Technology News Articles

Technology News

How to Use the Technologies for Adaptive Lighting

The technologies to provide adaptive lighting are already in the marketplace and are accepted by some jurisdictions. Nonetheless, we have an inadequate understanding of how best to use these technologies, meaning that installations might not serve users well, and in the worst case, might lead to harm. Lighting researchers can generate the knowledge needed to support the best application of adaptive lighting technologies. The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) understands the importance and urgency to deal with problems of adaptive, dynamic and intelligent lighting in all application fields. Hence, this topic is a highlight of CIE’s research strategy. Read more »

Researchers Push Perovskite LEDs' Efficiency To Rivaling Best OLEDs

Compared to OLEDs, which are widely used in high-end consumer electronics, the perovskite-based LEDs, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, can be made at much lower costs, and can be tuned to emit light across the visible and near-infrared spectra with high colour purity. Now, researchers have set a new efficiency record for LEDs based on perovskite semiconductors, rivalling that of the best Organic LEDs (OLEDs). Read more »

Researchers from the University of Surrey Find that Blue Light Can Reduce Blood Pressure

Exposure to blue light decreases blood pressure, reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, a new study from the University of Surrey and Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf in collaboration with Philips reports. Read more »

New Algorithm Can More Quickly Predict Phosphor Materials for LEDs

Jakoah Brgoch, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Houston, and members of his lab published a paper on Oct. 22 in Nature Communications describing how machine learning speeds discovery of new materials. By scanning a huge number of compounds for their key attributes they were looking for a new light conversion material that could be used in white LEDs. Read more »

UV LED Technology for Emerging Applications in Agriculture

The Ultraviolet (UV) LED market has expanded five-fold in the past decade and is projected to grow to over $1 billion by 2025. A key trend expected to influence the market is the ability to expand into new applications, including agriculture. UV light, at proper frequency and dose, can increase the production of active substances in medicinal and traditional plants and it can also help maintain a healthy growing environment. But to fully take advantage of UV LEDs, some major re-design considerations are required. Terrance Berland, CEO of the Violet Defense Group, the parent company of Violet Gro, will explain which considerations these are; for instance, why it is crucial to incorporate the appropriate lens material. Read more »

Spanish Researchers Develop Sand that Produces White Sun-Like LEDs

The team led by the chemist-technologist Rubén Costa of IMDEA Materials (Madrid) and the chemists Jesús Berenguer of the University of La Rioja and Javier García of the University of Alicante has overcome one of the biggest obstacles in the progress towards new sources of healthier artificial lighting. Read more »

Dynamic In-Car Lighting Scenarios - Osram's Osire E4633i Prototype with Inova's Serial Control Driver

The more autonomous a car becomes, the more the way in which it is used will change. As developments continue toward autonomous driving, more and more attention is being focused on the passenger cell. Light will become an integral part of the passenger cell, taking on functional and design-specific tasks. Previously static light, which could only be switched on and off, has now been given a dynamic dimension with the prototype of the Osire E4633i – with countless design options for car manufacturer. Read more »

LED Lighting Requires New Approaches in Optics

LpR 67 Article, page 88: Even though LED technology has been established LEDs still need new approaches in electronics, thermal management or optics to make complete use of their advantages. Marek Škereň, Chief Technology Officer of IQ Structures, explains how new optical devices, with the trade name Nanoptiqs, based on principles of diffraction are applied to achieve improved performance of white light illumination systems. This unique solution is based on full control over the modulation of material and geometric properties of the optical elements at a nano-level. A combination of complex transmission diffractive elements, with specially designed systems of micro-reflectors (produced using an innovative mass-production technique) is also presented as a promising flexible building unit for the construction of new generation luminaires. Read more »

Electron Beam Patterning for Full-Color HR OLED Displays

OLED microdisplays are increasingly establishing themselves in consumer-ready wearables and data glasses. In order to meet the requirements for higher efficiency, higher contrast, and higher resolutions in these applications, Fraunhofer FEP scientists have developed a new micropatterning approach for OLEDs on silicon substrates. This might eliminate the use of color filters and shadow masks in the future and allow full-color displays to be developed by means of a new process. An increase in efficiency and considerably broader color gamut have already been demonstrated in first experiments. Read more »

Liquid-Suspended White QD LEDs Achieve Luminous Efficacy Record

Quantum dot (QD) white LEDs that show a luminous efficacy of 105 lm/W have been developed. The QDs are liquid-based and, according to researchers, could help the LEDs achieve an efficacy double that of LEDs that incorporate quantum dots in solid films. With further development, researchers say the new LEDs could reach an efficacy over 200 lm/W. Read more »

Technologies | Research Reports | LEDs | Manufacturing | Jul 12, 2018

InteGreat Project Successfully Researched New Approaches to LED Production

In the InteGreat research project, Osram Opto Semiconductors coordinated a consortium comprising seven partners from science and industry. Between December 2014 and February 2018 the project partners investigated time-honored manufacturing approaches and know-how along the entire LED production process with the aim of identifying potential areas for optimization. The new insights allow for LED products to be given additional superior properties that would have been difficult or even impossible to achieve with the technologies previously used to produce LEDs. Read more »

Technologies | Research News | Thermal Management | Jul 09, 2018

Intended for High-Performance Computer Chips - Maybe Also Useful for LEDs

The inner workings of high-power electronic devices must remain cool to operate reliably. High internal temperatures can make programs run slower, freeze or shut down. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and The University of Texas, Dallas have collaborated to optimize the crystal-growing process of boron arsenide – a material that has excellent thermal properties and can effectively dissipate the heat generated in electronic devices. Read more »

KAIST Team Develops Flexible Blue Vertical Micro LEDs

In CES 2018, micro LED TV was spotlighted as a strong candidate for replacing the active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display. Micro LED is a sub-100 um light source for red, green and blue light, which has advantages of outstanding optical output, ultra-low power consumption, fast response speed, and excellent flexibility. Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and his team have developed a low cost production technology for thin-film blue flexible vertical micro LEDs (f-VLEDs). Read more »

Smart Printing: Fraunhofer IAP Develops Power Generating Films and Luminescent Glass

New inks for inkjet printers make it possible to print organic displays or solar cells on film and glass for the use in architecture, the textile industry and many other industries. Read more »

Technologies | Light Generation | LEDs | Color LEDs | Mar 29, 2018

Scientists Reveal the Fundamental Limitation of In Concentration in InGaN Solid-State Devices

For the first time an international research group has revealed the core mechanism that limits the indium (In) content in indium gallium nitride ((In, Ga)N) thin films - the key material for blue light emitting diodes (LED). Increasing the In content in InGaN quantum wells is the common approach to shift the emission of III-Nitride based LEDs towards the green and, in particular, red part of the optical spectrum, necessary for the modern RGB devices. The new findings answer the long-standing research question: why does this classical approach fail, when we try to obtain efficient InGaN-based green and red LEDs? Read more »

Business | Research News | Partnerships | Mar 14, 2018

Luger Research Creates an Active Network to Secure the Future of Innovation in Lighting: The First Meeting Will Take Place at the LpS 2017

Luger Research establishes the first scientific lighting partnership network for research experts and leaders in the lighting industry. The scientific partnership has been created to form an active network that will strengthen and build the connections between universities, research laboratories and industry. The scientific partnership’s mission is to enable and secure the continued development of innovation in lighting technology. Read more »

Resources | LpO Article | Statements | Technologies | Mar 05, 2018

Prof. Shuji Nakamura - The Future is Laser Lighting

PROF. NAKAMURA SAID: "For violet LEDs we reach about 50-100 Acm-2 but the laser diode uses 3-10 kAcm-2 which is about 1,000 times higher than blue LEDs. This leads to very tiny chips in combination with the same phosphors such as YAG types. The light output is about 1,000 times higher than conventional LEDs with the same chip-size". Read more »

Resources | Reports | Human Centric Lighting | Feb 27, 2018

New LRC Study Tests the Impact of Circadian Light on Alertness in Office Workers

In 2017 the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute published a groundbreaking study showing that office workers who receive a robust dose of circadian-effective light experience better sleep, and lower levels of depression and stress, than those who spend their days in dim or low light levels. The team of LRC researchers, led by Dr. Mariana Figueiro and sponsored by the U.S. General Services Administration, measured existing light levels for 109 participants at five federal office buildings designed to maximize daylight availability indoors. The research team found that even in open offices with many, large windows, office workers were not receiving enough light to stimulate their circadian system during the day, due to factors such as season, cloud cover, desk orientation, and window shade position. Read more »

Technologies | Light Conversion | LEDs | Quantum Dots | Feb 26, 2018

Realizing Highly Efficient QD LEDs with Metallic Nanostructures at Low Cost

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced that a team of their researchers have discovered a technology that enhances the efficiency of Quantum Dot LEDs. Professor Yong-Hoon Cho from the Department of Physics and his team succeeded in improving the efficiency of Quantum Dot (QD) Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) by designing metallic nanostructure substrates. Read more »

Technologies | Optics | Manufacturing | Displays | Feb 23, 2018

VTT and Neonelektro Have Made LED Advertising Boards Light, Flexible and Energy-Efficient

Through a European project, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Neonelektro have developed new types of LED displays that combine the flexibility, low cost and high technical performance enabled by roll-to-roll mass manufacturing technology. Read more »

Technologies | Light Generation | Phosphors | Feb 22, 2018

Supercomputers Aid Discovery of New, Inexpensive Material to Make LEDs with Excellent Color Quality

A team led by engineers at the University of California San Diego has used data mining and computational tools to discover a new phosphor material for white LEDs that is inexpensive and easy to make. Researchers built prototype white LED light bulbs using the new phosphor. The prototypes exhibited better color quality than many commercial LEDs currently on the market. Read more »

Resources | IP Snapshot | Technologies | Feb 16, 2018

100 Years Lighting IP Applications

These IP Snapshots show approximately 100 years of patent applications of the IPC class F21 lighting and the IPC class H05 electric techniques. Both IPC classes are the most relevant in the lighting domain. Annually, over 60,000 applications are filed globally and an increasing number of IP applications is predicted over the next few years. Lighting, in general, and the electronics are, therefore, quite similar in numbers. Read more »

Technologies | Smart Lighting + IoT | Feb 06, 2018

Fraunhofer IIS IoT-Bus: The Secure Communication Bus - Not Just for Lighting

The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS is developing the IoT-Bus with IPv6 support and integrated security concept. It is a communication bus based on EIA/RS-485 and the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, which enables a secure and reliable data transmission of measured values and control commands and connectivity to the Internet of Things. The IoT-Bus forms a cross-media communication protocol and unites the two worlds of WPAN and fieldbuses without complex protocol conversion. The novel technology IoT-Bus is developed as part of the SEEDs project. Read more »

Resources | LpR Article | Technologies | Applications | Jan 15, 2018

Multi-Pixel LED Technology Opens New Horizons for Smart Lighting Applications

The evolution of Multi-Pixel LED technology has initiated a giant leap in the development of intelligent lighting systems which are most visible in the automotive industry. Now the first hybrid LED provides smart headlights with more than 1000 individually controllable pixels. Ralph Bertram, who is working on advanced LED device concepts, and Norbert Harendt, who is developing optics solutions for general lighting at Osram Opto Semiconductors, show that automotive lighting is just one of the potential areas in which intelligent selective pixel control can be applied. Options for the use in general lighting, such as information display for outdoor, indoor, retail or industrial applications, are very versatile. Read more »

Measurement Seminar – from SSL to Displays

For the third consecutive year, Instrument Systems invited engineers from all industries that deal with light measurement of SSL products and different kinds of displays to their seminar. LED professional’s Editor in Chief, Arno Grabher-Meyer, was also pleased to receive (and accept) an invitation. In this article he shows what attendees can expect, who might find this event of interest, who would benefit the most and who should definitely not miss the next opportunity to attend. Read more »

Technologies | LEDs | Light Generation | Dec 13, 2017

Atomistic Calculations Predict that Boron Incorporation Increases the Efficiency of LEDs

High-power white LEDs face the same problem that Michigan Stadium faces on game day -- too many people in too small of a space. Of course, there are no people inside of an LED. But there are many electrons that need to avoid each other and minimize their collisions to keep the LED efficiency high. Using predictive atomistic calculations and high-performance supercomputers at the NERSC computing facility, researchers Logan Williams and Emmanouil Kioupakis at the University of Michigan found that incorporating the element boron into the widely used InGaN (indium-gallium nitride) material can keep electrons from becoming too crowded in LEDs, making the material more efficient at producing light. Read more »

Phosphors & QDs LED Downconverters Report for Lighting & Displays from Yole Développement

“Volume saturation, price pressure and a shifting intellectual property landscape are forcing the LED phosphor & QDs industry into a rationalization phase,” announces Dr. Eric Virey, Senior Technology & Market Analyst, Yole Développement (Yole). Read more »

Technologies | Light Simulation | Nov 14, 2017

Lighting Technology with Dynamic GI by Brilliant Games

Brilliant Games has presented a new lighting system that will be used for the studio’s upcoming titles. The thing is that the technology is said to instantly calculate GI, providing outstanding results. Read more »

Augmented Reality | Technologies | Nov 13, 2017

NEC Improves Workplace Efficiency with AR Solution Utilizing Smart Glasses

Tokyo, November 7, 2017 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced the development of an Augmented Reality (AR) solution to assist users with the selection of items through the use of smart glasses, a smart watch and new "ARmKeypad" functions. This solution enables users to perform tasks without having to look away from objects, making it ideal for use in manufacturing, logistics and other industries. Currently, NEC is carrying out demonstration tests at a hospital pharmacy and a manufacturing floor, where it has confirmed a reduction in workplace errors and working time thanks to the assistance of the new solution. Read more »

A New Technology Is Changing the Tunable White Solutions

Tunable white LEDs are one key element of human centric lighting. Until today, different solutions are currently available but none of them is easy to apply or cost effective enough to speed up the diffusion of human centric lights in building projects. A new approach for tunable white solutions is able to provide flexible lighting for multiple occasions without sacrificing output or going over project budget. Phil Lee, Senior Lighting Engineer from Meteor Lighting will compare this new technology, called ColorFlip™, to conventional tunable white solutions, and talk about current tunable white issues. Read more »