Pointe-Claire, QC – Future Lighting Solutions, a leading provider of LED lighting components and solution support, announced today that it has donated LUXEON Rebel LEDs from Philips Lumileds for use on a solar car being built by students at the University of Minnesota. The car will compete in the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, a 2,400-mile race scheduled for July 13-22.

The development of cost-effective processes for volume production of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) is the focus of the research work carried out under the CombOLED project. “The objective of this project, which is being funded by the EU and coordinated by OSRAM, is to create the necessary conditions for introducing the new light sources into lighting applications”, said Bernhard Stapp, Head of Solid State Lighting at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $7.5 million core technology research (round 5) funding opportunity as part of its Solid State Lighting (SSL) program.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published the final report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) demonstration of LED walkway lighting. This report, prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, provides an overview of project results which include energy savings of more than 25% over existing lighting, improved illuminance uniformity, and positive user feedback.

DoE recently finished a report on SSL research and development status and the new multi- year program plan for 2009 to 2014.

After only two years of development, OSRAM has achieved record values in the laboratory for organic light emitting diodes in warm white, with an efficiency of 46 lm/W and a brightness of 1000 cd/m² for more than 5000 hours. 

GE Global Research and GE Consumer & Industrial, today announced the successful demonstration of the world’s first roll-to-roll (newspaper printing-like process) manufactured organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting devices.

A Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student has developed a new type of LED that could allow for their widespread use as light sources for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) on everything from televisions and computers to cell phones and cameras.

Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI), the leader in high-voltage analog integrated circuits for power conversion, today announced three new Design Ideas at the Strategies In Light Exhibition and Conference, designed to make implementing LED lighting faster, simpler and more efficient.

In round 4 of CALiPER testing DoE had a closer look on MR16 and T8 replacement products as well as on two downlights, seven task lamps and five "outdoor & other" fixtures. The DOE Commercially Available LED Product Evaluation and Reporting (CALiPER) Program, formerly called the Commercial Product Testing Program, supports testing of a wide, representative array of SSL products available for general illumination. The Department allows its test results to be distributed in the public interest for noncommercial, educational purposes only.

While ordinary 110/230 volt AC power must be converted to DC with a lower voltage for LED usage, at a cost and efficiency loss, Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has developed an alternate current light emitting diode (ACLED) with a luminous efficacy of 50lm/W, which does not need a AC-DC converter.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published the report from the Oakland, CA, demonstration of LED street lights. This report, prepared by Pacific Gas & Electric and Energy Solutions, provides an overview of project results including measured energy consumption and illuminance levels, economic analysis, and resident feedback.

Saint-Gobain and Novaled have demonstrated the feasibility of large area OLEDs, based on a new high-performance metallic anode, with Saint-Gobain Recherche technology and Novaled OLED proprietary developments.

The CIE method applied since 1974 for defining the CRI (colour rendering index) allows the quantification of the "quality" of the light generated by artificial light sources. This index ranging from 0 to 100 defines the capacity of a light source to reproduce the various colours of objects, compared to a reference source, but does not apply correctly to LEDs. So, new studies are recommended to determine a new colour index or indices which take white light produced by LEDs into account.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), already used in electrical equipment such as computers and mobile phones, are several times more energy efficient than standard light-bulbs. However, because of their structure and material, much of the light in standard LEDs becomes trapped, reducing the brightness of the light and making them unsuitable as the main lighting source in the home. 

Thermal expansion can separate semiconducting materials from the substrate, reduce performance through changes in the electronic structure of the material or warp the delicate structures that emit laser light. Recently published research by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Argonne National Laboratory, and academic institutions has shed light on a semiconducting material with zero thermal expansion (ZTE).

The results of CALiPER testing from DoE were shortly presented (refer to LED-professional article "DOE Releases Round 3 CALiPER Reports: Progress in Product Efficacy" from November 05, 2007). Now DoE released a webcast and a comprehensive presentation that can be downloaded from DoE website. 

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has developed a transparent white OLED tile with outstanding performance. Under laboratory conditions, the OLED prototype has achieved a luminous efficiency of more than 20 lm/W at a brightness of 1000 cd/m².

For outstanding research work on innovative lighting technologies Dr. Klaus Streubel and Dr. Stefan Illek from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, together with Dr. Andreas Bräuer from the Fraunhofer Institute for Optics and Precision Engineering in Jena, were awarded this year’s prize for technology and innovation from the President of Germany.

Hilary Parker, Princeton University -  A Princeton-led research team has created an easy-to-produce material from the stuff of computer chips that has the rare ability to bend light in the opposite direction from all naturally occurring materials.

OSRAM, together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering, is one of the four teams nominated for the German Future Prize. The German Future Prize, which is now in its eleventh year, will be presented by Federal President Horst Köhler in December to celebrate outstanding technical, engineering and scientific achievements that have practical applications, are marketable and create jobs.