Acuity Brands reported that it has entered into strategic agreements with Violet Defense and Puro Lighting. These strategic agreements will give Acuity Brands access to Violet Defense’s patented UV technology to expand its portfolio of UV disinfection products. PURO and Acuity Brands will also work together on the development of a next generation of UV lighting products. (Image: Pixabay) The products from Violet Defense and PURO employ a method pioneered by Violet Defense to deliver high intensity full spectrum ultraviolet light, using a pulsed x...

Axus Technology, a provider of CMP, wafer thinning and wafer polishing surface-processing solutions for semiconductor applications, announced the collaboration with Compound Photonics (CP, also known as CP Display), a microdisplay solutions developer for AR/MR. The two parties will work to accelerate sub 5 µm pixel Micro LED development to the mass market. (Image: Compound Photonics) Axus and CP are partnering to integrate critical wafer-scale processes needed for mass-production scale up of CP’s 2 µm pixel, 1080p Micro LED displays fo...

JBD reported that it will release its JBD4UM480P Micro LED display series extending the AmµLED™ family in November this year. This series has a display area of 0.13-inch (3.3 mm) in diagonal and a resolution of 640X480. Approaching the size of a grain of rice (Figure 1), the display panel can be easily designed into a smart glass due to its ultra-compact footprint. The panels deliver luminance of 0.2 million nits, 2 million nits, and 0.15 million nits for red, green, and blue, respectively for a power consumption of only a few hundred mW under average oper...

Company closes first of 3 tranches in Series D round. Backing will be used to complete product development near Grenoble and create a new display manufacturing facility based on Aledia’s proprietary technology of 3D microLEDs. Aledia, a French startup that is pioneering a disruptive technology for microLED displays, has closed an €80M first tranche of its €120M D-round financing. The company will use the proceeds to complete its product development and create the first-of-its-kind, high-volume 3D microLED manufacturing facility in the Grenoble are...

Velodyne Lidar announced on September 29 that it has completed the business combination with Graf Industrial. The LiDAR producer reported in July this year that it will go public through the combination. The two companies have closed the combination and Velodyne has became a wholly owned subsidiary of Graf which changed its name to Velodyne Lidar. Beginning on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, the common stock and warrants of Velodyne Lidar, Inc., the post-combination company, is being listed and to begin trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticke...

Following its announcement last week, Xiaomi launched two 82-inch TVs with Mini LED backlight technology featuring 8K and 4K resolution. The 8K one priced RMB 49999 and the 4K is RMB 9999. Both product will be released on October 21, 2020. (Image: Xiaomi) LEDinside learned that Xiaomi’s Mini LED TVs adopt the backlight solution based on a sprinkle of Mini LED components sized 1616. The 8K TV used 15,360 units of Mini LEDs to achieve 960 local dimming zones. Each of the dimming zone can deliver 4096 grayscales to realize a high contrac...

Sharp is going to spin off its display business, setting up a new subsidiary named “Sharp Display Technology” (SDTC) on October 1, 2020, reported The Sankei News. The new spinoff will focus on novel display technology particularly Micro LED. (Image: LEDinside) By establishing SDTC, Sharp plan to collect more external funds for Micro LED development, which will support the company to join the competition of next-gen display technology that currently ruled by Sony, Samsung and other competitors. It was revealed in August that Sharp has buil...

Airplane manufacturer Boeing announced that it has entered into a patent and technology license with Healthe. Based on the collaboration, Healthe will produce an UV wand designed by Boeing to sanitize airplane interiors. "The UV wand is designed to be more effective than similar devices. It quickly disinfects surfaces on an airplane and further strengthens other layers of protection for passengers and crew," said Mike Delaney, who leads Boeing's CTI efforts. "Boeing spent six months transforming an idea for the wand into a working model, and Healthe ...

Toyoda Gosei, who announced the development of deep UV LED disinfecting module, recently confirmed the effectiveness of its product in SARS-CoV-2 inactivation. The company also reported that the UV LED module will adopted in water purification unit launching in November 2020. Toyoda Gosei has conducted a viral inactivation experiment in which the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was irradiated using its deep UV LED technology. The experiment was conducted jointly with the Biomedical Science Association, a certified NPO, and showed these deep UV LE...

Samsung announced that it will stick to its play to produce QD display panel next year as the Korean giant has quit LCD business. Meanwhile, BOE, the Chinese panel maker, announced its plan to take over shares of CEC Panda’s facilities to expand its capacity of large size display. (Image: Samsung) As the capacity of Chinese display manufacturers continues to expand, competitors from other countries have been searching for new approaches to drive their own business. Samsung, who once took a lead in the industry, decided to cut its LCD production and has sol...

Analog Devices announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft to leverage Microsoft’s 3D time-of-flight (ToF) sensor technology, allowing customers to easily create 3D applications that bring higher degrees of depth accuracy and work regardless of the environmental conditions in the scene. ADI’s technical expertise will build upon Microsoft Azure Kinect technology to deliver leading ToF solutions to a much broader audience in areas such as Industry 4.0, automotive, gaming, augmented reality, computational photography and videography. Currently, the indu...

Hydromea, a spinoff of École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), has developed a miniature optical modem that can operate down to 6,000 meters below the ocean’s surface. It is sensitive enough to collect data at very high speeds from sources more than 50 meters away. Radio wave can hardly work underwater as they are easily absorbed by water. So wireless internet connection underwater is nearly impossible. But it would be another story if the connection is based on light. Hydromea is using light to transmit data below the ocean or lake surfac...

Xiaomi announced that it is going to officially launch its Xiaomi TVs in China on September 28. The new TV products under the Mi TV Master series will feature 8K resolution and 5G connection based on panel using Mini LED backlight display technology. (Image: Xiaomi) Xiaomi has been expanding its high-end TV portfolio with the launch of its transparent TV series based on OLED technology announced in August and the latest update of Mini LED backlit TVs. Other than 8K, 5G and Mini LED technology, the Chinese company has yet revealed details ...

ON Semiconductor announced that SUBARU has selected its image sensing technology to enable camera-based ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) in the car manufacturer's new-generation EyeSight Driver Assist platform. The Levorg, a 2020 All-Wheel Drive Sports Tourer, is the first model to offer the new system. As with previous versions of EyeSight, ON Semiconductor's image sensing technology acts as the ‘eyes’ to enable this important safety functionality. The new-generation Eyesight, recently announced in the Japan market, provid...

Osram announced the plan to realign its partnership with Continental and return their joint venture business to the parent company. The information was released soon after Osram reported its transfer progress with ams, indicating that the company is speeding up transformation within the organization. Osram and Continental will negotiate on separating of the business in smart automotive lighting systems and returning it to the respective companies. The German companies noted that the decision was made in response to the gloomy market environment, which is being further impacted b...

The deal of Austria sensor company buying Osram is moving one more step forward as Osram announced that it has agreed with ams on the conclusion of a domination and profit and loss transfer agreement. In this regard, the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board of Osram adopted resolutions to sign the agreement with ams Offer GmbH and to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting for November 3, 2020 in which, inter alia, a resolution is to be tabled to approve Osram’s entry into the agreement. Base on the agreement, minority shareholders of Osram will receive an...

GE Current announced its disinfecting lighting product based on the latest patent pending technology. These solutions represent a first line of defense that fights a broad spectrum of germs including the SARS-CoV-2 virus around the clock. GE Current’s 365DisInFx™ technology leverages a business’ existing lighting infrastructure to deliver germicidal UV light in places where people gather. The technology implement UVA LED and demonstrated a 99.7% disinfecting rate of common pathogens on surfaces over an eight-hour period at 3 W/m2 with in-vitro t...

As LG officially released its Micro LED display, Samsung’s The Wall is also moving a step forward by breaking into the commercial display market in Japan. BusinessKorea reported that Japan’s largest display solution company NGC is offering Samsung’s The Wall series to its customers such as NHK and TV Asahi. (Image: Samsung) For the Korean company, it is a great achievement to penetrate the Japanese market as it had been a rather close environment favoring domestic suppliers. However, since other Japanese competitors like NEC and Sh...

Vertical farming startup InFarm announced that it has raised US$170 million in the first close of a Series C funding round expected to reach $200 million. Led by LGT Lightstone, the first round included participation by investors Hanaco, Bonnier, Haniel, and Latitude, and was supported by existing Infarm investors Atomico, TriplePoint Capital, Mons Capital and Astanor Ventures. With a mix of equity and debt financing, the fresh capital infusion brings Infarm's total funding to date to more than $300 million, underscoring consumer and retailer appetite for I...

It was reported today on September 21 that Chinese LED chip manufacturer Sanan Optoelectronics has progressed faster than expected with its Mini LED chip development and might begin to supply its product to Apple’s iPad Pro and MacBook in 2021. If Sanan joins the supply chain with lower price, the business of Epistar, the Taiwan-based LED supplier who is reportedly the major Mini LED chip supplier of Apple, may be impacted. However, TrendForce said that Sanan has yet made its way into the Apple supply chain and the low price may not be the first priori...

Taiwan based LED companies Epistar and Lextar announced that the share conversion date of their new holding company ENNOSTAR will be delayed. The two companies originally set the date on October 20, 2020 to convert shares of both company and list ENNOSTAR. But since the case has yet pass the review procedure of the Chinese antitrust authorities, the share conversion date is now rescheduled to January 6, 2021. (Image: Pixabay) Epistar and Lextar announced that they are establishing a new holding company through share swapping with the aim to integrate reso...

LightingEurope is promoting the benefits of UVC disinfection and advocating the integration of the technologies in the EU Renovation Wave. Aiming to stimulate market demand and fair market access in Europe, LightingEurope also calls for including UVC technologies in to the application and enforcement of existing safety rules and standards. “Our challenge is to switch regulator’s perception of UV-C beyond special applications to mass market solutions for buildings and transport, where the concentration of human activity raises the risk of contamination,&rdqu...

With applications featuring Mini LED display technology about to enter the market, the industry seems to hold a more optimistic view towards Micro LED. Two Micro LED technology builders unveiled their plans to set up new Micro LED production lines this week, including Taiwanese company PlayNitride and French Aledia. (Image: LEDinside) PlayNitride is going to commence construction of its second Micro LED chip production line with its secured funds of US$50 million. The production is scheduled to be completed and begin mass production by mid-2021, boos...

Facebook announced its partnership with Ray-Ban glasses EssilorLuxottica, to develop smart glasses. They plan to launch the Ray-Ban branded product by 2021. The glasses will not be an AR device yet, according to the report of The Verge, but are moving one step toward to the goal. (Image: Facebook) Facebook said further details about the smart glasses will be revealed when it gets closer to the launch time in 2021. But since they will not include integrated display with AR or VR function. So the new products may not be the results of its collaboration with Plessey...

Osram raised its business guidance for fiscal year 2020 since the company said it has seen strong recovery in summer, particularly in August. In the past few seasons, the German company has revised its business guidance several times, mostly revised the numbers down. However, this time the company is raising up its expectation. The Managing Board of Osram now expects a comparable revenue decline of approximately -14%, comparing to previous number of -15% to -19%. The adjusted EBITDA margin is now approximately 8%, which the company set at 3% to 6% previously. Osram also...

Energy Focus announced that it has been awarded a new indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (“IDIQ”) contract to supply lighting products to the U.S. Navy. The contract is worth up to US$4.8 million. This five-year IDIQ contract calls for Energy Focus to exclusively supply its LED lighting products designed for demanding exterior shipboard use. These lights use approximately 80% less energy than legacy incandescent counterparts, while meeting the required illumination levels for general illumination, combat, and refueling operations on most surface ...

French company Aledia who focuses on 3D LED technology announced that it will invest EUR 140 million (US$ 165.82 million) to set up GaN-on-Si Micro LED production line. The production line will be set up in Champagnier, France and the company plans to begin Micro LED production by 2022 with the new site. By the end of 2019, Aledia began to collaborate with TowerJazz to accelerate Micro LED production based on Aledia’s nanowire-LED display technology and TowerJazz’ Transfer Optimization and Development Process Services (TOPS). Al...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent won by Apple describing displays based on Micro LED technology for its future products, reported Patently Apple. Apple’s plan of adopting advanced display technologies including Micro LED and Mini LED for its new products is no news for the market. The company has been dedicating to drive the progress of these cutting-edge display fabrication methods and has won several related patents. The latest one published elaborates displays that incorporate timing controller to deliver different display areas over...

Stanley announced that it has confirmed high effectiveness of virus inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by using its 265nm UVC LED, following a testing result in collaboration with Yamaguchi University. The company also reported its establishment of an integrated production system for UVC LED. Stanley and professors at Laboratory of Veterinary Microbiology, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, jointly tested the UVC LED of Stanley on deactivating SARS-CoV-2 virus. They put 10 ml of virus solution (5 x 10⁵ PFU/mL) in dishes a...

Nixon Peabody announced a major expansion of its groundbreaking patent enforcement campaign on behalf of the Regents of UCSB with new litigation against six leading retailers and suppliers of filament LED lighting products. Building on a successful first phase of the campaign, which was launched in 2019, Nixon Peabody filed a new complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking an investigation into the unauthorized importation and sale after importation of UC’s patented filament LED lighting technology by General Electric, Savant Sy...