More than one year after Soraa demonstrated it (see my blog from 5/6/13), the importance of whiteness rendering is now being noticed by the larger lighting manufacturers. Perhaps the most notable imitation, from Philips (see LEDs Magazine July/Aug 2014, pp. 9-10), mixes in some violet-emitting with blue-emitting LEDs to provide a level of Optical Brightening Agent (OBA) excitation, which is necessary for whiteness rendering.

CIRCADIAN®, the global leader in managing 24/7 workforce productivity, health and safety in businesses that operate around the clock, announced today that it has acquired a controlling stake in ZircLight Inc. with a $2.5 million Series A investment led by ams AG, a leading designer and manufacturer of sensor and analog solutions including sensor-integrated intelligent managers that are enabling the next generation of smart lighting systems.

The latest round of the Department of Energy (DOE) energy standards for General Service Fluorescent Lamp Standard (GSFL) took effect on July 14, 2014, impacting the production of the 700 series T8 fluorescent lamps. These inefficient 700 series T8 lamps cannot be manufactured due to not meeting the efficacy standards. Fortunately the development team at Philips came up with an improved design for the 700 series lamps (designated with “HL” or high lumens in the ordering code)

LeDiamond (LED package manufacturer) announced that its Tesla filament has successfully completed the requirements of the rigorous 6000 hour lumen maintenance test (LM-80) by an international third-party laboratory organization (BACL). It’s a big breakthrough for LeDiamond on its LED filament development.

The U.S. city of Detroit has completed retrofitting 14,000 LED streetlights in three zip codes, according to a report by MLive.

Vishay Semiconductor, Heilbronn, has acquired an MOCVD system from AIXTRON to expand its infrared LED production capacities. The company aims to substantially extend its product portfolio in this area. The system was delivered to Vishay at the end of March.

Xicato continued to expand its sales team and announced the addition of LED lighting specialists Charles Scheibler and Nick Gibbs to its sales team. Charles is based in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and will serve Xicato’s customer base throughout the mid-west. Nick is based in the United Kingdom and will serve customers in the UK and Nordic region.

While the Hilton Minneapolis was drawn to LED solutions for energy and maintenance savings, it was the quality of light, instant-on, and plug and play simplicity delivered by the lamps from Lunera Lighting that won rave reviews from guests and employees.

Lithonia Lighting® introduces two durable, high performance LED shoplights ideal for use in both home or commercial garages, workshops, utility rooms and more. Whether servicing a shiny new car, or completing an intricate woodworking project – the sleek yet durable LED shoplights deliver maximum light output (4000K) for crisp, clean task illumination for any workshop needs.

ELB Electronics, a global manufacturer of LED lighting products, has introduced an LED T8 direct replacement lamp, which requires no re-wiring of the light fixture.

Apple fans out there might be disappointed with latest news this week from LEDinside analysts that the durable sapphire glass cover will only be released in small volumes for the iPhone 6. Top lighting manufacturer Osram also released its financial results for 3Q14 this week, and in a move of pushing further restructures, the organization has announced plans of slashing 7,800 jobs. MOCVD equipment makers including Veeco and AIXTRON have also announced more profitable businesses, such as LED will become their major focus in the future. 

Governments around the globe have welcomed LED streetlights for its energy saving features and promising cost effectiveness, but a government lighting project in Vadodara, India has recently sparked heated political debate.

Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (“INCJ”), Japan Display Inc. (“JDI”), Sony Corporation (“Sony”), and Panasonic Corporation (“Panasonic”) announced hat they have executed a definitive agreement to establish a new company, JOLED Inc. (“JOLED”), to integrate Sony and Panasonic’s R&D functions for organic light-emitting diode (“OLED”) display panels. Through this collaboration, the companies aim to accelerate the development and early commercialization of OLED display panels. JOLED is scheduled to be launched in January 2015, subject to receipt of any necessary approvals.

Veeco Instruments announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. Veeco reports its results on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) basis, and also provides results excluding certain items. Please refer to the attached table for details of the reconciliation between GAAP operating results and Non-GAAP operating results.

In this case study, the 200W LED flood represents the median option in terms of initial price, with the lowest overall cost of ownership.With a Color Rendering Index of 80 (compared to the average CRI 30 from HID technology) the 5,000K LED floods transmit a daylight white quality of illumination.

Lucibel is proud to announce that PSA PEUGEOT CITROËN Group has become one of its Key Account customers, via Peugeot Citroën Retail, which combines both Peugeot and Citroën's own distribution networks. Lucibel has already equipped nearly twenty Peugeot dealerships in France and has launched the initial studies for the Citroën dealerships

The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, Canterbury's central museum, library and art gallery, has chosen GE Lighting's Infusion™ Generation 3 LED modules in a lighting upgrade that forms part of a larger £14 million (US $23.64 million) restoration project. The advanced flexibility and efficiency of the module will enable the gallery to benefit from significant annual energy savings and reduced maintenance costs.

New research from npower small business has revealed just how important lighting is for businesses such as pubs and restaurants looking to attract love-struck customers. Eighty-eight percent of Brits said lighting in venues such as pubs or restaurants would affect how much they enjoy a date or romantic meal and 71 percent said lighting is an important consideration when picking a venue for a date; rating above other factors such as price (66 percent) and music (53 percent).

Universal Display Corporation, enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED® technology and materials, today announced that it has broadened its Philips relationship to a commercial material supply agreement. With this, Universal Display will extend its supply agreement from the evaluation phase, to provide Philips with its proprietary PHOLED™ phosphorescent OLED materials and technology for use in its commercial OLED lighting products.

Veeco Instruments (Veeco) announced today that Xiamen Changelight Co. (Changelight) has selected the Company as its primary equipment provider as it enters the market to produce gallium nitride (GaN) based blue/green high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs) for display and general lighting applications.

Philips Lumec Custom Products Designer Jean-François Duquette explores how lights can enhance interactive models and displays in this blog entry.

Seoul Semiconductor announces the release of a new Acrich module comprised of the Acrich MJT 2525 series LED along with Seoul Semiconductor's latest generation of Acrich 3 driver IC and a reflector optic-designed specifically for omnidirectional lamps.This new module combines the light source, driver, optics and primary thermal management in a single, compact system, simplifying designs and lowering costs for lighting manufacturers.

With the advent of LED technology providing energy efficiency, innovation has been stagnant for sometime.

Out of the various light bar options we have, our customers needed an LED light bar that was more user friendly, something that works immediately right of the box, that is where the InstaLumen Light Bar shines.

Major LED EPI-wafer and chip manufacturer Epistar’s revenue was up 30 percent to NT $ 8.13 billion (US $270 million) during second quarter of 2014. Growing backlight and lighting demands have benefited the company, but financial results for first half of 2014 might still be negative, due to huge losses incurred during first quarter, according to a Money DJ report. Third quarter 2014 financial results will be cushioned by the arrival of the peak season, and is estimated to assist the company in maintaining high profits throughout the season. 

To expand its presence in the international market, Leyard Optoelectronic (Leyard) recently announced scaling up financing two subsidiaries to speed up business developments and management.

Chinese PV manufacturer EGing Photovoltaic Technology (EGing PV) recently announced subsidiary Changzhou EGing PV’s sapphire ingot growth technology has matured.

Taiwanese LED lighting manufacturer Lite-On Technology has joined the ranks of two other Taiwanese LED manufacturers’ in selling its 3,900 shares in Epistar, according to a UDN report.

Osram stated in its recent 3Q14 financial earnings press release intentions of implementing various additional measures to further improve the competitiveness of its operating units. The associated capacity adjustments of about 7,800 positions worldwide over the next three fiscal years. A Reuter’s report noted 1,700 positions in Germany would be affected, while the remaining 6,100 job cuts will be directed towards other global jobs. Depending on the implementation speed of the measures and the restructuring costs’ effect on earnings, the reported EBITA margin could be below the targeted 8 percent EBITA margin in the fiscal year 2015. Below is Osram's financial report for 3Q14.

The Ayshire Council located in Scotland, UK has recently approved a streetlight retrofit plan budget of £4.25 million (US $7.20 million) to replace the 13,500 streetlights in North Ayshire to LED within two years, according to an Irvine Times report.