Osram CFO Ingo Bank doused rumors fueled in late 2016 about acquisition talks with Chinese investor Go Scale Capital during an interview with Bloomberg recently.

Researchers at Aalto are the first to develop a plasmonic nanolaser that operates at visible light frequencies and uses so-called dark lattice modes.

Engineers at Caltech have developed a system of flat optical lenses that can be easily mass-produced and integrated with image sensors, paving the way for cheaper and lighter cameras in everything from cell phones to medical devices.

EarthTronics, dedicated to developing innovative energy efficient lighting products that provide a positive economic and environmental impact for its customers, announced today the addition of Leroy Herring, Jr., who has extensive business and sales development experience in the lighting industry. Appointed Midwest Regional Sales Manager, Herring has helped large and small corporations navigate through tremendous business growth. As a result, Herring will be responsible for directing commercial sales through manufacturers rep agencies, electrical distribution, lighting showrooms, ESCOs, contractors and national accounts.

LEDs in automotive front lighting enable energy savings, new light designs and applications such as matrix beam and laser high-beam. Supporting the progress in automotive lighting Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) launched high-power LED driversspecifically designed for automotive front lights. The drivers are available within the new LITIX Power Flex series and the LITIX Power series. They address flexible DC/DC driver solutions supporting LED systems of up to 50 W and even above. Application setups can vary: many medium-power LEDs with string voltages of up to 55 V or few LEDs with high currents of up to 3 A and more.

Since November 2016, LED light bulb vendors have lowered prices of their products for regional markets including Japan, Europe and the U.S. as part of their year-end promotions. The downtrend in prices became more noticeable at the end of the year. “Compared with the prior month, global average sales price (ASP) of 40-watt equivalent LED light bulb fell 3% to US$8.7 in December,” said Allen Yu, analyst for LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. “The global ASP of 60-watt equivalent LED light bulbs also saw a monthly decline of 2.4%, arriving around US$12.”

Micro-LED became a hot keyword in 2016, despite being years away from commercialization. Most in the industry agree this exciting next generation display technology will not be realized for another 3-5 years, HSBC projects the earliest date of commercialization will be around 2019 earliest.

Nichia announced Tuesday that it had won another LED patent infringement suit against Everlight in Dusseldorf Court in Germany, and filed another four patent suits against Chinese LCD TV manufacturer TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings, LED retailers Lowe’s Hone, and LED distributors L G Sourcing and Feit Electric. Feit Electric is the most recent plaintiff to be included in the Japanese LED manufacturers list of companies where it is seeking for injunctions that prohibit the sale and distribution of infringing products, but there has not been much changes in its patent suit strategy. The company is following a trajectory similar to 2016 in its patent suit approach. LEDinside also estimates Feit Electric might cave into arriving a settlement in a similar way that it did with Cree in 2016.

Artificial light at night is a threat to astronomical research, personal safety, and the health of both humans and wildlife. The problem is worsening with the proliferation of LED billboards and blue-rich white light LEDs as an option for street lighting. Within five years, LED technology will take over as the dominant type of outdoor lighting technology. With this in mind, scientists and lighting engineers say now is the time to implement strategies for reducing light pollution. By working together, they are identifying the best type of LED to use while suggesting actions that minimize intrusive lighting.

On Dec. 27, 2016, Nichia Corporation ("Nichia") filed four patent infringement lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The defendants in the lawsuits are (1) TTE Technology, a US-based LCD TV distributor, and its parent company, TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited, a Chinese manufacturer of LCD TVs; (2) VIZIO, a US-based LCD TV maker; (3) Lowe’s Home Center LLC (“Lowe’s”), a US-based retailer of LED lighting and other products, and Lowe’s affiliated U.S. distributor, L G Sourcing, Inc.; and (4) Feit Electric Company, Inc., a US-based LED lighting manufacturer and distributor. In these lawsuits, Nichia asserts that defendants have infringed Nichia’s U.S. Patent No. 9,490,411. Nichia seeks an injunction prohibiting the defendants’ sale and distribution of infringing products. Nichia also seeks damages for defendants’ infringement.

With judgment of Dec. 22, 2016 (docket number I-15 U 31/14), the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal in Germany has confirmed the infringement of YAG Patent EP 0 936 682 (DE 697 02 929) of Nichia Corporation (“Nichia“) by Taiwanese LED manufacturer Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. and its German subsidiary Everlight Electronics Europe GmbH (both “Everlight“) concerning six accused white LED products.

Bennett McIntosh for the Office of the Dean for Research at Princeton University analyzes the future of light technologies in this feature article. One hundred years ago, Italian chemist Giacomo Ciamician predicted a future society that would run on sunlight.

Mutek is a unique festival that celebrates the inspirational power behind digital creativity while promoting the cutting edge in electronic music and the digital arts. It originated in Montreal in 2000 and after expanding internationally a Mexican edition has taken place each year in Mexico City since 2003.

The II-VI Infrared Division of II-VI, a world leader in laser optics, today announced the introduction of a new line of optics designed for 10 kW classfiber and direct diode lasers.

Power management company Eaton will showcase its latest residential solutions that help builders provide the lifestyle that modern technology can offer to home buyers and owners at the 2017 National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show (IBS), booth W3490, in Orlando, Florida, from January 10 to 12. Eaton will showcase its portfolio that is helping enable the connected home of the future, including innovative LED lighting, residential energy management and wiring devices solutions.

Leviton expanded its lighting controls product line with the introduction of Toggle Slide Controls, comprised of two new Toggle Slide Dimmers and a Toggle Slide Quiet Fan Speed Control. Both of the new Toggle Slide Dimmers, the TSL06 and TSM10, provide integrated, linear, full-range slide control for easy, precise dimming of incandescent, dimmable LED, dimmable CFL and halogen loads, and the TSM10 dimmer is also compatible with magnetic low voltage loads. The new Toggle Slide Quiet Fan Speed Control offers 1.5 amps of quiet, three-speed fan control. Designed for both single pole and three-way applications when used with a three-way switch, the new Toggle Slide Controls feature a classic style to complement the décor of traditional homes while offering upgraded functionality to support today's bulb technology.

Western Indian state Goa has rolled out a large scale streetlight replacement project, and replaced existing compact fluorescent lights (CFL) and high pressure sodium vapor (HPSV) lamps with LED bulbs, reported Times of India.

With its superior quality and reliable solutions that focus on exceptional experience, design and technology, lighting control pioneer Lutron Electronics continues to advance the lighting control and connected home technology industry at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). With products that range from the affordable and easy-to-install Caséta Wireless system, to professionally installed and connected RadioRA 2 and HomeWorks QS total home control systems, Lutron has set the standard and maintains top-market position with solutions that drive the industry forward and make people’s lives better.

Las Cruces, a city located in New Mexico, U.S. has nearly completed replacing 2,700 streetlights before February, reported Las Cruces Sun-News.

Meyer Burger has shipped a CONx TFE thin film encapsulation system consisting of an inkjet printer and PECVD system to an Asian customer for encapsulation of OLEDs and other flexible electronics applications. This latest order confirms the market’s recognition of Meyer Burger’s integral and fully automated thin film encapsulation system.

Power management company Eaton today announced that the company has joined with the NextGen Home Experience® to inspire builders to build the homes of the future today. The 2017 NextGen First to the Future™ online television series will feature and promote the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home program, which educates and encourages builders to build high performance homes that feature energy savings, comfort, health and durability unparalleled in today’s marketplace.

Amerlux introduces the DOSM LED optically sealed module for exterior lighting fixtures that include a downlight component. Individual optics can be directed with controlled optics for precision aiming to accommodate the lighting needs in the strictest outdoor environments.

Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2017 at Las Vegas that runs from Jan. 5-8, 2017 kicked off the first week of the year. Several interesting trends noted at this year’s show, first off smart lighting has been particularly quiet this year. Soraa has been the only company to announce its first smart LED bulb, Helia, which delivers a light color temperature close to natural sunlight.

According to the latest report from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, the markets of the IR LED/ IR Laser and optical sensor applications will witness a broad variety of business opportunities give that major IR products, such as security surveillance systems, and new tools and applications, including facial recognition, iris recognition, pulse oximetry sensor, virtual reality, gaming notebook, IR touch panel, and automotive sensors, are under continuous development. 

OLED TVs are making a comeback at the largest consumer electronic show in U.S. which runs from Jan. 5-8, 2017 in Las Vegas, most notable at this year’s show is Korean consumer electronic manufacturer LG is facing new competition from Japanese manufacturers Sony and Panasonic.

Japan Display Inc. (JDI) announced the commencement of mass production at its newly-constructed low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) LCD line in its Hakusan Plant, located in Hakusan City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. JDI had been preparing for mass production since Dec. 1, and commenced mass production on Dec. 23.

Telink Semiconductor, developer of highly integrated low power chips for Internet of Things (IoT) applications, has announced that its ZigBee RF SoC has passed the ZigBee compliant platform tests based on the latest ZigBee stack specification using DSR Corporation’s ZBOSS 3.0 ZigBee 3.0 wireless stack, and thus can start to provide a ZigBee 3.0 SDK (software development kit) to its customers.

Jasco Products, leader in LED Lighting and Consumer Electronic Solutions, today with Energizer® Holdings, announced it has acquired the license to the Energizer brand to produce a range of LED consumer home lighting solutions in the U.S. and Canada. Energizer branded products will be showcased at the Jasco booth for the first time at CES 2017 (Booth #12000, Central Hall). This license agreement includes LED lighting fixtures including direct wire, battery operated, and plug-in solutions.

Osram, a leading global lighting and technology company and the global No. 1 in automotive car lighting, is the exclusive lighting supplier for Oasis, the latest concept vehicle from Rinspeed. The Switzerland-based think tank is known for its visionary mobility concepts and this latest concept vehicle is designed to reimagine what the driverless vehicle experience could look and feel like in the future. Rinspeed will launch the Oasis at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The vehicle will be on display during CES 2017 at the Harman exhibit at the Hard Rock Hotel, Jan. 4-7, 2017.

Energy Focus, a leader in LED lighting technologies, today announced its new 500D series tubular LED lighting products are the first in the U.S. verified as “Low Optical Flicker, Less Than 1%” by UL, a leading global safety science company for products including electrical devices and components. The designation confirms Energy Focus’ industry-leading status as an innovator of LED lighting technology and commitment to developing flicker-free lighting.