Plessey today announced a further ambitious move to aligning its operations to its expanding Plymouth UK facility through the addition of an LED assembly line. The assembly line will enable Plessey to focus on its innovative high brightness LED growth plans based around its solid-state lighting and sensing business, taking new products from concept to production in less time whilst also functioning as an innovation center for the next generation of LED packages.

Alpha, a global leading materials supplier, introduces a new preform product into the market, to improve assembly yield when using large BGA devices. The product also has usability by enabling reflow soldering of some types of through-hole devices, making it a truly versatile offering.  Named for their precise height control and burr free edges, these non-collapse disc spacers mitigate corner solder bridging caused by BGA warping during SMT reflow.  The spacer blocks are offered in tape and reel packaging for automatic placement with excellent pick rate yield.

Grenoble, the center of one of Europe’s key microelectronics ecosystems, is hosting SEMICON Europa 2014 Oct. 7-9. This is the first time France has hosted the premier annual event for the European chip industry, which achieved a 7.9 percent market growth during the first semester of 2014, according to WSTS association. SEMI, the global trade organization that organizes the SEMICON gatherings, will alternate SEMICON Europa every other year between Dresden and Grenoble beginning this year.

The global average sales price (ASP) for LED bulbs declined by 1.8 percent in August as the market stabilized, according to LEDinside, a subsidiary of the Taiwan-based market intelligence firm TrendForce. Regionally, LED bulb prices declined the most in Japan.

A Japanese semiconductor technology R&D manufacturer Athene has developed a new technology for manufacturing high precision OLED panels, according to a Nikkei Asian Review report.

Entering its 10th anniversary this year, Taiwanese LED package manufacturer Prolight Opto Technology (Prolight) will become registered on the Taiwan bourse on Sept. 24, 2014. At a press conference, the company explained it expects to apply for listing during first half of 2015, and projects becoming listed on the bourse during third quarter that year.

Albeit smart LED bulbs rising popularity among LED manufacturers, for the time being these are still novelty products that only adventurous consumers with enough patience in sorting out the set up will try out, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Since inception, Illumitex has invested more than US $45 million into the development and commercialization of our innovative LED technology. An expert in the field of optics, company founder and Chief Technology Officer Dung Duong based the design of Illumitex LED optics on basic physics principles, which ensure that the vast majority of the photons being emitted from the LEDs are captured and delivered directly to the cannabis canopy. As a result, the highest level of efficiency and light intensity is achieved in a proprietary and patented LED package. A vertically integrated company, Illumitex manufactures its LED packages in Penang, Malaysia (including robotic die placement, gold wire bonding, phosphor application and optic assembly) and assembles fixtures in Austin, TX.

Power management company Eaton today announced its Cooper Lighting Division is helping to improve optical performance and efficiencies at the Denver International Airport (DIA). Replacing more than 5,400 parking garage fixtures, the DIA conversation will include almost 5,000 McGraw-Edison™ Valet™ light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires, helping the airport to save approximately US $327,000 annually or US $6.5 million over 20 years. Construction of the multimillion-dollar project began in May 2014 with an anticipated completion date of November 2014.

Dayton Power & Light Company (DP&L), a subsidiary of The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) awarded Victoria Theatre Association with an energy efficiency rebate of US $67,650 for extensive lighting upgrades in The Arts Garage.

University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ has installed high performance LED stadium lights from Ephesus Lighting, Inc., the leader in providing LED lighting solutions for sports facilities.   According to Amy Casper, CEO of the Syracuse-based company, the facility will be the first NFL venue to illuminate the playing surface exclusively with LED lighting.  

A new LED art glass display has been completed by glass artist Peter Edward Jurgens of Krystal Glass Company. The illuminated glass angel is now on display at the Krystal Glass Company showroom at 2411 N.W. 16 Lane #6 in Pompano Beach, Florida 33064.

A brand new £1.2 million (US $1.97 million) tennis center has been opened in Portsmouth and is the first of its kind to benefit from LED lighting, all of which has been provided by Luxonic. Former British number one, Greg Rusedski and council dignitaries opened the complex, which is situated next to the Mountbatten Sports Centre.

Access Fixtures now provides a solution for property owners and contractors who are tired of replacing and maintaining wall packs and landscape lighting. The problem is they constantly are replacing glass lenses and lighting components that have been damaged by rocks, vehicles, or vandals. The solution: a vandal-resistant luminaire that withstands hits and still functions. These new luminaires were to put to the test in a series of videos by Access Fixtures that showcased the durability of the fixture. Access Fixtures will be at NECA 2014 where they will have the test fixture on display.

Market insiders in Taiwan recognize the LED TV backlight market entered seasonal adjustments in third quarter, but the adjustments are expected to impact LED manufacturers revenue in September, according to a China Times report. Taiwan’s LED chip manufacturers revenue were impacted by inventory adjustments from July to August 2014, while LED package manufacturers have kept up growth.

Refond Opto announced Monday night, shareholder Konka Precision Mould Plastic (Konka) sold out more than 3.02 percent of its stake in the Chinese LED manufacturer, according to a Sinai report.

At a meeting with investors and analysts in London, Royal Philips announces the next strategic step to capitalize on fundamental market changes, by creating two market-leading companies focused on the HealthTech and Lighting solutions opportunities. Both companies will continue to benefit from leveraging the Philips brand. With 2013 sales of EUR 15 billion for Philips’ combined HealthTech businesses and EUR 7 billion for the Lighting solutions businesses[1], each company has the scale to fully leverage Philips’ heritage of more than 120 years of innovation.

Philips Lumileds announced today it has expanded beyond its well-respected LED product offerings to include Matrix Platform solutions. The Matrix Platform consists of turnkey LED solutions using components, optics and LUXEON LEDs assembled on a wide selection of board types. This platform launches today with two product lines—the LUXEON XR and LUXEON XF—on rigid and flexible substrates respectively.

The Illumination Engineering Society (IES) recently published a “position statement” (PS-8-14) which states that color rendering “requirements should not be a metric used in energy regulations to characterize color attributes for solid state lighting.” This unfortunate wording has caused unnecessary headaches within the lighting community, but what the well-intentioned IES meant to say was that the commonly used Color Rendering Index (CRI) metric is not entirely adequate and a replacement is warranted. We fully agree and are actively engaged with IES to improve this metric, but by no means should color rendering requirements be put on the sidelines while we all wait for improvements!

Hubbell Lighting, a world leader in lighting innovation, and TOTUS Solutions, the leading provider of outdoor lighting based security platforms, will debut Spaulding Lighting’s popular Cimarron LED fixture (CL1) controlled by the Integrated TOTUS Surveillance Platform™ (iTSP™) with a built-in Axis Communications multi-megapixel IP video surveillance camera (AXIS M3027-PVE) during the 2014 ASIS International Expo at Axis Communications’ booth #1023.

Traxon Technologies, a global leader in solid state lighting and control systems, introduces ETH2DALI control engine and Lighting Application Suite (LAS) 7.0 under its control brand e:cue. Flexible and scalable, the revolutionary ETH2DALI integrates both functional and dynamic lighting with state−of−the−art control capability in a single device. The upgraded version LAS 7.0 combines DMX, e:pix  and DALI lighting, multimedia, and show control programming with unrivalled connectivity and matrix control features. ETH2DALI together with LAS7.0 set a new benchmark by offering a complete control solution for both functional and creative lighting.

KC HiLiTES, the leader in off-road lighting, announces the availability of the industry's most unique, modular and customizable LED platform. Through a strategic design partnership formed with industrial design firm Heretic Studios, KC delivers on the goal of bringing the highest level of performance LED lighting products to consumers worldwide.

ESCATEC, one of Europe's leading providers of contract and manufacturing services, has nearly doubled the size of its ISO Class 7 cleanroom to meet the increasing need for miniaturized, multi-function components and 'smart materials/systems' with new equipment for material preparation, components creation and assemblies.  The expansion includes a 'Future Lab' with advanced state-of-the-art R&D, custom designs, specialised prototyping, and novel process development that will offer leading-edge LED solutions as well as a dedicated workspace next to the cleanroom for 'hands-on' design work with ESCATEC's partners

To accelerate Civilight North America’s commitment to offering high quality and high performance indoor LED lamps in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the company has appointed five new lighting industry veterans to sales and marketing positions. The new national sales and marketing team will service distributors, specifiers and lighting professionals. The vice president of sales and the marketing director will report directly to Jeffrey E. Lagaly, CEO of Civilight North America.

The Green Trade Project Office under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs is set to return to Istanbul for the third exhibition event of its 2014 Green Light campaign, leading a delegation of exhibitors to participate once again in the LED and LED Lighting Exhibition, scheduled to be held on September 25-28 at the Istanbul Expo Center (IFM).

LED package manufacturer Harvatek revenues is expected to drop during third quarter in 2014, due to adjustments in lighting OEM orders, according to a Money DJ report. However, the company is expected to see revenue growth next season. While further long term observations are required to determine the impact from Cree’s patent lawsuit.

Following the integration among upstream LED manufacturers in Taiwan, such as the merger between Epistar and FOREPI and Cree’s investment in Lextar, Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) has become the second largest LED die supplier in Taiwan, according to a UDN report. Since Chicony became GPI’s largest shareholder, GPI’s financial performance has gradually improved, and has recently completed raising NT $1.0 billion (US $300 million) funding.

Toshiba Lighting has been the latest international manufacturer to show interest in the Indian market, according to a report from The Economic Times.

Images associated to the British name Dyson brings to mind innovative vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans, and hand dryers. Sir James Dyson was the master mind behind the design and manufacturing of these high-end electric appliances, and now his son Jake Dyson is following closely in his footsteps in LED luminaire designs.

University of Utah physicists read the subatomic “spins” in the centers or nuclei of hydrogen isotopes, and used the data to control current that powered light in a cheap, plastic LED – at room temperature and without strong magnetic fields.