Technology News Articles

Technology News

Human Centric Lighting | SCHEER | Resources | Reports | Health + Environment | Jul 21, 2017
SCHEER Draft Report on LED Published - Health Study
SCHEER Draft Report on LED Published - Health Study The EU Scientific Committee on Health, Environment and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) has published on 19 July 2017, a Preliminary Opinion on potential risks to human health of Light Emitting Diodes. Read more »
Technologies | Resources | Smart Lighting + IoT | Electronics | LpR Article | Jul 12, 2017
SoC Technologies in Lighting - Today’s Landscape and Tomorrow's Practices
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 »
Resources | LpR Article | Technologies | Electronics | Drivers | Jul 12, 2017
LED Driver Miniaturization - Opening New Opportunities for Solid State Lighting
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 »
Resources | LpR Article | Research News | CIE | Measurement | Calibration | Jul 12, 2017
CIE Research Strategy on Defining New Calibration Sources and Illuminants
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 »
Resources | LpR Article | Tech-Talks Bregenz | Engineering | Technologies | Simulation Tools | Jul 12, 2017
Tech-Talks BREGENZ - Jamie Singerman, Future Lighting Solutions
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
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
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 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 »
Resources | Intellectual Properties | Reports | Light Conversion | Apr 29, 2017
Research and Markets Offers LED Lighting - Key Patent Analysis: Remote Phosphor
LEDs, which are semi-conductor devices that convert electricity into light by the properties of compound semi-conductors, have higher energy efficiency and cost less for replacement due to longer lifetimes than existing lighting systems, and have high resistance to impact or vibration. Furthermore, LEDs have advantages in terms of energy saving and protection of the environment since they do not use toxic substances such as mercury, which give an impetus to their market entry as new lighting systems to replace existing lighting systems. Read more »
Resources | Intellectual Properties | Reports | GaN-on-Si | Apr 29, 2017
GaN-on-Silicon Substrate Patent Investigation - Knowmade & Yole See More Players on the Playground
GaN-on-Silicon Substrate Patent Investigation - Knowmade & Yole See More Players on the Playground GaN-on-Si technology appeared naturally as an alternative to GaN-on-Sapphire—the main stream technology for LED applications. Today, despite potential cost benefits, the mass adoption of GaN-on-Si technology for LED applications remains unclear. Most major LED makers have a patenting activity related to GaN-on-Si technology, but so far, few have made it the core of their strategy and technology roadmap. Contrary to the LED industry, we expect GaN-on-Si to be widely adopted by Power Electronics and RF applications because of its lower cost and CMOS compatibility. Read more »
Resources | Intellectual Properties | Reports | Light Conversion | Apr 29, 2017
Effects of Expiring Phosphors and QD IP on the LED Applications Patent Landscape
Effects of Expiring Phosphors and QD IP on the LED Applications Patent Landscape The latest Yoel report on will especially concentrate on the question how IP forces will evolve, with fundamental patent expiring in the next years? The report provides a detailed picture of the patent landscape for LED downconverters, namely Phosphors & Quantum Dots (QD). It covers patents published worldwide up to September 2015. More than 7,510 patent families relevant to the scope of this report have been selected. Read more »
Resources | Intellectual Properties | Reports | LEDs | Nanowire | Apr 29, 2017
Yole Releases New Nanowire LED IP Study - Startups Compete with Asian LED Giants in the IP Landscape
Yole Releases New Nanowire LED IP Study - Startups Compete with Asian LED Giants in the IP Landscape Asian giants Samsung, Panasonic and LG are the top three patent assignees for Nanowire LED technology. Facing them are several startups including glo, Aledia and Ecospark, which between them have raised more than $150M - thus confirming their serious interest in this field. However, these newcomers face strong technological challenges. Read more »
Technologies | Displays | Drones | Apr 27, 2017
DOCOMO Develops World's First Spherical Drone Display
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
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
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 | Reports | Discussions | NLB | Health | Apr 03, 2017
National Lighting Bureau: AMA Lighting Recommendations are Based on Wrong Metric
National Lighting Bureau: AMA Lighting Recommendations are Based on Wrong Metric The American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) warnings about too much “blue light” at night are seriously flawed: The AMA developed them using a measuring tool that does not measure the specific kind of “blue light” the AMA is concerned about. Nonetheless, according to speakers at the National Lighting Bureau’s Annual Lighting Forum, some jurisdictions and public-transportation departments nationwide believe, mistakenly, that they will reduce human-health risks by adopting the AMA’s recommendations. Making matters worse, when applied to street and roadway lighting, the AMA recommendations could erode public safety by diminishing driver and pedestrian visibility, while also reducing energy efficiency or increasing energy costs. Read more »
Resources | LpR Article | Technologies | Thermal Management | Mar 13, 2017
Looking for the Best Thermal Solution for CSP Module Designs
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 »
Technologies | Resources | Smart Lighting + IoT | Standardization | LpR Article | Mar 13, 2017
A Standardized Open Platform Is Key to the Future of Smart Lighting System Design
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
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 »
Resources | Technologies | Light Generation | Thermal Management | Medical | Jan 26, 2017
Thermal Management of an LED Light Source for Microscopes
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 »
Resources | LpR Article | Event-Reports | Business | Technologies | Applications | Jan 26, 2017
LuxLive and SILE Sharpen Focus on End-Users
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
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 | Reports | Health | Jan 05, 2017
Lighting-for-Seniors Study Hints that “Tunable” White LED Light Has Positive Effects
Lighting-for-Seniors Study Hints that “Tunable” White LED Light Has Positive Effects Disturbed sleep patterns are common among the residents of senior-care facilities, due to the aging process and diseases like Alzheimer’s. Could lighting make a difference? That’s the question that the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD); the ACC Care Center, also in Sacramento; and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) decided to answer, at least on a preliminary basis, by replacing some of the Care Center’s fluorescent lighting in one corridor, two resident rooms (including bathrooms), the nurse station, the common family room, and the administrator’s office. Read more »
Resources | LpR Article | Technologies | Optics | Nov 28, 2016
Structured Glass Light Guides for Efficient Lighting
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 »
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