ALLOS Semiconductors won this year’s prestigious Compound Semiconductor Industry Substrates and Materials Award for showing breakdown voltages of > 1400 V on GaN-on-Si power semiconductor epiwafers. 

Philips Lighting announced the appointment of Alok Ghose as the Market Leader for ASEAN. Mr Ghose, who was previously Managing Director and Cluster Leader for Singapore, Malaysia and Exports, now leads the operations and the transformation in lighting for the Internet of Things within ASEAN.

With today’s technology, every homeowner wants the best appliances, and gadgets. But, in a world where being on-the-go meets being environmentally-friendly, we often have to think about new ways to update our house. Whether it’s finding ways to save water, going green with our lighting, wireless communication, or other issues, today’s smart homes have a lot more to offer than you think.

The sentiment is heating up in the high-end TV market as more rumors about Korean suppliers’ next-generation TVs came out. By the end of 2018, Samsung Electronics will release new-generation Micro LED TVs and the price could be as high as USD 300,000. Also, LG Electronics will start the global distribution of its new OLED TVs featuring its own AI platform DeepThinQ.

Xeleum, a U.S. based engineer and manufacturer of commercial and industrial LED lighting products, announced that its Xi-Fi Wireless Lighting Control System is now listed on the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) Qualified Products List (QPL) under the category of Networked Lighting Control (NLC) Systems.

Telensa, a connected street lighting and smart city applications provider, announced that it has been selected by the Highways Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) to deploy its PLANet intelligent street lighting system in a pilot programme led by engineering services group South King-Kum Shing JV to replace about 600 streetlights in Yuen Long Town with wirelessly managed LED lights.

Australia's leading commercial solar and energy storage solutions provider Green Frog Systems, is set to unveil its new disruptive solar lighting technologies at LIGHTFAIR International on May 8th, making them available for the first time in the US.

Two forward looking cities in LA County have cast new light - provided by SolarMax LED - on the fiscal challenge of replacing old, inefficient outdoor lighting systems. City councils in El Monte and Carson have approved installation of new wireless LED systems, part of a region-wide Smart & Safe Parks initiative that enhances public safety and energy conservation, while reducing maintenance costs.

Current, powered by GE has announced a new energy efficiency program with Morgan Stanley. The companies are collaborating to evaluate energy savings opportunities across more than 600 Morgan Stanley retail branches with a turnkey LED lighting and digital controls solution that will reduce lighting-related energy consumption by up to 50 percent in some branches, plus improve operational productivity and enhance the customer experience. 

Currently in the industry, on one hand, Apple has been very active in developing Micro LED; on the other, display makers AU Optronics (AUO) and Innolux just announced to roll out Mini LED applications by the end of 2018.

The mid-power 3030 LED package products in the Chinese market saw significant price drop in March 2018, and high-power ceramic-substrate LEDs saw slight price drop, while prices of other products remained stable, says LEDinside, a division of TrendForce.

On April 15th, the China Import and Export Fair (123rd Canton Fair) kicked off as scheduled at Pazhou International Exhibition Complex in Guangzhou. The LED Bulb Expert, Shanghai Wellmax Lighting Industry (WELLMAX) is here to exhibit its full lines of new LED bulb solutions, providing global clients with varieties of choices.

Taiwanese manufacturer Playnitride stunned visitors by exhibiting Micro LED displays. There are three color displays, white, green and full color. In addition, 0.89” display is used on watches, with about 169 ppi and blue LED chip in combination with phosphor. For 0.8” display, the display quality is improved to 230 ppi, with green LED chip. For full color 0.89” display, it adopts RGB LED chip combination, with about 103 ppi. Playnitride hopes to advance technology in the future to develop toward the commercialization of Micro LED display.

Taiwan LED manufacturers recently announce their first-quarter revenues. The revenues of Epistar and Lextar both declined more than 10% YoY. In 2H18, these two companies will launch new Mini LED products, which might help increase their revenues.

Smart lighting is playing a pivotal role in unlocking the power of the IoT and smart building applications beyond lighting. An intelligent, sensor-laden lighting system can form the central nervous system of a building, enabling smart lighting and other current and future IoT applications.

Cree, Inc. announces that it signed a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing patent license agreement with Nexperia BV, a Dutch company.

EarthTronics, dedicated to developing innovative energy-efficient lighting products that provide a positive economic and environmental impact, introduces the HBU Series LED High Bay in 4000K and 5000K, offering a true “one-for-one” LED alternative for any commercial or industrial space requiring a high lumen light source for high ceilings.

Eureka announced that it has won a Red Dot Award Distinction for its Flynn LED lighting pendant. It is the fourth year running that a Eureka product has been recognized with the prestigious award.

Luminis announced the release of its Scopo product family. Scopo is a powerful range of LED projectors with a pivoting arm for precise aiming and multiple mounting options for maximum versatility.

Veeco Instruments announced that ON Semiconductor has ordered its Propel High-volume Manufacturing (HVM) Gallium Nitride (GaN) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) system. Based on its successful beta evaluation of the Propel HVM tool, ON Semiconductor ordered the production-level Propel system for GaN power electronics manufacturing. As the industry’s first single-wafer cluster platform, the Propel GaN MOCVD system is specifically designed for high-voltage power-management devices used in data centers; automotive, information and communication technology; defense; aerospace and power distribution systems, among other applications.

UV LED solution provider Phoseon Technology has announced its continued business expansion and growth plan.

Taiwan-based auto lamp modules and components manufacturer Excellence Optoelectronics (EOI) on April 10 announced to go public on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on May 9.

The 2018 Taiwan International Lighting Show (TILS 2018) will be held at Hall 1, Taipei World Trade Center(TWTC) from April 25th -28th this year. An estimated 150 domestic and foreign companies will participate in the exhibition and use more than 500 booths. The exhibition is expected to attract 12,000 visitors and it is the largest and most influential annual professional exhibition of domestic lighting and LED industries.

Osram Opto Semiconductors is expanding its Oslon Black family for the infrared range with six new automotive IREDs. The 850 nm versions are intended for exterior applications such as night vision, pedestrian protection, pre-field recognition and lane detection. The new 940 nm versions are suitable above all for interior automotive applications such as driver monitoring, seat occupancy detection and gesture recognition. Thanks to different wavelengths and lenses these products cover a wide range of customer requirements and can be operated at up to 5 A in pulsed mode.

Ultravision International, a manufacturer and distributor of LED displays and LED lighting, has filed a patent infringement complaint at the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), seeking remedial orders barring 37 companies from importing, selling and distributing infringing LED display products in the United States.

The investment in whole flat panel display industry by Chinese enterprises has amounted to more than $70 billion, and the production scale of display panel in China is expected to be the No.1 around the world by 2019 from the third place at present, as well as China will be the important driving engine for the growth of global display industry. Under this circumstance, the Society for Information Display (SID) sets up operations entity in China, outside of the United States for the first time, and organizes the international conference on Display Technology (ICDT). The second International Conference on Display Technology (ICDT) is held during April 9-12, 2018 in Guangzhou, China. ICDT 2018 is hosted jointly by the Society for Information Display (SID) Beijing Chapter, SID Taipei Chapter and SID Hong Kong Chapter, and organized by South China Normal University, South China University of Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Juhua Printed Display Technology Co. Ltd, HKUST State Key Laboratory on Advanced Displays and Optoelectronics Technologies, SID China, OE-A and Fuzhou University. ICDT 2018 attracts a large number of display prominent scientists, academia and enterprise elites in the field of display, focusing on 7 special topics and 17 symposium topics, also totally publishing 383 symposium papers (including oral, invited and poster presentations). In addition to the publication of technical papers, in order to promote the continuation of technology, the venue also provides exhibition booths and the opportunities for collaboration between start-ups and investors to enhance industrial exchanges.

Lite-On Reports Steady Growth in LED Related Businesses, While AUO Monthly Panel Shipments Increase.

The LED packaging market has witnessed steady growth over the past year, says LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. According to LEDinside’s latest industry report, the annual revenue of global LED package market was US$15.975 billion in 2016, and reached US$18.035 billion in 2017. Based on the revenue of 2017, the top three LED package suppliers worldwide were Nichia, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, and Lumileds, while MLS from China climbed to fourth place thanks to its significant capacity expansion efforts.

Connectivity technologies and networking systems grow hand in hand with smart lighting. Bluetooth mesh networking, Wi-Fi, and other IoT technologies become a major smart lighting driver. The Asian Lighting Forum 2018 gathered experts and industry professionals to discuss the daily-life applications of smart lighting, connected systems and IoT.

LED Expo Thailand 2018, ASEAN’S largest international exhibition on LED products and technology, will be held from May 10-12, 2018 at the Challenger 1, IMPACT Exhibition Center, Bangkok, Thailand. The Show will attract around 15,000 visitors from across 53 countries. With a record-breaking number of exhibitors (around 300), the Expo continues to serve as an ideal platform for global buyers and exhibitors to exchange views on LED and Lighting trends.