Taiwanese mid-power LED chip manufacturer and packager Prolight Opto recently submitted listing applications to the Taiwan bourse. The application is expected to be completed by the end of this quarter. Top Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Epistar is one of Prolight Opto’s investors.

U.S. LED manufacturer Cree’s stocks dropped to US $41.1 recently, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stocks from buy to neutral, according to a report by China Post. As Cree’s lighting revenue increases, Taiwanese manufacturers believe Cree’s business focus is turning towards downstream.

Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) has filed patent infringement lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to prevent Harvatek Corporation and Kingbright Corporation from infringing Cree’s patented intellectual property. These patents, among other things, protect Cree’s LED component portfolio, including Cree’s white light LEDs.

Kateeva today announced that it has closed its Series D round with US $38 million in financing. The newest participant is Samsung Venture Investment Corporation (SVIC). Existing investors also contributed. They include: Sigma Partners, Spark Capital, Madrone Capital Partners, DBL Investors, New Science Ventures, and VEECO Instruments, Inc.

Integrated System Technologies (IST) Limited, a leading British manufacturer of smart lighting solutions, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Chinese Patent Office have granted patents covering high efficiency LED luminaires for downlight applications.

When it comes Smart LED light bulbs, which can be dimmed and made to change colour, the most popular product must be Philips Hue, using the Zigbee protocol, which you can control via iOS and Android devices though a Zigbee gateway, and costs about £50 on Amazon. Alternatives have started to show up such as LIFX, with WIFI technology, that you can control with recent iOS and Android device without the need for a gateway, but with a price starting at £80. 

Refond Optoelectronics recently announced its largest shareholder and company CEO Gong Weibin has sold out 5 million stocks, or about 2.29 percent of shares on Sept. 11, 2014, according to a Securities Times report.

Much to Apple fans dismay last week, the nearly indestructible sapphire glass covers were not found on any of the iPhone 6 models. Many were scratching their heads and wondering why.

Roshow Technology is under China’s Securities Regulatory Commission’s (CSRC) watchful eye for violating financial regulations again, according to a National Business Daily report. In April, the company’s former Board Secretary Chai Shen was arrested for suspected insider trading.

DOE has published a new report forecasting the energy savings of LED white-light sources compared with conventional white-light sources. The sixth iteration of the Energy Savings Forecast of Solid-State Lighting in General Illumination Applications compares the annual lighting energy consumption in the U.S. with and without further market penetration of LED lighting. 

New research reported in the June 2014 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is showing that daylight-deprived workers are literally losing sleep. This can mean poor performance at work and changes in attitude, memory and metabolism, say the study’s authors.

Faithful Apple fans stood in awe as Tim Cook demonstrated the new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch at Tuesday’s Special Event. The iPhone 6 met most analysts’ expectations that the sapphire screen would be absent. What was surprising was the larger iPhone Plus did make it to the show, while the rumored 12.9-inch iPad wasn’t to be seen. Other developments included the sapphire-glass encased Apple smart watch, which has become the Cupertino company’s first personalized gadget. For more please see below.

Supported by favorable government policies China’s LED industry initiated a new round of financing during the first half of 2014, according to a Chinese-language report by Consumption Daily. Innovative technology and new products released by the LED lighting industry led to rising developments. Spurred on by strong demands throughout the supply chain, listed LED manufacturers reported high revenues. 

AIXTRON, a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, has teamed up with research institution Fraunhofer IISB (Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology) in Erlangen, Germany, to develop 150 mm Silicon Carbide (SiC) epitaxy processes using the new AIXTRON 8x150 mm G5WW Vapor Phase Epitaxy (VPE) system. 

LED streetlights are known to be bright, sometimes too bright that UK and U.S. residents have complained glare from LEDs disrupted sleeping patterns. In a recent turn of events, though, residents in Taiwan and India have reported the LED streetlights were too dim, and were underperforming in brightness compared to previous generation lights.

LG Chem has developed the world’s first OLED light panel with high luminous efficacy and long-lasting performance that can compete with LED lights, according to a report from The Korea Herald.

Lighten high performance COB offering, ultra-high power, high Ra value & high efficiency.

LED industry development has picked up pace in recent years as cities promote highly energy efficient lighting, according to a Securities Times report. Among global LED lighting applications, lighting and automotive lighting industries have been the fastest growing markets, and have become the main growth drivers in the LED industry.

The market speculated whether GE will sell its lighting division after the company recently sold the home appliance division for US $3.3 billion to Swedish company Electrolux, according to a Lighting report.

U.S. retail residential electricity prices for the first half of 2014 averaged 12.3 cents per kilowatthour, an increase of 3.2 percent from the same period last year. This is the highest year-over-year growth in residential prices for the first half of the year since 2009. Average prices rose in all areas of the country except for the Pacific Census Division (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).

The continuous increase in power usage within the country has resulted in electricity related sectors coming out to promote a reduction in electricity consumption, so as to create a stable power supply throughout Thailand.

CEA-Leti and LUCIOM, which develops visible-light communication using light-emitting diodes (LEDs), have launched a project to develop high-data-rate LiFi transceivers. With this technology, LUCIOMexpects to offer in mid-2015 one of the first high-data-rate bidirectional light-fidelity, or LiFi, products that can work with different LED lighting sources, and on mobile devices.

After finishing the grand introduction to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus at the Special Event in Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, California, U.S., Apple CEO Tim Cook created a new climax with Steve Jobs classical statement “One more thing…” prior to unveiling the long anticipated wearable smartwatch device “Apple Watch”.

GT Advanced Technology (GTAT) stocks plummeted after Apple announced the new iPhone 6 will not be featuring sapphire cover glass, according to a Reuters report. 

Apple’s iPhone 6 is finally here. The company’s CEO Tim Cook unveiled the phones at Apple’s Special Event which took place during the twilight hours in Taiwan on Sept. 10, 2014 (Taipei time). Some of the rumors about the iPhone 6 specs proved true, such as the phones coming in two different sizes. The smaller 4.7-inch phone has been coined iPhone 6 by the Cupertino company, while the larger 5.5-inch has been named the iPhone 6 Plus.

ntematix Corporation, a leading manufacturer of phosphor solutions for LED lighting, has collaborated with SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business to create the ChromaLit Linear - a state of the art LED offering developed for the lighting industry. By using Intematix’s remote phosphor technology and SABIC’s LEXAN™ LUX resins,  lighting customers can now achieve the energy efficiency and reliability benefits of LEDs, while also experiencing increased optical efficiency and better light uniformity—a critical factor for commercial environments.

A new manufacturer in the lighting industry, Stack, has developed a smart LED bulb that does not require App interactions, according to a TechCrunch report.

Vishay Intertechnology, one of the world's largest manufacturers of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components, today announced that it has acquired 88.95 percent of the outstanding shares of Taiwan-based Capella Microsystems Inc. (GreTai Securities Market: 3582), a fabless IC design company specializing in optoelectronic products, pursuant to its previously announced tender offer.

Intelligent lighting solutions company Lighting Science® announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Edward Bednarcik as Chief Executive Officer, effective September 8, 2014. Bednarcik, a talented executive with experience developing and commercializing technology across multiple industries globally, will lead the company as it continues to bring to market new innovative LED lighting solutions and expand its presence in the office, retail, education, health care, assisted living, agriculture, government, fitness, hospitality, infrastructure and residential market segments.

Veeco Instruments announced today that Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts has ordered two GENxplor™ R&D Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) Systems for cutting-edge compound semiconductor research.