The U.S. based company, ONCE®, which provides animal-centric lighting systems for agriculture applications, has reported its acquisition of a German company iLOX® and its Polish subsidiary which develops lighting solutions for livestock facilities. Sharing the focus on improving the welfare of animals, the two companies expect to integrate their resources to create innovate lighting technology for agriculture. 

Seoul Semiconductor, a Korea based LED maker, has announced that its innovated LED technology “SunLike” is applied to home lighting products and will be launched in Q3. 

Foxconn Technology Group and its subsidiary Innolux will buy stakes in Vizio, the U.S. based television brand as the group’s strategy to expand market in North America. 

Innolux illustrated that by the end of this year, the company expected to launch Mini LED public information display (PID) and large size TV application was estimated to release in 2Q19. As for automotive products, due to the time consuming verification process, were scheduled in 2020.

Researchers from KAIST published their research on developing a one-step method to transfer thousands of thin-film blue vertical micro LEDs (thickness < 2 μm) on a transparent plastic substrate. 

LEDVANCE hosted a press conference on June 10th during GILE under its GILE slogan “The Standard Redefined.” The new CEO of LEDVANCE, Jacob C. Tarn Ph.D., with his management team revealed the company strategy “LEDVANCE 2.0”.

Micro LED is considered to be the next generation display technology with its excellent performance in contrast, low energy consumption, quick response time and wide viewing angle. In January 2018, Samsung released the first Micro LED modular TV, “The Wall,” and other leading companies like Apple and Sony have also been investing in the technology development to push the application for end-market. If the obstacles of mass transfer technology and after process repairing could be overcome, it is forecasted that in five years Micro LED will be in the market. According to the estimation by LEDinside, the revenue of Micro LED and Mini LED will reach US$1.38 billion by 2022.

According to the latest report from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, 2018 Chinese LED Chip and Package Industry Market Report, Chinese LED package market scale is RMB 65.9 billion in 2017 and it is expected to reach RMB 76.8 billion in 2021, according to LEDinside. Major growth momentum include lighting, digital display, automotive lighting and architectural / landscape lighting.

With technology implement, hospitality industry keeps seeking for upgraded services to create exclusive experiences for the guests. The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®) provides a platform for experts in both hospitality and technology to connect and cooperate. This year at HITEC, Samsung showcases several products including digital displays and wearable devices to enhance the management and service quality.

Smart AV, a U.K. based audio visual hire firm, announced its invest in the latest fine pitch LED product from a Chinese producer, Unilumin. The new LED product, Unano 1.8 LED, features 1.8mm pixel pitch, offering high resolution, wide color gamut and the ability to curve up to 5 degrees. 

Micro LED displays and Mini LED backlight technology have been the focus of spotlight in this year’s exhibitions of consumer electronics and display technology. Major manufacturers including Samsung, Sony, and AUO have showcased related conceptual products. It is also said that Samsung may mass-produce ultra-large Micro LED TVs, driving more manufacturers to invest in Mini LED R&D. According to the latest report of LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, the market value of Micro LED and Mini LED products is estimated at US$1.38 billion by 2022.

Bolb Inc. announced a new line of ultraviolet c-band light-emitting diodes (UVC LED) featuring record single-chip performance for universal disinfection. UVC LEDs made by Bolb Inc. has achieved 12.2% external quantum efficiency (EQE), and will be the technology-of-choice for medical devices and consumer appliances where chemical-free, residue-free and non-toxic disinfection is preferred. The physical inactivation mechanism afforded by UVC LEDs works equally well against common and emerging pathogens with multi-drug resistance. 

LG Innotek launched the new brand “InnoUV” and planned to adopt the new brand logo to all of its UV LED products. The name “InnoUV” combined ‘innovation’ and ‘UV’, according to LG Innotek, it represents “an LED that embodies LG Innotek’s innovative UV technology.”

Taiwanese LED packaging company, EVERLIGHT, plans to increase the production capacity and revenue of automotive lighting and invisible LED including UV, IR and sensor for the second half of 2018.

The semiconductor process equipment manufacturer, Veeco, released the information of Aledia’s selection on its product, Propel® GaN MOCVD system for Aledia’s further research and development on 3D LED application.

LEDVANCE signed to join the United Nations Global Compact to illustrate the company’s commitment in four areas of corporate responsibility including human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption. 

The prices of mid-power LED package products in the Chinese market remained stable in May 2018, while high-power 3030 LED package products saw slight price drop, says LEDinside.

One major development for wearable devices is to combine health monitoring technologies for medical application. A Korean research team had developed smart contact lenses to detect glucose; their result was published on Science Advances in January. 

Fusion Optix, an American based manufacturer of LED components reported the news of the company acquiring precision production equipment related to light guides and optical firms, quality control testing equipment and other asserts from the former Lighting Division of Rambus. According to Fusion Optix, the new equipment will be installed at its headquarters in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA and the company is expecting the acquisition will increase the capabilities of in-house production and engineering. 

By topping up with technologies, events, live shows and art performances increase the diversity in production and present more and more unique experiences for the audience. LED technology is certainly one of the major applications in the entertainment industry, lighting and LED firms has built up relationships with event production companies or performance venues.

The most influential and comprehensive lighting event in Asia, the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE) was held from June 9-12. International and local participants gathered at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, China to find out the latest products and technology of the industry. LEDside joined the exhibition and looked into the on-going development demonstrated in the event. 

The industry chain of lighting and LED manufacturing were presented in GILE including equipment, chip, packaging, lighting and application. Companies including Cree and Seoul Semiconductor, LEDVANCE, MLS, Refond, HC SemiTek, Everlight, Nationstar, Honglitronic, BMTC, Meanwell and other producers all took part in the event and most exhibitors were companies of packaging and lighting. 

The Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE) ends its 23rd session at the China Import and Export Fair Complex on June 12th. This year, more than 2,000 companies from 22 countries exhibited during the fair. As a leading brand in lighting industry, Shanghai Wellmax Lighting (WELLMAX) gathered attentions from industry experts and introduced its latest LED technologies, solutions and insights.

The 2018 World Cup is coming in two days and fans from all over the world are getting ready for exciting matches taking places in Russia. Among the 12 stadiums used as venues for games, Signify has lit up 10 of them including Luzhniki (Moscow), Krestovsky Stadium (Saint Petersburg), Fisht (Sochi), Ekaterinburg Arena (Yekaterinburg), as well as soccer stadiums in Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd and Samara.

Plessey announced its cooperation with a Belgian tomato producer, TomatoMaster with its latest LED growing light product. 

The company has been working on Mini LED backlights application and is preparing production for clients on the third quarter 2018 and by the fourth quarter, Mini LED application could be found in the market.

According to LEDinside’s 2018 Infrared Sensing Application Market Report, pulse oximeter heart rate sensors have been widely introduced into smartwatch and wristband markets, pushing the demand for infrared optical components. Apple is expected to increase the accuracy of pulse oximeter heart rate sensors in its new-generation Apple Watch, thus may double the amount of green LEDs and infrared LEDs used in the products. The amount of photodiode needed for the new products may be four to five times more than in previous models, and the photodiode will also be larger in size.

According to the latest report from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, 2018 Global LED Digital Display and Micro LED Display Market Outlook, thanks to the development of LED fine pitch display in recent years, demand in display market has increased again. Indoor fine pitch display (≤P2.5) will continuously grow after experiencing rapid development in the past few years, and the market scale in 2017 was USD 1.141 billion with CAGR of 2017-2021 expected to reach 12%.

Samsung demonstrated “The Wall”, the new giant 16inch Micro LED TV in CES 2018 and is now planning to release the products into the market by third quarter this year. According to the report of Korea Times, a senior company executive said Samsung Electronics will debut TVs using Micro LED technology commercially the soonest in the third quarter in 2018. 

Signify announced to appoint Brian Friborg as the new leader of Entertainment Lighting Group on 6th June 2018. Born in Danmark and now based in the U.S., Brian is experienced in lighting business and carries critical understandings about the industry.