provider of components and services in the laser and optoelectronics industry, has been named a “Best of Sensors” 2019 Award winner in the Automotive/Autonomous category. The company’s QuickSwitch Pulsed Laser Diode (PLD) was recognized as one of the Innovative Products of the Year 2019 which highlights cutting-edge advancements and achievements that are moving the sensors industry forward. Across fourteen categories, the prestigious awards were presented by the Editor of Fierce- Electronics during Sensors Expo & Conference 2019, held June 25-27, 2019 in San Jose, California.

AGreen Farms, an indoor hydroponic farm based in Philadelphia, USA, is investing in LED horticulture lighting from Current by GE to produce greens, herbs and edible flowers. Adam Green, founder of AGreen Farms, has worked as a sales intern at Farm.One, a vertical farm based in New York, and gained experiences of the technology-powered urban vertical farm. He launched AGreen Farms in 2018 in a mixed-use building in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood. The 5,000-square-foot operation includes 3,500 square feet of grow space dedicated to microgreens a...

US Santa Barbara announced that the Regents of the University of California filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission and lawsuits against five major retailers, Walmart, Target, Ikea, Amazon.com and Bed Bath & Beyond, for the unauthorized distribution of UC Santa Barbara’s patented filament LED lighting technology. UC Santa Barbara and its legal counsel, Nixon Peabody, have identified that Walmart, Target, Ikea, Amazon.com and Bed Bath & Beyond as the five major retailers who represent a large cross-section of the...

LiDAR developer LeddarTech announces that its patent infringement case against Phantom Intelligence was settled favorably in the Federal Court of Canada. In December 2015 LeddarTech challenged Phantom Intelligence for the illegal use of its patented LiDAR sensing technology protected by Canadian Patent No. 2,710,212, entitled “Detection and Ranging Methods and Systems” and relating to systems and methods for acquiring an optical signal and converting it into a digital trace. The patent is a core driver of LeddarTech’s long-established intel...

Osram announced the financial results of fiscal 3Q19 which marked “no signs of business revival” for the company. The quarterly revenue dropped by 14.9% YoY to EUR 850 million (US$ 948.28 million). Its EBITA fell by 66.2% YoY with EUR 42 million (US$ 46.86 million). EBITDA adjusted for special items was EUR 58 million (US$ 64.72 million), which was down by 58% compared to previous year’s figure; net income amounted to minus EUR 35 million (US$ 39 million). All three business segment of Osram, Opto Semiconductors, Automotive a...

Pharmagreen Biotech, a Canadian biotech science company specialized in cannabis, announced that it will use Signify's Philips GreenPower LED Lighting for cannabis cultivation in its Cannabis Biotech Complex. The complex is a large-scale tissue culture production, research and storage facility of plantlets witch ensures the quality of Cannabis as medicine. The strategic supply partnership with Signify's Philips LED lighting technology adds the high-tech value and opens the door for future cooperation in advancing solutions for the tissue culture industry. ...

In April, China’s Sanan Optoelectronics announced its plan to increase investment in Micro LED and Mini LED wafer production in Hubei, China. The company kicked off the project construction on July 29th. Sanan plans to invest CNY 12 billion (US$ 1.74 billion) in the Micro/Mini LED project which the production and R&D area will take about 478 thousand square meters. The company said that the new center will focus on GaN wafer and GaAs wafer of Micro/Mini LED and package products for 4K display. The location of the constructing site i...

Nichia announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Global Value Lighting (GVL) a US-based manufacturer of LED lighting products. Meanwhile, the Japan-based LED maker also confirms its patent in China. In the lawsuit against Global Value Lighting (GVL), Nichia has asserted a filament LED patent, U.S. Patent No. 9,752,734, as well as 5 patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 6,337,493, 6,870,191, 7,345,297, 7,804,101 and 9,324,791) that cover the design of LED chips. N...

With the feature of local dimming, display adopting Mini LED backlights give a contrast effect similar to that of OLED displays. Many panel manufacturers see Mini LED backlight a strong competitor to OLED technology. Taiwan-based panel maker AUO has begun mass production of a 32-inch professional panel in 4Q18 and is currently working with its clients on 4K Mini LED notebook panels. The company plans to ship the new products by the end of 2019. AUO noted that Mini LED technology has been a core development of the company. Starting with niche applica...

Cyprus, the island country on the Mediterranean Sea, is on its way to improve energy efficiency by switching all conventional streetlights into LED. According to the report of CyprusMail, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) has signed a contract to replace all existing lights in Larnaca. The contract will be executed by the end of August in 2019 with 1,500 streetlights switched to LED. The replacement is expected to save up to 67.56 percent of energy cost compared to current consumption. (image: Pixabay) Moreover, Yiangos Frangoulides, senior manager ...