It’s forecasted that all the patents related to LED issued since 1990 will expire from 2010 in succession. The former patent structure will have to be adjusted by then, which may lead to reforming LED market. Take Japan for example, which ranks No.1 in LED industry. Nichia had been issued 74 patents from 1991 to 2001, covering LED fabrication, epitaxial wafer, chip manufacturing, chip packaging, processing technology and raw materials such as phosphors, etc. By means of its patents, Nichia monopolized the LED market before the year of 2002 and enjoyed high gross margin.

When it comes to LED lights, many people focus on lumens and pay less attention to cooling.  In fact, LED lumens are increasing rapidly.  In 2006, lumens per watt in mass production reached 50 and it is still going up fast.  Heat transfer theory has matured, its channels are clear: conduction, convection, radiation and phase change (such as heat pipes).

With the improvement of material and spiritual life, people nowadays have more demands to lighting. It is no longer just about lighting. Besides energy-saving, more and more people are using lights to create a harmonious, homey and comfortable environment. 

Unlike conventional incandescent lamps which need to convert the electricity into thermal energy first and then to light, LED illumination is achieved when a semiconductor crystal is activated so that it directly produces visible light in a desired wavelength range. With the continuous development of lighting technologies, more possible future applications of LEDs will be seen. Advantages and disadvantages of using LEDs are to be discussed as follows. Advantages of LEDs 1. Long Lifespan