Articles & Interviews

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Philipp Henrici, President and Managing Director at BJB

It’s unusual for a lighting company to be older than electric lighting itself, but BJB in Arnsberg, Germany is celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. LED professional’s Siegfried Luger and Dr. Günther Sejkora spoke with Philipp Henrici, the President and Managing Director at BJB about disruptive technology changes, starting from petroleum lamps to electric lighting as well as conventional lighting versus solid state lighting. They also touched on the subjects of chances and drawbacks of LED component standardization, modular systems and automated production processes. Read more »

Tech-Talks Bregenz | Nov 24, 2016

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Prof. Christian Cajochen, Univ. Basel, Head of Center of Chronobiology

Human Centric Lighting has become a catchphrase used by industry and the press. But the press has also started reporting that research emphasizes the danger of LED lighting in connection to our health and has coined the term “Blue Light Hazard”. These claims have caused confusion amongst end users and throughout the lighting community. Prof. Christian Cajochen, Head of the Centre for Chronobiology at the University of Basel - an expert on this topic - held a lecture at the LpS 2016 entitled “Light Beyond Vision”. Afterwards, LED professional seized the opportunity to talk to him personally and get some in-depth information about the risks and benefits of LED lighting. Read more »

Resources | Tech-Talks Bregenz | Health + Environment | Quality | May 04, 2020

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Prof. Ruairí O'Brien, Founder of Ruairí O'Brien Lighting Design

Ruairí O'Brien, associate professor and head of the Architecture and Visual design department at the German University in Cairo and CEO of Ruairí O'Brien. Architektur. Licht Raumkunst, surprised and delighted the audience with his lecture at LpS 2016 when he talked about allowing darkness. He expressed the same sentiments in a caption for a figure in the proceedings booklet: "The future in Dresden is not lighting excess - the future is Re-Darkness with intelligent SSL concepts." This year, Ruairí held two lectures at TiL in which he emphasized how important a thorough application of light is in respect to culture, ethics, and environment. In addition to his work, these interesting statements made it made a Tech-Talk Bregenz with him a top priority. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Tech-Talks Bregenz | Measurement | Jan 09, 2015

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Prof. Jiangen Pan, Everfine, Founder & CTO

With ever-increasing demands on measurement equipment, it is becoming essential to meet user needs by providing combined solutions, which address optical, electrical and thermal issues. Prof. Jiangen Pan CEO, Founder and Chief Scientist at Everfine Institute of Optoelectronics, provided valuable insights on new compact solutions for LED measurements, his views and contributions towards global standards and how he works in his “thinking laboratory”. Read more »

Tech-Talks Bregenz | Jan 30, 2015

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Prof. Mehmet Arik, University of Ozyegin, Turkey

Thermal management is an ongoing challenge and a topic of continued research and innovation. Prof. Mehmet Arik from the University of Ozyegin, Istanbul, also known as the ‘Edison of the 21st Century’, discussed core thermal issues and new innovative solutions, trends in cost reduction, packaging and how we can learn from electronics to achieve better thermal management of the system as a whole. Read more »

Smart Lighting + IoT | Tech-Talks Bregenz | Resources | Outdoor Applications | Oct 12, 2018

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Rico Kramer, Inventor, Founder & CEO, esave ag

In recent years there has been a strong focus on safe communication and controls in the lighting industry. The success story of esave ag, however, started much earlier, when Rico Kramer, the founder and CEO of esave, travelled to Taiwan due to his dissatisfaction with the quality of early LED replacement bulbs. What the former Apple employee learned there led to the development of the esave concept and its technology. In the interview he talks about his intentions, the beginning of esave, wireless technologies in general, system security, commissioning, system incompatibilities, markets and their peculiarities. Read more »

Tech-Talks Bregenz | Sep 02, 2016

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Sebastian Huelck, Director Lighting, EBV Elektronik

Solid State Lighting has not only changed the way that light is generated but also how areas or objects are illuminated. It has changed the whole industry and business. Sebastian Huelck, Director of Segment Lighting at EBV Elektronik GmbH & Co. KG, discussed these changes and the new requirements for modern distribution with Siegfried Luger and Dr. Guenther Sejkora. He explained the transition of distributors from pure logistic specialists to one-stop shops and full service providers, and commented on regional differences. He finished off by giving insights into the future projects of the company. Read more »

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Walter Werner Werner Mgmt. Services, CEO

The transition from traditional light sources to solid-state light sources has also affected lighting controls. Nowadays we talk about smart lighting, human centric lighting and software dominated lighting concepts. Dr. Walter Werner from Werner Management Services, a highly experienced lighting controls expert, discussed the major trends in lighting controls with LED professional, as part of the Tech-Talks BREGENZ series. Read more »

Resources | Tech-Talks Bregenz | Wilfried Kramb | Opinions | May 04, 2020

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Wilfried Kramb, Interior & Lighting Designer, a∙g Licht

TTB from LpR 75: The value of lighting design and light planning has always been underestimated, despite it becoming more important with the rise of Solid-State-Lighting. This is a fact that the public doesn't realize, even though the industry does. Digitalization, compared with the special properties of LED lighting and the aim of the lighting industry to establish their IoT hubs, is a new challenge. This is even more apparent when trying to integrate light sources directly in building structures. Responsibilities and tasks are no longer clearly separated between the different disciplines of architect, lighting designer, IT planner and electro planner. Guenther Sejkora and Arno Grabher-Meyer talked with Wilfried Kramb, owner and CEO of a·g Licht, about these tendencies and topic. Read more »

Tech-Talks Bregenz | Feb 15, 2016

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Wolfgang Nemitz, Scientist Joanneum Research

Wolfgang Nemitz, scientist at the Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft, won the LED professional Scientific Paper Award at the LpS 2015 in Bregenz with his paper entitled “Iterative Optical and Thermal Simulation Method for Proper Simulation of PC LEDs” (published in the LpS 2016 Proceedings / p. 122 and LpR 52 / p. 48). Siegfried Luger and Arno Grabher-Meyer took this opportunity to discuss his research, the practical value of the findings and general solid-state lighting issues with him. Read more »

Technical Aspects Regarding the Equipment of Show Caves with Modern LED Systems

Caves have an almost magical attraction over people, drawing them again and again into their depths. The first electrification started in the 19th century, culminating in today’s digitalization and “LEDification”. Vladimir Vashkevich, Technical Manager at Cave Lighting CL GmbH & Co KG, describes the tough requirements on luminaires and the whole installation. He explains the advantages for the operators and the ecosystem and finally discusses solutions, practical examples and future prospects. Read more »

LpR Article | Technologies | Sep 05, 2016

Technologies for Engineering an LED Light Closest to Sunlight

TRI-R is a next-generation LED light source made possible by Toshiba Materials technology and commercialization together with TOL STUDIO. Using natural light that recreates the solar spectrum, TRI-R suppresses glare, prevents the loss of object color, and gives fresher, clearer expression to textures and details. Based on professional research examining the relationship light has with humans and the environment, this is illumination technology that provides the world surrounding us with the true and real value of light. Masahiko Yamakawa, Senior Specialist of Toshiba Materials Co.LTD., presents how this technology was developed and applied in some projects. Read more »

Applications | Smart Lighting + IoT | Resources | LpR Article | Aug 13, 2019

Technologies for Shared Office Space

LpR 72 Article, page 66: Shared office spaces are gaining popularity as a flexible, resource-efficient and creativity-inspiring way to work. The dynamic nature of such office spaces requires building automation and lighting control solutions that can quickly be deployed and easily be adapted to new office layouts. Matthias Kassner, Vice President Product Marketing at EnOcean GmbH, takes a look at different connectivity architectures (wired, wireless, hybrid) and protocols (Bluetooth, ZigBee, EnOcean, PoE) to assess their usability and show how minimizing the need for maintenance is a key for increasing profitability of service-based offerings. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Quality | Applications | May 16, 2017

Technology Challenges in Professional Tunnel Lighting Applications

The guide for tunnel lighting CIE 088:2004 is the most established international standard for the illumination of road tunnels. However, Switzerland’s ASTRA (Bundesamt für Strassen) and the ASFINAG in Austria both provide guidelines that go well beyond these requirements. Maximilian Herzig, Product and Key Account Manager Lighting at SWAREFLEX GmbH shows solutions to satisfy these requirements and explains why the commonly used value of "lumen per watt" is not a perfect method of evaluating system performance and efficiency. Read more »

TechTalks BREGENZ - Dr. Christoph Wächter, Senior Scientist at Fraunhofer IOF, Germany

Research topics have become more important with LEDs and LED lighting micro optics and freeform optics. A new approach based on an IP for a fly's eye condenser from 1928, filed by Zeiss Ikon AG that extends possibilities and allows for new applications was presented ‚at LpS 2019. The jury was so impressed with the paper that it won the Scientific Award 2019. Dr. Guenther Sejkora and Arno Grabher-Meyer from LED professional talked to Dr. Christoph Wächer, co-author and presenter of the paper about his approach, his career and work. Dr. Christoph Wächter is a senior scientist at Fraunhofer IOF. Read more »

Temperature Profiling of Secondary LED Optics by Infrared Thermography

Over the last few years, the power density of white LEDs has increased dramatically. Whilst there are large efforts to optimize the thermal management and thus the temperature stability of the LEDs, less attention is paid to the temperature of the secondary optic. Peter W. Nolte, Franziska Steudel, Bernd Ahrens, Nils J. Ziegeler, Frank Drees, Horst Rudolph, and Stefan Schweizer from the Fraunhofer Application Center for Inorganic Phosphors, the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, and the Innovations-and Technologycenter GmbH, TRILUX Group respectively, have approached this issue. They investigated the temperature profiles of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC) secondary optics and they discuss the results. Read more »

LpR Article | Research | Health + Environment | Environment | Jul 30, 2020

The Adverse Ecological Impacts of Light Pollution: LEDs' Role in Mitigation

With the negative effects of artificial light at night on ecosystems increasingly well-understood, attention is now turning to the ways in which these impacts can be mitigated through uptake of novel technology and lighting strategies. Dr. Callum J. Macgregor, post-doctoral research associate at the Department of Biology of the University of York, and Dr. Darren M. Evans from the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences of the Newcastle University, discuss the current evidence for costs and opportunities associated with uptake of LED lighting and highlight important directions for future investigation. Read more »

LpR Article | Jul 01, 2016

The Influence of LED Emission Characteristics on the Efficiency of Lighting Systems by Osram Opto Semiconductor

In general lighting, efficiency is the main focus. Under specific operation conditions, the main issue appears to be luminous flux. Dr. Roland Schulz, application engineer in the Solid State Lighting division at Osram Opto Semiconductor, takes a deeper look at the influence of LED radiation characteristics. Read more »

LpR Article | Jul 01, 2016

The Influence of LED Emission Characteristics on the Efficiency of Lighting Systems by Osram Opto Semiconductor

LpR Article | Research | Nov 28, 2016

The Perspective of Bio-Hybrid White Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Rubber-Like Down- Converting Coatings

At first, white LED technology seems to be mature. But in truth, the technology is still far from being perfect and research on all LED materials and components is ongoing. At the LpS 2016 the research of Rubén D. Costa, Lukas Niklaus, Katharina Weber and Prof. Uwe Sonnewald from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) was honored with the LED professional Scientific Award. These authors investigated the use of organic light conversion materials for white LEDs. Their research shows that these bio-hybrid white LEDs could lower costs and improve light quality. The article describes the current status of the research and future perspectives. Read more »

LpR Article | Jun 06, 2016

The Role of Special Optics in Human Centric Lighting and Architecture by Suleyman Turgut and Luminit LLC

While Human Centric Lighting is relatively new and a topic of some debate, few can argue over the benefits of creating more natural lighting conditions in offices, retail spaces and other architectural settings. Anthony Ang, Optical Engineer, Suleyman Turgut, Director of Sales, and Mary Ann Giorgio, Marketing Communications Specialist at Luminit LLC show how special or “tertiary” optics, such as diffuser and direction film, can play a crucial role in Human Centric Lighting or lighting that takes into account the emotional and biological needs of humans. Read more »

LpR Article | May 24, 2016

The Value of Dark Skies - About Environmentally Friendly Lighting by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA)

For many years no one worried about light pollution: on the contrary, the brighter the better. Then it became evident that darkness also has its value. J. Scott Feierabend, executive director of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), presents and explains in detail, the latest findings and suggestions published in the “New IDA LED Lighting Practical Guide” and “New IDA Standards on Blue Light at Night”. He also discusses how to illuminate public areas while avoiding excess light pollution. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Commentary | Test Equipment | Oct 31, 2017

The Value of High-End Labs for High Quality Lighting

With the relocation to the Augsburg site in 2015, the Osram laboratory equipment includes a number of integrating spheres of different sizes up to 3 meters in diameter, several goniophotometers A/B/C types, a rotary mirror light distribution meter and a hemispherical goniometer with a measurement radius of 2.65 meters, optical bench measuring systems with up to 35 meter measuring distance, corresponding high-quality photometric receivers and spectral radiometers as well as the necessary components for the electrical operation of lamps - according to customer or standardized specifications. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Research | Thermal Management | Sep 17, 2019

Thermal and Optical Challenges for SSL in Automotive Applications

LpR 72 Article, page 50: Solid State Lighting changed the lighting environment in automotive lighting almost more than in the field of general lighting. While efficiency of the devices increased and every few weeks new improvements are reported, thermal management remains crucial and a critical part of the system. Umut Zeynep Uras, Ahmet Mete Muslu and Mehmet Arik, from the Energy Efficient Electronics and Lighting Technologies Center (EVATEG), Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering at Ozyegin University, and Fatih Goren from the FARBA Corporation, explain the dependencies between photometric, electrical and thermal parameters of an automotive lighting application. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Research | Thermal Management | Oct 31, 2017

Thermal Issues Posed by Compact Packaging and IoT for Next Generation SSL

Besides general lighting, LEDs are penetrating many areas. At the same time, Internet of Things (IoT) has been rapidly evolving. Added electronics are expected to add an additional 70% to overall heat generation. Therefore, solving thermal problems will become more important again; on a par with footprint area and cost. Prof. Mehmet Arik, Director of EVATEG Center for Energy Efficient Electronics and Lighting Technologies at the Ozyegin University, and Umut Zeynep Uras, master student at the Ozyegin University, present some of the current, local, hotspot thermal issues caused by tight packaging. The severity of the problem for future lighting systems with added IoT will also be discussed. Finally, possible technologies to meet those challenges will be shown. Read more »

LpR Article | Jul 01, 2016

Thermal Management for LEDs Beyond Thermal Conductivity Values by Electrolube

Specifically designed and formulated chemical products are widely used in the electronics industry for a vast array of applications. Jade Bridges, European Technical Support Specialist at Electrolube explains why such products have become an essential factor in ensuring the performance and quality of electronic devices, whether it is during PCB manufacture or for the protection of components or complete devices. Read more »

LpR Article | Jun 20, 2016

Thermal Transient Testing of LEDs for More Reliable SSL Products by Mentor Graphics

An LED device’s reliability, useful operating lifetime and luminous flux are basically determined by the junction temperature; therefore, so is the lifetime and reliability of the final SSL application. Thermal transient testing is now supported by new industrial laboratory testing standards published by JEDEC. Dr. Andras Poppe, Mechanical Analysis Division, MicReD, at Mentor Graphics will explain the corner stones of this standard and discuss application examples. This includes measurement of the RthJC, test-based thermal modeling of the LED package, hot lumens prediction, and monitoring of degradation of the thermal interfaces during life-time test, to name just a few. Read more »

LpR Article | Research | May 24, 2016

Thin-Film Light Management System for Intelligent Large-Area LED Luminaires by the Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique SA

The recent advances in Solid State Lighting have triggered the development of smart lighting solutions. However, the point-like nature of LEDs imposes the use of inefficient and/or bulky light scattering sheets or costly, short-pitch LED arrays to achieve acceptable spatial luminance uniformity. Ph.D. Oscar Fernandez, Senior R&D Engineer at the Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique SA (CSEM) shows a new approach in the form of an innovative thin form-factor light management (LM) system comprising a highly engineered combination of thin-film diffractive nano-optical and refractive micro-optical elements. Read more »

LpR Article | Quality | Aug 11, 2016

TM-30 or the Quest for New Metrics to Measure Light Color Quality

As the lighting industry’s need for an unambiguous measure of lighting color quality becomes more urgent, the TM-30 test method put forward by the Illumination Engineering Society of America (IES) is one approach that could offer a solution. Arno Grabher-Meyer, Editor in Chief at LED professional gives a quick status overview. Read more »

Transparent Material Considerations for UV Optics in Horticultural Lighting Applications

Advancements in UV LED technology have begun changing the horticultural lighting landscape. Research is still ongoing to discover the extent of benefits and best practices of using UV light in horticulture. Using optics in tandem with UV LED light systems can help reach performance goals and optimize growing. Although there are several UV- transmitting materials available, not all are equivalent or able to meet the requirements for UV applications. Justine Galbraith, glass engineer, and Sharayah Follett, market development manager at Kopp Glass, Inc. discuss the performance considerations of various UV-transmitting materials and how application challenges are addressed by integrating optical elements. Read more »