With the unchanging trend of falling LED prices, chip manufacturers are constantly improving LED chip production process and technologies to lower costs. Semiconductor equipment company GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) has developed Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxial (HVPE) system that can replace nGaN and uGaN growth process in MOCVD. In the future, LED chip manufacturers can add HVPE systems to speed up epitaxy growth rates. Compared to adding MOCVD to expand production capacity, using HVPE system can increase production capacity and help LED chip manufacturers cut up to 25 percent of costs.

In the latest development of Foshan Electrical and Lighting Co., Ltd. (Foshan Lighting) investor lawsuit, the company has contested jurisdiction causing a six months postponement of the court hearing. In late Sept. this year, 515 investors filed compensation lawsuits against the company due to misrepresentation of company finances. The case’s first court hearing was scheduled for Oct. 22, 2013 at Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court, China.

For the past three years, Seoul Semiconductor’s main product had been the mid-powered 5630. However, the company has recently turned its attention towards 3030 LED in 2013, to compete with Nichia’s better price/performance (P/P) 767 series on the market, said Scarphen Sun, Principal Engineer for Korean LED package manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor at the company’s LED Lighting Application Seminar on October 22nd.

Cree, Inc., a market leader in LED lighting, today announced revenue of US$ 391.0 million for its first quarter of fiscal 2014, ended September 29, 2013. This represents a 24% increase compared to revenue of US$ 315.8 million reported for the first quarter of fiscal 2013, and a 4% increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. GAAP net income for the first quarter was $30.5 million, or US$ 0.25 per diluted share, an increase of 89% year-over-year compared to GAAP net income of US$ 16.1 million, or US$ 0.14 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2013. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 was US$ 47.3 million, or US$ 0.39 per diluted share, an increase of 49% year-over-year compared to non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 of US$ 31.8 million, or US$ 0.27 per diluted share.

As we expand our product portfolio with new hardware and software offerings, I thought I’d tell you more about one in particular — LightRules Power. This new addition to the LightRules family allows our customers to monitor real-time energy usage and cost for other systems and circuits within their facilities.

When asked about his views for the LED industry in the next few years, B.J. Lee Epistar chairman said during an interview at LEDforum 2013 that he expects to see steady revenue growth for the company and the continual restructure of the LED industry.

Changhong displayed China's first curved LED TV at their digital home booth themed "where imagination takes flight" at the High-Tech & Science Expo that took place in Sichuan, China on October 15, 2013.

Philips reports third-quarter comparable sales growth of 3% to EUR 5.6 billion (US$ 7.65 billion); operational results improve by 33% to EUR 634 million. Comparable sales in growth geographies up 10% EBITA increased to EUR 562 million, or 10.0% of sales, compared to 6.3% in Q3 2012 EBITA excluding restructuring and other charges increased to EUR 634 million, or 11.3% of sales Net income increased to EUR 281 million, compared to EUR 105 million in Q3 2012 Free cash flow amounted to EUR 117 million New EUR 1.5 billion share bu...

Fairchild Semiconductor, a leading global supplier of power semiconductors, announced that it will voluntarily transfer its stock exchange listing from The New York Stock Exchange to the NASDAQ Global Select Market on October 31, 2013. The company's stock will continue to trade under the symbol "FCS". This transfer will be seamless to Fairchild investors.

 “Extremely encouraging” is how National Lighting Bureau Executive Director John Bachner characterized 2Q13 performance of the NEMA Lighting Systems Index (LSI), which posted its strongest showing since the 3Q08. “The quarter-to-quarter (QOQ) increase was 2.4 percent; not earth-shattering, to be sure, but it was the third consecutive quarterly increase, and represents an almost-5 percent increase in lighting-equipment shipments on a year-over-year (YOY) basis.

North American lighting leader OSRAM SYLVANIA has joined with Lowe's to debut the ULTRA SE™ LED Family of reflector bulbs with sunset effects, incandescent-like dimming available in stores. Available in R20, BR30 and BR40 types, SYLVANIA ULTRA SE LED bulbs combine energy-efficiency with new technology for the flexibility of customizing mood and ambience in any setting.

Harvard Engineering development and manufacture of LED drivers and control products for the lighting industry, has received blanket UL safety approval for any LED light engine.

Bridgelux today announced the company has been named in the annual San Francisco Business Times100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area list. The San Francisco Business Times recognizes private companies, and their entrepreneurs, from a broad range of market segments that share a common willingness to take risks and embrace innovation but are also driven to come out on top. Ranked 17 on the list, Bridgelux was selected because of the company’s rapid growth since its founding in 2002. Honorees were celebrated on October 24 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

Bulbs.com, one of the largest online distributors of replacement lighting, has launched a new pricing strategy on select LED (Light-Emitting Diode) light bulbs.  This will make energy efficient lighting even more accessible for its customers. Bulbs.com has collaborated closely with several key manufacturers to reduce the price on a selection of its most popular LEDs. The price reduction will help decrease the upfront cost of switching to energy efficient LED lighting.

Ledzworld announced today that the company recently secured an order for hundreds of thousands of lamps from a major European ODM customer.

Conventional lighting fixture industry was not as changeable as it is now. Steve Chiu, a 22-year-experienced lamp producer and General Manager of Davinci Lighting, shared his insights and opinions on lighting fixture industry on LEDforum 2013 Taipei.

The increased demand for sapphire substrates in non LED applications including for smartphone camera lens caps plus home button covers, the supply and demand situation has had a turnaround.

4K UHD TVs are unquestionably a market highlight this year. QD Vision and Sony have joined forces to work on QD technology to reach higher color rendering and a wider color spectrum by using high pressure technology to seal quantum dot and phosphor into glass tubes, paired with blue LED chips. Aside from Sony, the company is also discussing cooperation opportunities with other panel manufacturers, said John Ho, Advanced Development Manager, QD Vision.

Chinese scientist might have just opened doors for a technology revolution by claiming to have successfully connected four computers to the internet through the use of a one-watt LED bulb, according to a report by Xinhua News.

Just months after its market introduction, Philips Lumileds announces its LUXEON CoB arrays now provide +10% greater performance, extending their lead as the most efficient LED arrays on the market today. 

Georgia Power announced today the newest addition to its portfolio of energy efficiency programs – instant savings of 20-50 percent on ENERGY STAR® Certified LEDs at participating The Home Depot stores throughout the state. Georgia Power customers will receive immediate savings at the register with no coupons or mail-in rebates necessary. The promotion is valid through November 30, 2013, while supplies last. 

Fotodiox (//www.fotodioxpro.com), a manufacturer and distributor of high-quality photography and videography accessories, has announced the availability of its next generation LED light panels; the Fotodiox LED-312D, LED-312DS, and LED-1024AL. The new LED lights are compact and powerful, while remaining lightweight – perfect for both studio and location shooting. Fotodiox's LED panels generate little heat, use little power, and now the reduced bulk of these newest lights maximize portability and mounting possibilities to capture the perfect shot.

Top LED manufacturers including Philips, Osram Opto, Monocrystal, Cree and GT Advanced Technologies, shared insights of strategies and new technologies companies have developed to cope with costs and pricing competitions at LEDforum Taipei 2013 in Taiwan this week.Rivals Samsung and LG continue their race in OLED smartphones this week, while Genesis slips into Japan’s mobile phone supply chain. In addition, Cree has signed a remote phosphor patent agreement with Chinese LED manufacturer NNCrystal. Furthermore, rumors of U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is rumored to inject US$ 15.50 million into semiconductor and chip R&D might bring back a gleam of hope to the LED industry. Other hot news this week as following:

China based LED package company MLS Lighting 2013 performance for packaging components and lighting products was good. The company expects to reach the target of RMB 3 billion (US$ 492 million) for 2013. MLS is actively pursuing discussions for cooperation between U.S. market dealers and channels.

Ledionopto Lighting is proud to announce that the 17W AR111 Module and Lighting Series has won the Good Design 2013 , as well as it had got Golden Pin Award in this September.

The 3Q performance for the new Harvetek Hsinchu factory profits were driven up due to rising utilization rates, said the company Chairman Billy Wang. The company expects 3Q results to make a turn for the better and ultimately affect 2013 annual performance. Taiwan LED packaging manufacturer Harvatek chairman Billy Wang attended LEDforum Taipei 2013 conference held by global market intelligence provider Trendforce Corporation.

Philips’ LED-based lighting will enable electricity savings of over 50% for the city. The replacement process has already started: new LED lighting from Philips will enable a safer, more sustainable and energy-efficient city.

Hubbell Lighting announced today that 10 of its products have been recognized by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Progress Committee as providing important advancements in the science of light. The accepted products are part of the IES Progress Report 2013, which presents significant developments and improvements in the lighting industry over the past year.  The company has received an outstanding 30 IES Progress report selections over the past two years.

Using LED light sources as a medium for light therapy devices can stimulate the human body’s metabolism rate and greatly reduce medical risks associated to conventional light therapy, such as laser and intense pulse light, said Simon Gau, President of Liverage Biomedical during LEDforum Taipei 2013. Gau was a guest speaker at the forum organized by LEDinside, which runs from Oct. 16-17 at Evergreen International Convention Center in Taipei, Taiwan.

Pricing trends have improved in the Chinese LED industry, compared to the same period last year, said San’an Optoelectronics Fujian Province Vice President Simon Lin at LEDforum Taipei 2013. San’an Opto electronics 4Q13 revenue performance is kept at a growth rate of five to eight percent. With most equipment reaching full production capacity, the company is planning to add 100 MOCVD equipment in 2014.