The tariff imposed on Chinese imported products to the U.S. was effective since July 6th. Previously the U.S. government has announced that the U.S. will enforce 25 percent tariffs on 818 Chinese goods which are in total worth about US$34 billion. And on July 10th, the Trump administration proposed additional tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Besides display and lighting, LED technology applications in medical field have been progressing to create possibilities for curing cancer. Researchers at Waseda University, Japan have developed an implantable device consisting of LED chips and bio-adhesive nanosheet which has successfully shrank the tumors in mice through photodynamic therapy. The result was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering journal on July 16th 2018. 

On July 10th , the Trump administration announced plans to propose additional tariffs on US$200 Billion worth of Chinese goods and released the tariff list. LEDinside analyzed the list right after the announcement and anticipated that the new tariff list might hit the LED industry in China. 

By topping up with technologies, events, live shows and art performances increase the diversity in production and present more and more unique experiences for the audience. LED technology is certainly one of the major applications in the entertainment industry, lighting and LED firms has built up relationships with event production companies or performance venues.

According to the latest report from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, 2018 Chinese Automotive Lighting Market Report- Passenger Car and Logistics Car Market Analysis, the quantity and market share of local car manufacturers in China have increased since 2017. The sales volume of domestic brands has grown annually as well. The product price levels from local car manufacturers have gradually approached to medium range. Although the license plate lottery measure reduced purchasing willingness, yet, as per capita income grew, car penetration will experience significant growth. Chinese conventional passenger car shipment volume in 2017 has reached 23.8 million units, and is expected to reach 25.5 million units in 2018.

Luminus Devices, Inc. has released its third proprietary spectral technology, PerfectWhite™, which closely replicates the visual characteristics of halogen lamps (3000K). When compared to halogen, PerfectWhite was preferred by lighting designers in testing at both Light + Building and Lightfair. Though the spectrums are a virtual match – Luminus filled the cyan gap – PerfectWhite’s color point is slightly below the black body locus and as a result, there’s no green/yellow tint that is common to halogen. A better halogen has long been a wish of the lighting design community and PerfectWhite delivers without infra-red, without green/yellow tint, and without ultraviolet radiation.

Light Polymers is now shipping the first of its Healthy Lighting products in the Taiwan market. In a press conference in Neihu today, Light Polymers explained its lyotropic liquid crystal technology which is made and formulated in Taiwan and how it uses its liquid crystals to make Crystallin film to create healthy LED lighting products.

In 1946, more than 100 founding parishioners came together to build a community where families could worship as one, establishing the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Community. Built around a host of ministries that include a school, an early childhood center, and various summer programs, the sanctuary within the community is relied upon as part of the foundation for spiritual growth. With an outdated lighting system which needed replacement, the church worked with the Houston-based manufacturers rep LESCO Lighting Technology who installed a bright and energy-efficient worship design using Chalice LED downlights and Pegasus LED Fresnels from Altman Lighting.

On May 18, 2018, Nichia Corporation (“Nichia”) filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court against ASUS JAPAN Inc., a Japanese affiliate of Taiwanese ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (“ASUS”), and SYNNEX Infotec Corporation, a distributor of ASUS JAPAN Inc., seeking a compensation for damages.

Luminus Devices, Inc., a manufacturer of high-performance LEDs and solid-state light sources, has expanded its horticulture LED portfolio with new SST-20 series white LEDs to complement the extensive range of discrete wavelengths from UVA (365nm) to Far Red (730nm).

LEDtronics announces its new DLC-listed series of dimmable LED Linear Low Bay Luminaires. The Title 24 compliant units can be surface or wall mounted, as well as suspension-mounted with cables. The LLS series low bays come with the needed accessories, and can optionally be installed with T-bar clips or inverted V-hangers.

Signify announced it will light up over 90 schools around the world through its 'Light for Better Learning' campaign in celebration of UNESCO's first International Day of Light. Through this campaign the Signify Foundation improves learning opportunities for young people in on- and off-grid communities by providing lighting to schools and workshops on energy efficiency and climate change.

Violumas announces their new venture into the UV LED market. Violumas is the latest UV specific branch from Silicon Valley-based company Flip Chip Opto. Flip Chip Opto focuses on high power COB light engines based upon their proprietary 3-Pad Flip Chip featuring super-pillar MCPCB technology. Flip Chip Opto creates the most powerful COBs on the market, focusing on industrial and horticultural applications.

As time is moving forward to the second quarter of 2018, more and more rumblings and updates about Micro/Mini LED emerged and have been circulating in the industry. In February, LEDinside collected and revealed information of Micro LED development from nearly 50 companies around the globe. Here, we would like to share some progress updates released after that from 10 companies.

LED luminaires from Thorn are now illuminating the Arco della Pace, one of the most important neoclassical monuments in Milan. A series of high-performance Contrast 2 LED floodlights has been installed around the imposing “Arch of Peace” to pick out the intricate details and fine workmanship, improving the overall visitor experience and simultaneously saving resources by boosting efficiency.

On this year’s Light+ Building in Frankfurt Germany, the LED Bulb Expert- Shanghai Wellmax Lighting Industry (WELLMAX) officially introduced its patented iDAPT technology for LED light bulbs, attracting global attentions; on the Spring Canton Fair last month in Guangzhou, WELLMAX’s iDAPT technology again became the star of the fair, breaking sales records. With such popular demand from the global market, the iDAPT technology has become a rising star in the LED lighting industry.

The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has published a new report on the energy and economic performance of LED horticultural luminaires. The LRC evaluated key factors such as power demand, life-cycle cost, luminaire intensity distribution, and luminaire shading. Of particular importance is the fact that the LRC considered the effectiveness of the entire lighting system for a controlled growing environment.

Philips Lighting announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Shenzhen LiteMagic Technologies Co., Ltd., a Chinese manufacturer and seller of lighting luminaires and control systems for urban and façade lighting.

Philips Lighting launched a new cloud-based Scene management app that enables businesses to quickly and effortlessly change a building’s architectural lighting using your smartphone or tablet. The app, specially designed for use on smart devices, further illustrates the company’s leadership in connected lighting and lighting for the Internet of Things.

LED lighting technology specialist LG Electronics has unveiled next-generation smart lighting advancements with greater flexibility and connectivity options. The super-efficient new LG "Simple Choice" LED high bay lights and LG "Sensor Connect" application were introduced at LIGHTFAIR International 2018.

Philips Lighting will roll out a major update to its Philips Hue app for iOS and Android-based devices this month. Consumers will enjoy new features as well as enhancements of existing app capabilities, so they can easily and quickly personalize and control the Philips Hue lighting system for the home.

Current, powered by GE is unveiling a series of new products at LIGHTFAIR International in Chicago that expand the company’s portfolio of retrofit, connected and specialized LED and controls offerings. The business is displaying several proprietary technologies that spotlight its continued focus on the digital transformation of lighting infrastructure.

On May 7, 2018, Epistar filed a patent infringement lawsuit against V-TAC USA Corp. (“V-TAC”) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on May 7, 2018. The complaint asserts that V-TAC’s LED filament bulbs infringe seven Epistar patents and seeks injunctive relief to halt further sale of the infringing products.

Samsung Electronics is now offering LED component solutions that have been optimized for horticulture lighting. The company’s new horticulture LED lineup features a newly developed “red LED” package, as well as additions to key existing Samsung “white LED” package and module families to include horticulture lighting specifications.

Epistar yesterday announced it has agreed with Kaistar Lighting on the licensing of LED filament patents. The LED filament bulb products manufactured by Kaistar and its subsidiaries (including Bridgelux, SINOTRON Lighting, and Interlight Optotech) are licensed under Epistar’s filament patents.

The prices of high-power LED products in the Chinese market remained stable, while mid-power 3030 LED package products saw slight price drop in April 2018, says LEDinside, a division of TrendForce.

The significant drop in light output (green gap phenomenon) exhibited by green LEDs has often been the cause of efficiency problems and high costs in customer applications. For its indium gallium nitride (InGaN)-based green LEDs, Osram Opto Semiconductors has now succeeded in reducing the typical forward voltages by around 600 mV drastically. With a simultaneous increase in optical output power, customers instantly benefit from improvements in efficiency of up to 40 percent compared to predecessor products across the entire UX:3 portfolio from Osram. 

EPISTAR announced it has reached agreement with KAISTAR lighting (Xiamen) Co., Ltd.(Kaistar). The LED filament bulb products of Kaistar and its subsidiaries are licensed under Epistar’s filament patents. 

LG Innotek today announced it will participate in RadTech 2018, North America's largest UV fair in Chicago, Illinois, on the 7th to 9th of this month.

According to the latest report from LEDinside, a division of the market research firm TrendForce, LEDinside TV and Gaming Display Market Trend of 2018, backlight and self-emissive display technology will compete together in the near future.