Editorial:
Solid state lighting group launches, SSL Summit picking up speed
... A new opportunity to communicate... Solid State Lighting Design has just launched a Linked-In group (this link, might get you there if you already have a Linked-in account, which is free, othewise search groups for "solid state lighting" and you'll spot our logo). Linked-In seems to be a solid... Read the editorial...
(if it resists... go here)
The
2010 Summit Series is ready to succeed... are you?
After the successful 2008 launch and 2009 continuation of the
Solid State Lighting Design Summit in
New Jersey, the feedback was consistent: Just what we needed, do it again soon.
The Summit brings together lighting decisin makers with industry thought leaders,
pioneers, and innovators from the across the solid state lighting eco-system.
Read the 2009 conference report...
Following
or changes in 2009, 2010 will continue to be all about quality, quality, quality.Showcase participants and sponsors are vetted to separate
the wheat from the chaff (have your IES LM-79 test reports ready!).
With revised dates for LA, the 2010 Summit has expanded to 3 venues, including
LA/Long Beach lined up for January, Mar/April for Taiwan and October for NY/NJ.
Look into the series information at www.SSLsummit.com
for the details. Sponsorships are available for the full series or just the US
events.
Strategies Unlimited Forecasts Rapid Growth of High Brightness LED Market in 2010 and Beyond LIGHTimes News Staff
September 15, 2009...Research firm, Strategies Unlimited, predicts rapid growth for the high brightness LED industry in 2010 and beyond.
Strategies Unlimited said that in spite of what it called a "shaky" fourth quarter, the high brightness LED market is continuing the trend of recent years growing 11 percent in 2008 to reach $5.1 billion. However, Strategies Unlimited forecasts a decline of 3.7 percent for 2009, resulting in a market size of $4.9 billion. The company points out that the decline will not affect all HB LED market segments equally.
According to the company, while some of the more mature markets such as automotive lighting, mobile phones, and outdoor video screens are experiencing substantial downturns, other emerging segments such as backlights for LCD displays in notebook computers and TVs are showing strong growth. Moreover, the company contends that the LED lighting market is continuing to grow, although at a somewhat slower pace than in recent years. Company News Release,
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September 15, 2009...Honeywell of Morris Township, New Jersey USA reports that it has developed a new thermal management material that it claims improves energy efficiency of LEDs. Honeywell says that its new product, called the Honeywell LTM6300-SP, is a thermal interface material that it says effectively transfers heat generated by LED lamps. Honeywell Electronic Materials, part of Honeywell Specialty Materials, developed the material.
The material reportedly performs better than silicon-based products, which the company says typically degrade at high temperatures.
The company points out that such a material is required because as LEDs become smaller and more powerful, more heat is being generated in a confined space. This heat can threaten to damage the LEDs' performance. LEDs that overheat become dim, have their color muted, and have their lifespans shortened. Honeywell News Release
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Nanjing University to Research GaN UHB-LEDs with new Aixtron MOCVD System LIGHTimes News Staff
September 15, 2009...Aixtron AG reports that Nanjing University's Institute of Optoelectronics at Yangzhou has ordered a single AIX 2400G3 HT MOCVD system for development of ultra-high-brightness (UHB) LEDs. According to Aixtron, the system is to be used in the fabrication of the InGaN/GaN-based LEDs, and it was delivered in the first half of 2009.
Dr. Chen Peng, Professor and Director of IOE, commented, "After a complete investigation and in consultation with local experts, the Aixtron MOCVD system was confirmed as the first choice for our GaN LED research projects. We are building new capacity and exploring leading LED science and technology. The system satisfies our needs with the efficiency and stability."
The Institute of Optoelectronics at Yangzhou was established in Dec. 2007 as a research organization based on the Collaboration Agreement between Nanjing University and the Yangzhou local government. It is located in Yangzhou High-tech Venture Services Center, and has a work space of over 1500 sqm. Its research reportedly forcuses on epitaxial growth, processing, and the develipment of novel optoelectronic devices. Aixtron News Release
Big LED Producers Come Out with New Packaged LEDs for Automobiles LIGHTimes News Staff
Mitsubishi Chemical Orders Aixtron MOCVD Tool For White HB-LEDs LIGHTimes News Staff
September 10, 2009...Aixtron AG of Aachen, Germany reports that Mitsubishi Chemical ordered one AIX 2800G4 HT Planetary Reactor system in the third Quarter of 2009.
Aixtron says that the MOCVD tool will be delivered in the 42x2 inch wafer configuration, and will be used for the production of InGaN-based white UHB LEDs.
Mitsubishi Chemical says that it has made significant progress in mass producing phosphors for high brightness white LEDs. According to the company, the new system will help it transition from HB LED development to mass production.
Mitsubishi says that it will be manufacturing white HB LEDs for display backlighting and other applications combining the benefits of its new MOCVD tool with its phosphor capabilities.
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation recently merged with Kasei Optonix, Ltd. as part of its plan to strengthen the company's phosphor businesses for white LEDs and flat panel displays.
Aixtron News Release
Huga Optotech, Edison Opto Post Record Revenues for August
September 10, 2009...Huga Optotech, a Taiwan-based LED chip maker, and Edison Opto, an LED packaging company of Taiwan both reported record revenues for the month of August, according to a Digitimes article. Huga Optotech's revenues of NT$244.26 million (US$7.47 million) are up 10.73 percent compared to July 2009 and up 48.21 percent compared to August 2008. Despite the record for August, Huga Optotech reported revenues for January through August of 2009 were down 26.64 percent compared to the same period of 2008.
Huga noted that the combined revenues for July and August were equivalent to 76% of the total revenues for the first half of 2009.
Huga said it is gradually adjusting its product mix to improve its gross margin, and its high-brightness (HB) LED products now account for over 60% of its total revenues. The LED -backlit TV market is reportedly the driving force of the company's demand growth.
Edison Opto faired better for the first half of 2009, increasing revenues for January through August 35.05 percent compared to the first half of 2008. August revenues were up 100.34 percent compared to August of 2008. This was a 7.77 percent increase compared to July.
Edison pointed out that its high-power LED packaging has reached full capacity of four million units per month, one million of which are used to produce high-power LED module.
EU Ban on 100 W and Higher Incandescent Bulbs Goes Into Effect SSLDesign News Staff
September 8, 2009...As of September 1, 2009, the phase out of incandescent light bulbs is officially underway in the European Union with a ban on the sale and importation of 100 W and higher bulbs. The European Energy Commission stated that the banned lamps will not be removed from shop shelves on September 1, and that the retailers are allowed to sell their existing stock of incandescent 100 W bulbs.
Light-Based Technologies Receives National Research Council Funding
September 8, 2009...Light-Based Technologies (LBT) of Vancouver, Canada, reports that it has received a contribution from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The contribution is to fund a project
entitled, “Linear control of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in mixed-signal integrated circuit."
The company says its second-generation integrated circuits called LB4CM, will support the area of LED control. LBT says that it plans to bring its new technology, and core intellectual property to the solid state lighting industry in Canada with the help of the company's technical and marketing expertise will help in this.
“We have always wanted to work with NRC-IRAP, as they offer great support to small- and medium-sized businesses in our sector,” says Jeanette Jackson, Chief Executive Officer. “I am sure we will work with NRC-IRAP on many future projects as we continue to push the envelope in order to deliver the very best the world has seen in LED control technology.”
NRC-IRAP works with small- and medium-sized Canadian firms, providing expertise and advice as well as potential funding in developing their innovative ideas. Financial assistance for this project is a direct result of the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan outlined in Budget 2009. Light-Based Technology News Release
Plextronics and Novaled to Collaborate on Development of Organic Lighting Technology LIGHTimes News Staff
September 8, 2009...Novaled AG, of Dresden, Germany, a leading company in OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes), and Plextronics, a company that specializes in organic inks for electronics, have agreed to jointly develop doped and solution processed organic materials for OLED applications. OLED technology is expected to become a major ingredient of flat displays and drive a new era lighting innovation with its flexible design and energy efficiency advantages.
The collaboration agreement specifies that the companies will combine their respective technologies to develop an advanced solution processible Hole Injection Layer (HIL) technology for OLEDs. The solution will reportedly leverage Plextronics' organic conductive ink technology and Novaled's organic dopant technology. Novaled News Release,
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Commentary & Perspective...
Solid state lighting group launches, SSL Summit picking up speed Tom Griffiths - Publisher
September 15, 2009...A new opportunity to communicate... Solid State Lighting Design has
just launched a Linked-In group (this
link, might get you there if you already have a Linked-in account, which
is free, othewise search groups for "solid state lighting" and you'll
spot our logo). Linked-In seems to be a solid tool of choice among a wide variety
of professionals, and we're going to use it to assess the value of comments
and interaction, as well as the work load it creates for our organization. We've
tied in the RSS feeds that chunk up our current SSL Design news stories, which
should be the basis of the comment threads. Having taken a look at a few other
groups out there, it's easy to see the value diminshers, including unmoderated
discussion topics which turn into advertisements for companies or services,
some not even directly involved with the industry. The good news is that no
one is anonymous on Linked-In, so offenders only embarrass themselves. The bad
news is that no one is anonymous, so some of the more "gritty" thoughts
we might otherwise get to see won't find their way into words. It's a start.
Be sure to check it out.
And for a quick chuckle in about "groups", we came across one in
the SSL industry that reminded us how exciting the industry is, in the sense
that lots of people might be jumping in without yet having all the tools that
it takes to really be "a lighting company". The description of the
group sort of speaks for itself (direct cut and paste, misspellings and extra
words as they appeared): The [name removed] group wants to hear from business
professionals who offer some unique talent to the our firm. The market stienks
and securing an opportunity that is geared towards helping the environment that
is lucrative is rough. We are mover and shakers and are on a global mission
to help rid the planet of mercury infested inneficient lighting. If you are
connected and want to contribute, while earning some nice cake, then we look
forward to hearing from you! I expect the author isn't the same one putting
together their press releases, and we'll claim our share of occasional typos,
but when the rubber meets the road there in the sales channel, are lighting
decision makers seeing the consistent professionalism that they need to for
LED lighting to be a credible industry?
SSL Design Summit is picking up momentum... You would be hard pressed
to miss the banners we fly about, so be sure to give a click and check out the
current topic agendas to see what's coming up in New York/New Jersey Nov 3-4
and then in Los Angeles Dec 1-2. The fact that there are both East and West
coast versions should be a hint that we're regionalizing the conferences to
better meet the lighting decision maker audiences where they live. We'd also
like to recognize the now-full compliment of co-chairs for the 2009 series,
which include Jeff Miller of Pivotal Lighting
Design, Kathy Abernathy of Abernathy
Lighting Design, Randy Sabedra of RS Lighting
Design and now, Andy Powell of Lighting
Design Alliance. (Anyone notice a pattern there? Hint: "lighting design").
Jeff and Kathy are, respectively, the President and President-Elect of the International
Association of Lighting Designers (IALD),
while Randy and Andy are both past presidents of their respective sections of
the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).
All will be speaking, along with a number of their lighting design/engineer/architect
colleagues, and one is currently even an LED skeptic, having been burned by
some poor quality and service in a somewhat recent attempt to incorporate LED-based
lighting in a project.
The Summit series is all about quality...
Remember that when theory and reality collide, reality always wins. LED
lighting offers the promise of incredible efficiency, capability and performance,
but there can still be a bit of a gap here in the real world. Focus #1 will
be to educate, inform and connect lighting decision makers with quality
LED lighting companies and their thought processes, in order to equip them
to make the best business decisions concerning the inclusion of solid state
lighting in their projects. To that end, as we've always done for our speakers/topics,
we'll also be vetting the reception evening showcase companies, and even
our sponsors, to assure that products anyone sees live, hears about in a talk,
or companies that are promoted, are pretty highly assured to perform as advertised.
(We contend that if the big lighting trade show took this approach, only 20
or so booths there would be showing SSL products... wouldn't that make the lighting
decision maker's job easier). Focus #2 will be on educating and informing
luminaire manufacturers (great, good and other) with the real needs of lighting
decision makers, as well as connecting them to quality enabling technology
providers so they can better access the tools they need to implement quality
products that serve the customer's needs. Simple enough. For direct conference
links, you can visit the NY/NJ,
LA or
Taiwan
sites.
Conferences - Good ones are still incredibly valuable, others aren't...
Strictly as an illustration, an announcement for a non-LED or SSL industry conference
crossed my desk recently, pronouncing how good things were going, and that if
you hurry here at the last minute, you can "register one, bring one free". Seems
to us you should get the same deal if you already registered, especially since
you showed the commitment to register early, providing the organizer with oft-needed
cashflow that is used to better promote an event. Makes you wonder if the commitment
of the conference is at all to the industry, or merely to themselves. We always
challenge those evaluating their yearly/quarterly conference plan to ask themselves
a two-part question: "Does the conference deliver well thought out and
organized content, and do they have 'skin in the game' in which their success
is linked to helping the industry to succeed , or can they just bail out and
do a conference in some other industry?" Two-for-one or other last minute
discounts are a hint that the underlying value may not be there, and past attendees
are not choosing to be attendees this time around. Exceptions exist of course,
as can be the case if an industry consolidation occurs (simply fewer companies
around) or if it turned out that something else created a calendar or attention
conflict (been there, done that). If those exceptions aren't applicable, challenge
your assumption of the value.
An often missed value component - the web... Shhhh, it's a secret: Advertising
and sponsorships are about branding and messaging, not about "click throughs".
Are TV and radio advertisers so ignorant that they've tossed away hundreds of
billions in 30-second ads without a single click-through... or is it maybe really
about branding, recognition and messaging? "Calls to action" happen separately,
based on PR and news reports in an industry such as ours, especially news concerning
a new product introduction or a substantial application/account win. Broadly
speaking, what should you get from a Summit conference sponsorship?
1) Association with an event that demands quality from its high-visibility
participants. It's a visible testimony to the industry that you are also a company
that values substance and quality of performance over hype. (Brand-building
by association, and proof that you "made the cut").
2) Branding exposure. While 150-250 people may attend the events, we typically
see 50K-100K page views on the conference websites. Premium sponsors logo's
and links appear on all of those pages, while smaller sponsors appear on many
of them (at the bottom, but where there is still important content). Between
all of the events, attendees will likely account for 3000 or less of the page
views. The other 47,000-97,000 are still saturated with the branding, and each
one helps solidify that quality-association connection. Not everyone gets that
concept, but we find the most successful companies in the industry sure do.
And what if you are a luminaire manufacturer and don't (yet) qualify for a
high visibility position? No sweat. There's a limited number of such positions,
so it's not a ding against you in anyone's eyes, and we're not publicizing who
didn't qualify. We just can't offer the implicit endorsement and exposure that
comes with a high profile sponsorship. Your mission is to be there to hear from,
and network with, the decision makers to really understand their needs, and
to grasp the latest from the quality LED and other component suppliers, so you
know the latest about the resources and expertise that you need to in order
to position your product to qualify in the future.
If you have questions about
the solid state lighting and compound semiconductor industries or
have
news or views to share, we want to hear from you! Feel free to contact
us anytime. The main office line is +1
(512) 257-9888
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