Sapphire substrates have been around for a very long time. First chemically synthesized by French chemist Auguste Verneuil in 1909, sapphire has developed from fake jewelry in 1940s, SOS applications in 1960s, to military applications in late 1960s, according to a paper by Daniel Harris, Naval Air Systems Command, China Lake, California. U.S. and Russian manufacturers dominated military application fields before Asian manufacturers found their golden opportunity in LED applications. 

Before 2012, the largest market for sapphire substrate applications was LED and the entry of many players led to an oversupply situation, with most manufacturers still suffering from losses, according to LEDinside analysts. Sapphire substrate prices remained low over the last two years due to this oversupply situation, according to a LEDinside report published in May 2013. Over the last few months, though, developments in the industry especially in the non-LED application field have shown a likely price rebound in 2014.

The LED and sapphire substrate industry has a very close relationship. Through the use of industrial equipment, crystals are grown from raw materials which are then grinded into crystal bars. These bars are then sliced into sapphire substrate wafers. The majority of which are supplied to LED production. Due to the hardness and suitable structure of sapphire substrate for LED applications, the two have long been used in combination. 

Cree, Inc. is building on the industry’s most versatile LED street light portfolio with the LEDway® High Output (HO) LED street light. With its higher lumen output, the new LEDway HO LED street light enables the LEDway Series to address large multi-lane freeways and expressway applications, easily replacing inefficient High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting up to 400W from a single platform. The Cree® LEDway HO LED street light provides highly focused, directional light at nine adjustable lumen output levels, reducing energy consumption by more than 50 percent compared to outdated HPS street lights in most roadway applications.

PHI Group, Inc. announced that the Company has signed a business cooperation and investment agreement in conjunction with a letter of intent to acquire a 65% equity interest in Nord Energy Co. Ltd. ("NE"), a Vietnam-based company with proprietary advanced light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems that can save 80% of electricity compared to traditional sodium lights.

A daily household object has taken on a new twist thanks to designers Idan Noyberg and Gal Bulka. They have designed a solar powered clothespin called Lightly which includes a small colored LEDs.

Intematix Corporation announced the commercial availability of ChromaLit® Linear, a remote phosphor offering uniform luminance over any length, high flux density and a sleek, white off-state finish. This product received the Lux Award by Lux Magazine for Light Source Innovation of the Year and recognition by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) in its Progress Report featuring the most promising new lighting products.

Non-LED sapphire substrate applications have remained off manufacturers radar for a while. Even in 2013, the sapphire substrate industry is dominated by LED applications, while non-LED remains relatively small with around 36% market share, according to LEDinside’s latest sapphire substrate report. However, a consistent trend in 2013 has been the rise of smartphone sapphire substrate applications mostly leads by Apple’s introduction of sapphire substrate into iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S. But what about other applications?

Sapphire substrate application has come a long way from the original usage in military applications in the 1960’s. This year alone has seen some major shifts in application with Apple’s new integration of sapphire substrate into smartphone design. While LEDs and general lighting continue to make up a major chunk of sapphire substrate market share, non-LED application usage has had a dramatic increase this year. Increasing penetration rates for LEDs and rise in non-LED applications, the next few years look bright for sapphire substrate market growth. 

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. announced plans to offer $125,000,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2020 (the "Notes") and 12,000,000 shares of its common stock ("Common Stock") in concurrent underwritten registered public offerings (collectively, the "Offerings"). In addition, the Company expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $18,750,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes and 1,800,000 shares of Common Stock from the Company, respectively. The Offerings are subject to market and other conditions.

When NC State sought a lighting solution for Wolf Ridge at Centennial, the university’s first residence hall planned for LEED Silver certification, they chose industry-leading LED lighting from Cree, Inc. to help the building achieve the rigorous certification and significantly reduce energy and maintenance costs. Luminaires installed in two of the project’s six buildings are already delivering positive results. Powered by Cree TrueWhite® Technology, the luminaires deliver the industry’s best color quality, creating more inviting and better lit environments for student residents while significantly reducing the school’s operational expenses compared to outdated lighting technologies.

Finnish photographer has been creating spooky images with light for four years, ever since he accidently discovered the medium. Janne Parviainen uses only a camera and a child’s LED torch to create his uniquely creepy photographs.

Plessey announced today availability of its next generation GaN-on-Silicon mid-power LEDs. The product family doubles the efficacy of Plessey’s first generation MAGIC™ (Manufactured on GaN-on-Si I/C) products released in February 2013. Using standard silicon semiconductor production techniques, Plessey is able to achieve high flux output LED products at substantially lower cost. The PLW114050 is the first in a family of entry level LED lighting products that will be released. 

Power management company Eaton announced that its Cooper Lighting division has introduced the highly efficient McGraw-Edison TopTier™ parking garage and canopy luminaire. Incorporating WaveStream™ light-emitting diode (LED) technology, the fixture’s superior, patented optical control and patent-pending design improves visual comfort to enhance safety while providing maximum energy savings of up to 76 percent annually.

Larson Electronics is making it easier than ever for companies or families who want to begin the transition to LED lighting with their 10 watt Directional LED light bulb. When replacing burned out bulbs to LEDs, or direct replacement, the new Magnalight LED-A19-10-E26 will save you time and money.

Light is an essential element for urban environment, it also represents the culture and image of a city. In order to emphasize on the importance of urban lighting plan, LUCI started running the annualcity.people.light awards in conjunction with Philips Co. in 2003. The 2013 award is the 10th anniversary of this award so we compile all the winners in its history for you to take a quick and amusing glance.

Around 50 companies are expected to be listed on the Chinese bourse by the end of January, according to a statement by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on November 30th in regards to further promoting the reform of the IPO system. Among these companies, three LED companies are in the electronics industry IPO. The LED industry will be affected by the reopening of the IPO, where prospects will remain bearish in the short term while differentiating in the mid and long term, according to industry insiders.

LED technology has made great leaps in 2013. As LED prices continue to fall, large LED manufacturers are focusing on packaging process and material to develop low cost technologies. “Package free technology” has no doubt become the most important technological breakthrough this year that has surprised the industry. Unistars has been using advanced wafer package technology, Chip Scale Package (CSP). The company has released its new CSP series product Mercury 1515 series, and is the first Taiwanese LED packager to mass produce CSP products.

The danger of blue light exposure has been a hot topic in the LED industry as of late. This has overshadowed the energy-efficiency and environmental friendliness that LED lights are known for and has prevented them from becoming more widespread.

The U.S. Department of Energy's CALiPER program has released a Snapshot Report on LED A lamps, which utilizes the LED Lighting Facts® program's extensive product database to help industry stakeholders understand the current state and trajectory of the market for that class of products.

The largest single investment to modernize main road street lighting in the Capital's history has been unveiled by the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL).

It is no surprise with LED lighting demand on the rise that Samsung Electronics would want to begin strengthening their LED business. According to Business Korea, Samsung has begun recruiting LED professionals on December 1st both domestically and internationally.

Luxury car brands including BMW, Benz and Audi are using more advanced lighting technologies in their cars, such as LED headlights, smart high beams, and infrared-assisted lights to give them a better technological edge and justify their hefty price tag, according to a recent Bloomberg report. 

The Rainforest of Canada's pacific coast lights up for the holidays with the illuminated Capilano Suspended Bridge Park.

Cree, Inc. marks another milestone in LED lighting with the introduction of the new Cree® LED 75-watt Replacement Bulb. 

Excessive heat generation is one of the main reasons why LEDs fail. With the Oslon Square, Osram Opto Semiconductors presents an LED that withstands high ambient temperatures particularly well. To ensure that the colors of several LEDs in a luminaire remain uniform even at higher temperatures, they are measured and binned at 85 degrees Celsius (°C), a temperature that comes very close to that encountered in lighting applications within buildings, in everything from spotlights to retrofit light sources.

Dow Corning, a global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, today introduced new Dow Corning® Dispensable Thermal Pads, an advanced new technology developed for more cost-effective thermal management of high-performance electronics targeting LED lamp and luminaires, data servers, telecommunications equipment and transportation applications. The new materials enable manufacturers to quickly and precisely print a layer of thermally conductive curable silicone compound in controllable thicknesses on complex-shaped substrates while ensuring excellent thermal management properties and reduced manufacturing cost.

EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, has introduced the EVG®720 automated UV nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) system. Providing full-field imprint lithography with an integrated soft stamp/template fabrication capability, the EVG720 system enables throughputs of more than 60 wafers per hour with the lowest cost of ownership (CoO). Capable of printing nanostructures as small as 40 nm in diameter over a large area in volume production, the EVG720 system is ideally suited for use in manufacturing optics, photonics, LEDs, and other bioMEMS devices. 

Penetration rate in 2013 for low priced direct-view type LED TVs has already increased to around 50 percent. As 2013 comes to a close, various large brand TV manufacturers are already preparing to launch new models in 2014.

The First Prize Winner of city.people.light Award 2013 is Rietburg, Germany; there are some excellent cities which also did great lighting masterplans and were rewarded prizes. In the second article of the city.people.light award series, we are offering you a glance on these exceptional cities.