LG Display (LGD) and AmTRAN Technology recently jointly invested in Formosa Epitaxy Inc., a Taiwan-based LED chipmaker, according to an article on Taiwan Economic News. LG Display and AmTRAN have co-invested NT$2 billion (US$62 million at US$1:NT$33) in the LED chipmaker by acquiring 18-19% stake in Formosa, industry watchers said.

In light of the bright outlook of LED industry, Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) and Yulon Group, have recently financed Trend Lighting Corp, a LED lighting maker on the island, according to Taiwan Economic News.

Edison Opto Corporation is a Taipei, Taiwan based global leading high power LED manufacturer. The company offers a comprehensive product line ranging from 1 Watt to 100 Watt, single-chip to multi-chip, and high flux to high CRI. The diversified product offering will answer to even the most challenging fixture designs.

BenQ last week launched its new 24” and 21.5” LED widescreen displays, namely the Full HD 1080p V2400 Eco and Full HD 1080p V2200 Eco. These first two models will prelude what BenQ promises to be a broad-spectrum offering of LED displays to be launched by mid-August, according to the company.

Mixing luminescence phosphor with silicone and dispensing it on a blue light emitting chip is a common LED package method in producing white light. The quality of white light depends heavily on the uniformity of phosphor on the blue die. Often times, when coupling secondary lens on white LED, it will reveal yellow circling. Such yellowing greatly shadows the quality of white light.

Foxconn International Holdings Ltd., a company in which Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. holds a controlling stake, will invest US$500 million to build a LED factory in Jinan, Shandong, according to Jinan government and a local newspaper.

Celsia Technologies has been chosen by Taiwanese based United Innovation to cool the company's 9-, 11-, and 13-watt LED spotlights. Each of these spotlights includes a combination of United's unique multi-chip LED package along with Celsia's patented NanoSpreader vapor chamber.

According to survey of the industry research institute LEDinside, Taiwan's listed LED makers recorded total revenue of NT 5.982 billion in July 2009, a 5.8% growth from NT 5.652 billion in June 2009 and a 3.8% growth YoY. LED chip makers' total revenues in July gained 6.9% to NT 2.621 billion while LED packagers posted NT 3.361 billion, 5.1% growth MoM.  

Under increasing demands for LED backlights for LCD TV and notebook computers, the board of directors at Epistar Corp. recently approved to issue 110-135 million units of global depository receipt (GDR) to raise some NT$10 billion (US$303 million at US$1:NT$33) to build up inventories of materials for the blooming market, according to Taiwan Economic News. Some industry watchers believe Epistar would use the GDR offering to attract foreign shareholders.

Lite-On Group announced last week it had won a five-year contract to supply 140,000 LED traffic lights to the California State government, according to an article on Taiwan Economic Times.

GlacialTech Inc. is launching the GL-Spotlight (60W) LED high brightness spotlight which ranges in luminous flux between 2,450lm in the warm white (3000K) light version to 3,450lm in the cold white (6000K) light version. The new product can directly replace 400W mercury lamps and consume no more than 60W of power. The lifespan is 20,000Hrs and the predicted power savings rate is 85%.

Macroblock, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of LED driver, has released its half-year results of 2009, assessed the business environment, and outlined the business strategy at the investor conference on August 05, 2009. In 2009 half-year financial report, Macroblock reached revenue of NTD553 millions, decreased by 12.4% compared to that of the same period of last year. The consolidated gross profit margin reached 42.8%. The net income was NTD69.8 millions and the earnings after income tax was NTD2.28 per share.

According to institutional investors, Taiwan-based Epistar Corp. and Unity Opto Technology Co. are both expected to post increased sales for July from June, the Taiwan Economic News reports.

In an effort to boost growth by moving into new businesses, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is in talks to purchase companies in the solar and light-emitting diode (LED) industries, the company’s Chairman and CEO Morris Chang said, according to a report on Bloomberg.

Himax Technologies Inc., a designer of driver IC chipsets and affiliated with Taiwan-based Chi Mei Group, has announced a plan to kick off mass production of white LED (light emitting diode) driver ICs at the end of the third quarter of this year, according to an article on Taiwan Economic Times.

SemiLEDs announced today that it has entered into a joint cooperation with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to initiate a pilot program to convert part of ITRI’s campus street lamps from metal halide into LED systems.

GlacialTech Inc. has recently launched the cool white and warm white environmentally friendly LED spotlight series. The 10W GL-Spotlight (7W)LED high brightness spotlights directly replace mercury lamps with a lifespan of 20,000Hrs, comparing with 3000hrs for standard Mercury lamps. And the predicted power savings rate is 87%.

Himax Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:HIMX) today announced that its white LED (Light-Emitting Diode) driver, the HA7305, has been approved by TFT-LCD panel makers for use in netbook and notebook applications and is expected to commence mass production at around the end of third quarter 2009.

Since power supply companies ventured into the LED field, vendors have been optimistic about the outlook for market demand in 3Q09, according to industry sources. Lite-On Tech. (2301.tw) Chairman Song Kung-Yuan said that orders have been increasing quarter after quarter, and compared to the relatively low profit base in 1Q09, 2Q09 profit appeared to have “grown exponentially.”

Macroblock introduces a step-down, non-isolated, and high efficiency AC - DC controller, MBI6901, that can deliver constant current to light up high brightness LED and stabilize the LED lighting system. The MBI6901 is able to drive external MOSFET current up to 3A for T-8 CFL replacement, general illumination and power supply for light panel. The MBI6901 accepts universal AC input from 80VAC to 265VAC and regulates the accuracy of preset output current within ±5% by switching the external MOSFET.

Researchers from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan have developed an organic light-emitting diode (OLEDs) with a range of color temperatures that fully covers those of daylight at different times and regions (2300K to 8200 K).

By transforming text-form documents to 3D animated objects, the virtual application is Edison Opto’s new approach in helping the users for a quick, clear and accurate design-in guide using LED products.

To keep up with AU Optronics (AUO)’s rising demands for LED backlights used in LCD panels, Wellypower Optronics Corp., a subsidiary company of the Taiwan-based LCD manufacturer, plans to double its LED packaging output capacity to 100 million units, reports the Taiwan Economic Times.

Under strong demand for light emitting diodes (LED), Epistar Corp., the largest supplier of epitaxial wafers in Taiwan, scored a single-month high of NT$1.147 billion (US$34.98 million at US$1: NT$32.79) in sales for June, growing by 17.16% from May and 35.7% from last June, according to the firm.

According to the industry research institute LEDinside, in June 2009, Taiwan’s listed LED manufacturers recorded total revenue of NT$565.2 billion a 9.5% growth compared to NT$516 billion in May (+4.7% YoY). LED chip makers’ total revenue amounted to NT$2.453 billion, up by 13.9% MoM; and LED packagers posted NT$3.198 billion in revenue, a 6.4% growth MoM.  

SemiLEDs Corp., a Taiwan-based manufacturer of high power LEDs, has recently announced the opening of its third production facility in Hsin-Chu Science Park, Taiwan. This new production facility brings SemiLEDs’ capacity to 15 million 1x1mm high power LED chips per month.

Due to increasing global demand of LED (light emitting diode) for TV backlights, Unity Opto Technology Co., a Taiwan-based LED supplier, had recorded a single-month high of NT$340 million (US$10.378 million at US$1: NT$32.76) in sales for June, up by 78% from last June or 5.52% from May, according to company sources.

Samsung Electronics, currently the world’s top TV supplier, is estimated to buy US$7.5 billion worth of components from Taiwan this year for its LED backlit LCD TVs, according to the company, reported The Taiwan Economic News. Samsung plans to ship 2,000,000 units of LED TVs by the end of 2009, a volume estimated to account for 10% of its total TV shipments of the year. The company has delivered 400,000 units in three months after the launch in April, snatching up 90% of the global market.

According to the industry research institute LEDinside, as demand for LED TV and LED NB expands, LED chips are running short of supply during the second quarter of this year, which has resulted in a more stable price of white LED compared to that of 2008.

Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., currently Taiwan’s biggest LED packager, has recently bought 15.9% of Tecore’s shares to secure supply of LED chips as it expands output to meet rising demand, according to an article on Taiwan Economic News. Everlight acquired the Tecore shares through a private-equity placement, in which Tecore put up 25 million shares for sale to raise NT$350 million (US$10.6 million at US$1:NT$33).