... When transformational technology is introduced to a 100+ year old industry, one of two things happens: A) It changes the technology in the market or B) It changes everything. We've long held that LED lighting will change everything about lighting, but have only nibbled at the edges of how... Read the editorial...
(if it resists... go here)
The
opportunities presented by the increasing rapid adoption of high brightness LEDs,
in all their forms and applications, represents nothing short of a "digital
revolution" for a previously "analog" world. LEDs are having a
substantial disruptive effect on a number of established technologies, and where
there is disruption, there is an intense need for information.
LIGHTimes Online is here to serve the information needs of the LED industry
supply chain, as well as integrators and non-architectural application solution
providers with technology, product and market news updates for these rapidly evolving
devices. Our readership also includes LED packagers, technology enablers and service
companies seeking the the answers to how best to meet their customers' needs.
For
architectural lighting and applications news of interest specifically to lighting
designers, specifiers, and architectural lighting decision makers, along with
luminaire designers, lighting system integrators and lighting subsystem developers,
please visit our sister publication, Solid
State Lighting Design.
SSL
is booming and the 2011/2012 Summit Series is coming back to keep the message
on quality
Launched in 2008, the SSL
Summit will bring the quality story to New York City in October 2011, and
then back to LA in March 2012. At every one of the Summit events, the feedback
remains consistent: Just what we need, do it again soon. The Summit brings together
lighting decision makers with industry thought leaders, pioneers, and innovators
from the across the solid state lighting eco-system.
Continuing the tradition, 2011/2012 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!). Last year's event in NYC included
representatives of over 100 million square feet of developed property, and the
one thing we don't want to leave out for 2011 is you! Look into the series information
at www.SSLsummit.com for the details.
Sponsorships are available for the full series.
Excellence Optoelectronics Continues to Switch Focus to Automotive LED Lighting
June 11, 2013...Excellence Optoelectronics Inc (EOI) reports that it has actively transferred its development focus to LED automotive lighting over the past three to four years. The company says it has passed the international certifications successfully. The percentage of the company's revenue from automotive LED lighting increased to 60%. The company produces LED traffic signals, LED roadway and area lighting, LED industrial lighting and LED automotive lighting.
The company says it will continue to actively expand its automotive lighting niche market in the future. This year, the company says that the proportion of revenue from automotive LED lighting is expected to be up to 70%.
The main products of EOI can be divided into LED automotive lighting and other LED lighting; the former accounts for about 60%, while the latter takes up about 40% (including lights, signal lights, etc.). EOI pointed out that its total consolidated revenue in 2012 amounted to 1.383 billion NTD, an annual increase of 11%, which mainly benefits from the growth in the shipments of LED modules and LED street lights.
For the operation in this year, EOI said that in addition to its LED automotive lighting attracting new customers, it got the tender for about 50,000 street lights in North America for its second-generation LED lights at the end of last year. It will continue to ship until the third quarter of 2014.
Sensor Electronic Technology and USDA Find that UV LED Lighting Can Slow Down Decay of Fruits and Vegetables LIGHTimes News Staff
June 4, 2013...Scientists from Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc. (SETi), a manufacturer of
UV LEDs, based in Columbia, SC, together with the Food Components and Health
Laboratory of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have found that certain
UV LEDs can extend the shelf life of fresh fruit and vegetables stored in home
refrigerators.
SETi says that the 3-year program, which investigated the effects of light
from certain types of UV LEDs, has led to more than double the shelf life of
fresh produce, while retaining the nutritional quality and appearance. The
company says that the technology is currently being commercialized for the home
appliance market.
Dr. Steven Britz, Research Plant Physiologist, Agricultural Research Service
of USDA, says that the scientists are looking at how the UV effect
works.“We are exploring the possibility that the UV effect involves
the induction of defense mechanisms in the fruit itself in addition to
inhibition of mold growth, since evidence indicates parts of the UV spectrum
retards decay,” Dr. Britz said.
“Findings of this exciting program are expected to have a major
impact on the appliance business to extend the shelf life and preserve
nutritional value of the fresh produce,” said Dr. Remis Gaska,
president and CEO of SETi.“We look forward to the prospect of UV LEDs
in residential refrigerators impacting on everyday life and reducing waste
through spoilage.”
Soraa Refutes LED Lighting Eye Safety Issue LIGHTimes News Staff
June 4, 2013...Soraa scientists have disputed recent reports in the mainstream media have focused on certain scientific studies related to LED lighting and eye health. According to Soraa, one
particular article published in the journal Photochemistry and Photobiology was
cited in the mainstream media as having proven that LED lights cause eye
damage. Soraa contends that the study was in no way conclusive and that its
findings were suspect.
Soraa's Krames refuted the conclusions in a blog post. Krames points out that the
experiments exposed eye cells to light intensity of 5 mW/cm2 for 12 hours. He
said that the intensity level "corresponds to staring directly into a
100W-equivalent light bulb from about four inches away for 12 hours."
The research posited a direct link between LEDs with blue light (blue
converted white light) and excess energy in the blue band within the human
visual sensitivity range.
Soraa scientists acknowledged that phosphor-converted LEDs that use blue
emitters do typically exhibit an energy peak in the blue band because some
photons pass through the phosphor. But the scientists say there has still never
been conclusive research on how significant a risk blue light poses. Moreover,
Soraa points to studies that show exposure to blue light in the morning can
increase our productivity.
Krames boasts that Soraa uses violet LEDs and the company's MR16 lamps
have relatively even power distribution across the visual range. Soraa asserts
that in fact, the SSL industry is moving to product designs that more closely
mimic a blackbody radiator such as an incandescent lamp through the use of new
phosphors and mixes of LED colors.
Strategy Analytics Looks at Future of LED-based Headlamp Adoption LIGHTimes News Staff
June 3, 2013...Market research firm, Strategy Analytics (SA) offers two possible scenarios
for semiconductor LED-based headlight adoption. One scenario is that luxury and
high end car models will continue to increase their demand for LED-based
headlamps. With this scenario SA forecasts that some 12 percent of light
vehicles by 2020 will feature LED headlights. however, SA says that if cost
reduction strategies prove successful, deployment will enter the mass market
and production penetration will increase to approximately 21 percent or about
24 million vehicles by 2020.
SA notes that several technical challenges continue to face headlight
designers including: brightness levels from current LED chips, thermal issues,
complexity of controlling LED headlights and their increased functionality, and
ultimately, the higher assembly costs when compared to competing halogen- and
xenon-based systems.
Makers of LED-based headlights are using platform designs so they can have
the flexibility to meet the differing demands of the various auto makers, in
order to limit development costs. SA notes that some Tier 1 suppliers are
limiting the number of LED chips in the headlight design to reduce costs.
According to SA, many designs also use LEDs primarily for low beam, and use
conventional halogen bulbs for the less frequently used high beam. The idea is
to make LED headlights more affordable for mid and lower segment vehicles.
"As with many other electronic features," said Kevin Mak , analyst in the
Automotive Electronics Service (AES) at Strategy Analytics, "intensifying
competition among auto makers is forcing the growth of LED headlights.
Innovative and attractive LED vehicle headlamp designs have captured consumer
attention and are raising interest in feature enhancements, such as cornering
lights and automatic high beam assistance. LEDs can offer these advantages,
however they come at a cost."
"On the supply side, lighting vendors must find adaptable solutions in
developing new LED headlight designs for more frequent model cycles and the
more compact model segments," Mak also added. "At the same time, more
complicated matrix headlight systems will enter the high-end market, posing
even greater technical challenges for both module designers and semiconductor
component suppliers."
Edison Opto enters LED TV Backlight Market LIGHTimes News Staff
May 30, 2013...Edison Opto, an LED packaging company based in Taiwan, will begin offering
TV backlighting products in 2013. The company reported that its TV backlighting
products passed verification in the second quarter of 2013, according to a
Digitimes article. Edison
Opto plans to begin shipping the products in July.
The company noted that the light guide plates for side-lit LEDs can increase
production costs. As an example the company says that for a 32-inch side-lit
LED TV the light guide plate is about $7 per unit. However, direct-lit LED TVs
do not need light guide plates.
According to Digitimes, packaged LEDs for backlighting will consume about .8
W per packaged LED, and about 50-60 are needed for a 32-inch TV. Digitimes
indicated that by the second half of 2013 through 2014, higher power and more
efficient LEDs will be produced. Each LED will consume between 1.5-2W and a
32-inch TV would only need 18 units units for backlighting.
Crystal IS Wins Top Honor at the 2013 BlueTech Forum LIGHTimes News Staff
May 30, 2013...Crystal IS today announced that the company won the Disrupt-o-Meter™
Award at the 2013 BlueTech Forum in Amsterdam. Crystal IS was selected for the
water sector award honoring innovative, LED-based UV lamp technology. The
Disrupt-o-Meter Award is given to the water technology company that has the
highest potential to not only influence existing markets, but open up new
markets because of its ability to be used in various applications.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by this global forum composed of
water industry leaders, market experts and our peers,” said Therese
Jordan, SVP of Business Development at Crystal IS. “This honor
signifies the global market’s confidence in our technology and its future
impact.”
“UV LEDs have the potential to disrupt this market and access
market share, and equally importantly, to open up new applications and markets
previously inaccessible to conventional UV lamp technology,” stated
Paul O’Callaghan, CEO of BlueTech Research.
Crystal IS reported record outputs of greater than 60mW for their UVC LEDs
earlier this year. As part of this award, Crystal IS will have the opportunity
to showcase their products in the 2013 WEFTEC Innovation Pavilion at the
conference in Chicago, IL this October.
TI Delivers High Voltage Automotive LED Drivers for Dashboards LIGHTimes News Staff
May 30, 2013...Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) of Dallas, Texas USA, introduced the AEC-Q100 qualified automotive LED drivers. The new drivers for automotive LED applciations feature what the company claims to be the industry's highest voltage rating, thermal shutdown protection and optimized electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) performance. TI notes that automotive electronics must endure high temperatures, high voltage transient and electromagnetic interference while reducing electromagnetic emissions.
The TLC6C598-Q1 and TLC6C5912-Q1 are monolithic, medium-voltage, low-current 8-bit/12-bit shift registers designed for use in systems that require relatively moderate load power, such as LEDs. The TLC6C598-Q1 and TLC6C5912-Q1 are designed for automotive dashboard applications, including tell-tale warning lamps, instrumentation cluster, and LED illumination and control.
The TLC6C598-Q1 and TLC6C5912-Q1 have are rated up to 40V on all outputs. TI says that this allows the TLC6C598-Q1 to drive up to eight strings of LEDs and the TLC6C5912-Q1 to power up to twelve strings of LEDs directly connected to the automotive battery. The TLC6C598-Q1 and TLC6C5912-Q1 offer thermal shutdown protection against power dissipation. The company says that this translates to better long-term reliability when low- and high-temperature demands are placed on the device. The TLC6C598-Q1 and TLC6C5912-Q1 have controlled and optimized rise and fall time for the outputs, reducing the electromagnetic emissions.
The TLC6C598-Q1 comes in two packages: the SOIC-D and TSSOP-PW 16-pin packages are available now for ordering at a suggested retail price of $0.50 in 2,500-unit quantities. The TLC6C5912-Q1 comes in two packages: the SOIC and TSSOP 20-pin packages are available now for ordering at a suggested retail price of $0.70 in 2,500-unit quantities.
University of Iowa to Upgrade Kinnick Stadium with New Daktronics Video Display System LIGHTimes News Staff
May 28, 2013...The University of Iowa will get a new integrated video display at Kinnick
Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Hawkeye fans will get to view the system designed,
manufactured and installed by Daktronics of Brookings, S.D., a long-time
partner of Iowa Athletics. The installation at the stadium includes a true HD
LED video display, a large ribbon display, two corner video displays and four
auxiliary displays. Kinnick Stadium is a 70,000+ capacity stadium that first
opened in 1929.
The main video display, which will measure 31 feet high by 122 feet wide,
will tower over the south end zone. The new display replaces the previous
Daktronics product that was installed in 2005 and will expand to fill the
entire footprint of the previous structure which consisted of video and static
signage.
The new display can show one large image to highlight live video and instant
replays and can also be divided into separate windows to show a variety of
vivid graphics, colorful animations, up-to-the-minute statistics, scoring
information and sponsor advertisements. In the corners of the North end zone
above the seating area, two displays measuring more than 21 feet high by 38
feet wide will be used to highlight live video and replays during the game.
A ribbon display measuring more than 8 feet high by 382 feet wide will
stretch along the north end zone running from below one corner video display to
below the other. Four auxiliary displays with one above each tunnel entry
measuring more than 3 feet high by 13 feet wide, will showcase sponsors
throughout events and provide up-to-the-minute statistics and game information.
All eight displays will feature a 13HD pixel layout.
“We’re excited about this opportunity to continue our
long-standing partnership with the University of Iowa by providing them with a
new true HD video display for their football stadium,” said Joey
Hulsebus, Daktronics sales representative. “We were able to maximize
our use of the previous structure to provide their fans with the
‘wow’ factor the university desired. We look forward to the
installation and seeing the improved game-day production when football season
returns.”
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