Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer Panasonic is in talks with Austrian headlight maker ZKW Group, a Bloomberg report quoted person familiar with the matter saying.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science published the Fiscal Year 2017 Phase I, Release 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on November 28, 2016, for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs. Under DE-FOA-0001619, whose complete listing of technical topics was released on October 31, DOE seeks applicants for grants directed toward FY17 Phase I, Release 2 projects. Topics for this funding opportunity can be found at //science.energy.gov/sbir/funding-opportunities and include LED and OLED lighting (see topic 10b).

The Town of Hempstead, N.Y., the largest township in the country, is making the switch to LED technology with the conversion of more than 50,000 high-pressure sodium fixtures to LED street lights from Cree. The installation is already underway with future phases planned to bring LED lighting to the town’s municipal buildings, parks and marinas. The street light project delivers an anticipated two and a half-year payback with nearly $3 million in annual energy savings and US $57 million in total lifetime savings.

As a means of demystifying LED driver technology Fulham, the lighting component and electronics specialist, has produced a technical white paper on the subject.

New LED lights that are being installed in milk display cases across the country do more than just reduce energy bills -- they also help milk taste better, Virginia Tech researchers have found.

The new Scriptus LED luminaire from Osram already underscores its aspirations upon its launch at the Pinakothek der Moderne. The indoor luminaire was selected for the "House of Wonders" design exhibition by Werner Aisslinger currently to be seen in the Pinakothek der Moderne art and design museum in Munich, Germany. Together with an OLED luminaire survey, two contributions from Osram have thus managed to centrally enrich the exhibition of the internationally renowned designer.

The new IR Topled D5140 photodiode from Osram Opto Semiconductors requires considerably less pc board space than before. It enables more compact sensors to be produced for monitoring fitness levels, for example in fitness armbands. The spectral sensitivity of the D5140 has been optimized for visible light and allows precise heart rate measurements using red or green light. The component is also ideal as an ambient light sensor. 

Vero® Series products include Vero SE arrays with poke-in connectivity enabled by BJB to streamline fixture assembly process

Lighting and electronics specialist HELLA has worked with Covestro, one of the world's largest polymer manufacturers, to develop an industry-first holographic rear-lighting system with 3D effects for passenger vehicles.

The world’s top thought leaders from the realms of light, design and technology will share their expertise at LIGHTFAIR® International (LFI®) 2017 in an all-new Conference curriculum spanning the spectrum of contemporary theory and practice.  The Conference will bring the global lighting, design and technology community’s most influential voices to the LIGHTFAIR stage in a program offering 77 courses totaling more than 190 education hours at Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Convention Center May 7 – 11 (Pre-Conference LIGHTFAIR Institute®: May 7 – 8; Trade Show & Conference: May 9 – 11).

Early in May, Luxlite, Epistar's sole distributor in China, has sent out an announcement of price adjustment, listing a number of reasons for price increase, including continuingly increased raw materials and manpower costs.  （Official announcements from Luxlite, Smalit and Rishang regarding the rise of LED package price） Chinese LED chips manufacturers San’an Opto and HC Semitek followed suit Epistar’s lead in raising LED chip prices, which was considered as an early sign of recovery from the heated price war since 2014. Major...

According to AIXTRON SE's press release, Japanese group Toyoda Gosei has acquired an enhanced 5x4-inch CRIUS Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS) system to manufacture Blue and Ultra Violet (UV) LEDs. The tool is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2017.

Illuminex, Inc., a business in Denver, CO, is proud to announce that they are now an official distributor of the Mars Hydro LED Grow Lights. These lights are the top rated grow light manufacturers for the hydroponics industry. The grow lights have been proven to be very popular.

As one of the core team partners within the European pilot line project PI-SCALE Fraunhofer FEP presents first demonstrators of flexible OLED out from this project.

Bridgelux Inc., a leading provider of high-performance, solid-state LED arrays, announced the selection of Bridgelux Vero® Series and V Series™ LED arrays in over 1,000 fixtures throughout the historic amusement park.

Developed in the late 1980’s, Marina Del Rey is an area with over 3,000 residents located on the west end of Toronto’s waterfront. With spectacular views of Lake Ontario and downtown Toronto, Marina Del Rey is part of a thriving waterfront community considered “an oasis in the city” for residents of Toronto. By 2013, what had once been a central meeting place within the housing development that linked Marina Del Rey residents to the City of Toronto’s many walking and cycling paths, had fallen into disrepair.

ams AG, a leading provider of high performance sensors and analog ICs, today announced the AS7221, the industry’s first integrated white-tunable smart lighting manager. Lighting manufacturers designing with the AS7221 can now quickly integrate high-precision CCT, or “Kelvin-tuning”, capabilities into their Internet of Things (IoT) smart lighting offerings. The versatile architecture, which includes an I2C extension interface, positions the AS7221 to deliver Internet of Awareness™ IoT sensor hub platform capabilities for sensing functions such as air quality, temperature, occupancy, and presence.

Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation, today announced it has developed a new model of its IPS liquid crystal panel that achieves a contrast ratio[1] of over 1,000,000:1, which is 600 times*2 that of conventional liquid crystal panels. With Panasonic's unique IPS[2] liquid crystal technologies that feature wide viewing angles, high brightness, and high reliability, the new IPS panel has achieved a high contrast ratio of over 1,000,000:1 by integrating newly developed light-modulating cells that permit pixel-by-pixel control of backlight intensity. This achieves a faithful and high-grade video display, ranging from dazzling light to pitch-black.

The system was developed by the Viennese start-up company zactrack and its realisation was supported by the Austrian lighting company Zumtobel Group.

Monocrystal, a global leader in synthetic sapphire growing and processing, shipped its 5 millionth four-inch equivalent (FIE) sapphire wafer. Large diameter wafers have recently become a mainstream product, driven by LED makers’ immediate benefit from a 30% increase in MOCVD reactor throughput and higher binning yields. At the same time, sapphire wafer shape and cleanness are crucial in achieving high epitaxial yields and getting the benefits of using large diameters.

Facing a severe operation crisis Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronic is considering to take the advice of hedge fund management firm Elliott Management Corporation to spin-off into two independent legal entities, The Seoul Economic Daily cited sources familiar with the matter.

InterLumi Panama, the global lighting trade show organized by America Expo Group, will be held at ATLAPA Convention Center in Panama from June 29 to July 1, 2017. Serving the Latin American & the Caribbean countries, InterLumi Panama is positioned to be an effective tool to stimulate the development of the region’s lighting industry as well as provide a gateway for exhibitors to tap into this emerging market.

LED Expo Thailand is one of the leading LED lighting events in Southeast Asia and ASEAN’s largest international exhibition on LED lighting products & technology. It is dedicated to the science, technology and application of LEDs and solid-state lighting. It aims to accelerate the growth of the LED lighting markets in the Southeast Asian region by providing a dynamic hub for LED/lighting companies to congregate, promote, discuss, transact, partner and gain insights on neighboring LED markets at a niche level.

China’s LED lighting market value will surpass RMB 500 billion (US $72.45 billion) by 2016, said Ling Wu, the Secretary General of China’s International Solid State Alliance (ISA).

Surging investments made by Chinese firms in EU high-tech industries is fueling conflict between Beijing, Berlin and Brussels, reported The Politico.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s abrupt demonization policies launched on Nov. 8, 2016 and its ripple effect has left a dent for LED manufacturers relying heavily on cash transactions, reported The Hindu.

Technavio analysts forecast the global automotive adaptive front lighting system market to grow at a CAGR of almost 13% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

How many times has the lighting industry come together to discuss, criticize even try to find a solution for the poor quality, non-compliant products entering the UK market un-checked, creating confusion and unfair competition?

The II-VI Infrared Division of II-VI Incorporated, a company specializing in laser optics, announced that Dr. Ahmad Magad, Group Managing Director of the II-VI Infrared Optics Manufacturing Operations in Asia, was awarded the 2016 Walter L. Hurd Executive Medal by the Asia Pacific Quality Organization (APQO). Dr. Ahmad Magad will receive the award on Nov. 21, 2016 at the 22nd Asia Pacific Quality Conference in Rotorua, New Zealand.

Allegro MicroSystems introduces a new automotive, AEC-Q100 qualified single IC switching regulator that provides constant-current output to drive high-power LEDs. Allegro’s A6217 integrates a high-side N-channel DMOS switch for DC-to-DC step- down (buck) conversion. A true average current is output using a cycle-by-cycle, controlled on-time method. This new LED driver is targeted at the automotive lighting market and includes the following key applications: daytime running lights, front and rear fog lights, turn/stop lights, map lights, and dimmable interior lights.