Light+Building 2014 was a huge success for Osram, where they showcased their newest innovations, products, and range of services. After the expo concluded, Osram conducted an interview with Dr. Peter Laier, Member of the Board, CTO about the markets transition into the digital era. 

In 2014, LED industry ushered in golden period of development, the competition and integration between enterprises kicked off. LED industry faces both opportunities and challenges: under the urging of the localization process, the upstream chip companies optimize capacity utilization, to compete with each other in technology. Flip chip technology breaks in full fury, which has attracted more and more attention of lighting and backlighting market gradually, becoming the most important developing item in this year. As the global LED lamp replacing tide comes, LED bulb and tub...

Royal Philips announces its fifth consecutive pan-African Cairo to Cape Town roadshow (from 14 April to 3 September 2014) continuing to focus on key challenges facing Africa today - the need for energy-efficient lighting and the revitalization of African healthcare infrastructure.

Japanese design studio YOY has created new LED luminaires capable of projecting its own lampshade this year, according to a Deezen report.

Emerging developments in the LED lighting industry has led to major Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, American and European manufacturers expanded production capacity, as companies aim to gain larger market share. Taiwanese LED manufacturer Edison Opto, which focuses on LED components, has an optimistic outlook for the Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier (PLCC LED) and COB application market. 

On April 10, 2014, Nichia Corporation has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Tokyo District Court to enjoin Tachibana Eletech Co., Ltd. and E&E Japan Co., Ltd.  from infringing Nichia’s patent (No. 3786114 and No. 3972943) and to claim damages for the infringement with regard to LED products (product number: 1254 series) after analyzing the LEDs purchased from Tachibana. 

Aurora Lighting from UK saw Light+Building 2014 as the perfect platform to showcase their Red Dot Award winning product, the m10 LED fire rated downlight.

On the heels of BMW announcing its plans to introduce OLED lighting modules into automotive lighting, the company has also released news that they plan to do the same for motorcycle lighting, according to BMW Blog.

As the world’s largest biennial lighting show, Light + Building 2014, concluded last week, LEDinside has followed up with additional in-depth on Asian, Europe and U.S. manufacturers. Also new this week, LEDs smaller than half the width of a DNA strand are proving to be more energy efficient. Research organization iRunway also notes some of the key LED patent holders in the industry. Walmart’s will be using GE LED lights for its global shop lighting retrofit. An interesting application that emerged this week has been the use of smart LED lights in nail manicures. For more please see below:

LEDs are tooted as having long lifespans, but as more traditional light sources are being switched out for SSL, manufacturers are realizing that long lifespans are not good for a sustainable business model. Therefore, companies such as Philips and Osram are looking into long-term installation contracts. Philips has secured such a contract with Washington’s transit authority to upgrade around 13,000 fixtures in parking lots, according to a recent Bloomberg report. 

BMW has finally set the date to release their Laserlights, according to a BMW Blog report. The world premiere is set for autumn 2014 and will be included in cars released later this year.

  Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting, announces that it has become the first patron sponsor of the International Year of Light in 2015, a UNESCO-led initiative.

Forepi has shaken off the financial troubles the company experienced in 4Q13. The Taiwanese LED epitaxial manufacturer benefited from strong large-size backlight demands. Consolidated revenue for 1Q14 hit NT $941 million (US $), up 9.85 percent QoQ and 0.35 percent YoY. March experienced staggering growth of 42.73 percent from February with revenue reaching 386 million, but dipped 3.67 percent from last year.

Li Nannan, Leyard Secretary of the Board and Deputy General Manager, discussed the company’s fiscal 2013 financial performance in depth during an interview with social network service website for investors, Xueqiu, on April 8th. 

Lite-On Technology announced its March 2014 consolidated revenues. Rising demand for LED lighting boosted the company’s revenue for LED components and lighting products, which saw a growth of around 20 percent from February. 

Chinese smartphone maker BBK’s next Vivo flagship smartphone will be using dual flash LED, according to a GSM Arena Report.

Manicures are getting techy and flashier in Japan with Takara Tomy Arts smart LED nails. 

Lunera® Lighting, a leader in lighting innovation announced that they are launching their BallastLED™ technology and have raised US$ 5 million from Opus Bank to accelerate its adoption in the commercial general lighting market. BallastLEDTM technology makes it easy and affordable to convert an existing lighting infrastructure to LED by enabling true plug-and-play LED replacement bulbs for ballast driven lighting applications.

SÜSS MicroTec, a global supplier of equipment and process solutions for the semiconductor industry and related markets, has launched the new Mask Aligner MA200 Gen3. The tool is designed for high volume manufacturing and can be used for exposing wafers with a diameter of up to 200 mm. This latest generation tool is a further development of the very successful MA200 Compact platform, of which the 100th tool was recently delivered to a customer.

Smart glasses and other wearable augmented reality devices are the most exciting and fastest growing sectors in consumer electronics technology. EpiCrystals Inc. of Finland has developed a revolutionary laser light source which is especially designed to improve the usability and image quality in advanced projection applications.

After a six year wait, Foxconn subsidiary Advanced Optoelectronic Technology Inc. (AOT) application to be listed on the Taiwan stock market was finally approved recently. 

Epistar raked in profits in 1Q14, benefitting from strong LED backlight and lighting order demands. The Taiwanese epitaxy manufacturer performed better than first quarter last year, with growth of 44.33 percent YoY. 

The European Commission released a rapid alert system for non-food dangerous products (RAPEX) notification for Chinese product Goobay’s LED Strip Flexible Waterproof with 150 RG SMD LEDs. Notifying country was Finland. 

Over the years, LED lighting has filtered into many different application facets, including commercial, residential, digital communications, TV displays, mobile devices, street lighting, and more. Due to its expansive array of uses and ever lowering prices, annual global sales are estimated to grow 54 percent from 2013 reaching US $24 million, according to IP fir, iRunway. 

AIXTRON SE announced that Jiangsu Trifortune Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., China, has ordered an AIX G5 HT system to develop gallium nitride based high brightness light emitting diodes (HB-LEDs). The AIXTRON system will be equipped to handle 56x2-inch wafers per run and will be installed at Trifortune’s R&D center. The developed process will be transferred to mass production in the Jiangsu area upon successful completion of the research.

Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. (“Revolution Lighting”), a leader in advanced LED lighting solutions, announced it has signed master distribution agreements to expand the Company’s international footprint and drive penetration in key European and South American markets. 

In 2014, LED industry ushered in golden period of development, the competition and integration between enterprises kicked off. LED industry faces both opportunities and challenges: under the urging of the localization process, the upstream chip companies optimize capacity utilization, to compete with each other in technology. Flip chip technology breaks in in full fury, which has attracted more and more attention of lighting and backlighting market graduallty, becoming the most important developing item in this year. With the prevalence of "environmental protection and energ...

The sapphire substrate industry is booming on growing non-LED application demands. Tooted as having the potential to eliminate cracks and scratches, many electronic device manufacturers have been shifting their focus from glass to sapphire substrate over the past few years. A player looking into the sapphire substrate market has recently emerged.

Light measurement equipment manufacturers from around the world gathered at this year’s Light+Building in Frankfurt, Germany. A few of the large manufacturers in attendance included German companies LMT and Instrument Systems, American LabSphere, and Chinese comapny EVERFINE. Companies showcased their many new innovative products, including integration spheres, goniometers, spectrometeres, and more. 

Everlight’s LED TVs have been very successful lately, according to Infotimes. The company has received orders from new Japanese and Chinese TV clients this year and already began shipments in 1Q14. Mass production will officially start in 2Q14.