Sapphire substrate price uptick has built up momentum for a while, according to a recent Commercial Times report. Sapphire substrate manufacturer’s price quotes for 2Q13 were up 3 percent, but LED die manufacturers have not accepted the price increase demands so price continues to fluctuate, said FOREPI Chairman Chien Fen-ren. 

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NEMA’s Lighting Systems Index gained traction during 2014Q4, increasing by 1.8 percent compared to the previous quarter. The index increased 4.7 percent on a year-over-year basis. Index components for emergency lighting, fixtures and miniature lamps posted gains, while ballasts and large lamps retreated q/q. Overall performance during calendar year 2013 placed the index nearly 17 percent above the depressed level of the Great Recession during 2009.

A team of University of Toronto physicists led by Alex Hayat has proposed a novel and efficient way to leverage the strange quantum physics phenomenon known as entanglement. The approach would involve combining light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a superconductor to generate entangled photons and could open up a rich spectrum of new physics as well as devices for quantum technologies, including quantum computers and quantum communication.

Rubicon Technology, Inc., a leading provider of sapphire substrates and products to the LED, semiconductor and optical markets, announced the commencement of an underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock by selling stockholders. The offering is subject to customary conditions and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. 

Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) announced the construction of a plant at Konica Minolta Kofu Site (Chuo-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture) for mass production of plastic substrate flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) lighting panels toward a stronger development of its OLED lighting business in fiscal 2014 and forward. The construction will be complete in the summer of 2014. The plant is scheduled to start mass production in the fall of 2014.

The new LUXEON 3030 2D LED for high flux luminaires is being delivered with hot color targeting to ensure ANSI compliance at application conditions.

Today Philips Lumileds is introducing the LUXEON 3014 low-power emitter for linear and omnidirectional lighting applications such as under cabinet lighting, refrigerator display lighting, troffers, TLEDs and retrofit bulbs. Delivered in a rectangular 3.0x1.4x0.7 mm footprint, the LUXEON 3014 will be the industry’s first low-power LED offered with the advantages of hot color targeting and a 1/9th micro binning structure.

Cree, Inc. introduces the XLamp XB-H LED, the brightest discrete in Cree’s high-density (HD) class of LEDs, delivering a breakthrough combination of lumen output and efficacy in a small package. The XB-H LED brings the lighting-class performance of the XP-G2 LED into a package that is 50 percent smaller. Delivering more than 500 lumens at 1.5 A, 25º C in a 2.45 x 2.45-mm package, the Cree® XB-H LED can enable luminaires that use the same-size-footprint XB-D LED to triple their light output at the same efficacy. 

Sabrino Santano from Philips Lighting introduces U.S. artist Janet Echelman new net sculpture on display in Vancouver, Canada in this new blog entry.

Lextar Electronics Corp. will release an ultra slim direct-lit panel light. Only 28mm in thickness, this new product is free from the stereotypically bulky exterior of its comparable products. Besides, it minimized the number of LED thanks to Lextar's state-of-the-art direct-lit backlighting technology. Lextar's new ultra-slim direct-lit panel light features low glare, creating a new alternative for customers who value both aesthetics and light quality. The Company will debut this new product at "Light + Building Frankfurt 2014" from March 30(th) through April 4(th) , 2014.

Until now, headlamps often needed to be replaced long before the end of a vehicle’s life. For the all-new 2015 Ford F-150, Ford wanted durable headlamps that would last as long, or longer, than the truck. Ford lighting expert John Teodecki and his team found the answer in technology they believe could change truck lighting forever – light-emitting diodes, or LEDs.

Leadray, Taiwanese LED street light manufacturer, opened a new office in Taipei on March 17th at the Taipei World Trade Center. The company successfully won domestic bids for street lights in 2013. Using their past experience and advantages in LED lighting, Leadray plans to actively improve the Southeast Asia and Central American markets in 2014, which lack in infrastructure and electricity.

March is a big month for LED lighting exhibitions. Taiwan International Lighting Show and Light + Building will open later this month and have already garnered much attention from the market, according to Economic Daily News. The LED industry has rebounded this year, with February revenue growth substantially higher compared to last year.

The LED industry has been engulfed in a wave of M&A as it moves into the lighting era. The past few years have been an intense restructuring period for Taiwanese LED chip manufacturers, said Chein Fen-ren, Chairman of FOREPI. The M&A wave has recently hit Chinese LED manufacturers and Chein estimates that within two to three years, Chinese manufacturers will be whittled down from the current 20-30 to only five. 

AIXTRON SE, a leading provider of deposition systems for the semiconductor industry, has launched operations with a new R&D cluster that demonstrates the core processes used to produce organic semiconductors. This enables the various processes for the deposition of organic thin-films which are required for the manufacture of OLEDs and flexible electronics to be demonstrated efficiently and under industrial production conditions.

Halo Belt, a San Francisco based company, successfully concluded its kickstarter project in 2012 for a bright LED belt that improved pedestrian safety at night. The company has recently come back with a new fundraising project for its second generation product Halo Belt 2.0.

Acuity Brands, Inc. announces its new Mark Architectural Lighting™ On the Mark Quick Ship program, which ships a variety of architectural grade specification luminaires in 10 business days. The program features the largest selection of LED products available in quick ship programs of major architectural ambient manufacturers.

Driven by the need to deliver more consistent light output in very slim fixtures, under-cabinet and puck lights benefit from the latest low-power LEDs. 

Hubbell Lighting announced today the first 12,000+ lumen LED fixture designed for high ceiling commercial and architectural interiors where recessed depth is not available—Prescolite’s MegaLum Cylinder. With all the performance advantages of the company’s award winning MegaLum fixture, the MegaLum Cylinder can be surface, cable or pendant mounted and is the perfect alternative to T4 quartz (up to 500 watts) and metal halide (up to 250 watts) sources for ceiling heights of 20 to 60 feet (6.09 to 18.28 meters).

Factory automation and inspection carried out by machine vision systems is becoming increasingly important in the production processes of diverse industries such as automotive, electronics and pharmaceutical packaging. To support high-performance image processing, SCHOTT MORITEX has increased its product portfolio of lighting and illumination systems with its new CompaVis™ LED series. The series consists of 40 different models in a variety of configurations and colors.

X-FAB Silicon Foundries will exhibit its high-performance power management solutions in 0.18 and 0.35 micrometer technologies at the Applied Power Electronics (APEC) 2014 Conference and Exposition in Fort Worth, Texas, next week. These solutions include its ultra-high-voltage CMOS process and a new analog cell library available in its XU035 process that helps engineers design monolithic AC/DC converters. APEC is the premier event in Applied Power Electronics™; it focuses on the practical and applied aspects of the power electronics business.

Petra Solar, a global technology provider for the renewable energy, energy efficiency, and distributed power generation markets, announced that it has changed its name to Petra Systems.

NVC Lighting estimates profits in 2013 will grow exponentially compared to 2012. 

Royal Philips, a global leader in lighting, announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire 51 percent of General Lighting Company (“GLC”), a major lighting company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”), from a consortium of shareholders that include Alliance Holding Ltd. (“Alliance”), the Hejailan Group, and The Carlyle Group.

Flip-chips various features are now also being valued in the mobile application market, said FOREPI Chairman Chien Fen-ren during Leadray Energy’s Taipei office opening ceremony on March 17, 2014.

Taiwanese LED manufacturer FOREPI could be seeing record high performance for a single quarter during third quarter this year, said the company Chairman Chein Fen-ren, while attending the Leadray Energy Taipei Office opening ceremony on  March 17, 2014. 

Leadray Energy, a Taiwanese manufacturer based in Miaoli County in central Taiwan, unveiled its new Taipei office at Taipei World Trade Center on March 17, 2014. The new Taipei office reveals the company’s ambition in the global market.

Guangzhou Hongli Opto-Electronics Co. announced that on Mar. 14th Deputy General Manager and Director Hui Lun resigned due to personal reasons during a board of directors meeting.

Madison Square Park Conservancy’s Mad. Sq. Art announces a new sculptural installation for late winter 2014: This Land Is Your Land by Brooklyn-based Chilean artist Iván Navarro. The site-specific installation presents three water towers inside of which neon reflections repeat infinitely.