In 3Q10, AUO was the only profitable panel maker in Taiwan due to its leading shipments of LED-backlit TVs, in which LED-backlit TV panels accounted for 30% of its total TV panels. But look into 4Q, the company was expected to slow down result from vendors adjust LED-backlit TV shipment goals due to high product prices.

Recently, a leader of Epistar noted, LED-backlit TV market penetration would reach 40% in 2011 from 20% in 2010, and Epistar planed to ramp up capacity by 30% in 2011 after already raising its capacity by 30-40% in 2010. The leader pointed out that because of upstream material shortage, seasonal impacts, downstream LED TV customers adjusting inventory and in the process of transferring to newer models, 4Q10 may become a difficult time for LED backlight companies.

WPG was expected its revenues would reach NT$10 billion (US$328.08 million) from sales of silicon wafers and LED products at least. The company planed to sell LED lighting products for Osram and Cree. Similarly, Wahlee Industrial’s solar-grade polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) wafers was expected to contribute NT$900 million to NT$1 billion to the company's total revenues in 2010, and the amount is likely to double in 2011.

Powerful, efficient and surface mountable

USHIO America, a wholly owned subsidiary of USHIO Inc, has kicked off marketing the world's first 6-inch full-field projection exposure system for manufacturing LED chips in the US. USHIO developed its new exposure system — model UX4-LEDs —that allows full-field exposure of 6-inch wafers while preventing wafer warpage or distortion, achieving a throughput enhancement of 300% compared with conventional stepper systems.

An impressive OLED installation by the lighting planners of ‘LichtKunstLicht’ is the main attraction on the OSRAM stand at the Light + Building show in Frankfurt from 11 to 16 April 2010. Design objects and luminaires use actual examples to show the range of wafer thin light sources with various colors and shapes.

Nichia has rolled out new high power point source white LEDs , code named under Nichia part number “NVSx219A”, or “Nichia 219“.It suits for interior and exterior general illumination applications.

To celebrate an energy-conscious Christmas, St. Lawrence, the city of Toronto is offering one free set of frugal LED lights to exchange two sets of incandescent lights on Nov. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. According to a press release from Jorge Carvalho, supervisor of St. Lawrence Market complex, they hope 2010 will be a record-breaking year for this great event and encourage all residents to participate and help support a greener community.

Silicon Valley based LED manufacturer Lunera® Lighting, has partnered with Armstrong® Ceiling and Wall Systems to provide the 5400 Series, an edge-lit LED lighting fixture compatible with Armstrong's TechZone Ceiling Systems.   Lunera's 5400 Series of digital LED fixtures combined with the Armstrong TechZone Ceiling System creates a clean, linear visual appearance that greatly enhances the aesthetics of a room.

Fusion Optix, a leading developer of solutions for advanced lighting markets, announced  that it has formed a partnership with WNI, a private company in South Korea, to distribute its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other customers in South Korea. The agreement covers WNI distributing all Fusion Optix optical components and materials which are designed for use in applications such as general illumination, LED and solid state lighting, LCD backlighting, solar energy and daylighting.

Global brand refresh also entails new product organization, new tagline and a new logo Lumex, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-efficiency, state-of-the-art optoelectronic components, devices and displays, has launched a resource-packed new website as part of a global brand refresh that also involved a reorganization of the company’s product lines and brand imaging.

Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announces the commercial availability of new levels of performance for XLamp® XP-E & XP-C Color LEDs. XLamp XP-E Color LEDs are now available delivering minimum light output of 500 mW for Royal Blue, 39.8 lumens for Blue, 107 lumens for Green, 73.9 lumens for Red-Orange, and 62.0 lumens for Red, all at 350 mA.

LED lighting manufacturer Seesmart, Inc. of Simi Valley, CA has teamed up with control systems manufacturer Lagotek Corporation of Bellevue, WA to deliver maximum energy efficiency to commercial customers. Under the cooperation, Seesmart’s full line of LED lighting products can now be controlled to include zoning and dimming capabilities and programmable events.

Dow Electronic Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company has begun to set up a new metalorganic precursor manufacturing plant in Cheonan, Korea, as a part of a multi-phase plan announced in June 2010 to expand TrimethylGallium (TMG) production capacity to meet the surging global demand for the material in the LED and related electronics markets. It is expected to be operational in early 2011.And benefiting from the multi-phase plan, total additional capacity is expected to be 60 metric tons per year.

PPL Electric Utilities and Allentown, Pennsylvania were partnering on the project，which were to install LED-based street lights in a 53-fixture retrofit ,in order to save enough electricity to power 1.5 to 2.5 homes. General Electric (GE) Lighting Systems and Cooper Lighting would supply LED lights for the project trial.

LCD TV maker Amtran Technology posted 3Q revenue of NT$15.27 billion, up 6% quarter-over-quarter and 5% year-over-year, with EPS of NT$0.63. Operating profit stood at NT$0.438 billion, with the operating margin of 2.87%. Net profit stood at NT$0.49 billion, with EPS of NT$0.63. Gross profit arrived at NT$2.049 billion, with the gross margin of 13.42%. In the first three quarters, accumulated revenues totaled NT$42.863 billion, and net profit reached NT$1.356 billion, with EPS of NT$1.77.

AIXTRON AG announced a new order for MOCVD reactors from Semi Materials Co. Ltd., a company engaged in the development of photovoltaic energy technologies. The order comprises five AIX 2800G4 HT deposition systems in a 11x4-inch wafer configuration. The Seoul, S.

AU Optronics Corp. (2409) recently announced its unaudited results for 3Q10. The company posted consolidated revenue of NT$124,403 million (about US$3,989 million), down 3.3% from 2Q. Gross profit stood at NT$6,241 million (about US$200 million), with the gross margin of 5.0%. Operating profit arrived at NT$232 million (about US$7 million), with the operating margin of 0.2%. AUO's net income for 3Q came in at NT$227 million (approximately US$7 million) after tax.

Lately, 22 leading European companies and academic institutions have joined force in the "Consumerizing Solid-State Lighting" (CSSL) project.

Cooper Industries expanded its range of LED products on October when was designated as National Energy Awareness Month by the Department of Energy. Cooper Power Systems' new Triplex Indoor Power Center (IPC) functions as an innovative solution. By taking advantage of the fire resistant properties of soy-based Envirotemp(R) FR3 dielectric fluid to permit installation in limited space areas, the Triplex IPC delivers measurable value to building owners before the power is even turned on.

SavWatt will start to sell LED T-8 florescent tube replacements assembled in the USA from1Q 2011.

It's reported that Xcel Energy is offering businesses rebates in Minnesota and Colorado for the installation of ENERGY STAR approved bulbs. Underwent several rigid tests, Lighting Science Group received the LED lighting industry's first ENERGY STAR label for its PAR38 LED bulb and recently received approval for use of the ENERGY STAR label for its PAR30 and MR16 LED bulb types.

Recently, the United States House of Representatives upgraded the lighting in the Main House Chamber using Nila Boxer LED lights. Nila is proud to have been awarded the highly competitive contract to replace the 35-year old TV lights in the Main House Chamber. The replacement lights were required to maintain the light output levels of the old system at a distance of over 75 feet from the light fixture to speakers on the House floor.

Carmanah Technologies Corporation and ADB Airfield Solutions have received a over  $300,000 USD purchase order from the Venezuela Air Force for a joint solar and AC-powered airfield lighting system, as part of an infrastructure upgrade at an undisclosed base.

Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announces the addition of 80, 85 and 90 color rendering index (CRI) options to its XLamp® XP-G and XP-E warm-white LEDs. Many lighting applications, such as retail, medical and architectural, require high color accuracy to properly render object colors. With previous-generation high-CRI white LEDs, increasing color quality meant decreasing efficacy. Thanks to the new high-CRI XP-G and XP-E, luminaire and fixture designers can have both.

According to Taiwan's largest LED chip maker Epistar President M.J. Jou's report on the sidelines of the LED Forum 2010 in Taipei, the global penetration rate of LED-backlit TV sets will likely double to 40 percent in 2011, but it expected Q4 of 2010 to remain slow. Jou also predicted that global shipments of LED TVs would grow in 2011 at twice the rate seen in 2010, but he did not offer specific figures.

Bright LED's revenues for 3Q10 slipped by 6% to NT$1.41 billion, but thanks to improved product mix, gross margin up to 16.56% from 15.59% in 2Q. Operation gross profit for 3Q was NT$190 million with an operating margin of 13.52%. Pure income for 3Q was NT$143 million with an EPS of NT$0.73. In the first three quarters of 2010, the company’s revenues totaled NT$3.95 billion, and net profit reached NT$344 million with an EPS of NT$1.75.

Allegro MicroSystems Europe has designed a new family of constant-current LED driver ICs, the A6261/62/64 devices, suitable for internal and external illumination applications in the automotive market.

Taiwan fabless IC design company Princeton Technology Corp. (PTC) will showcase its LED driver and dimming controller lighting solution ICs on November 10-12, 2010 at the FPD International & Green Device Exhibition. The demonstration will include 650V multifunction electronic ballast driver ICs (PT56XX series), high power LED driver ICs (PT69XX series) for LED backlighting, and the CC driver ICs (PT67XX series) for billboard display applications.

Organized by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), in co-operation with the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Guangdong Province (GD-DOFTEC), the first-ever Lifestyle Expo in Mumbai (LEM)2010 was held in Mumbai for three days from October 28-30, 2010.   LEM 2010 presented Indian companies with lifestyle products from leading suppliers in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, China.