Technologies & Research

Quantum Dot Based White LEDs for General Illumination

Colloidal quantum dot based white LEDs can be integrated into commercial products meeting the stringent reliability requirements for general illumination and providing LED efficiency gains of 5% to 15% over commercial phosphor based LEDs at CCT’s ranging from 5000 K to 2700 K. Unlike earlier demonstrations, the QD material is applied in an on-chip configuration resulting in drop-in fit, form, and function compatibility to existing LED based luminaires and lamps. Ken T. Shimizu, Director, Novel Technologies and Devices, Research and Development, M. Böhmer, D. Estrada, S. Gangwal, S. Grabowski, H. Bechtel, E. Kang, K. J. Vampola, D. Chamberlin, O. B. Shchekin, and J. Bhardwaj from Lumileds showcase the advantages of on-chip QD LEDs: A commercial lamp at 3000K color temperature and 90 CRI is substituted with QD based LEDs resulting in a system level efficiency gain up to 17%, attributed to the reduced blue LED droop from the lower drive current and the lower heat sink temperature when compared to the standard phosphor based LED lamp output. Read more »

CIE Calls for Focused Research Efforts to Support Healthful Lighting Recommendations

Not so long ago, vision scientists thought that light detection - photoreception - was exclusively performed by rod and cone cells in the retina. Photobiologists, however, conclusively demonstrated otherwise with the identification of the intrinsically photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) [1]. Whereas rods and cones detect pattern and color, and send this information to the visual cortex, ipRGCs (of which we are learning there are several subtypes) detect irradiance, and route their information to many brain structures. The most thoroughly studied of these is the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, location of the central circadian clock, where the light and dark signals trigger the offset and onset of production of the hormone melatonin. As shown in figure 1, however, ipRGCs also project to other structures, about which, as yet, we have little information. Read more »

Brave New World and the Dualism of Light(ing)

The lighting business has been quite predictable over a long period of time. Technical changes were introduced slowly, dominated by a handful of leading companies, and mostly due to new, but not disruptive light sources. The life of engineers was mainly determined by a manageable number of parameters: Lighting requirements, light source parameters, costs, product dimensions, and the odd, required feature. Read more »

Technologies | LEDs | Light Generation | Perovskite | Sep 06, 2017

Green Light from 2D Formamidinium Perovskites for Ultra-Fine Display Colors

Chemical engineers from ETH Zurich have succeeded in generating ultra-pure green light for the first time. The new light-emitting diode will pave the way for visibly improved color quality in a new generation of ultra-high definition displays for TVs and smartphones. Read more »

Technologies | Light Conversion | LEDs | Quantum Dots | Aug 23, 2017

1000 Hour Quantum Dot LED Milestone Surpassed by Quantum Materials Corp

Leading American Cadmium Free Quantum Dot manufacturer Quantum Materials Corp announced successfully surpassing the 1000 hour continuous on-time durability test for the Company's cadmium-free quantum dots in a remote light emitting diode (LED) application. The testing has been conducted with red and green quantum dots encapsulated in resin and mounted to blue emitting LED's (see diagram below), which are similar to the type of LED's used in standard LCD display back light units (BLU). Read more »

SoC Technologies in Lighting - Today’s Landscape and Tomorrow's Practices

A system-on-chip (SoC) quite suddenly became an important component in the lighting industry, fueling IoT innovation and opening new opportunities, while at the same time bringing disruption and new challenges. With rapid advancements in wireless communication, the impact of connected technologies on the lighting business will only keep increasing. This means deeper integration with SoCs and more attention from silicon vendors as they start competing for market share in this promising segment. But what is the current state of SoC design from the lighting perspective? Are chipmakers keeping up with the growing expectations for wireless lighting control solutions that are mature and truly reliable? When developing its complete Bluetooth software stack for professional lighting, Silvair worked with a number of different SoCs. Therefore, Piotr Winiarczyk, Wireless Solution Architect, and Szymon Rzadkosz might have found the answers to these questions. Read more »

LED Driver Miniaturization - Opening New Opportunities for Solid State Lighting

While LEDs have significantly improved over the past decade, driver technologies have not kept pace and are, in some respects, the limiting factors for new applications. Size is a particular issue. Dramatically increasing the switching frequency helps to reduce size but often causes other issues or is costly. Mickey Madsen, CEO of Nordic Power Converters, explains how his company has overcome the hurdles and made it feasible by designing very high frequency LED drivers. Read more »

CIE Research Strategy on Defining New Calibration Sources and Illuminants

In photometry and radiometry, traceability of measurements requires appropriate calibration sources and transfer detectors. A major challenge is the technological revolution of lighting products towards LED lighting and the ban of incandescent lamps. This raises concern about the availability of incandescent photometric standard lamps in the future while the prices of such standard lamps are already increasing. In addition, calibration conditions should ideally be chosen to be as close as possible to the measurement conditions. Furthermore, the number of LED lighting measurements in laboratories and in the field has significantly increased, while the calibration of photometers is still done using incandescentbased standards. Therefore, it is important to investigate the pros and cons of replacement of conventional standard lamps with new solid-state technology. Peter Blattner and Tony Bergen, Division 2 Director and Secretary respectively, explain how CIE has defined the research topic “New Calibration Sources and Illuminants for Photometry, Colorimetry, and Radiometry” to address these concerns. Read more »

Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Jamie Singerman, Future Lighting Solutions

We recently sat down with Jamie Singerman, Worldwide Corporate Vice President, and Patrick Durand, Technical Director for Future Lighting Solutions, a leading provider of Solid-State Lighting technologies, engineering expertise and online simulation and design tools, to discuss the company’s differentiators and their views on the ever changing lighting market. Read more »

Technologies | Laser Technology | Jun 30, 2017

World’s Brightest Laser Sparks New Behavior in Light

Physicists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are seeing an everyday phenomenon in a new light. y focusing laser light to a brightness 1 billion times greater than the surface of the sun — the brightest light ever produced on Earth — the physicists have observed changes in a vision-enabling interaction between light and matter. Read more »

Technologies | Manufacturing | LEDs | Jun 29, 2017

High Conductive Foils Enabling Large Area Lighting

Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP as one of the leading partners for research and development for surface technologies and organic electronics and Sefar AG, a leading manufacturer of precision fabrics from monofilaments, developed a roll-to-roll processed large area flexible OLED during a joint project. Read more »

Technologies | Simulation Tools | Jun 21, 2017

Future Lighting Solutions Launches the Usable Light Tool for UV and Horticulture Applications

Future Lighting Solutions, the world-class leader and innovator in demand creation, marketing and distribution of solid-state lighting technologies, announces the inclusion of non-visible LEDs and horticultural LEDs to its Usable Light Tool (ULT). Available free of charge to engineers worldwide, the ULT enables lighting designers to simulate usable light from LEDs, allowing the user to make critical LED selection decisions. Read more »

Technologies | LEDs | Light Extraction | Jun 12, 2017

Innovation Extends the Lumen Extraction Limits of RGB and White LEDs in Excess of 53%

EVATEG Energy Efficient Electronics and Lighting Technologies Center recently demonstrated a new optical extraction technology for RGB and phosphor coated LEDs to extend the limits over 53%. Read more »

Andreas Weisl on the Future of Seoul Semiconductor

Andreas Weisl is Managing Director and Vice President Sales SEOUL SEMICONDUCTOR Europe GmbH. Read more »

CIE Fosters Co-Ordination of Global Research and Standardization on Temporal Light Modulation

Dr. Jennifer Veitch, recently convened the CIE Stakeholder Workshop for Temporal Light Modulation Standards for Lighting Systems. Below is the exclusive report she provided on the workshop findings and the attitude of the CIE towards this important issue. Read more »

Technologies | Light Conversion | LEDs | Quantum Dots | May 15, 2017

Industry Breakthrough: Narrow Emission QD's Improve Warm White LED Performance and Improve Color Rendering

In an interview with LED professional at the Lightfair International in Philadelphia, Dr. Jy Bhardwaj, CTO at Lumileds, explained the advantages of the Quantum Dots technology. Lumileds will launch the first QD LED within the next few months. Read more »

Technologies | Displays | Drones | Apr 27, 2017

DOCOMO Develops World's First Spherical Drone Display

NTT DOCOMO, INC., in a continuing quest to create innovative new business, has developed a spherical drone display - an unmanned aerial vehicle that displays LED images on an omnidirectional spherical screen while in flight - which DOCOMO believes to be a world first. Read more »

Technologies | Optics | Waveguides | Apr 18, 2017

Method to Control Light Propagation in Waveguides

A team of Columbia Engineering researchers, led by Applied Physics Assistant Professor Nanfang Yu, has invented a method to control light propagating in confined pathways, or waveguides, with high efficiency by using nano-antennas. To demonstrate this technique, they built photonic integrated devices that not only had record-small footprints but were also able to maintain optimal performance over an unprecedented broad wavelength range. Read more »

Technologies | LEDs | Light Generation | Apr 18, 2017

New Cree NX Technology Platform Redefines LED Performance for Next Generation Lighting Systems

Cree announces a major LED breakthrough with the revolutionary NX technology platform that will power the next generation of Cree’s lighting-class LEDs. The NX technology platform enables the new Extreme Density (XD) LED family that delivers up to four times higher lumen density than Cree’s previous generation of high power LEDs. This new technology platform makes possible innovative new designs, eliminating current constraints for a wide spectrum of lighting applications such as color-mixing, directional lighting and industrial lighting. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Technologies | Thermal Management | Mar 13, 2017

Looking for the Best Thermal Solution for CSP Module Designs

Chip Scale Package (CSP) LED technology is not new but while it has been used for a while in TV backlighting applications, it is relatively new to lighting applications. In many respect CSPs are a new world for lighting module manufacturers as they are smaller, usually don’t have any ESD protection, have different light distribution, and, last but not least, have a smaller heat dissipation area. The latter asks for re-thinking the traditional thermal design for modules. Dr. Giles Humpston, Applications Engineer at Cambridge Nanotherm, explains in detail why CSP LEDs present a significant thermal challenge for module designers and outlines some fundamentals in calculating the thermal flow required to keep CSP LEDs cool. Read more »

A Standardized Open Platform Is Key to the Future of Smart Lighting System Design

The LED industry’s pace of evolution is more prevalent now than it has ever been. The shift from traditional standalone LED bulb lighting to fully connected digital LED systems is upon us and is transforming the industry for the better. For years, LED manufacturers have focused on driving cost down rather than focusing on improving quality, but with the advent of connected lighting, smart lighting and human-centric lighting, the focus has shifted back onto quality. Dr. Kyeongik Min, Principal Engineer in the LED business team at Samsung Electronics, explores how the LED industry can accelerate the transition from standalone lighting to fully connected lighting through a deeper understanding of current market trends. Read more »

Nanowire | Technologies | LEDs | Light Generation | Feb 14, 2017

Nanorod LEDs with Two Functions Could Make Multifunctional Displays

Cellphones and other devices could soon be controlled with touchless gestures and charge themselves using ambient light, thanks to new LED arrays that can both emit and detect light. Made of tiny nanorods arrayed in a thin film, the LEDs could enable new interactive functions and multitasking devices. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Dow Electronic Materials in Marlborough, Massachusetts, report the advance in the Feb. 10 issue of the journal Science. Read more »

Thermal Management of an LED Light Source for Microscopes

Thermal management is a challenge for every LED and LASER solution. Microscope lighting solutions have some very critical requirements, especially if they concern medical applications. ESCATEC in Heerbrugg, Switzerland has a lot of experience in that field and covers all relevant technical disciplines. Wolfgang Plank, head of the MOEMS Future Laboratory and cleanroom, and Gerd Harder, Key Account Manager, give insights on the design process, thermal simulation and production of an LED light source for Leica Microsystems’ Ophthalmic Microscope Proveo 8. Read more »

LuxLive and SILE Sharpen Focus on End-Users

On November 23rd and 24th, as in previous years, LuxLive was held in the Excel Center close to London’s City Airport. This year, for the second time since the merger of Revo Media and Pennwell, LuxLive and Strategies in Light Europe were co-located. Arno Grabher-Meyer, Editor-in-Chief at LED professional, summarizes his impressions of the event, picking out the more technical oriented lectures held in the different "arenas". Read more »

Technologies | OLEDs | Light Generation | Jan 24, 2017

CTI Project Results Promise a Bright Future for OLEDs

Developing a low-cost, efficient method of increasing the attractiveness of OLEDs for lighting poses a significant challenge. Thanks to a CTI project, CSEM and Sefar AG have succeeded in designing a promising state-of-the-art way of achieving this aim. This technology opens up new opportunities for applications in residential, architectural, professional lighting segments, as well as consumer electronics. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Technologies | Optics | Nov 28, 2016

Structured Glass Light Guides for Efficient Lighting

Glass injection molding technology (GIMT) for precision glass optics is a relatively new manufacturing technology. This expertise allows for producing efficient glass optics for LED lighting applications with special properties like undercut geometry or mounting flanges. A lot of progress has been made since it was introduced. Christian Passlick, Optical Engineer at Auer Lighting, shows how this improved technology supports making state-of-the-art light mixing structures for RGB/RGBW LED systems. Read more »

Comparing New Dielectric Materials for Chip-on-Board LED Packages

Thermal management is still one of the most challenging issues in solid state lighting. With the increased application of COB LED technology, the portion of the dielectric material on the overall thermal resistance has become an important topic. Different solutions and new materials have been proposed over the last few years. Hui Zhang, Max Wagner, and Prof. Tran Quoc Khanh from the Laboratory of Lighting Technology at the Technische Universität Darmstadt compared different materials and present the results of their extensive research. Read more »

Technologies | LECs | Light Generation | Nov 28, 2016

LECs - The Light of the Future Thanks Nanostructures

In future they are to light up the inside of handbags or make evening joggers stand out in the dark: Light-emitting electrochemical cells, LECs, offer many advantages compared to familiar LEDs, but there's still something lacking – the right light. Until now only yellow light LECs are suitable for realistic use. But at least one other light colour is needed for more neutral light. Researchers in the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) of the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have now been able to selectively change the colour for the first time and at the same time increase the performance of the LECs. Read more »

Technologies | OLEDs | Flexible OLEDs | Sep 09, 2016

Researchers Propose Graphene Anode for Flexible OLEDs

In their research article, Tae-Hee Han, Min-Ho Park, Sung-Joo Kwon, Sang-Hoon Bae, Hong-Kyu Seo, Himchan Cho, Jong-Hyun Ahn and Tae-Woo Lee from the Pohang University of Science and Technology and the Yonsei University in Korea respectively investigated the use of praphene anodes for ultra-flexible OLED devices. The original article, "Approaching Ultimate Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diodes Using a Graphene Anode", is published in NPG Asia Materials (2016) 8, e303; doi:10.1038/am.2016.108 online on September 9, 2016. Read more »

Lp Article | Technologies | Sep 06, 2016

LightSpeed Experience Center

On August 26th, 2016 the editors of LED professional Review were invited by EBV Elektronik to visit their newly established “LightSpeed Experience Center” in Poing near Munich. It’s a very special meeting center, where you can view advanced and future technologies in the optoelectronics world. You could call it a tech incubator and think tank that enables innovation and creativity to combine. Read more »