Sharp has developed a new series of high-power LED modules. The six new models of the 'MiniZeni' series, which is the young daughter of the Zenigata series, represent yet another addition to the Sharp LED portfolio. The future-orientated product variants are characterised by four special features: they have compact outer dimensions and are extremely flat, economical and bright.

On February 26, 2010, Sharp Corp will release four types of LED light bulbs in Japan. They are two types of E17 small-size bulbs and two types of E26 spherical bulbs and come in two colors (daylight and incandescent colors). The size of the power supply unit was reduced by using the company's original LED device.

Hitachi Cable, Ltd. has announced the development of a high-power red LED chip*1 offering a maximum luminous flux of 55 lumens*2,*3. This luminous flux was enabled by increasing the size of the LED chip and use of a fine line electrode structure.

Revolutionary four primary color technology enables more than one trillion colors Three UltraBrilliant Edge-lit AQUOS LED LCD TV Series with sizes ranging from 40- (40" diagonal) to an industry-first 68-inch (68 1/32" diagonal) screen class Newly developed dramatic, contemporary design sets the standard Flagship LE920 Series offers AquoMotion 240 for clearer fast-moving video AQUOS Net™ adds streaming video for enhanced home theater enjoyment

Toyoda Gosei Co Ltd. and Sharp Corp have entered into a cross-licensing agreement, which granted each other the right to use inventions related to nitride-based LEDs and laser diodes covered by patents owned by the respective companies in Japan and in other countries.

Currently, new LED markets such as for LED light bulbs, which are replacing incandescent lamps, and the backlight units of notebook PCs and LCD TVs are rapidly expanding. Recently, Sharp Corp has announced that it released two types of white LEDs (nine products) for lighting equipment. One of the two types is an LED used in the backlight units of Sharp's LCD TVs.

Recently, BenQ has announced a couple of 16:9 LCD monitors that feature LED backlighting, the 21.5-inch V2210 and the 24-inch V2410 in Japan. Both new displays have a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 5ms response time, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 250 cd/m2 brightness, the Senseye image enhancement technology, plus DVI and HDMI outputs. BenQ has not yet reveal any prices but said that the V2210 will hit (Japanese) stores on December 25th, and the V2410 will follow on the 30th.

Both Idemitsu Kotsan and Sumitomo executives in an article of the Financial Times, point out that "2012 will be the year when OLEDs hits the big times".

Mitsubishi Electric announces that it will reveal LED option for its Seventy Series range of cube displays at ISE 2010. The new LED cube engine is fully compatible with the existing Seventy Series cube chassis and hardware, offering users an easy upgrade path from conventional to solid-state lighting.

Luminus Devices Inc., developer and manufacturer of award-winning PhlatLight(R) LEDs, Thursday announced a partnership with Marubun Corporation, to distribute its award-winning, large-chip, PhlatLight LEDs to electronics companies in Japan selling projector systems in the home and commercial market.

At the Lighting Japan Special Seminar taking place on December 2 in Taipei, Mr. Sumio Shimode, Chairman of Planning & General Committee of Japan LED Association, pointed out that Japan’s CO2 emission was aimed to be reduced by 20% in the first phase (2008-2012) according to the Kyoto Protocol. However, the emission slightly rose by about 1.9% in 2008. As a result, saving energy and reducing carbon emission has been one of the policies most aggressively promoted by the government.

KLA-Tencor Corporation, a supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related industries, introduced the next addition to its wafer inspection portfolio, the ICOS(R) WI-2250. According to the company, the ICOS WI-2250 offers a dramatic improvement in inspection speed, compared to currently available products, allowing manufacturers to transition to larger LED and MEMS wafer sizes.

Philips Electronics Japan announced that the company will sponsor the “Stardust Illumination” lighting event, which starts Dec.1 at the Yokohama Marine Tower (Yokohama City, Kanagawa prefecture).

NEC Display announced Tuesday its first ever LED-backlit desktop monitor for business, education, government and healthcare markets, the 22-inch MultiSync® EA222WMe.

Infineon Technologies AG introduced the new BCR320 and BCR420 LED driver families to address the burgeoning market for LED lighting solutions. According to the company, the new products are specifically designed for driving 0.5W LEDs with a typical current of 150mA to 200mA, and feature a negative thermal coefficient contributing to a long lifetime of LEDs and a digital interface for a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal for dimming.

OKI Digital Imaging Corporation, a subsidiary of OKI Data Corporation, a subsidiary that develops, manufactures, and markets LEDs, today announced it has succeeded in developing a 1.1 inch QVGA LED display while reducing power consumption to one-tenth that of conventional LCDs.

Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. has been developing organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting as one of its promising new businesses in the field of energy and environment. The company recently announced a construction of a new roll-to-roll pilot coating line to manufacture OLED lighting within its Hino facility in Tokyo. The pilot line is dedicated to establish production technology toward mass-production and to sell the product on the limited basis.

AIXTRON AG announced that a further AIX 200/4 RF-S MOCVD system has been installed and successfully started operation at Tokuyama R&D center in Tsukuba, Japan. The reactor has already been shipped in the fourth quarter of 2008 and is being used by Tokuyama for the development of AlGaN-based ultra-violet light emitting diodes (UV-LEDs).

Nichia Corporation recently announced that it filed a lawsuit against Shenzhen Jiawei Industries Co. Ltd., a Chinese corporation, Jiawei Technology (HK) Ltd., a Hong Kong corporation, and Jiawei North America Inc., a Canadian corporation, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging the defendants infringe patents held by Nichia. In the lawsuit Nichia seeks an injunction and damages against the alleged infringement.

Rohm Co Ltd introduced its new E26 LED light bulb prototypes at Green Device 2009 held from Oct 28 to 30 in Japan.

Recently, Japan’s PanaHome Corp and Panasonic Electric Works Co Ltd demonstrated a model house that use LEDs as the major lighting source in Tokyo.

Kyocera Corporation today announced that with the development of its new SLH-Series LED printhead it has achieved the world's fastest electrophotographic printing at 180m/min in 1200dpi high-resolution.

Sharp Corporation will introduce into the Japanese market four models (60V-inch, 52V-inch, 46V-inch, and 40V-inch*1) of the LX Series “LED AQUOS” LCD TVs from November 10, 2009. Coming on the verge of 2010, the tenth anniversary of the first AQUOS LCD TVs, this series employs a newly developed LCD panel and an LED backlight.

Mitsubishi Electric announced that Guinness World Records has acknowledged its awesome Diamond Vision video board installation in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium as the World’s Largest High-Definition Video Display. The official certificate presentation took place during a pre-game ceremony on September 28th, just prior to the Cowboys vs. Carolina Panthers Monday Night Football game.

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. announced that it has developed new silicone products used for high brightness LEDs. The new SWC Series is advanced silicone reflectors designed to greatly improve the brightness performance of LEDs. The new LPS-AF Series is protective film materials that are transparent and possess high heat resistance. These new materials will be used to improve the performance of high-brightness LEDs that are used for lighting products and for backlighting units in LCD TVs.

Linear Technology announces the LT3519, a 45V, high side current sense DC/DC converter designed to drive high current LEDs. The LT3519’s 3V to 40V input voltage range makes it ideal for applications such as automotive and industrial lighting. The combination of an internal 45V, 750mA switch, Schottky diode and internal compensation provides a highly compact LED driver solution.

East Japan Railway Co. will install blue LED lighting along Tokyo's Yamanote Line, in hope that the emotionally calming effect of blue light could make suicidal people think twice about jumping in front of trains, according to asahi.com. The lights will be installed at all 29 stations on the loop line by the end of October, a JR East official said.

As all incandescent bulbs will be banned by the end of 2012 in Japan, and the Energy Act Amendment will go into effect in the first quarter of 2010, many public places in Japan are likely to gradually switch to LED lighting.

Wataru Ito, a student at the Tokyo University of Arts, spent four years creating “Castle on the Sea,” a one-of-a-kind origami cityscape made of Kent paper. The 2.4 m x 1.8 m model, constructed using only a knife, glue and a hole punch, debuted on April 30th and won top prize at the University’s Grand Prix of Art Festival. The exquisite artwork is meticulously illuminated using Martin Professional LED and fiber optic lighting sources.

Aixtron AG announced today that Mitsubishi Chemicals headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, has ordered one AIX 2800G4 HT Planetary Reactor® system in the third quarter of 2009. The MOCVD tool is to be delivered in the 42x2 inch wafer configuration and will be used for the production of InGaN-based white UHB LEDs.