eLux announced that the U.S. Patent Office has issued in early December US Patent No. 9,825,202 titled “Display with Surface Mount Emissive Elements”. This is the first issued eLux patent which covers the foundational work done on massively parallel fluidic assembly of µLEDs to make high resolution displays. 

The chip wavelength of LED can be adjusted to produce both visible and invisible light bulbs. In light of lower production cost, companies are developing more UV LEDs, further driving the growth of ultraviolet lamps. It is estimated the market value of ultraviolet lamps will continues to increase at a CAGR of 13.32% from 2017 to 2021.

A new war is looming in the display market. The rumor that Samsung may team up with the Micro LED supply chain in Taiwan has caught the attention of Foxconn CEO Terry Gou.

Recent advances in the design of high-performance phosphorescent emitters have led to the leap-forward development of organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) and their applications in commercial electronic products, including computer monitors, cellular phones, and high-density televisions. With the dedicated efforts of the team during these five years, a significant impact to the fields of OLEDs and organic photovoltaics (OPVs) has been made.

Apple today announced the latest award from its $1 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund. Finisar, a manufacturer of optical communications components, will receive $390 million as part of Apple’s commitment to support innovation and job creation by American manufacturers.

Taiwan-based LED chip manufacturer Epistar announced its business plan for 2018 will be around five cores—backlighting, high-end LED lighting, infrared application, automotive lighting, and innovative digital display. Ming-Chun Chou, General Manager of Epistar, stated the company will officially produce Mini LED in 2Q18 at the earliest.

San’an Optoelectronics announced, on December 5, 2017, the firm's board meeting passed the Investment Cooperation Agreement, which is going to be co-signed by the firm, People's Government of Quanzhou City in Fujian Province, and People's Government of Nan'an City in Fujian Province.

Ouster, a San Francisco-based developer of high-performance LIDAR technology emerged from stealth, announces the launch of the company's new OS1 model LIDAR, and $27 million in Series A funding, led by Cox Enterprises.

Universal Display Corporation, enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its technology and materials, announced the signing of long-term OLED Agreements with Chinese display giant BOE Technology Group.

Light Polymers is announcing a next-generation circular polarizer for OLED displays based on lyotropic liquid crystal technology. Light Polymers’ proprietary nanochemistry creates a circular polarizer at 45 µm, thinner than any competitive offering.

LEDinside this time collected insights on Micro LED from seven experts. What do they think about Micro LED and the feasibility of its mass production? What are the elements they think Micro LED should have to be able to win the competition against LCD and OLED?

LED epi-wafers and chips supplier Epileds has posted flat revenue in 2H17 due to seasonal headwinds and the relocation of its factory. 

The global research company TrendForce held 2018 Forum on Key Trends in Electronic Components Industry on December 7, 2017. Here are the key excerpts from the forum.

Providers of metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) equipment Veeco and AMEC have been exchanging heavy fire this year, filing patent infringement lawsuits against each other in the US and China.

LG Display announced that the company started mass production at its new Gen 5 OLED light panel production line in Gumi, Korea and launched its new OLED light brand, Luflex. With these moves, the company will lead the lighting market, providing a powerful boost to the nascent sector globally. 

The optical outputs of the new LEDs are expected to be greater than 120 mW at 300 ± 10 nm, 140 mW at 280 ± 10 nm and 80 mW at 260 ± 10 nm. The research group is also working on making significant improvements to the aging behavior of the LEDs so they can be operated longer and more economically.

Smart lighting start-up Gooee has extended its North American reach to Canada by partnering with Stanpro Lighting Systems, a lighting manufacturer for the Canadian market located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Epistar General Manager Chou Ming-Chun revealed at the company’s investor conference on December 5 that Mini LED is likely to be mainstream in the backlight market.

Apple is working with Stanford Medicine researchers on a research study to determine whether the Apple Watch’s heart-rate sensor can identify irregular heart rhythms associated with a condition known as atrial fibrillation (AFib).

This is an evolution story of a long-running business. With a history of almost a century in general lighting, Munich-based conglomerate Osram went through several fierce competitions in the industry in the LED era and finally in 2016 decided to divest its historic light sources business, selling it to a Chinese consortium.

Taiwan-based sapphire substrate supplier Crystalwise Technology suffered a loss per share of NTD 2.99 in the past three quarters in 2017 mainly due to the low price of patterned sapphire substrates (PSS). The market has gone through a reshuffle and gradually turned healthy in recent years.

SESCO Lighting has opened its new 16,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Maitland, Florida. In addition to extensive business in Florida, the company has exclusive rights to sell a multitude of lighting products in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Puerto Rico. This expansion of the company has enhanced its services, improved the ability to serve customers and bolstered growth. SESCO also provides lighting for projects in many foreign countries.

The new display technology Micro LED actually has a history of over a decade. After Apple acquired LuxVue Technology, it officially became famous. Its properties- high resolution, high brightness, real-time response, and low power consumption- win hearts of many A-list high-tech companies such as Apple, Sony, Google and Facebook, as well as companies in the display industry.

Veeco Instruments announced today that it is preparing to appeal to the Beijing IP Court against the decision previously made by the Patent Reexamination Board (PRB) regarding the validity of patent ZL201220056049.5 held by Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC). 

With industry professionals and audiences around the world praising their initial experiences with Samsung Cinema LED screen, the innovative cinema technology is now making its way to Europe.

Philips Lighting announces that it has repurchased 2.8 million of its shares for an aggregate amount of approximately EUR 90 million.

"We have raised our dividend proposal for fiscal year 2017 to 111 cents per share. By doing so, we will allow our shareholders to benefit from our success following an excellent year and we can also celebrate the 111th anniversary of our brand," said Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG.

Rumors have been spreading like crazy since May that Samsung would acquire Taiwanese Micro LED startup PlayNitride. Sources from the industry recently leaked that the two companies are at the final stage of their talk.

AIXTRON has recently received an order on multiple AIX 2800G4-TM MOCVD cluster tools from Chinese optoelectronic manufacturer Xiamen Changelight Co., Ltd to expand its production capacity for gallium arsenide-based (GaAs) red, orange and yellow (ROY) LEDs. 

After carrying out its capacity expansion plans, major Chinese display maker BOE is reported to share the information about two of its new OLED production lines to Apple in order to win orders from the latter.