Lighting market to push HB-LEDs into next manufacturing phase

The LED industry is already seeing higher volumes than ever, primarily from backlighting applications for LCD notebooks and TVs. But taking full advantage of an even bigger solid-state lighting market may require a move to more standardized and automated processes to increase yields and lower costs.

More choices for energy-saving lighting

Philips, which is based in the Netherlands, has produced a strip of lighting made from OLEDs that can be powered directly from a mains electricity supply. That may not seem to be a brilliant invention, but in the lighting business it is a breakthrough. Although still at the laboratory stage, it will eventually mean that bulky power electronics and transformers will no longer have to be used with OLED lights, which brings down costs, simplifies design and allows them to be fitted into more products.

Diodes Incorporated's LED Driver Simplifies Low-Voltage Low-Cost Lighting Design

Diodes Incorporated announced an LED driver tailored to fit low voltage illumination products operating at between 6V and 30V. The AL8805, a 1A rated buck mode constant current switching converter, will support up to ten 3W LEDs connected in series, suiting a range of low cost 'safe electrical' designs including the ubiquitous MR16 lamp. The driver's typical constant current output accuracy of 5%, irrespective of source voltage and LED chain length, is more than sufficient to meet the needs of low cost lighting products, ensuring uniform LED brightness and good inter-lamp matching without the need for ballast resistors.
With nominal output current determined by external resistor setting, LED dimming is simply achieved by either a DC voltage or PWM signal on the AL8805's control input. A DC voltage between 0.5V and 2.5V yields an output current between 25% and 100% of nominal, while a PWM signal between normal CMOS or TTL levels offers a highly flexible 1000:1 dynamic dimming range. On/off control is provided via a <0.4V signal applied to the same control input. The LED driver's enhanced switching speed and low on-resistance provide 1MHz switching frequency capability which reduces the size of the external components required in thermally demanding environments. The AL8805 is provided in the SOT23-5 package.

The benefits of using LED light bulbs

LEDs, or to give them their full name, light-emitting diodes, are the most recent innovation in energy-efficient lighting but they cost significantly more than other light bulbs, so is the expense worthwhile?

LED to the rescue

The Jamaican Government says it will be saving up to 87 per cent on the monthly electricity bill for traffic signals by replacing all incandescent bulbs with Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps islandwide over the next 12 months. With some 40 per cent of the LED lamps already installed, a $14-million contract was signed last Friday for work to begin by month-end to replace the remaining 1,990 lamps.

Virginia street lights to get whiter

The golden glow of street lights in some communities of Arlington, Virginia will soon be changing. Federal stimulus money is helping to swap out some of the lights in favor of new, energy efficient L.E.D. bulbs. The bulbs can cut costs and greenhouse gasses, and while Arlington installs them, frame changes will lower light pollution.

LED Lights Coming To Montana

More efficient LED or light emitting diode lights are coming to an intersection near you. It's part of a Montana Department of Transportation project replacing old incandescent street lights. Any intersection on a state or federal roadway will get the upgrade. Missoula City workers say the new lights will cut down significantly on the power needed to run the streetlights

Redbird LED Completes Parking Garage LED Lighting Retrofit at Buckhead Marketplace

Redbird LED, an Atlanta, GA. firm that specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of energy efficient LED linear lighting for parking garages and commercial buildings, has completed a parking garage LED lighting retrofit project for Buckhead Marketplace. Buckhead Marketplace shopping center is located near the center of the prestigious Buckhead residential and commercial district and is anchored by Whole Foods. Buckhead Marketplace underground parking garage provides direct, secure and weather free access to the Whole Foods store.
The perimeter of Buckhead Marketplace parking garage is now brilliantly illuminated with the Redbird LED Vapor Tight Luminaries (40 watt). Redbird LED selected this product to enhance the lighting of parking spaces and walls along the periphery of the parking garage. The field adjustable illumination pattern allows the walls to be washed with light without any glare to pedestrians. The Vapor Tight Luminaries have a 50,000 hour lifetime, which reduces maintenance and energy costs for the shopping center owner. The Redbird LED parking garage LED lighting uses high efficacy linear light modules with controlled directional intensity which can be adjusted as needed on installation. The directionality of the Vapor Tight Luminaries was a key feature to provide the right lighting for the parking garage walls.
In addition to energy savings, LED lighting provides many advantages for parking garage owners. LED lights contain no harmful mercury so they do not need to be recycled; they operate much better in cold weather than fluorescent lamps and are more resistant to damage. “LED linear lights were a great solution for the Buckhead Marketplace project. The quality of the lighting has been enhanced and they will realize energy savings for many years” said Jonathan Eppstein, President of Redbird LED.

Vishay's New White, Non-Diffused 3-mm LED

Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. announced a new white, non-diffused 3-mm LED optimized for high-end applications with extreme luminous intensity requirements. Utilizing ultrabright InGaN technology, the VLHW4100 features a high luminous intensity from 4,500 mcd to 11,250 mcd at 20 mA.
The LED released today features a clear, untinted plastic case with a lens and viewing angle of 22.5 deg., and high light output and visibility performance. With its luminous intensity, the VLHW4100 provides an alternative to incandescent lamps and is intended for a wide range of general and consumer applications, including interior and exterior lighting, outdoor LED panels, light guides, and instrumentation and front panel indicators. The VLHW4100 offers low thermal resistance down to 400 K/W and power dissipation up to 95 mW. Featuring a 22.5 deg. angle of half intensity, the device is luminous categorized, per packaging unit, for luminous intensity and color. ESD-withstand voltage for the LED is up to 2 kV, in accordance with JESD22-A114-B. The device is compliant to RoHS directive 2002/95/EC.
Samples and production quantities of the new VLHW4100 LED are available now with lead times of eight weeks for larger orders. Follow Vishay LEDs at http://twitter.com/vishaylighting.

Nanotech helping 3D TVs slim down

LG Electronics will show off the world's slimmest full LED 3D TV at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin from September 3 to 8. At just 0.88cm thin (and a 1.25cm bezel) the LG LEX8 is able to capture what the company says is the "sharpest 3D images on the market."

Tsinghua Tongfang Selects Veeco as Primary MOCVD Supplier

Veeco Instruments Inc. announced that Tsinghua Tongfang Company, a Beijing-based, publicly listed division of the Tsinghua Holdings Company Limited, has selected Veeco as its primary supplier of Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) systems for their new light-emitting diode (LED) factory. Veeco booked the initial systems from a large multi-tool purchase order earlier this month. Wang Lianghai, Vice President of Tsinghua Tonfang commented, "After thorough evaluation of available MOCVD systems at our Beijing LED R&D site, we selected Veeco as our primary supplier for our new production facility in NanTong which is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. The TurboDisc(R) K465i MOCVD systems were the clear winner in terms of cost of ownership and productivity. We have an aggressive plan to ramp production of LEDs primarily to address backlighting demand for TVs, and Veeco's technology, tool performance and customer support best matched our needs."