Optronic Laboratories : Light Measurement Experts

November 19, 2009…Display search predicts that LEDs will be the dominant large-area TFT LCD backlight unit light source by 2011. According to the most recent Display Search Quarterly LED and CCFL Backlight Report, LED-based backlights will hold a 56 percent share by 2011.In 2011, the company says that traditional backlights using fluorescent tubes (CCFL and EEFL) for notebook PC, monitor, and TV displays will drop to 44% of the market. DisplaySearch forecasts that LED penetration in backlighting for displays will skyrocket to 78% in 2015.

The company points out that the transition to LEDs is already taking place in the notebook PC segment, and Display search predicts that LED penetration in large-area TFT LCD will reach 27.8% in 2009.

Courtesy: LighTimes News Staff

November 19, 2009…Strategy Analytics says that the LED industry appears poised for a new phase of growth. SA points to three companies alone that have raised close to $800 million in the past two months. In its report entitled, “Has LED Lighting Reached a Tipping Point?”, Strategy Analytics says that the three public offerings indicate both the accelerated adoption of LED backlighting technology and some very early signs of the move toward solid-state lighting.The company points to the fact that inside the space of one week, Aixtron and Veeco Instruments, two key vendors of MOCVD equipment for volume LED production, reportedly raised a combined total of $360 million. Both companies cited strong backlogs in orders for MOCVD equipment. Also, leading LED chip manufacturer Cree raised net proceeds of $434 million and recently announced the decision to build a new facility in China.

“Strategy Analytics believes that this backlog represents orders for some 200 production reactors that can be expected to come on-line during 2010,” said Asif Anwar, Director of the Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductors Service. “Both Aixtron and Veeco will need to add production capacity, and will have to invest in technology development for subsequent demand cycles.” “LED-based backlighting has reached a tipping point where we expect to see significant acceleration of the market for LED-backlit LCD TVs from 2010 on,” added Steve Entwistle, VP of Strategy Analytics’ Strategic Technologies Practice. “The financial moves also indicate concrete plans for future growth phases of the LED market with solid-state lighting for general lighting applications.”

Courtesy: SSLighting Design News Staff

November 5, 2009…Alex Baker, the Energy Star program manager with United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Energy Star stakeholders which states, that before November 30, 2009, DOE and EPA will release a more detailed proposal outlining anticipated Energy Star program enhancements for 2010. These program enhancements will include a proposed method of integrating various elements of the Energy Star lighting program.He stated in the letter, “Among other things, it is EPA’s intention to streamline the qualification process and paperwork related to ENERGY STAR qualification of lighting products, as part of the process of integrating potentially duplicative and overlapping specifications. Please note that it is also EPA’s intention to retain key elements of the DOE-developed Energy Star specifications for Solid State Lighting and Integral LED Lamps, including testing according to the IES LM-79 standard, as appropriate.”

Courtesy: LighTimes

November 12, 2009…President Obama got to see a demonstration of Nexxus Lighting’s long-life Array Lighting LED lamps using QD Visions quantum dot technology during a tour of laboratories at MIT. The President reportedly visited MIT Oct. 23 to promote his administration’s commitment to energy research to enable the U.S. to lead the world in the development of new, efficient and clean energy technologies. Before his speech to students and faculty, President Obama toured three MIT Laboratories, where cutting edge clean energy technologies are being developed with government research funding. In one laboratory, QD Vision Scientific Advisor and Co-Founder Vladimir Bulovic, the KDD Associate Professor of Communications and Technology, demonstrated the Array™ Lighting LED lamp with Quantum Light™ optic technology to the President.

Courtesy LIGHTimes News Staff

November 5, 2009…Alex Baker, the Energy Star program manager with United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Energy Star stakeholders which states, that before November 30, 2009, DOE and EPA will release a more detailed proposal outlining anticipated Energy Star program enhancements for 2010. These program enhancements will include a proposed method of integrating various elements of the Energy Star lighting program.He stated in the letter, “Among other things, it is EPA’s intention to streamline the qualification process and paperwork related to ENERGY STAR qualification of lighting products, as part of the process of integrating potentially duplicative and overlapping specifications. Please note that it is also EPA’s intention to retain key elements of the DOE-developed Energy Star specifications for Solid State Lighting and Integral LED Lamps, including testing according to the IES LM-79 standard, as appropriate.”

How many light bulbs does it take to change the world? Just one, if you make it LED.

The World Usability Day (WUD) project will make 1,000 LED spot/bulbs available for free via their website http://www.worldusabilityday.org. “Assume the following math: 1,000 bulbs can replace all of the light bulbs in 20 medium-sized houses,” said Brian Sullivan, the usability principal at the Sabre Human Factors Center in San Francisco, CA, and co-chair of World Usability Day. “The LED bulbs are easily three times more efficient than standard bulbs. So that is the equivalent of lighting 100 houses,” said Brian Sullivan, co-chair of World Usability Day. By using 1 LED bulb rather than 3 filament bulbs you will save 268.24 kWh.

The WUD free light bulbs will be offered worldwide. The project is being made possible by Next Generation Lighting Supply (NGL Supply) and Seoul Semiconductor, Inc. (Seoul). NGL Supply will provide the bulbs with Edison bases (standard in most lamps, ceiling fans, and recessed lighting outlets) and fulfillment, and Seoul will supply the inner workings. WUD web site visitors will fill out a form with a DISCOUNT code. When the visitor clicks a button from the WUD site (after filling out a form), they are taken to the NGL site for fulfillment. Participants will pay for shipping and handling (which is very common for FREE items).

“We are thrilled to be able to offer free LED light bulbs,” said Elizabeth Rosenzweig, founder and president of WUD. “These products are just now reaching the market; they’re very cutting edge,” said Rosenzweig. “Thanks to NGL Supply and Seoul, we will change the world one light bulb at a time. It’s just that simple.”

“Seoul Semiconductor is proud to be part of this event and share our Acriche LED technology with those concerned about making a better world. Our basic tenets, starting with our CEO Mr. C.H. Lee, include being a good corporate citizen along with doing the right thing for the environment. The WUD event is a showcase for responsible products available today that will make a better future,” said Doug Hardman, Americas Strategic Marketing Director, Seoul Semiconductors.

“Working with WUD makes it possible for NGL Supply to make LED technology readily available to 1,000 people who wish to make the change to energy efficient environmentally friendly lighting solutions,” said Kennie Alton, principal, Next Generation Lighting Supply.

The Fifth Annual World Usability Day will be celebrated globally on November 12 with the theme “Designing for a Sustainable World.” Countries that announced WUD projects last week included Estonia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates bringing the total number of countries to 38 and the number of events to 112.

Source: http://www.worldusabilityday.org/

(Applications Due: April 11, 2011)

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) is soliciting research proposals for its “Quick-Trials for Imaging and Image-Guided Interventions: Exploratory Grants” program. The program “is intended to support clinical trials conducting preliminary evaluation of the safety and efficacy of imaging agents, as well as an assessment of imaging systems, image processing, image-guided therapy, contrast kinetic modeling, and 3-D reconstruction and other quantitative tools.” Applications are due by April 11, 2011.

November 6, 2009–With energy efficient technology becoming a government priority, cities across the country are investing in greener lighting sources. The Optical Society (OSA; Washington, DC), in conjunction with the House of Representatives’ Research & Development (R&D) Caucus, is hosting a Congressional briefing next week to discuss how solid-state lighting, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), can significantly reduce the amount of energy used for residential, commercial, automotive, and street lighting (see also “OIDA/SPIE hope message “resonates” in Congress” and “OSA members to support research into renewable energy sources“).

Lighting uses 22% of the electricity and 8% of the total energy spent in the U.S., according to government reports. A panel of experts will discuss current and future LED technologies, why municipalities across the country are switching to them, cost savings associated with LEDs, and the role of government in LED-related research. The briefing is free and open to the public.

The Congressional Luncheon Briefing is entitled LEDs: Cities Investing in a Greener Future and will be held at B340 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 on Thursday, November 12, 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m.

Speakers include Andrew Brix, Energy Programs Manager, City of Ann Arbor, Michigan; James Brodrick, Solid-State Lighting Program Manager, U.S. Dept. of Energy; and Matthew Sommers, LED Design Manager, GE Lumination. The presentations will be moderated by Alex Fong, Senior Vice President, Life Sciences & Instrumentation at Gooch and Housego.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act makes investing in energy efficient technologies and reducing the cost of high-performance lighting products a priority. Continuing advances, with the support of federal funding for energy efficient technologies, can accelerate progress toward creating a U.S.-led market for high-efficiency light sources that save more energy, reduce costs and have less environmental impact than conventional light sources. LEDs use half the energy (or less) and last 10 to 12 years longer than conventional bulbs. Additionally, LEDs contain no mercury, unlike compact fluorescent light bulbs. Studies suggest that a complete conversion to the LEDs could decrease carbon dioxide emissions from electric power use for lighting by up to 50% in just more than 20 years.

For more information, contact Angela Stark at the OSA at astark@osa.org.

Courtesy Gail Overton, LaserFocusWorld

November 5, 2009…Alex Baker, the Energy Star program manager with United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to Energy Star stakeholders which states, that before November 30, 2009, DOE and EPA will release a more detailed proposal outlining anticipated Energy Star program enhancements for 2010. These program enhancements will include a proposed method of integrating various elements of the Energy Star lighting program.He stated in the letter, “Among other things, it is EPA’s intention to streamline the qualification process and paperwork related to ENERGY STAR qualification of lighting products, as part of the process of integrating potentially duplicative and overlapping specifications. Please note that it is also EPA’s intention to retain key elements of the DOE-developed Energy Star specifications for Solid State Lighting and Integral LED Lamps, including testing according to the IES LM-79 standard, as appropriate.”

Courtesy SSLighting Design News Staff