May
27
2010
| 25 May 2010 |
| DOE is offering round 7 funding for solid-state lighting projects, and has released results for round 10 of its Caliper program. Plus news of upcoming events. |
| The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced two solid-state lighting (SSL) funding opportunities, and is seeking applications for projects to advance research, development, and market adoption of SSL technology.The funding is directed toward two existing DOE SSL R&D program areas for Core Technology Research (up to $15 million) and Product Development (up to $10 million). This will be the seventh round of such funding that has been awarded in recent years. Funding is subject to congressional appropriations.
Under new rules, foreign companies are now eligible to apply as part of a project team. Also, all types of domestic entities – including federal research centers and national laboratories – are eligible. DOE will no longer issue the SSL Research Call for DOE/Federal Laboratories.
Round 10 of Caliper testing
The DOE has completed Round 10 of product testing through the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Caliper program. A Summary Report containing the results from Round 10 testing is now available from the DOE SSL website.
Round 10 of product testing included four primary focus areas: parking structure luminaires, outdoor wallpack luminaires, cove lighting luminaires (including two products marketed as “AC LED” products), and replacement lamps. To benchmark against tests of similar products that use conventional light sources, traditional parking structure, wallpack, and cove light products were also tested and included in this summary report.
The Department allows detailed test results from Caliper testing to be distributed in the public interest for noncommercial, educational purposes only. Detailed test reports for Round 10 will be available soon through the searchable online Caliper system.
Upcoming events
EPA is hosting a webinar on June 8, 2010 from 1:00–2:30 pm Eastern to provide an overview of draft 1 of the ENERGY STAR Luminaires v1.0 specification, and the rationale supporting the proposed changes from the existing specifications. Please contact luminaires@energystar.gov to register for the call, noting “June 8 Luminaires Webinar” in the subject line of your e-mail. Instructions for participating in the webinar will be emailed to confirmed registrants prior to the webinar.
The 2010 DOE SSL Market Introduction Workshop takes place on July 20–22, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA. DOE workshops gather lighting industry leaders to share the latest updates and strategies for successful market introduction of high-quality, energy-efficient SSL solutions. This event comprises Workshops on July 21-22 and pre-conference tutorials on July 20.
The 2010 Energy Star Partner Meeting takes place on October 4-7, 2010 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown in Denver, Colorado. The Lighting Track starts on Monday, October 4, 2010 and ends at midday on Wednesday, October 6, 2010.
Courtesy LEDs Magazine |
May
18
2010
May 18, 2010…Strategy Analytics predicts that the fast-growing market for high-brightness LEDs in LCD TVs will be restricted by a shortage of key semiconductor materials in the second half of 2010. This prediction is the focus of the company’s report “Materials Shortage to Restrict Rampant LED Market.” Strategy Analytics (SA) points out that demand has soared with the rapid penetration of LED backlighting modules in LCD TVs. This has also lead to a soaring demand for capital equipment, especially metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors used to make gallium nitride (GaN) LEDs.
SA says that a similar trend is now evident in the supply of consumables, specifically the metal-organic material trimethylgallium (TMG) and sapphire wafers. SA contends that demand for TMG already exceeds the available supply; therefore manufacturers need to absorb a 20% price increase in the near term. The company also predicts that a shortage of sapphire wafers, upon which most blue and white LEDs are produced, is also likely in the second half of 2010. “Concerns have previously been raised over the ability of MOCVD equipment vendors to meet rapidly increasing demand,” noted Asif Anwar, director of the GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Service at Strategy Analytics. “The concern for short supply of materials will create a bottleneck for LED market growth over the short term.”
The Strategy Analytics contends that Taiwanese LED manufacturers in particular need to adjust to the new reality of the supply chain. Historically, they have bargained for the price of these key materials. However, according to the SA’s assertion, the balance of power in the LED industry has changed, with competitors backed by huge corporations, such as Samsung and LG, much better positioned to absorb higher material costs and to guarantee their supply in a constrained market.
Steven Entwistle, VP of the Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice, added, “Capacity expansions already in progress should relieve these constraints by mid-2011. Until then, the average selling price of high-brightness LEDs based on gallium nitride should hold up well.”
May
18
2010
The 25th Image Sensing Show will be held Yokohama, Japan from June 9 - 11, 2010. The show focuses on image processing products and technologies widely used at production sites such as appearance inspection and measurement, as well as a variety of image processing products used in the fields associated with our daily lives such as: automobiles, ITS (Intelligent Transport System), security, education, entertainment, service, medicine, and the research and development fields. Our representatives in Japan, KLV, will be demonstrating our HSi-300 Hyperspectral Imaging System. The HSi-300 features an AOTF-based spectral filter system, instrument driver control and control module, and a powerful, intuitive image capture and hyperspectral analysis software suite. It now features µ-Manager plug-ins, a free and open source application software platform for imaging and control of automated microscopes on multiple operating systems (Windows, Mac, and Linux). The HSi-300 is integrated with DVC cameras and the Andor Ixon EMCCD family of scientific cameras, and soon will be integrated with Hamamatsu and Photometrics.
May
12
2010
Due to the United States Government’s export laws and requirements, we now screen all prospects and potential customers for possible listing on the Denied/ Restricted Parties List, both domestic and international. As a result, we require that a company name and a contact name be given for all opportunities before we are able to provide information of any sort, including pricing or quotations.