... Our Sr. Technology Editor and longtime industry veteran, Dr. Alan Thompson, not only helped organize BLUE 2005, he was there in Taiwan all week gathering the news and filed the following report. I want to publicly thank Alan, Bob Walker and his staff at YEBY Associates, and my partner,... Read the editorial...
(if it resists... go here)
May 30, 2005...A Japanese company other than Nichia has developed a white LED of their own with
a new phosphor material. Fujikura Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan, a telecommunication and technology company, has collaborated with
the National Institute for Materials Science to develop a new brighter, white
LED that uses a special phosphor material, according to an article
in Nikkei Business Daily. The new phosphor is a mixture of silicon, aluminum,
oxygen, nitrogen. The device uses a blue LED coated with a resin containing
the phosphor material. The company claims that the increased brightness is due
to the improved efficiency of the phosphor material. Fujikura will begin shipping
samples of the new LED before the end of the fiscal year.
Lighting Science Group Appoints CFO
May 30, 2005...In the first news we have heard from Lighting Science Group Corporation of
Dallas, Texas in several months, the company announced the appointment of Mike Lavey
as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), replacing Michael Poss.
The company has promoted Michael Poss to executive vice president of the legal
department.
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Cree's Japanese Distributor, Sumitomo Corporation Orders $200 Million of Cree's LED Products LIGHTimes Staff
May 26, 2005...Cree, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina USA, announced that its Japanese distributor,
Sumitomo Corporation's Electronic Materials & Equipment Division, (which is part
of Sumitomo
Corporation's Media, Electronics and Network Business Unit) has agreed to purchase $200 million of Cree's LED products during Cree's fiscal
year ending June 2006. This record purchase agreement is up 25% from the previous
year’s order, which at the time stood as Cree's historic high purchase order (Ref: May 18, 2004 coverage). The deal was added to the existing distributorship agreement, which
extends through Cree's fiscal year ending June 2007. The agreement is subject
to end-customer demand and other terms and conditions.
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We're
giving away a Sony Video MP3 player... Sign up for, or renew,
a LIGHTimes SecondPage membership here in January and you will be
automatically entered!
How
cool is that? If you've been sitting on the fence about whether
to join or renew (or if you've been meaning to, but just haven't
gotten around to it), now is the best time to get it done. If your
current membership hasn't expired yet, take advantage of an early
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The
LED Supply
Chain Conference Epi,
Chips and Devices...
June 8-9 Hsinchu, Taiwan
When
markets are uncertain, winning companies in growth markets push
forward while the incumbent technologies pull back. Now is the
time to press the advantage, and knowledge and updated connections
are what you need to do it. To help you use your time most efficiently,
this 7th Annual international event has been moved to early June
as a lead-in for the 2009 Taiwan Photonics Festival later that same
week. Senior executives from the key industry players will gather
as we examine the complete vertical market, from leading manufacturers
and developers of advanced materials and processes, to packaging
and packaged devices. Before you meet the
crowds, get focused on the key market and technical developments
you need to know. Visit www.BlueTaiwan.com
for all the details.
StockerYale and its CEO Settle SEC Investigation
LIGHTimes Staff
May 25, 2005...StockerYale of Salem, New Hampshire USA, has reached a settlement with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC). The settlement resolves
the investigation into certain press releases and sales of stock by the StockerYale’s
CEO in April of 2004. StockerYale, a designer and manufacturer of LEDs and photonics
components, announced that the SEC has given final approval to the settlement
which calls for fines to be paid on behalf of company CEO, Mark W. Blodgett.
The investigation alleged that Mr. Blodgett failed to take adequate steps to
ensure the accuracy of its press release information, and that certain of his
stock transactions were questionable.
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Holes Placed Periodically in Substrate Boost LED Efficiency LIGHTimes Staff
May 27, 2005...A research team from Kyoto University and Japan Science and Technology Agency
has developed a design that significantly boosts the efficiency of light emitting
diodes according to a NikkeiNet Interactive article.
The article sites research appearing in the May 27 edition of the journal Science
which discusses how tiny holes every 390-480nm in the crystalline structure of
a thin film InGaAsP substrate of LEDs can boost light emitting 300 to 400%. The
article points out that only about 20% of the light manages to escape a typical
LED, but the rest remains trapped within the substrate and dissipates. The periodic
holes open up escape routes for the trapped light. The researchers have theorized
that such structure might help make LEDs that are close to 100% efficient. Light emitting efficiency boosts with hole filled GaAs substrates were reported by researchers at UCLA in 1993.
Strategies in Light is an executive-level conference on high-brightness
LEDs produced by Strategies Unlimited and PennWell Corporation.
Now
in its tenth year and the longest-running conference in the LED
industry, this event is considered to be the premier annual forum
for presenting current commercial developments in high-brightness
LEDs and providing unparalleled networking opportunities for component
and equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and end-users of HB LED
devices.Strategies
in Light is the US-based event to learn about the latest innovation
in HB LED markets, applications, products, and regional activities.
This is the kickoff event of the year, which supplies the critical
market forecast you need to keep the industry working for you. Register
online now, or contact lubah@pennwell.com
for more information.
Permlight Products Increases Brightness of Its Twiste'R Product; Targets Neon Applications
May 26, 2005...Permlight Products, headquartered in Tustin, California USA, has begun shipping large volumes of it new higher brightness White Twiste’R 752-WHT-B series channel letter illumination product. According to the company, the patented product boasts double the brightness and better lumen maintenance. Also, the company says that the new higher brightness product can rival neon for white reverse halo lit letters with 20-50% lower cost.
LIGHTimes SecondPage members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
ITC Throws Out Osram's Patent Infringement Claims Against Dominant LIGHTimes Staff
May 24, 2005...The USA, International Trade Commission has thrown out Osram Opto GMBH’s
patent infringement claims against the Malaysian manufacturer, Dominant Semiconductors.
Osram GMBH of Regensburg, Germany filed the patent infringement suit in June
2004 that covered nine patents about phospher technology and electrical connection designs.
LIGHTimes SecondPage members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Jed Dorsheimer Speaks of IP Issues in LED Industry at Blue 2005 Scott McMahan
May 24, 2005...Jed Dorsheimer, Sr. Research Analyst of the investment bank, Adams Harkness &
Hill, spoke at our recent Blue 2005 event about IP issues in the LED market. According
to Mr. Dorsheimer, intellectual property issues in the LED industry occur on a
global playing field and therefore involve several international bodies such as
USPTO, EPO, JPO, and the Taiwanese patent office. Mr. Dorsheimer said that more
than 25% of patents filed in the US were from Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.
While China is a major player in terms of manufacturing LEDs, Dorsheimer characterized
the country as the ‘wild’ east with patent enforcement that is inconsistent
with that of the other major world markets.
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Our news features are reported
by the LIGHTimes staff writers.
For submissions or content suggestions, you can contact us using editor -at - sslighting.net
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Commentary & Perspective...
Alan Thompson Reports on BLUE 2005
May 22, 2005...Our Sr. Technology Editor and longtime industry veteran, Dr. Alan Thompson,
not only helped organize BLUE 2005, he was there in Taiwan all week gathering
the news and filed the following report. I want to publicly thank Alan, Bob
Walker and his staff at YEBY Associates, and my partner, Tom Griffiths, President
and CEO of CompoundSemi Online. They all did a terrific job making this the
best BLUE ever. The hard part will be topping themselves next year! We'll be
reporting details of the meet over the next few weeks, but this overall report
from Alan is a must read. ---Jo Ann McDonald
Just completed, BLUE 2005 was held in Hsinchu, Taiwan, May 16-18, 2005. This
year’s theme, "LED Technologies Driving the Solid State Lighting
Revolution" lived up to expectations by covering the world markets
for HB-LEDs, reviewing various national solid state lighting programs and looking
at emerging technologies and applications. Three of the talks addressed IP and
financial market issues, a new and newsworthy topic this year.
The meeting was opened by co-chairs Dr Y.S.Liu of ITRI, Dr Robert Walker of
YEBY Associates, and Dr Y.M Yu of KOPTI (standing in for Dr Tae-Il Kim who was
unable to attend at the last minute). The lead speaker, one of four keynoters,
was Dr Robert Steele of Strategies Unlimited, who gave his usual detailed and
well documented account of the worldwide HB-LED marketplace. Key points were
a slowing growth rate in revenues as the cell phone market matures, falling
ASPs generally, and new markets opening but not quickly enough to keep CAGRs
in the 30 to 40% range. The outlook remains upbeat however with solid state
lighting promising some huge markets a few years out. Asif Anwar of Strategy
Analytics focused his talk on short wavelength laser diodes. While the overall
market is currently quite small and split among a variety of applications, he
predicts rapid growth (CAGR of 97%) dominated by next generation DVD using violet
(405 nm) GaN based devices.
The analyst talks were followed by detailed country reviews for Taiwan, Korea,
Japan and China. Taiwan continues to grow its dominant market share, while Korea
and China both show strong improvement. All have national programs with similar
broad goals of enabling general solid state lighting over the next decade. Especially
exciting was the appearance of China's Wu Ling, General Secretary of the China
SSL Alliance, because it was her first trip to Taiwan from Beijing.
George Mueller, Founding Chairman and CEO of Color Kinetics, gave the second
keynote with an inspiring look at both his company and his view of the future
of lighting. They have concentrated on the upper part of the lighting pyramid
(high value, niche volume), starting with color. He reported that LED based
systems have now become accepted as the best performers in this segment, and
gave numerous examples. They are now addressing the similar markets for white.
The achievement of 100 lm/W efficiencies, already shown in R&D, will make
white LED systems very attractive to designers and result in much broader adoption.
He sees this happening in the 2007-9 time frame. He gave the audience his list
of 7 "must have" properties if they are to successfully address this
market.
Dr Volker Haerle (Osram Opto Semiconductors) addressed the newer markets opening
up for HB-LEDs, most of which need high power, from a producer’s perspective.
The largest are automobile exterior lighting, including headlamps, LCD backlighting
and projection systems. Brent York (TIR Systems) concentrated on the architectural
and lighting applications from a system manufacturer’s viewpoint, and also
detailed the new Lexel technology, which was recently
disclosed in these pages. The latter takes a big step toward a self contained
"standard" subsystem that can be used by luminaire manufacturers who
then don’t need detailed knowledge of LEDs but can still design and build
products that will perform predictably and reliably. Dr H.S.Chung of Dongbu
Anam Semiconductor gave a comprehensive survey of applications being addressed
by Korean companies in particular, with LCD backlighting showing strong growth.
The audience was particularly excited to hear from another keynoter, Ms Patricia
Martone, of the Fish and Neave IP group of the law firm Ropes and Gray. It is
difficult to get a lawyer to discuss the topic of IP openly, so Patricia’s
presentation was unusual and informative. She talked about litigation in the
semiconductor industry in general and then zeroed in on the LED arena, talking
about the pros and cons of patents, cross-licensing and litigation. Everyone
in the room had an interest in these issues and we appreciated her openness.
Talks by Hans Mosesmann of Moors and Cabot and Jed Dorsheimer of Adams Harkness
and Hill, addressed industry and IP issues from the investment and financial
analysts’ perspectives. They brought up many issues and enlightened the
attendees, most of whom were from LED producing and consuming companies. Our
news and editorial people will be reviewing these IP-related talks in more detail
in the coming weeks in these pages.
The conference closed with several talks covering the technology and applications
of high power and white LEDs, including epi materials, phosphors, and packaging.
These reinforced earlier speakers’ predictions of a growing number of applications
for higher power devices, particularly white, and the huge promise of solid
state lighting coming closer each year, fueled by advances in performance and
cost. Two companies, Intematix and Phosphor Tech, introduced new phosphors,
offering a path for newer device manufacturers to avoid cross-licensing or litigation
problems with more established players. Developments such as these can only
help expand the field and help grow markets
For those who attended BLUE 2005, it was a wonderful opportunity to hear industry
leaders talk about markets and technology and to network with the movers and
shakers. All the speakers, sponsors and exhibitors deserve our thanks for helping
make this year's event be even more successful than BLUE 2004. If you couldn’t
make it this year, be sure to start making plans to be in Hsinchu next May for
BLUE 2006!
Alan Thompson, Senior Technology Editor
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