IST Lighting has added three new partners to its rapidly expanding strategic partner network to distribute its iDrive™ and other lighting products across mainland Europe and Hong Kong of China amongst other areas in the world.

It’s reported that Vienna, the capital of Austria installed LED streetlights from LEDworx. LEDworx®, 2 LED-Streetlights Hawk Eye [3.0] were installed at Kühnplatz in 1040 Vienna. The spirit of innovation and the commitment to energy efficiency and LED-Technology of all parties concerned enabled this first test installation. Further installations will follow in 2009.

GE Lighting won the Lighting Design Awards for its Vio high power white LEDs in the Light Sources and Controls category, sponsored by Ex-Or. GE Lighting’s Vio high power white LEDs won the award for what judges described as a "major advance in color stability".

Aqualite Co. Ltd., a company based in Wuhan, China, has purchased three Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS) CRIUS MOCVD systems from AIXTRON AG, worldwide leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry. It’s disclosed that the three CCS CRIUS systems were delivered in the 31x2 inch wafer configuration in the third and fourth quarter of 2008. Aqualite intends to utilize these reactors for the development and production of blue, green and white LED chips.

LED lamps were compared to other technologies in a recent issue of National Geographic magazine, and LED lighting was also discussed in the House of Commons, the UK’s legislative chamber, on March 5 as part of a debate on energy and climate change. Joan Ruddock, Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, was asked if there had been discussions between her department and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on the effect on electricity consumption and CO2 emissions of the installation and use of LED lighting.

Recently, Advanced LEDs Ltd of UK announced that it has completed two LED projects in Dubai. The projects include the Dubai Mall, with more than 1,200 stores, and the 360m-high Burj Dubai Lake Tower Hotel next door.

In cooperation with the Meyer Werft Lighting Group, OSRAM has developed a highly efficient lighting system specially designed for the ship. Thanks to their excellent light quality and efficiency, they are the first choice for effect lighting on board the new luxury cruise ship, Celebrity Solstice, owned by US shipping company Celebrity Cruises. Ships of this class are built by Meyer Werft. In the casino, the disco, and even the dining area, along with many other places, OSRAM’s LED modules in its Linearlight range produce striking effects.

Group III-nitride materials have been widely used for visible and ultraviolet LEDs and blue, violet laser diodes in the past decade. Most of these optoelectronic devices are typically fabricated on the conventional polar (0001) c-plane oriented substrate materials. Devices grown on the polar substrate orientation suffer undesirable spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization resulting in significant band bending in the quantum well. This reduces radiative recombination efficiency and lowers device performance.

Avolux Europe of Romania has designed and manufactured a new LED luminaire - Nordica 3 architectural flood light IP 67. The company says it is ideal for up lighting or down lighting applications, also suitable for lighting facades, buildings, bridges and architectural.

Two French institutions Francais du Design and Equip’Hotel Paris honored Philips MASTER LED, a solid-state light bulb identical in form factor to a conventional light bulb for its innovative design and sustainability. Philips notes its MASTER LED is the first LUXEON Rebel based replacement bulb that delivers on the promise of high efficiency, uncompromised quality light, and long-life, in a package that makes it simple for people to use and feel good about using.

It’s reported that Dialight, the industry LED lighting specialist, appointed Ian Duffy as Regional Manager, Europe for Obstruction and Hazardous Location Lighting. That means Ian joins from Cooper Crouse-Hinds and brings with him 20 years’ experience in hazardous area lighting to Dialight in Europe.

Philips Lighting now offers a 3-year warranty on all its LED-based luminaires. LEDs become increasingly popular for white light applications as well as for dynamic color displays, Philips, as the leading player in the fast-growing LED lighting market, product integrity is essential. The introduction of this guarantee underpins Philips Lighting’s commitment to provide high quality LED solutions with outstanding performance and reliability customers can trust.

In addition to the LED Lighting Module “Zenigata“, Sharp plans to expand its LED Line-up with white and RGB high brightness chip LEDs. It consists of 21 different types of white light LEDs and 11 different types of monochrome and RGB LEDs. The company notes they offer a high light performance of up to 90 lumen per watt.

UK lighting manufacturer LiteLED has released the SL Series linear LED luminaire, a strip light that is smaller, longer lasting and provides superior task efficiency compared to the neon or fluorescent lamps. LiteLED says the SL Series was designed to address the specific demands of under-cabinet, cove and refrigeration lighting applications.

Philips announced that it has reached an agreement to buy Italy-based Ilti Luce Srl, one of the leading LED design companies in Europe for architectural indoor lighting. Ilti Luce will become part of the Professional Luminaires business within the Philips Lighting sector.

Royal Philips Electronics let the Titan Crane in Clydebank, Scotland more striking visual display at night. This great icon to the River Clyde’s shipbuilding heritage has been fittingly restored after a £3m redevelopment plan to transform it into a unique exhibition and visitor center. The two-year restoration project was carried out by urban regeneration company, Clydebank Re-built, whose vision also included a spectacular lighting design to show off this historic landmark to full effect.

NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, has launched the world’s first integrated dimmable mains LED driver - the SSL2101, and has demonstrated it on the NXP booth at the Strategies in Light Conference(SIL) form February 18 – 20 at Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California, USA.

Royal Philips Electronics announces that it will launch a new solar-powered reading light in autumn 2009. The company says the LED light enables people to both read and write after dark. It’s disclosed that Philips’s “My Reading Light” was developed specifically for the education sector in Africa and will allow school children to continue with their homework after sunset.

Pacer International Ltd. announces the opening of a new sales office based in Cork, Ireland, continuing the company’s ongoing expansion.

On January 2, state-of-the-art lighting technology featuring 40,000 LEDs will illuminate the 5,100 sq-m glass facade of the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria, to celebrate the opening of the exhibition, New Views of Humankind. This innovative facade illumination was planned and installed by Multivision, a Marchtrenk-based firm founded in 2002.

Macroblock, as a LED driver IC manufacturer will continue to showcase its technology breakthroughs realized in the new products for LED display and LED lighting fields at Macroblock booth A5.532 at Electronica 2008 from 11th to 14th November in Munich, Germany.

Recently, Cree Inc., a market leader in LED lighting, announces a long-term strategic agreement with the Austrian Zumtobel Group, a global market leader in the professional lighting industry and listed on the Vienna stock exchange, to supply LED downlights to the European market.

In the IFA 2008, many manufacturers introduced LED TVs to show their capability of combining LED and TV technology.SamsungFor example, Samsung introduced the A950 series, which supports Full HD(1920*1080) with screens made 46 or 55 inches, and adopts LED back light, which can control the brightness more efficiently.Sony

Why use LED backlight？A few days ago in the IFA 2008 hosted in Berlin，many of the branded TV manufacturers introduced LED-backlighted TVs(LED TV)，aimed at the top layer of customers. Some leading manufacturers such as Sony and Samsung already introduced LED TV in 2006，but with the costs of LED have decreased and the LED technology has progressed rapidly, LED TV has moved toward a real product rather than just a demonstration of technology.

Recently, at Rubicon Technology’s 2Q08 earnings conference call with industry analysts, the company's president and CEO discussed the future of the LED market. 

It's reported that semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendor Aixtron has achieved double-digit revenue growth in its Q2, despite currency and macro-economic headwind,

It's reported Osram is claiming a record for luminous flux and efficacy from an LED driven at 350 mA. It says that its development engineers have achieved new records for the brightness and efficiency of white LEDs in the laboratory. Under standard conditions with an operating current of 350 mA, brightness peaked at a value of 155 lm, and efficacy at 136 lm/W. White prototype LEDs with 1 mm2 chips were used. The light produced had a color temperature of 5000 K, with color (x,y) coordinates at (0.349, 0.393).

The new OSTAR® Projection SMT LED from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is more compact and efficient than ever before and is designed for integration into ultra-miniature pico projection applications where space is at a premium. This compact LED module measures just 5.8 x 4.7 x 1.5 mm and, in contrast to its predecessor, does not require additional connectors on board for electrical interface. Thanks to SMT (surface mount technology), this new version of the OSTAR® Projection LED is now suitable for standard soldering processes.

BIXBY, MAY 29: The use of LED lights for signage in Bixby are clearly going to be allowed without condition according to a decision made by the council Tuesday night, May 27, at a Bixby city council meeting. City Planner, Erik Enyart, had brought a proposal to the council earlier at which time the mayor said there should be no limiting of the lights when the city wants businesses to be welcomed. Enyart had to return to the council, however, because a change had to be made in the current ordinance to allow for the LED lights.

All the properties that light sources need for backlighting medium-sized LCDs (5 to 20”)are combined in OSRAM’s new high-power Ceramos Reflector LED in its tiny package.Developed for injecting light into a light guide, it offers high brightness and impressiveefficiency. The LED also withstands temperatures as high as 150°C and is extremelydurable with a life of up to 50,000 hours.