Physicists from the University of Exeter in collaboration with the ICFO Institute in Barcelona have used a ground-breaking new technique to trap light at the surface of the wonder material graphene using only pulses of laser light.

pureLiFi, the light communications technology company that leads the market in development and commercialization of LiFi (the high speed, bidirectional, networked and mobile wireless communications using light) and Lucibel, the French company that specializes in the design of new-generation lighting solutions based on the LED technology, are to co-develop and market Europe's first, fully industrialized LiFi luminaire.

The Aurora Group announced three key changes to its brand structure and market strategy to ensure the delivery of its new corporate mission – creating ‘Value Beyond Illumination’. This reflects Aurora’s commitment to the integration of new smart technologies in LED lighting and the associated ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) proposition, which is set to change the way lighting is sold and monetized.

Large UK home enhancer and garden retailer issued a notice recently recalling “Baby start LED night lights” that under certain circumstances could trigger a small explosion.

The sluggish global economy triggered the downtrend in the LED industry in 2015, and next year is expected to be just as challenging for manufacturers in the backlight and general lighting market, said Katsuyuki Akutagawa, Chief Legal & IP Officer and Company Board Director of Nichia (the company) at a press conference held in Mandarin Oriental Taipei, earlier Wednesday. 

Highlights this week: The India market’s demands for star labelled efficient products has doubled with falling prices and increased participation of private companies, as the country follows its commitment to lower carbon footprint ahead of climate change talks to take place in Paris later this month. Following Osram’s announcement last week that the company is to invest EUR 1 billion in a new Malaysia-based plant for LED chips, a leading investor in Osram expressed opposing opinions about Osram’s latest strategy. LEDinside’s analysts initial estimates that about 30% of the EUR 1 billion investment will go into constructing the factory, and probably 30% in chip processing while Osram might be investing around EUR 400 million in MOCVD equipment. ON Semiconductor and Fairchild Semiconductor announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for ON Semiconductor to acquire Fairchild for in an all cash transaction valued at approximately US $2.4 billion.

A team of Florida State University materials researchers has developed a new type of light-emitting diode, or LED, using an organic-inorganic hybrid that could lead to cheaper, brighter and mass produced lights and displays in the future.

Pro-Lite Technology Ltd (Cranfield, UK) today announced that it is reducing the cost of photometry with the launch of its Labsphere LFC-Series of Integrating Sphere Photometers. LFC integrating spheres are a new, entry-level solution for lighting product manufacturers concerned with value-for-money. Although LFC systems are probably the most affordable like-for-like integrating sphere systems on the market, Pro-Lite is keen to stress that there has been no compromise in terms of quality, performance or accuracy of its new photometers.

As India rolls out its nationwide LED streetlight upgrade programs, some poor quality LED streetlight installations have disappointed the public.

Building on wireless technology that has the potential to interfere with pain, scientists have developed flexible, implantable devices that can activate — and, in theory, block — pain signals in the body and spinal cord before those signals reach the brain.

Most Christmas lights, televisions and flashlights have one thing in common: they’re made with light emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs are widely used for a variety of applications and have been a popular, more efficient alternative to fluorescent and incandescent bulbs for the past few decades. Two University of Utah researchers have now found a way to create LEDs from food and beverage waste. In addition to utilizing food and beverage waste that would otherwise decompose and be of no use, this development can also reduce potentially harmful waste from LEDs generally made from toxic elements.

This is the latest innovation from the pioneering airline which is always at the forefront of technology, from being one of the first airlines to launch online booking in 1998 to introducing aircraft inspections by automated drones earlier this year, and provides an exciting glimpse of things to come for airline uniforms.

Have you ever been walking the aisles of a Supermarket or Big Box store, maybe you had a little trouble finding a few things and ended up in there a little longer than you anticipated. Then, all of a sudden, you feel so agitated and uncomfortable that every passing minute seems to make you feel worse? There’s definitely a time limit to those stores or at least an awareness when we’ve entered the penalty time and need to get out of there ASAP. There is certainly no shortage of bothersome elements in those stores, despite their convenience, but one of the main culprits for that fatigued, annoyed feeling you get is the lighting. It’s very apparent how artificial the lighting in those places is.

A city located in the Bay of Bengal in East India reports has cut its energy bill by about INR 5.5 million (US $) after upgrading 96,000 streetlights to LEDs, reported The Times of India.

Dialight, the innovative global leader in LED lighting technology, today announced its SafeSite® LED Area Light is now IECEx/ATEX Zone 2, 22 certified for use hazardous locations, namely chemical, petrochemical, power generation and mining applications.

Ever view your body as a power generator? This tiny flashlight does. The flashlight called Lumen has raised more than US $100,000 on Kickstarter with the figure growing. Designed by, Ross Zhuravskiy, an engineer with a big vision, the flashlight does not use any batteries and can function for a very long time if properly used. According to the founder, it’s an “eternal” flashlight that functions forever.

Plessey announced today that it will be demonstrating the potential uses of its GaN on silicon MAGIC™ LED technology with a new smart lighting product called Totem. Totem was developed in collaboration with the Manchester based product design firm inventid. Totem is an original concept based on the use of LED lighting solutions in the Internet of Things (IoT) -- an increasingly favoured solution for the development of smart homes and cities.

OLEDWorks, the leading U.S. OLED light engine and panel manufacturing company, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of key OLED assets and relevant intellectual property from Royal Philips, the global leader in lighting.  Manufacturing will continue in the existing facility in Aachen, Germany with the establishment of OLEDWorks GmbH.OLEDWorks announced this acquisition in April, 2015.

Several factors have caused manufacturers to flood emerging blue sea markets, such as China’s soon to be implemented 13th five-year plan; drying up LED subsidies; price wars in lighting industry that have resulted in pricing and selling bulbs per kilogram; and industry restructures which have benefited the expansion of big players on the market. SMEs in the industry have been treading on thin ice.  When the UV LED emerged as a blue sea market in the LED industry, only a few manufacturers were competing in the market sector. Fast forward to present, manufacturers once standing on the sidelines speculating are starting to jump in. In the near future, it is possible that this niche market might be on the same road as blue LEDs and become another hotly contended red sea market.

Acuity Brands announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the equity interests of Juno Lighting LLC (“Juno Lighting Group”), a leading provider of downlighting and track lighting fixtures for both residential and commercial applications. Juno Lighting Group, a unit of Schneider Electric, serves customers throughout North America, including electrical distributors, lighting showrooms, homecenters, contractors, architects, engineers, lighting designers and commercial facilities. Juno Lighting Group operates manufacturing facilities in Des Plaines, Illinois, and Fishers, Indiana, and generates current annual revenues of approximately $250 million.

Soraa’s Chief Scientist Aurelien David shares his insight on LED lighting challenge beam quality in this latest blog entry.

At this week’s Meeting of the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS 2015), imec and CMST (imec’s associated lab at Ghent University) present a novel technology for thermoplastically deformable electronics enabling low-cost 2.5D free-form rigid electronic objects. The technology is under evaluation in Philips LED lamp carriers, a downlight luminaire and a omnidirectional light source, to demonstrate the potential of this technology in innovative lighting applications.

Plessey announced today that it will provide CIRCADIAN ZircLight, a global leader in providing 24/7 workforce performance solutions, with an LED package solution for the development of circadian-modulated, smart LED lighting systems and lamps.

AIXTRON, a worldwide leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, announced today that LandMark Optoelectronics Corporation, a supplier in gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP) based epitaxial wafers for optical communication, industrial application, and special-purpose usage, has purchased another AIX 2800G4-TM system for the production of laser diode devices. The tool is due for delivery in the first quarter 2016. 

Neuroscience researchers at Dalhousie Medical School and the Brain Repair Center in Canada have found a way to bypass the nervous system to stimulate muscles that have lost their connection to the nervous system through injury or disease.

Haydale, the group focused on the commercialisation of graphene and other nano particle products using its proprietary plasma process, is pleased to announce confirmation from the European Patent Office (“EPO”) of the decision to grant a European Patent to Haydale (“European Patent”).

Illumitex is pleased to announce that Indoor Harvest, design-builder of farms for indoor agriculture, has selected Illumitex as the preferred lighting provider for their systems, which are sold to innovative growers around the world. Together, Illumitex and Indoor Harvest will engage in R&D and coordinated business development activities to offer a complete hardware solution for the indoor farming industry, all at the bleeding edge of agricultural science.

A design team with roots in the U.S. and Germany has launched a Kickstarter campaign for mimooodz, a multi-color LED light bulb that can be controlled with iPhone.

The three most important light sources to impact human life in the 21st century will be sunlight, LEDs and lasers, said Professor Puspendu Das, Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Illumitex, LED innovator and maker of the world’s most optically advanced lighting products for horticulture, today announced it has launched a new division to further its mission of helping indoor growers become more profitable.