The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a report on the performance of newly commercially available flicker meters. The purpose of the study was simply to report on the availability and performance of these meters. Flicker is garnering increased attention across the lighting community, and gaining a better understanding of why flicker matters and how much it varies among lighting products is becoming more and more essential to proper lighting design.

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a water purification plant that provides clean water far beyond the reach of the electrical grid - thanks to solar cells. With the help of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus, these small and portable solar cell stations have now been placed across rural Bangladesh.

Osram is putting the focus on sustainable growth and wants to take even greater advantage of the potential offered by semiconductor-based lighting technologies. Prior to that, another important strategic step, the carve-out process of the general lighting lamps business, got under way. Given Osram’s strong financial standing, the company is proposing a dividend of €0.90 per share at Tuesday’s AGM. In parallel, Osram has in the meantime also started a share buyback program of up to €500 million.

AquiSense Technologies (Europe) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of AquiSense Technologies LLC, has been selected to participate in the Biocontamination Integrated Control for Wet Systems for Space Exploration (BIOWYSE) project.

Pixelligent, the leader in high-index advanced materials, announced today its 2016 predictions for high refractive index applications in the electronics markets that it serves.

Following on from the BMW i8, the BMW 7 Series is another range of models from the Munich car manufacturer that Osram is now equipping with a laser module for the headlights. “We have succeeded in developing this new technology to such an extent that we have now taken it from a niche vehicle to a mass produced car – an important step in terms of market penetration”, said Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO Specialty Lighting at Osram. “With laser light as the next stage in automotive lighting we are once again demonstrating our competence in lighting systems and underlining our leading position in LED and laser technologies.”

Philips and its Chinese distributor Dalitek have ended their partnership.In a recent statement, Philips highlighted three major reasons behind the termination:

Lighting Science®, a global leader in next-generation LED lighting solutions, today announced that it received 35 new patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2015. These new patents – covering the fields of biologically adjusted and corrected lighting, light spectrum control, micro-electric optics, and advances in roadway infrastructure and other lighting fixtures – demonstrate that Lighting Science continues to set the global standard for light emitting diode (LED) and related innovation. “This new set of patents expands Lighting Science’s vast portfolio of issued patents to 366, with many focused on spectrum control and its effect on human health. Our research and development team, led by founder and Chief Technology Officer, Fred Maxik, set a high standard for innovation in 2015 of which we are extremely proud,” said Lighting Science CEO Ed Bednarcik.

The worst is thought to be over as 2015 comes to an end, a quick overview of developments in the past year show product prices have reached new historical lows in the past year. The elimination race has escalated with restructures becoming the new norm in the industry.

Seoul Semiconductor a global leading LED components manufacturer from Korea, and the Austrian company LUMITECH, a leading manufacturer of components for Human Centric Lighting announced a licensing agreement for PI-LED technology patents. These patents govern the industrial trade mark rights of LUMITECH’s PI-LED technology, which can implement tunable white from 2.500 to 7.000K with perfect colour rendering in a high and constant efficiency. Based on the license agreement, Seoul Semiconductor has the right to offer tunable white components based on the leading PI-LED technology, worldwide.

A research team from Sheffield University has recently published there latest findings of growing LEDs on semi-polar GaN or sapphire on Applied Physics Letter recently.

A sharp eyed Twitter user has spotted a code implying Li-Fi functions might be incorporated in later generation Apple iOS, reportedTechRadar and other media.

The collaboration, which is partly funded by Innovate UK under the £14m Energy Catalyst Programme, follows on from work by Anvil Semiconductors and the Cambridge Centre for GaN at the University of Cambridge where they successfully grew cubic GaN on 3C-SiC on silicon wafers by MOCVD. The underlying 3C-SiC layers were produced by Anvil using its patented stress relief IP that enables growth of device quality silicon carbide on 100mm diameter silicon wafers.  

Sigma Designs® (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) solutions focused on Internet of Things ( IoT) , Smart TV and media connectivity  markets , and QD Vision, the global leader in quantum dot display technology, announced a strategic partnership to develop a cost-effective UHD TV platform with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Rec. 2020 performance. The platform will be based on Sigma’s TV SoC and frame rate conversion (FRC) chips, and QD Vision’s Color IQ™ quantum dot (QD) technology.

Use of copper as a fluorescent material allows for the manufacture of inexpensive and environmentally compatible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) ensures high light yield. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), CYNORA, and the University of St. Andrews have now measured the underlying quantum mechanics phenomenon of intersystem crossing in a copper complex. The results of this fundamental work are reported in the Science Advances journal and contribute to enhancing the energy efficiency of OLEDs.

Universal Display Corporation, enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with its UniversalPHOLED® technology and materials, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Universal Display its 2,000th patent, U.S. Patent No. 9,231,218 (the '218 Patent) for a new family of “Phosphorescent Emitters”. Additionally, UDC’s 2,001st patent was issued on the same day, U.S. Patent No. 9,231,227 (the '227 Patent) for a novel “OLED Display Architecture”.

In the fabrication of solid state lighting devices, scientists are learning, oxygen also plays a two-edged role. While oxygen can impede the effectiveness of gallium nitride (GaN), an enabling material for LEDs, small amounts of oxygen in some cases are needed to enhance the devices' optical properties. GaN doped with europium (Eu), which could provide the red color in LEDs and other displays, is one such case.

Apple’s latest software update iOS 9.3 has built in blue light reduction features to make it easier for users to sleep at night, according to a Mac Rumors report.

Researchers combine the warm look of traditional light bulbs with 21st-century energy efficiency. Traditional light bulbs, thought to be well on their way to oblivion, may receive a reprieve thanks to a technological breakthrough. Incandescent lighting and its warm, familiar glow is well over a century old yet survives virtually unchanged in homes around the world. That is changing fast, however, as regulations aimed at improving energy efficiency are phasing out the old bulbs in favor of more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and newer light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs).

U.S. UV LED manufacturer, Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc.(SETi), is selling deep UV LEDs to the Chinese market to extend the life of fresh product on store shelves, reported Fresh Plaza recently.

From their use in telecommunication to detecting hazardous chemicals, lasers play a major role in our everyday lives. They keep us connected, keep us safe, and allow us to explore the dark corners of the universe.

Ultravision International, a global leader in light-emitting diode (LED) products, has been awarded seven United States patents for innovations in the design and application of optics, lighting assemblies, heat-dissipation and moisture protection used to illuminate sophisticated out-of-home billboards around the world.

Demand for lighting equipment jumped 4.4% between the second and third quarters of 2015 to achieve what the National Lighting Bureau hails as “the best quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2008.” The dramatic improvement – a 4.8% year-over-year gain – was revealed by data developed by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) for the NEMA Lighting-Systems Index (LSI). According to NLB Executive Director John Bachner, “Three months ago we said that ‘lighting-equipment demand is moving in the right direction’ and “We’re optimistic that the next report will show continued growth over the third quarter.’ Our optimism has been justified; in fact, it has been more than justified. Lighting’s back!”

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group have established a joint fund to support the development of laser technology in Taiwan, and assist local companies brushless DC motor controlled IC modules enter the large Japanese vendors supply chain.

Acuity Brands  announced it has acquired for cash certain assets, including all proprietary technology and other intellectual property, of GeoMetri, LLC, a provider of a software and services platform for mapping, navigation and analytics.

Chinese TV manufacturer Skyworth is vying to sell 200,000 of its new OLED HDR TV panels by 2016, reported 4K.

A research team headed by Chong Wen Tong from University of Malaysia has developed a hybrid energy LED outdoor light, capable of imitating human scent to trap mosquitos.

New possibilities for utilizing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxi de are a topic at the UN Climate Change Conference. Related activities in industry, science and politics were presented at an accompanying event of the Paris Summit by Climate-KIC, a European Union initiative for climate innovations. Based on a model program named “enCO2re”, Climate-KIC wants to promote the partial replacement of increasingly scarce petroleum with carbon dioxide (CO2) in the plastics industry. The program is headed by materials manufacturer Covestro, a pioneer in the field.

Brightek Optoeletronic started to develop automotive LED products in 2007, manufacturing high power automotive LEDs in Taiwan and low power ones in Shenzhen, China. The company has developed automotive LEDs for eight years, providing various exterior vehicle lights and attracted attention from the LED market in recent years. Weiming Pai, General Manager of the company spoke to LEDinside in an exclusive interview about their experience in automotive lighting market.

Without a doubt, color rendition is a key subject of fascination – or lament? – among advanced lighting users. A lot of confusion reigns on this topic, for at least one good reason: it’s complicated! Having been fairly involved in the field over the past few years, I’d like to kick off some thoughts.