Recently, the Sentry Equipment Corp. in Oconomowoc, Wis., was considering how to light its new factory, the company's president, Michael Farrell decided to try LEDs. At last he chose to light the building's exterior and most of its interior with LEDs, a light source that many bulb manufacturers are now convinced will supplant incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs.

According to analysts at the Darnell Group market research firm in Corona, Calif, LED will rapidly accelerate over the next few years in general illumination applications.

Recently Universal Display Corporation through its UniversalPHOLED™ technology, announced a $1,918,878, two-year U.S. Department of Energy contract to accelerate development of white OLED lighting products. Universal Display plans to use Armstrong World Industries as a key subcontractor to fulfill the requirements of the grant. Funded through the U.S.

Energy efficiency and flexible lighting applications of OLEDs hasn't lived up to its promise, however, because in typical OLEDs, only 20 percent of the light generated is released from the device. That means that most light is trapped inside the bulb, making it highly inefficient. It's reported the scientists are on to a way to break the OLED-efficiency logjam. TThey have designed an OLED that boosts illumination by 60 percent using a combination of an organic grid working in tandem with small micro lenses that guide the trapped light out of the device.

It's reported Purdue's Professor Sands and a graduate researcher man the reactor, which produces the first blue LEDs based on a silicon process. The new LEDs promise greater efficiency, longer lifetimes, and much lower costs. Purdue research have developed new production methods which will cut LED lighting costs to about a twentieth of current expenses.

Cree expects LED lighting production costs to drop fast, coming close to the levels of fluorescent lamps by 2012. XLamp MC-E has been widely adopted by clients for commercial lighting, flash lights, street lamps and others.

The technique overcomes prohibitive costs of current LED technology by building the diodes on low cost silicon wafers, instead of currently-used sapphire. LEDs are said to be four times more efficient than conventional incandescent lights, more environmentally friendly than compact fluorescent lights, and have a far longer lifespan of up to 15 years.

BBQing at night is as American as apple pie, NASA and the occasional race riot. But even when there's enough ambient light to keep track of where everything essential is being kept, it's still kind of tough to see whether the burger is done without resorting to the kludgy solution of wielding a spatula in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

According to Avent, Eskow is a twenty-seven-year Avnet veteran who holds two industry patents and will present On the Shoulders of Edison a view of the current state and future opportunities for solid-state lighting (SSL) using light emitting diode (LED) technology.

TFT LCD Modules Feature Replaceable LED Backlights, High Brightness and Low Power Consumption

The OPA80 Series and OPA83 Series from Optek Technology are available in a variety of ring sizes and configurations, and feature an optional ambient light sensing device to minimise current consumption during high ambient light conditions "The OPA80 and OPA83 Series light rings were designed to easily illuminate a specific area with infra-red light", says Roland Chapa, Vice President of Optek Technology's Assemblies Business Unit

Addressing the high level of interest in solid-state lighting, TPS62260LED LED develoipment board from Texas Inatruments enables lighting designers to develop and evaluate a variable-color RGB-LED lighting system using an RF lighting control for management of lighting intensity and color. The board combines three OSRAM high-brightness LEDs (red, green and blue) with an MSP430F2131 microcontroller to control the brightness of each LED using the output of three dedicated TPS62260 solid-state lighting drivers (SSLD).

Acuity Brands Lighting Inc. has forged a relationship with Dallas-based Lighting Science Group Corp. (OTC BB: LSCG) to develop and sell multiple light emitting diode (LED) lighting products. The products will be added to the Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) unit's portfolio, which includes Lithonia Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel and Gotham. The products will be for architectural, commercial, industrial, and public infrastructure use.

AXT, a manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, announced that Robert G. Ochrym, Vice President of Business Development, will present at the American Technology Research 2008 LED Technology Investment Forum at the New York Palace Hotel in New York, NY on Thursday, May 15th, at 9:30 a.m. ET. Ochrym will address the requirements and outlook of gallium arsenide (GaAs) semi-conducting substrates for the LED industry. A copy of his presentation is available on AXT's website, the company noted in a release.

It's reported that Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. (TAEC) has rolled a new color active-matrix TFT-LCD module product lineup for industrial applications that incorporates long-life LED backlighting systems.Developed by Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co. Ltd, the modules are designed to meet the requirements of a broad range of industrial applications, such as test and measurement equipment, medical equipment and portable handheld computing devices utilizing the latest LED backlighting technology.

Intematix Corp., a leading innovator in materials, phosphors, LED lighting components and integration services, today announced a broad expansion of its product offerings with the introduction of a complete line of patented "chip on ceramic" LEDs and LED arrays.

Future Lighting Solutions, a division of Future Electronics, Inc., with NEC Electronics America, Inc., today introduced the world’s first intelligent constant High-Current Driver (HCD) with microcontroller (MCU). The new HCD/LED MCU can be used in lighting applications that employ multiple LEDs, in addition to industrial control applications such as stepping motors, solenoid drives, and switch-mode power supplies.

Mitsubishi Electric, the Official High-Definition Television and the Official Large Outdoor Video Display Provider of the PGA TOUR, is supplying 11 additional state-of-the-art Diamond Vision(TM: 105.66, +0.54, +0.51%) LED high-definition scoreboards for PGA TOUR events. This completes the TOUR's initiative to upgrade the scoreboard technology to provide a better on-site experience for fans.

A federal energy bill approved in December will require a 70 percent increase in lighting efficiency by 2020, spelling trouble for the inefficient incandescent lightbulb.The year 2020 is several lightbulb changes away, but Roger Deane is not waiting to tap into the latest in green technology for lighting his Scottsdale home. An admitted electronics enthusiast, Deane has converted all his interior and exterior lighting to light-emitting diodes, or LED lighting.

Remember the LED message wand? Brando's now got a miniaturised version that fits in the top of a ballpoint pen, and can display messages up to 20 characters in length. Perfect for covert cross-classroom messaging? As long as the teacher doesn't spot the flash of a red LED across the room. Available now for US$15.

Lightscape Technologies Inc. (OTCBB: LTSC), an operator of outdoor LED billboards and provider of LED solutions, today announced that it has signed an agreement with a unit of Ogilvy & Mather Group, a leading global advertising agency, in order to secure advertising contracts for Lightscape's growing LED media network in China and Hong Kong.

LED and CCFL NB have a price gap of 50%, but such gap is expected to narrow soon. LEDinside recently has gathered further information about NB with LED backlight on the market. Until February 2008, prices of LED NB range from US$2,100 to US$3,100, while CCFL NB equipped with similar hardware cost $1,280 to $2,000. CCFL NB and LED NB have a price gap of at least 50% (indicated in Figure 1), says LEDinside. Although with advantages in weights, sizes and energy consumption, it is still quite costly to have an environmental, energy-saving and light LED NB.

Cree has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held LED Lighting Fixtures (LLF) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $77 million, plus up to an additional $26.4 million over a three-year period.

Austin Energy is joining a national effort to develop new, energy efficient light bulbs made from LEDs. Those light-emitting diodes are commonly used in billboards and traffic signals, and new developments in the field mean they could soon be used in everyday office and home environments.

Allegro MicroSystems Inc. has announced the release of two new LED driver ICs for use in displays, signs and control panels. The A6282 and A6285 both have 16 constant-current output channels. They have serial data inputs and outputs, which can be cascaded to create large, megapixel text or video displays. They can also be used in smaller applications such as LCD backlighting or controlling LEDs in an instrument or control panel.

Apple Computer Inc. has launched a 13.3-inch LED-BLU-based MacBook Air, which is only 0.76-inch (19 mm) thick on the hinge side, and 0.16-inch (4.1mm) for the opposite side. Apple mentioned that this super-thin product is the result of LED BLU technology advances, and moreover, the mercury-free, arsenic-free notebook is more beneficial in power

Cutter Electronics provides the new 600 Lumen LED light bulb upgrade from TerraLUX which replaces the standard incandescent bulb in Maglite D cell flashlights. The TLE-300 upgrade fits into and converts a Maglite flashlight with 4, 5 or 6 D cell batteries into the bright LED flashlight available, setting a new performance milestone in flashlight brightness.TerraLUX uses three of the latest Luxeon K2 flip chip high powered bright LEDs to make this performance possible. The product will be available to upgrade other flashlight manufacturer’s products in the near future.

The MBI5039 is a 16-channel constant current LED driver with smart error detection functions released by Macroblock. The MBI5039 supports constant output current from 3mA to 90mA and sustains up to 17V at the output ports. In addition, the high clock frequency (30MHz) satisfies the system requirements of high volume data transmission. The MBI5039 includes two error-detection functions: in-message error detection and silent error detection.

Microsoft has set up a "Home of the Future" exhibition to share their vision of a high-tech home 10 years from now. It involves a mix of software technology, hidden projectors and organic LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that could display information or images on walls and other surfaces; personal devices like smart phones that can control the lights, home security, the television and other devices; and interactive devices and appliances that respond to voice and gestures.

Allegro announces a new, high-brightness, adjustable constant current LED driver to complement its existing portfolio of display driver ICs. Targeted at the automotive lighting market, this LED driver is also an excellent fit in industrial and consumer LED applications. This new device is designed to operate over the typical automotive battery and temperature ranges.