Soaring demands for AlInGaN LEDs for virtual reality (VR) and security applications caused severe chip shortages for Epistar, reported Taiwanese media Commercial Times.

Lighting LEDs accounted for US$3.9 billion of the US$8.8 billion Chinese LED package industry in 2015, according to the 2016 Chinese LED Chip and Package Industry Market Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. Lighting LEDs’ share in the total scale of the Chinese LED package industry in 2015 also grew 15% year on year to reach 44%. MLS and Honglitronic, the two major Chinese package suppliers, have steadily expanded their market shares in the LED lighting application due to booming demand in Southeast Asia, India and other emerging markets. Consequently, their standings in the industry have gradually risen as well.

German lighting giant Osram announced two important developments in its automotive lighting business this month, such as supplying OLED taillights to BMW and its latest acquisition of U.S. automotive LED module manufacturer Novita Technologies. How will the acquisition affect the LED industry, though?

Chinese LED manufacturer Silan Microelectronics (Silan) announced Thursday the company’s preliminary financial results for first half of 2016 plunged more than 60% year-on-year to RMB 64.42 million (US $9.66 million), reported Sinai.

Materials researchers at North Carolina State University have fine-tuned a technique that enables them to apply precisely controlled silica coatings to quantum dot nanorods in a day – up to 21 times faster than previous methods. In addition to saving time, the advance means the quantum dots are less likely to degrade, preserving their advantageous optical properties.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, U.S. finished installing more than 3,000 LED bulbs in the East Economy parking garage, reported KTAR News.

As part of the three-pillar strategy announced last November, Osram is further expanding the leading position of its Specialty Lighting (SP) business. The company has agreed to acquire Novità Technologies, a U.S. manufacturer of automotive LED modules which are used particularly in tail lights, fog lights and daytime running lights. The acquisition will immediately be margin-accretive in the Specialty Lighting segment.

Cree and Avnet, a leading global technology distributor, announced a strategic agreement that expands coverage in the Americas for the distribution of Cree's comprehensive portfolio of innovative LED components including high-power, Chip-on-Board, high brightness and LED modules. This agreement demonstrates Cree and Avnet’s shared commitment to provide customers with the industry’s best LED solutions and service to continue driving LED adoption.

Toshiba Electronics Europe has introduced a 9-channel output LED driver IC that will save board space and reduce the size of LED modules in a variety of lighting and illumination applications.

Cree continues its commitment to delivering better light with the introduction of the first 10-year warranty for intelligent lighting systems on all new Cree SmartCast® Technology luminaires with integrated sensors. Cree®SmartCast Technology is the most intuitive and easiest to install intelligent light solution on the market, delivering up to 70% energy savings for half the cost of other solutions and now backed by an industry leading, 10-year limited warranty.

Transcend Lighting, announced the release of the Infinity Linear LED light. The 4-foot long LED grow light is ideal for new installations where fluorescent or metal halide lights were formerly used. It incorporates Transcend’s patent-pending phosphor technology that provides customers with energy efficiency and an emission spectra optimized for plant growth and production yield.

HC Semitek, released a statement Wednesday night stating it acquired leading global Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor manufacturer MEMSIC.

Panasonic announced it will be raising its lighting revenue from JPY 320.3 billion (US $3.02 billion) from 2015 to JPY 400 billion by 2018, according to a report from Nikkei.

Affected by oversupply issues in the LED industry, leading Taiwanese LED EPI-wafer manufacturer Epistar (the company) lowered production costs by adjusting its production capacity and integrating subsidiaries FOREPI and Huga Optic resources, reported Taiwan media Apple Daily.

Sony and Apple are the key to promoting micro-LED displays on the market, but the two have diverged in display developments. The Japanese company is making large micro-LED displays, and Apple small displays, but why have both chosen micro-LEDs? Sony has released its micro-LED display product, but the market is yet to see the delayed product from micro-LED transfer specialist Apple affiliated Luxvue.

Six cities in Indian state Chhattisgarh in central India to replace conventional CFL streetlights and tube lights with LEDs soon, reported the largest English newspaper in the region The Hitadava.

IGNIS Innovation (IGNIS), a Canadian emissive display technology company, announced the execution of a Patent License agreement with LG Display, the Seoul-based world-leading display manufacturer. Under the agreement, IGNIS will provide LG Display under a non-exclusive license, access to its circuit technology to enhance the performance of OLED displays. As recognized by the display industry leaders, circuit technology is crucial for today’s AMOLED applications including TV, IT, high resolution smartphone, virtual reality, automotive and next generation printing.

Cambridge City Council in UK has started a major new project to install new low energy LED lighting at two of its multi-story car parks.

The Mohammed VI Bridge, that honors the King of Morocco, illuminates the desert outside the country’s capital city.

Osram Lighting Solutions collaborated with Atelier Cosmas Gozali and Dots Studio to design the marine installation named as “No Boundaries – Dream of Space” that was exhibited in Casa by Bravacasa 2016 at Pacific Place Hotel - Jakarta during June 1st – 4th, 2016. Thanks to the state-of-the-art LED lighting solutions from Osram, the installation glamorously demonstrated the beauty and harmony of marine life. 

Barthelme LED Solutions complements its luminaire portfolio with two high quality downlight series in three performance packages and twelve individual forms for indoor illumination. With the new recessed downlights Treviso, and the surface-mounted downlights Trieste, from the Nuremburg manufacturer of customized lighting systems, the user benefits in the implementation or expansion of numerous lighting scenarios. 320 possible configurations assist planners, designers and architects in the composition of a tailored lighting concept. The downlights of the Treviso and Trieste series are manufactured in Germany and satisfy highest quality demands.

Peterson Manufacturing’s new 844 Series Submersible Trailer Lights offer an exciting advance that combines superior function and durability with exclusive LumenX® LED lens optics technology and low-profile good looks—all in a convenient kit that boat, utility and small cargo trailer owners will love.

ams AG, a leading provider of high performance sensors and analog ICs, today introduced new proximity sensing and proximity/ambient light sensing modules which enable android smartphone manufacturers to reduce the sensor aperture in the display’s cover glass to its smallest diameter.

Once again, pioneering lighting technology from Osram is being fitted to a production vehicle. This time it is OLED technology (Organic Light Emitting Diode) in the tail lights of the new BMW M4 GTS. These organic area light sources take up very little space, opening up design options that car manufacturers have so far only dreamed about. “Our OLEDs in the tail lights of the BMW M4 GTS make us the first company to have this new technology on the road in a production vehicle. 

The global LED industry benefited from emerging lighting market demands, but the LED backlight industry has entered a mature plateau phase. Price wars intensified in mainstream LED chip and application sectors, turning into an overtly competitive red sea market. In 2015, global LED market value declined for the first time by 3% to US $14.33 billion, according to statistics compiled by LEDinside, a research division of Taipei-based market research institute TrendForce.

Many households in impoverished regions around the world are starting to shift away from inefficient and polluting fuel-based lighting—such as candles, firewood, and kerosene lanterns—to solar-LED systems. While this trend has tremendous environmental benefits, a new study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that it spurs economic development as well, to the tune of 2 million potential new jobs.

Visitors can step into the spotlight with their favorite celebrities at Madame Tussauds San Francisco. Wax figures of iconic celebrities, such as Jennifer Aniston and Anne Hathaway, are perfectly illuminated with LED lamps from Soraa, the world leader in GaN on GaNTM LED technology.

In a July 14 meeting, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Board of Governors elected four new members to the board, including Annette Kay Clayton, Chief Executive Officer and President of North America Operations and chief supply chain officer for Schneider Electric, Schneider Electric North America; Lee Cooper, president and CEO of GE Healthcare U.S. and Canada; Jack Nehling, president of Phoenix Contact USA; and Rich Stinson, president and CEO of Southwire Company.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, announced that it has been selected by AllSaints, the global contemporary brand, to provide bespoke lighting systems across select stores across Europe, Americas and the Middle-East. The LED lighting is designed especially to enhance the AllSaints brand experience inside its industrial style stores.

Scientists at ANU have improved the performance of tiny lasers by adding impurities, in a discovery which will be central to the development of low-cost biomedical sensors, quantum computing, and a faster internet.