Philips Photonics announced that the company has reached a milestone of shipping one billion VCSELs thanks to strong growth in smartphone 3D sensing applications. With strong drives from the trends of proximity sensing and 3D facial recognition technology in consumer smartphones, the company also unveiled its plan to increase production capacity. According to Philips Photonics, it has doubled its production capacity by early 2018, which was in line with the company’s plan. Now Phiilips Photonics plans to further expand its production at the facility in Ulm, Germany...

Signify, formerly known as Philips Lighting, has implemented its largest architectural lighting project in Shanghai. The project created a dynamic lighting for Shanghai’s waterfront, three bridges and over 40 buildings in the city. As part of the regeneration of the financial and tourist districts of Shanghai, Signify has installed more than 50,000 Philips luminaires. These illuminate buildings along the waterfront as well as the Yangpu, Nanpu and Xupu bridges. Signify’s Interact Landmark system is being used to control and manage lighting on building rooftops...

Seven-Eleven Japan will grow vegetables for its own salads products sold at convenience stores by establishing a plant factory in Tokyo, reported Nikkei Asian Review. Seven-Eleven is the largest convenience store operator in Japan and it began the project in order to reduce the supply risks caused by weather. The indoor farming facility will be set up in Kanagawa Prefecture to produce lettuce for stores in the Greater Tokyo Area. (Image: Osram) According to the report, the facility will cost about 6 billion yen (US$53.3 million) and is scheduled to operate in J...

Samsung Electronics has announced its new horticulture LED lineups, including full-spectrum packages and modules as well as color (monochromatic) LEDs. The new LEDs provide a broader spectrum of light to improve plant growth, farming environments and to reduce lighting system costs for optimizing lighting in greenhouses and vertical farming. Full-spectrum light encompasses a continuous range of wavelengths from blue, green to red, creating a light blend suitable for horticultural uses. According to Samsung, its full-spectrum-based LEDs encourage healthier and more balanc...

Czech-based Anolis Lighting has illustrated a fascinating lighting project in Lava Tunnel, Iceland. The creative lighting installation in the lava cave tunnel was designed by Agust Gunnlaugsson, a lighting designer at EFLA Engineers, using Anolis’ LED fixtures. “Lava Tunnel” is a spectacular lava tube tunnel - one of the longest in Iceland at 1360 metres, and around 30 metres wide in places, with up to 10 metres of headroom. Its majestic and intricate interior collage of colors and textures is the result of massive volcanic eruptions 5000 years ago....

TowerJazz, an Israel-based chip producer, announced that its 0.18um CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode) process has been selected by LeddarTech, a Canadian automotive LiDAR developer, for its automotive LiDAR solutions. TowerJazz’s CIS SPAD platform combines CMOS, image sensors and SPAD on the same chip, offering an integrated solution with figures of merit. Through the partnership with TowerJazz, LeddarTech expects to expand the market of its LiDAR platform. LeddarTech’s LiDAR solutions enable...

Forest Lighting has released a letter to its customers to share the update regarding MLS’s plan to integrate Forest Lighting and LEDVANCE. MLS is the global parent company of LEDVANCE and Forest Lighting and has decided to integrate these two businesses in the United States and Canada to maximize operation efficiency. According to the announcement of Forest Lighting, LEDVANCE will be responsible for operation management after integration. The purpose of the integration is to accelerate product development, reduce internal costs, and improve...

U.S.-based LED lighting products producer MaxLite has announced that it would begin applying a temporary order surcharge after November 19th due to the significant escalation in international shipping rates and materials. The company will add six percent surcharge on top of the base price to all orders, purchase orders and quotes. According to MaxLite, it will adjust or cancel the surcharge when vessel supply and import costs stabilize. Meanwhile, MaxLite underlined that the product pricing will remain valid until the end of 2018. ...

AEye, a U.S.-based LiDAR startup, has raised a Series B funding of US$ 40 million from Taiwania Capital and existing investors including Kleiner Perkins, Intel Capital, Airbus Ventures and Tychee Partners. With its Series B round, the company has received a total funding of over US$61 million. The funds will be used to scale AEye’s operations to meet global demand for the company’s artificial perception systems for autonomous vehicles. AEye is uniquely structured to effectively scale through partnerships with contract manufacturers and Tier 1s ...

Kulicke and Soffa (K&S) has announced its financial results of the fourth quarter and its fiscal 2018 ended September 29, 2018. The Company’s revenue for the fourth quarter was US$184.8 million and the full year revenue was US$889.1 million. Dr. Fusen Chen, Kulicke & Soffa's President and CEO, stated, “Over the past two years, our organizational redesign and development efforts have diversified our business and provided access to several new and promising growth opportunities. Throughout fiscal year 2018, these fundamental improvements resul...

FitTech, a Taiwanese LED chip and wafer probers provider, has increased its product portfolio for the production of Mini LED and VCSEL and has been providing its equipment to the top three Chinese LED companies. FitTech has continued to extend its product lines in the optoelectronic field with a focus on system integration. Its products include LED/wafer probers, automatic solar sorters, laser micromachining systems and others. With its products, the company has successfully become a supplier for the top three Chinese LED companies. Its LED prober takes...

Heliospectra, the Swedish horticulture LED lighting solution provider, has reported new orders from John Innes Center, a British research center, and F&M 2017 DOO, a Macedonian medicinal cannabis provider. UK-based John Innes Centre focuses on researches on plant science and uses speed breading to accelerate research on wheat and other crops. The institute has installed Heliospectra’s LED grow light for its research project and successfully speeded up the growing cycle of wheat. John Innes Centre has ordered new ELIXIA and EOS lights from H...

Electronica 2018, the biannual electronic components exhibition, was held in Munich, Germany, from November 13th to 16th. Several world leading LED producers joined the event to showcase their novel technology developments and innovative applications. Korea-based LG Innotek and Everlight from Taiwan both participated in Electronica 2018 and demonstrated their LED products and applications. LG Innotek presented its automotive and electronic components for electric and smart vehicles during the event and aims to increase its presence in the European market. The compan...

A new study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology reported that exposure to blue light would decrease blood pressure and reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In previous studies, it is shown that UV light can help the skin to release nitric oxide and decrease blood pressure. Researchers from the University of Surrey and Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf have collaborated with Philips to learn whether body exposure to blue light also has the same effect as visible blue light is not carcinogenic compared to UV light. (Image: ...

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a Taiwan-based high-tech applied research institution, reported that it has received three 2018 R&D 100 Awards on November 16th in Florida, USA. One of the awarded innovation products was a portable UVC LED water sterilizer system. ITRI’s portable UVC LED water sterilizer system is the world’s first solar-powered flow-water sterilizer for emergency use. It efficiently produces clean water by killing water-borne bacteria with UVC LED technology. The device is designed for electri...

Imec, the Belgium-based nanoelectronics research center, has worked with Ghent University and contact lens producer SEED to develop a contact lens integrated with LED light. The lens is presented at imec technology forum Japan (ITF Japan 2018) on November 19th, 2018. The contact lens with an integrated LED light is made of hydrogel-based material and is embedded with an ultra-thin silicon microchip, radio‐frequency (RF) antenna for wireless energy transfer, and stretchable thin‐film interconnections. imec and CMST, an imec research group at Ghent University...

Infineon Technologies has announced the acquisition of Siltectra, a Dresden-based start-up which developed an innovative technology, named Cold Split, for processing crystal material. The company was acquired for EUR 124 million (US$141.38 million). With the acquisition, Infineon aims to adopt Cold Split technology to split silicon carbide (SiC) wafers, doubling the number of chips out of one wafer. “This acquisition will help us expand our excellent portfolio with the new material silicon carbide as well. Our system understanding and our unique know how on thin ...

At electronica 2016 Inova Semiconductors launched the innovative ISELED technology, a groundbreaking approach for interior automotive lighting. At the same time the ISELED Alliance was announced. The alliance aims to coordinate between its members and build an ecosystem for the ISELED technology whose core is a “digital” RGB-LED, with a tiny controller inside the LED package. This innovative approach reduces costs, simplifies control, and expands the functionality of LED lighting in the automobile significantly. (Image: ISELED) T...

On November 15, the Sensor Technology and Smart City seminar was successfully held at Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Co-organized by Shanghai Optoelectronics Trade Association (SOTA) and Shanghai Illumination Electric Appliance Trade Association (SIEATA), the seminar gathered top entrepreneurs, industrial experts and academicians in Shanghai to participate and exchange insights on the development of smart lighting technologies. Shanghai Wellmax Lighting (WELLMAX), a key member of the SOTA and SIE...

Osram Opto Semiconductor has announced a new LED, Osconiq S3030. The LED is featured with long lifetime and robustness to fulfill the demands of general lighting products. Osconiq S3030 targets mid-power market for outdoor and industrial lighting applications, providing high quality and durability in various operating conditions. The individual components provide flexibility in forward voltage and luminous flux with an exceptional lifetime of 75.000 hours even at high temperatures. Together with an optimized phosphor, lead frame and chip design, the development of the Osc...

SemiLEDs Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of LED chips and LED components, has posted its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal year 2018, ended August 31, 2018. (Image: SemiLEDs) Revenues for the fourth quarter and for the third quarter of fiscal 2018 were both approximately US$2.0 million. GAAP net loss attributable to SemiLEDs stockholders for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 was US$1.1 million, compared to a loss of $326 thousand in the third quarter of 2018, or a net loss of US$0.32 per diluted share, compared to...

Hydroponic equipment supplier Hydrofarm Holdings Group has announced that the company has built an exclusive partnership with SANANBIO to launch PHOTOBIO Powered by SANANBIO, a horticulture LED product line, in the U.S. and Canada. SANANBIO develops innovative vertical growing systems and horticulture lighting solutions to ensure high quality and yield. With the collaboration, its product performance will be enhanced by Hydrofarm’s customer support, which includes professionally rendered lighting plans that help growers evaluate the needs...

Orion Energy Systems reported results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2019 ended September 30, 2018. The company posted a revenue of US$ 13.2 million for 2Q19, down14.3% YoY and 4% QoQ due to lower sales through the distribution channel and delays of certain projects. Gross margin declined to 19.3% in 2Q19, compared to 23.5% in 2Q18. According to Orion, the business in the U.S. is progressing significantly with its automotive, retail and public sector customers. With its capability to provide tailored LED lighting solutions, the growth momentum of Orion com...

Osram has announced that it will present its state-of-the-art LED automotive lighting at the 2018 Essen Motor Show which will be held from December 1st to 9th. The company has launched new Osram LEDriving products for the replacement of halogen and xenon light. LEDriving work lights and additional headlights are new additions to the Osram portfolio. The new headlamps with novel LED technology offer greater output than the original headlamps. In addition, the LED retrofit headlamp can deliver low-beam, high-beam, daytime running lights, position lights and turn ind...

Big lighting brands have continually transformed their positioning from luminaires providers to high technology developers. Apart from Osram revising its organization structure and moving towards to digitalization, Signify has also been expanding its presence in the market of smart applications and establishing IoT systems in Asia. (Image: Signify) According to the report by Digital News Asia, Signify has launched its Interact IoT platform in Kuala Lumpur on November 14th. Alok Ghose, CEO of Signify ASEAN, said that the company will assist Malaysia for t...

The LEDVANCE Supervisory Board has appointed Lawrence Lin as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of LEDVANCE. Lin, who most recently served as Chairman of the LEDVANCE Supervisory Board, will continue to drive the transition of LEDVANCE to become one of the global leaders in LED-based general lighting. Lin brings a successful track record and vast international management experience into his new position at LEDVANCE. In his latest role since 2015, as Executive General Manager at MLS, he was instrumental in...

Serving as a key technology in the development of autonomous vehicle, LiDAR has gained increasing attentions from the industry with more and more companies continually advancing their LiDAR technology development. Two LiDAR companies, Innoviz and Robosense, announced that their cutting-edge LiDAR solutions have been honored with CES 2019 Innovation Awards. Chinese LiDAR company RoboSense said that its RS-IPLS Intelligent Perception LiDAR System was named as a CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree which was released during CES Unveiled N...

With the help of Current, powered by GE, the City of San Diego has begun smart city project since last year and has released several new digital applications to improve parking, traffic and public safety on city streets. The city has continued to increase the installation of Current’s CityIQ sensor nodes on LED streetlights in the city. In total, the infrastructure project will include 4,200 new CityIQ nodes across 14,000 new individually metered LED fixtures. Together with a lighting control platform, the project will boost LED streetlight efficiency by an...

U.S.-based material producer PPG and wireless power company Powercast have announced a joint development agreement to produce wirelessly powered printed electronics products for applications such as smart consumer packaging and smart ID cards. By leveraging the expertise from each other, the project will combine substrate and conductive inks from PPG and receiver technology of Powercast to develop LED-based wireless illumination solutions. With the technology, consumer packaging can light up itself to showcase products on a shelf. For smart ID cards, it can be illumina...

EpiGaN, the Belgian GaN-on-Si and GaN-on-SiC epitaxial wafer provider, has ordered a new AIX G5+ C system from AIXTRON to expand its production capability for large size wafer.   The new AIXTRON AIX G5+ C reactor will be installed at EpiGaN’s manufacturing site in Hasselt Belgium in the first quarter of 2019 and start to operate afterwards. The fully automated Planetary® MOCVD system features in-situ chamber cleaning and enables configurations of 8x6 inch or 5x8 inch epitaxial wafers to be automatically loaded and removed by ...