Shuji Nakamura, a former speaker at LEDinside’s LEDforum and a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2014, along with Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano on Tuesday in Sweden. Their breakthrough work in blue LED semi-conductors in the early 1990s put an end to a three-decade technology stalemate. Emergence of blue LEDs finally made white light achievable by combining blue, red and green LEDs.

The LED industry has been on a rollercoaster ride this week. Starting off with the bad news, U.S. MOCVD manufacturer GTAT dropped a bomb on the financial market, with its abrupt bankruptcy announcement on Monday. Investors were scrambling to retain any value in their investments as stock prices tumbled more than 92% to a sad US $0.8 per share. Recent reports that the company CEO Thomas Gutierrez sold out a majority of stocks prior to the launch of the iPhone 6, has put the company in a bad light of susceptible insider trading.

Since GT Advanced Technology (GTAT) abruptly filed for bankruptcy protection this Monday, many industry insiders have speculated how this will impact Apple. While most Wall Street financial analysts believe Apple could walk away with GTAT’s sapphire equipment and patents at a bargain price, one report believes Apple could acquire GTAT.

Taiwanese sapphire manufacturer Tera Xtel Technology filed a sapphire camera lens patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, Senao International and Vibao on Oct. 9, 2014 (Taipei time). The company is seeking compensation totaling NT $300 million (US $9.88 million) from the three companies.

The CEO of Apple sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technology, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection, might have known financial doom was looming, according to a latest report from Wall Street Journal.

Japanese trio Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura are probably still in a festival mood after being awarded the Nobel Prize for their technological breakthrough in blue LEDs, but the man behind the first LED has been left feeling bypassed by the committee, according to a AP report.

Have you ever wondered why you always hit the snooze button for an extra 15 to 30 minutes of sleep in the morning? A whitepaper by Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), the global leader in lighting, has compiled insights from over 10 years of ongoing research1 on the effect of light on our sleep/wake cycle or “circadian rhythm”. It reveals that the amount and quality of light you are exposed to every day may be responsible for your Monday morning blues. Indeed, light ultimately dictates whether you are a morning person or a night owl. 

 Lextar Electronics Corp. (TAIEX: 3698, “Lextar” or the “Company), a vertically-integrated LED company from Taiwan, debuted an ultra slim flat panel LED luminaire, LEAFIA, with a thickness of only 8mm and has been named a winner in Japan’s Good Design Award 2014. This is the fourth time Lextar has received recognition from the award. Lextar will unveil LEAFIA at the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair taking place during October 27-30, 2014.

While other ambient lighting products require technical knowledge or are limited to computer input. Ambitheater allows HDMI with HDCP support as well as whole room lighting for a full experience.

 Luminus Devices, Inc., a global manufacturer of high-performance LEDs and solid-state light sources, announced today a five year limited warranty for the XNOVA family of chip-on-board (COB) arrays designed for both indoor and outdoor directional lighting applications. The company introduces this warranty on the heels of competing their 6000 hour LM-80 testing which demonstrated long term color stability and robust lumen maintenance, even under extreme conditions including both high temperature and high drive current.

The Wagner® Lighting brand from Federal-Mogul Motorparts has introduced its latest innovative replacement lighting solution for automotive, marine, powersport and other applications: new Wagner TruView® PLUS LED miniature lamps, engineered to deliver 10-plus years of performance while projecting a whiter, brighter and deeper light pattern than standard mini lamps. Federal-Mogul Motorparts is a division of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation.

Intelligent LED lighting company Lighting Science Group Corporation announced today that Wayne Nesbit has been appointed Chief Operations Officer. Nesbit brings his proven global experience in manufacturing operations to lead the company’s expansion of its domestic and international manufacturing capabilities. Their state-of-the-art LED product assortment ranges from commercial and retail applications, to biologically correct lighting for home and work, as well as those that accelerate the growth of plants.

Taiwanese sapphire manufacturer Tera Xtal Technology remained upbeat about claiming payment from the bankrupt U.S.-based MOCVD manufacturer GT Advanced Technology (GTAT), according to a UDN report. Tera Xtal held a press conference on Wednesday under Taiwan’s Gretai Securities Market request to explain to investors the impact from GTAT’s bankruptcy filing.

GE Lighting today announced the resolution of a patent infringement lawsuit filed in February 2012 against AgiLight, Inc.

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. and OSRAM GmbH, Germany have extended their agreement which allows the companies to use each other’s patents for specific light emitting diode (LED), including white LED, and laser technologies.

Li-Fi, a technology that transmits large quantities of data using blinking LED light signals undetectable to the human eye, was considered a substitute for the radio frequency based Wi-Fi transmission during the technology’s early development stages. Yet, the technology’s applications has gradually evolved since it was created by Harald Haas, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, in 2010.

GPE Ardenghi srl introduces the new Mod. GPE/24-LED automatic screen printer enabled by UV LED curing technology. The new machine is used for screen printing on pens, barrels and other small round articles. LED (light emitting diode) technology offers maximum UV output with significantly less energy consumption, along with cooler operating temperatures that allow for printing on heat sensitive substrates. 

INSTEON, creators of the world’s best-selling home automation and control technology, today introduced four new LED light bulbs – created specifically for the European market – to its product line. INSTEON’s modular connected home system, which consists of nearly 200 products, now enables European-based smart home enthusiasts to add energy-conscious lighting to their home and office setups.

Soraa, the world leader in GaN on GaN™ LED technology, announced today that one of its founders, Dr. Shuji Nakamura, has been awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics. Recognizing that Nakamura’s invention, the blue light emitting diode (LED), represents a critical advancement in LED lighting, the Nobel committee explained the innovation “has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources.”

U.S. sapphire furnace and sapphire manufacturer GTAT, the primary sapphire supplier to Apple, filed for bankruptcy on October 6. As of September 29, GTAT reported having US $85 million in cash. Under the $578 million multi-year agreement GTAT and Apple signed last November, GTAT must supply a certain volume of sapphire ingots to Apple while Apple was to pay GTAT in four installments with the final $139 million payment scheduled for the end of October. But low sapphire yield rates have made Apple withhold the last payment. Additionally, GTAT lost an American Arbitration Association (AAA) lawsuit against Taiwanese sapphire manufacturer Tera Xtal Technology in August. AAA ruled GTAT should return payment totaling $ 24 million for faulty sapphire crystal growth furnaces, which greatly strained the firm’s finances.

This year’s Nobel Laureates are rewarded for having invented a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source – the blue light-emitting diode (LED). In the spirit of Alfred Nobel the Prize rewards an invention of greatest benefit to mankind; using blue LEDs, white light can be created in a new way. With the advent of LED lamps we now have more long-lasting and more efficient alternatives to older light sources.

"This is the 40th patent granted in 2014,” said CEO Ed Bednarcik. “Our ability to spectrally tune light to deliver proven biological and physiological effect is a game changer that will have dramatic, positive impact on all living things. Our team of lighting engineers is continually finding ways to improve health and wellbeing by innovating and redefining how we use light. It is a huge competitive advantage for us.”

Shareholder Rights Law Firm Johnson & Weaver, LLP is investigating potential violations of the federal securities laws by GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) and certain of its officers. GT Advanced Technologies Inc., a technology company, provides materials and equipment for the solar, light emitting diode (LED) and electronics industries worldwide.

Soraa, the world leader in GaN on GaN™ LED technology, launched today a complete new line of high performance MR16 LED lamps powered by the world’s most efficient LED—the company’s third generation GaN on GaN™ LED. Featuring the company’s signature elements of full visible spectrum light, Soraa’s new MR16 LED lamps feature a 30% improvement in efficiency, creating a no-compromise lighting solution for restaurants, retail, high-end residential, and office environments where superior light quality and smooth dimming are essential.

Sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) bankruptcy protection announcement sent shockwaves throughout Wall Street on October 6, 2014. Investors and financial institutes were shocked, no one expected the seemingly promising Apple sapphire supplier to declare insolvency.

GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT), announced that it had, together with certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries (collectively, GT), commenced voluntary cases under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire. GT expects the court will authorize the company to continue to conduct business as usual while it devotes renewed efforts to resolve its current issues and develops a reorganization plan.

OLED lighting’s short lifetime and high retail prices has been a major obstacle for the luminaires to acquire more market share, but new developments in Japan might be changing this, according to a MoneyDJ report.

Benefiting from Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales, Taiwanese sapphire manufacturer Tera Xtal’s revenue for September 2014 increased 38 percent compared to August. The company set a new monthly record last month, with order visibility extending well into late 2014.

Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Indian state of Kerala, is making little progress in converting the city’s 84,000 streetlights to LEDs, according to a report by The Hindu.

Concerned residents in New Orleans East, Louisiana, U.S. reported new LED streetlights are leaving more unlit areas than conventional streetlights, according to a WDSU New Orleans report.