Cree Inc. has announced revenue of $140.4M for its fiscal 1Q09, ended September 28, 2008. This represents a 24% increase over revenue of $113.4M in 1Q08 and a 3% increase over 4Q08 revenue.

Recently, Littelfuse Inc. has introduced the PLED 6 series, an open LED protector that provides a switching electronic shunt path when a single LED in an LED array fails as an open circuit. This ensures that the entire array of LEDs will continue to function even if a single LED in the array does not.  

Recently, Atlanta-based Acuity Brands, a lighting and cleaning products company, said that it's entered into a strategic partnership with Herndon, Va.'s Renaissance Lighting to work on the commercialization of LED lighting. Under the deal, Renaissance is licensing its intellectual property, including its Constructive Occlusion optical system, to Acuity. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.  

It’s reported that new research from Boston University's College of Engineering, funded by a National Science Foundation grant, indicates that LEDs may be not only the integral lighting component of the future, but may also form the backbone of future wireless networks. The US government is funding research into using next-generation LED lighting as data network access points. Room or street lamps would link with devices using visible light, carrying data beyond over existing power lines.

In the past few years, LEDs have made huge advances in energy efficiency. Industry sources and outside experts say LEDs are now the most energy-efficient lighting source available. They use far less energy than other bulbs, last a lot longer, and cost less to use over their lifetime.

Recently, The UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has announced funding for twelve innovative research projects to accelerate the development of more energy-efficient lighting, lasers and displays. The R&D projects are intended to help British manufacturers to stay ahead of international competition - and contribute to the UK's climate change goals.

It’s reported that WieDaMark, LLC, launched WDM Lighting this quarter. WDM Lighting, a company of WieDaMark, LLC, will showcase the WDM product line and national distributor program. It specializes in LED and energy-efficient lighting solutions for residential, commercial, and entertainment industries.

It’s reported that Russian and German scientists revisited the idea of light produced this way Nearly 20 years later. The light was still of such poor luminance that the idea nearly died again. The science of electroluminescence languished in obscurity for a while. It didn’t begin to gain favor again in the 1950s until some British scientists started experimenting with it again. This led to the first infrared LED. From this technology came the first visible spectrum LED, in red, from GaP.

It’s reported that Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp Corp announced it aims to generate sales of $1.8 billion from LED market by the business year to March 2013. Moreover, Sharp would enter the lighting gear market with energy-saving LED technology to establish a new earnings pillar in addition to its flat panel and solar cell businesses this month.

It’s reported that LG Display, the world's No. 2 supplier of LCD panels, will build a joint venture with Nasdaq-listed Cree in LED packaging in Nanjing, China. LG Display is able to cut costs in LED lighting business amid growing demand for the component in notebooks and television sets, adding the company could avoid possible patent infringement troubles if the plan is realized. It's a win-win strategy.

It’s reported that the market for high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB-LEDs) in lighting applications grew 64% in 2007 to $337m, up from $205m in 2006. According to related analysis and forecast, the HB-LED lighting market should reach $1.65bn in 2012. In recent years, HB-LEDs have demonstrated dramatic improvements in performance, as well as significant cost reduction, such that they are undergoing a period of rapid market growth in a variety of niche and general lighting applications.

LEDinside recently conducted an in-depth interview with Liquidleds Lighting Corp (Liquidleds) CEO, Mr. Kun-Yuan Chiang (Chiang), in relation to the industry of LED.

According to High Power executive, Charles Wei, president of Taiwan-based High Power Lighting, LED lighting will see explosive growth in 2010 when production costs are expected to halve compared to present levels, which focuses on high power LED design, packaging and module manufacturing.

In many of Africa's towns and villages, smoky kerosene lamps are all that keeps the darkness at bay after sunset. However, kerosene is a dangerous and increasingly expensive source of light for Africans who do not have access to electricity -- about three-quarters of those living on the continent, according to the World Bank. Lighting industry entrepreneurs are hoping alternative devices such as solar-powered LED lights will replace the kerosene lamps.