News For LED: February 2014

Friday, February 28, 2014

Philips a Fast Company 'Innovative Company'

In this season of B2B and technology media list making, we track the SSL companies that receive the accolades, so you don't have to.

It seems like only yesterday when we were reporting that Cree had been named to the MIT Technology Review list of 50 most innovative companies. (Actually, it was a week ago.) Cree was the only pure-play SSL company on that list. Others involved in SSL appear there, but they were cited for reasons other than their work that touches on lighting.

8 Innovation Lessons From Philips (according to Fast Company)

"At the start, it is very difficult to predict whether a breakthrough can evolve into something that will actually change the world."

A radical new product "must do something either better, or cheaper, than the existing product it is trying to displace."

"A radical new product will need to infiltrate markets at the margins before it can claim the center."

"Government policy and funding often help push a breakthrough innovation into the market."

"As costs plummet and quality improves, a new technology can suddenly achieve an accelerating, global popularity."

"The reasons behind the initial appeal of an innovation don't predict the range of problems it will someday solve."

"Older digital technologies--the Internet, for instance, or smartphones--accentuate the impact of newer digital technologies, such as the LED."

"Disruptive innovations don't just disrupt markets or change the way people live; they disrupt old business models, too."

Now Fast Company's list of "the world's 50 most innovative companies" is out. Philips made the cut at No. 50, while Cree is absent. (A subsidiary of Philips sponsors this site.)

Both lists are about innovation, but their emphases differ. Technology Review looked for companies that had produced industry-changing products. Fast Company is more intent on identifying companies that have woven the practice of innovation deep into their DNA, regardless of whether earth-shaking products have resulted yet.

Well chosen

On this score, Philips is well chosen. Fast Company's profile is extensive and does an excellent job of filling out the picture of what the company has accomplished and learned on the way to "altering the future." The profile goes into detail to pull out eight lessons in innovation that the company has taken on board (see sidebar). Like every story of disruptive new technology, the LED story is a contingent one. It could have been otherwise. Please do read all 4,500 words of Jon Gertner's Fast Company profile of Philips. It is good journalism.

A number of companies appear on both lists -- but none in the business of lighting. The usual suspects include Google, Tesla, Dropbox, Amazon, Box, and GitHub. GE is on both lists, but not for SSL. The Fast Company list cites the company for combining big-data analytics with streams of data coming from its products -- engines, power plants, hospital equipment. Both lists agree that Google is at or near the top of the innovation heap.

Yet another list

Forbes has come out with its list of 100 of "America's most promising companies." One SSL endeavor is cited: Noribachi, a California company manufacturing high-output lighting systems for commercial and industrial uses, all made in the US.

The Forbes list's emphasis is not on innovation so much as on future earnings potential. These are companies to watch across all areas of the economy.

— Keith Dawson , Editor-in-Chief, All LED Lighting

Related post:

Cree on MIT's '50 Smartest Companies' List

Thursday, February 27, 2014

A color-changing LED can set the mood

A few months back I reviewed the Philips Hue Personal Wireless Lighting system and found it to be quite cool, but expensive. The Hue starter system includes three bulbs and costs $200. The bulbs are controlled wirelessly through a mobile app to change color, brightness and turn them on and off. If you liked the idea of the Hue, but would like to start at a price less than $200, you should look at the Lumen Bluetooth Smartbulb. The Lumen (lumenbulb.net, $49 from Amazon) is a single 400-lumen LED bulb that talks to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth.

In The Dark About Picking A Light Bulb? This FAQ Can Help

Buying a light bulb used to be a no-brainer. Now it's a brain teaser; the transition to more energy-efficient lighting means choosing from a dazzling array of products. We've long identified bulbs by their wattage, but that is actually a measure of electricity, not the brightness of a bulb. The amount of light a bulb generates is measured in lumens. An incandescent 60-watt bulb, for example, gives off 800 lumens of light. And LED bulbs, which are more energy efficient than their incandescent counterparts, can deliver the same amount of light using as little as 10 watts.

Hot Picks of the Week Feb. 24-28

February.28, 2014 - 12:00 — judy.lin 1 pageviews

Keywords:

Editorial picks

Hot Picks of the Week Feb. 24-28

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Canada Amends Light Bulbs Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards

GLT Releases Omnidirectional LED Light Guides with Custom Distribution Profiles

Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), the world leader in edge-lit, LED-based light guides for general illumination, has introduced a new light guide that produces distinct customized emission patterns of light from the top and bottom surface.

This enables lighting fixtures to emit light upward and downward using a single light guide with LEDs on one or two edges, while varying the distribution pattern from top to bottom. As demonstrated in the images and polar plot, one such option is a light guide that will produce a “batwing” distribution in the upward direction, while maintaining a more direct distribution in the downward direction. This distribution would allow proper illumination of a table or desk below the light guide while, at the same time, allowing the indirect lighting of the room from the upward distribution. Other options include more Lambertian distributions downward for more diffuse lighting as well as varying output angles for the upward distribution.

GLT can also design custom light guide assemblies in a “cartridge” format based on a customer’s specific requirements, allowing them to be used as a standardized light source in a variety of fixtures.

ESS LED Tube Lights To Be Available Through U.S. LED Authorized Dealer Networks

Peter Stein of Energy Saving Solutions (ESS) U.S. announced that it will be expanding its innovative energy-saving, guaranteed for life LED product line to include new quick-install, energy efficient LED tube lights, offered through its national authorized LED dealer network beginning in March 2014.

Energy efficient tube lights can help commercial businesses save an average of 50 percent over their current tube lighting with absolutely no installation or re-wiring needed. Because on average the cost per fixture for re-wiring ballasts is about 25 percent of the lights installed, clients can save roughly 25 percent on the soft cost of installation.

In just a short time, ESS will begin selling LED tube lights to businesses and property owners across the country. ESS’s new LED tube light, used for industrial and commercial lighting applications, is a simple Plug-And-Play replacement to 2-3 and 4-foot tubes which do not require a wiring around the ballast and can work with both electronic and Magnetic ballasts, as well as with its variable voltage regulator. The product line includes but is not limited to 2-3-4 foot LED tubes (DLC and non-DLC listed) and can accommodate 40 volts to 400 volts of electricity. Similar to its Forever LED Lights, ESS’s LED tube lights will come accompanied with a lifetime warranty administered through McCusker & Company and backed by Service USA, world class warranty and service providers out of Dallas.

Stein commented, “We couldn’t be more excited to expand our offering to include state-of-the-art LED tube light technology. ESS can now save clients EVEN more money on their lighting costs! And it’s so easy! Clients are able to twist our LED tube light into the socket and start saving immediately.”

The beauty of energy-efficient LED tube light technology lies not only in its efficiency but also in its simplicity and quick return on investment. ESS’ nationwide network of authorized LED dealers, lifetime guarantee on its products, and various accessible financing options make it a simple, easy avenue for businesses, government agencies, schools and non-profit organizations– to reduce their bottom line and carbon footprint.

Stein continued, “We intend to introduce a rental program option for this specific line of lighting to add to the array of financing options. Renting your saving is no different than buying a bond except ESS pays the premium and the client receives the best quality light ever produced and monthly residual dividend payments from part of the savings.”

ESS’ Forever Green Savings Program ™ remains the easiest, money- and energy-saving LED solution for businesses and municipalities. Through it, business and property owners of all sizes have the ability to change out their old inefficient lights and upgrade to Forever LED Lights ™for zero out of pocket costs - allowing them to achieve immediate positive cash flow and have great lighting built to last a lifetime.

The Philips Lumileds Luxeon MZ

Philips Lumileds has announced a new high-brightness white LED, the "undomed" Luxeon MZ. It looks like a useful part, but the price is out of scale.

Lumileds (sponsor of this site) announced the new HBLED within a week of introducing their 200lm/W LUXEON Rebel ES Lime and LUXEON Z Lime LEDs, which we covered. This newest addition to the Lumleds portfolio, with a 4.2mm diameter emitting surface, claims to enable customers to create tighter beam angles with higher lumen density at a lower cost than was previously possible in a 600-1000 lm device, with CRI of 70, 80, 90 and a CCT range of 2700K-6500K.

Lumileds product families.

(Source: Lumileds)

The lumen levels are achieved in the 'MZ by incorporating four series-connected, 2.8V V_F die in a 4.2 x 4.0, LUXEON M-compatible package. Lumileds claims the 'MZ has all of the features of LUXEON M, including an identical solder footprint, and that it allows for tighter beam control and higher punch due to a smaller apparent source size, according to Lumileds Senior Vice President Emmanuel Dieppedalle:

With the LUXEON MZ in combination with LUXEON M, designers can create two solutions with one optic and one PCB, thereby lowering overall costs. Our customers are already designing platforms with LUXEON M and LUXEON MZ to create multiple SKUs using less engineering resources.

Luxeon MZ.

(Source: Lumileds)

The ace being played several times in Philips's marcom materials is better optical control and lumen density due to a smaller source size than is found in a domed emitter: "In an MR16 the LUXEON MZ delivers greater punch, achieving 50,000 candela center beam candle power (CBCP) compared to encapsulated emitters that only achieve half the beam intensity using the same sized optics."

50,000 cd is a very impressive CBCP. Looking at the V_F, the number of die, the package footprint, and the lumen output specs, they are similar to that of the encapsulated LUXEON M, which was introduced at Strategies in Light in January 2012. The dies are smaller, with a 2mm per side die in the 'M. It looks like maybe a half-area die in the 'MZ at about 1.4mm per side -- hence the "throw" and CBCP claims. What's most amazing is that Lumileds has eliminated the silicone dome of the 'M with the "domeless" 'MZ, yet the polar radiation patterns of the two products are indiscernible from each other in their respective datasheets.

Chip in Frame architecture.

(Source: Lumileds)

Thermally, the LUXEON M used Lumileds's Chip in Frame Architecture with a 2x2 array of 2mm² thin-film flip chip die mounted on an high thermal conductivity aluminum nitride paddle. Unless there's a copy/paste error in the datasheets, the thermal resistance between the 'M and the 'MZ is identical at 1.25°C/W, suggesting that the substrate may be AlN only, as the thermal resistance with smaller die needs to be better than that if they had used alumina. The "paddle" location in both the M and MZ is metallized, providing a nice thermal path that's electrically isolated from the 11.7 V anode and cathode electrodes. This isolated pad is probably the reason this part will continue to exist, irrespective of the availability of chip-sized devices like the 2.2 mm² Luxeon Z.

(Source: Lumileds)

Despite the attention to thermal details, and the higher current density in the half-area sized die, the MZ is expected to maintain 70% lumen levels (L70) at 50,000 hours of operation at a forward current of up to 700 mA for the LMZx-Sxxx part code. This projection is based on constant-current operation with junction temperature maintained at or below 135°C. With the parts hot-binned at 85°C, there will, of course, be a lumen depreciation, by running at 135°C, of about 10%. The latitude of running 85°C above a 50°C ambient spec with an 8W LED, makes it a walk in the park to come up with a 10°C/W cooling solution.

In summary, the LUXEON MZ looks like a nice part. Its typical efficacy of 95lm/W (3000K, 80CRI) could be better, but it's not surprising given the half-area die is being ridden hard. Looking at the product family chart above, the 'MZ is there -- that chart was shown at a conference back in September of 2013, so the part's been around for about six months. With that, a quick disty check to buy some samples to play with revealed no stock at any of them and a 14-week lead-time, which is very disappointing since the unspoken rule in semiconductor marketing is to ensure there's at least a decent supply of sample stock in disty when a part is announced. But, even that is not the knife in the back for the LUXEON MZ.

Plessey is at $1/kLumen now. Philips has been cited as predicting pricing at $1/kLumen this year. Haitz's Law says LED prices drop by a factor of 10 in 10 years, so in the two years since the LUXEON M came out, the 'MZ should be 36% lower in price than the 'M. The LMZ8-SW30 is $4.67 each in quantity 500 at Digikey, or $5.98/kLumen. The LXR8-RW30 is $5.67, or 18% lower (a "half-Haitz"). Counting optical losses and running it at a bit more efficacious power level, that says it's $9.35 for two LEDs and the rest of the light bulb's components have to be free in order to sell it at Home Depot, which itself will need to do the selling for free as well. How is that supposed to work when you're yielding twice the number of dies per wafer compared to an 'M?

Related posts

Lime Green at 200 Lumens per Watt

Plessey Being LED Toward Irrelevance

A Eureka Moment With LED Signs

Ever wondered how LED signs work? Electroluminescence is an optical and electrical phenomenon wherein a material emits light in response to an electric current passing through it or to a strong electric field. Essentially, it is a production of light through electrons. This is a process more powerful than the technology behind neon signs, giving led signs an advantage over neon signs.

Aside from its energy-saving capacity, led signs are also brighter, more attractive, and capable of displaying multiple animation modes. Led signs use an integrated display system which allows for text, images, cartoons, videos, and other graphic information to be presented.

LED signs are composed of led modules, led cabinets, and led displays. Modules are made of LED, PCB, IC, resistors, capacitors, connectors, covers and other components. What’s important to know about them is that their matrices come in sizes of 8×8, 8×16, 16×16, 16×32, etc. Cabinets, on the other hand, can be customized based on the client’s requirements and business needs. Led displays use these modules and cabinets in order to work and convey messages that are appropriate for the business.

As a result of the latest advances in technology, customized and programmable led signs are now readily available. These programmable led signs can be controlled by a PC or a remote control. Additionally, they are capable of using multiple text inputs and displaying several animation modes. With the help of led signs on your business, name recollection and instant brand recognition will never be a problem. Putting up led signs that convey business information such as contact numbers, website, business hours, and special promotions help increase the amount of foot traffic and customers. As a result of their very affordable price, any business will want to invest in led signs.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Soraa Introduces GaN on GaN™ Gen3 LEDs for Unmatched Efficiency and Brightness, Full-Visible-Spectrum Color and Whiteness Rendering

Soraa’s full-visible-spectrum PAR30L lamp, powered by its Gen3 LED, will lead the market not only in light output, but also in color and whiteness rendering; at CRI-95 and R9-95 it will achieve center-beam intensity (CBCP) of 28,250cd at 8° beam angle, 10% higher than the CRI-85 offering of the nearest competitor. Soraa’s large form factor lamps will feature all the signature elements of light quality that its customers are accustomed to: natural and accurate rendering of colors and whiteness, perfectly uniform beams of exceptionally high intensity, and clear single shadows.

“Soraa’s Gen3 GaN on GaN™ LED package is a major milestone for the LED industry and a truly disruptive innovation. We have achieved a 30% lm/W efficiency improvement over our previous generation white LEDs, and what’s amazing is that we expect to repeat these significant year-over-year performance gains in the future,” said Jeff Parker, CEO of Soraa.

Soraa has brought a culture of innovation and rapid technology development to the LED lighting industry with its GaN on GaN™ LED technology. The company’s Gen3 LED runs at 75% wall-plug-efficiency at a current density of 35A/cm² and a junction temperature of 85°C, efficiency levels that are out of reach for other LED manufacturers. Soraa leverages the properties of the native GaN substrate and a chip-on-board LED package design to create a very robust, single point source that enables excellent beam control. And with a proprietary three-phosphor combination, Soraa’s Gen3 LED emits full-visible-spectrum light (all the colors of the rainbow, including violet), which excites optical brightening agents and perfectly renders whiteness as well as colors.

Soraa will display its new full-visible-spectrum large lamp products at Light + Building in Frankfurt, Germany (March 30-April 4, booth# 4.1 B55).

For more information on Soraa’s GaN on GaN™ LEDs and lamps, visit www.soraa.com

About Soraa:

Pioneering lamps using LEDs built from pure gallium nitride substrates (GaN on GaN™), Soraa has made ordinary lighting extraordinarily brilliant and efficient. Soraa’s full spectrum GaN on GaN™ LED lamps have superior color rendering and beam characteristics compared to lamps using LEDs created from non-native substrates. Founded in 2008, Soraa is located in Fremont California, where it manufactures its GaN on GaN™ LEDs in the company’s state-of-the-art facility. For additional information, please visit www.soraa.com

Lambda Research Adds Improved Photorealistic Rendering Capability To TracePro

With ten times faster processing, TracePro’s photorealistic rendering capability uses a two-pass algorithm that simulates light from user-defined sources and ambient light settings to produce a rendered scene. The first pass generates a photon map for use in the second pass. In the second pass, rays are traced in reverse and the photon map is used to calculate the relative luminance of every pixel in the rendered image. After the rendering is completed, the user can control the contrast and brightness as needed.

TracePro is award-winning opto-mechanical software used for design, analysis, and optimization of optical and illumination systems. With its intuitive CAD interface and powerful features like 2D/3D interactive optimizers, TracePro offers a sophisticated and powerful optical design environment combined with a short learning curve to accelerate product time-to-market. Request a free trial today at www.lambdares.com.

About Lambda Research Corp:

Lambda Research Corporation, a privately-held company founded in 1992, is an industry leader in light analysis, illumination system design and analysis, and custom software development. Lambda Research Corporation publishes TracePro®, an award-winning opto-mechanical design software used for designing and analyzing illumination and optical systems. TracePro streamlines the prototyping to manufacturing process by combining an intuitive 3D CAD interface, advanced utilities, and seamless interoperability with other mechanical design programs. For more information, please visit the company’s web site: www.lambdares.com.

Supertex's New, Highly Efficient, High PF HV9805 LED Driver Delivers True DC Current for LED Lamps and Tubes

HV9805 supports a simple and low cost driver circuit, which combines a PFC boost stage and a linear post regulator for regulating the LED current to a DC value. The boost stage employs the boundary conduction mode, with the output regulated for lowest overhead voltage at the linear regulator. The headroom voltage can be freely selected to optimize the efficiency of the post regulator or to minimize the cost or size of the bus capacitor.

The boost converter employs a cascode switch for high speed switching and convenient generation of the housekeeping (VDD) supply. The low voltage device of the cascode switch is integral to the HV9805 and is rated at a current of 1A. VDD power is derived with high efficiency and without the need for extra components or magnetic windings.

“The HV9805 offers an interesting alternative for lowering the cost of LED lighting solutions, while improving the performance of the light source. High power factor, low THD, and high efficiency are attained through use of two simple stages. The HV9805 offers the lighting designer a powerful alternative for optimizing their designs, as they examine the tradeoffs of performance and lower system cost,” states Alex Mednik, Application Engineering Director at Supertex.

The HV9805 is available in a lead(Pb)-free/RoHS compliant 10-lead MSOP package (HV9805MG-G). Samples are available from stock. Pricing is US$0.77 each in 1K quantities.

About Supertex:

Supertex, Inc. is a publicly held mixed signal semiconductor manufacturer, focused in high voltage interface products for use in the telecommunications, networking systems, flat panel displays, medical and industrial electronics industries. Supertex product, corporate and financial information is readily available at www.supertex.com.

Refond Corrects Earlier Announcement of Shares Purchased from LT Photoelectricity Technology

Last Friday, Refond Optoelectronics (Refond) announced the acquisition of 13.04 percent share of Shenzhen LT Photoelectricity Technology Co. for RMB 30 million (US $4.9 million) through a preferred stock purchase agreement signed with Peng Xiaoling and Wang Weiquan. Refond however has corrected the announcement, reporting that the company purchased 15 percent share.

When the news was first announced, LT Photoelectricity Technology made a promise that the company’s net profit would not fall below RMB 24 million in 2014. If it does, the company must compensate Refond through cash or stock shares.

Only four days after the announcement, Refond corrected the statement saying that the company actually purchased 15 percent in shares and not 13.04 percent as originally reported.

Upon correcting the announcement, LT Photoelectricity Technology reported that the company promised that after tax profit margin from 2014 to 2017 would not be lower than RMB 100 million. Additionally, the lowest after tax profit margin should not be lower than the following: RMB 22 million for 2014, RMB 24 million for 2015, RMB 26 million for 2016, and RMB 28 million in 2017. If the company’s operational performance fails to meet the above targets in any year, it must compensate Refond through cash or stock shares.

This indicates that LT Photoelectricity Technology’s market price has dropped from RMB 231 million to RMB 200 million. Refond acquired 15 percent share in the company at a rate of 17 times PE ratio.

The mistake in the original announcement was due to an employee oversight, said Refond.

Industry insider analyses or higher than original assessment of LT Photoelectricity Technology by Refond perhaps lead to this mix up.

(Author: Amber, Reporter, LEDinside)

Light bulb manufacturer ordered to pay consumers $21 million

Lights of America, a light bulb manufacturer whose LED bulbs were sold in big box stores, including Costco, Sam’s Club and Walmart, made misleading claims about the bulbs’ light output, life expectancy and brightness, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday.A federal court in California has ordered the company to pay up to $21 million to consumers after the FTC sued the firm for violating federal law by making deceptive claims. On packaging and in product brochures, the defendants initially claimed their products had a 30,000-hour life and last “15 times longer than 2,000-hour incandescent bulbs.”

Supermarket LEDs will light the way to the cheese

Philips has announced its newest "intelligent" lighting solution to help you navigate around public spaces. The company's last project was all about creating light-emitting carpets to help navigate around airports and cinemas, but this time it's focusing on supermarkets with the LEDs back on the regular old ceiling. Using in-store LED lighting, the system sends information such as special offers to customers' smartphones depending on their location in the store. Customers will have to download a dedicated app in order to take advantage of the system, but they will then be able to use the dense network of LEDs as a positioning grid, receiving information related to their particular position as they wander around picking up groceries.

Changelight to Enter InGaN Market

Unwilling to sit on the sidelines of the promising lighting chip market, China’s largest AlInGaP chip manufacturer Changelight has finally decided to enter InGaN LED epiwafer market.

Changelight’s board of trustees recently approved a plan that investigates the possibilities of investing in InGaN LED epiwafer during a board meeting on Feb. 25, 2014. The company board agreed to developing InGaN LED epiwafers and potential R&D. At the same time, the company departments were authorized by the board to implement related work.

One of the reason’s behind Changelight’s move is only a third of RGB LED in monitors use AlInGaP chips, the remaining two thirds consist of InGaN chips. If Changelight continues to be overtly focused on AlInGaP and not InGaN, it will be watching other InGaN manufacturers dividing up the market.

But the situation will be completely different if Changelight enters the InGaN market.

Changelight’s intention of entering the InGan market has become very obvious.

In April 2013, Changelight appeared to have drawn on its capital to allow Golden Eagle Technology (Samoa) (literal translation) to acquire 100% stock shares from Dongyuan Zhou Lei Technology (東莞洲磊電子有限公司).

However, the acquisition failed in the end. In Oct. 2013, Changelight announced it will terminate plans of acquiring Dongyuan Zhou Lei Technology.

At the same time, Changelight announced successful acquisition of Yangzhou Longyao Optoelectronic Technology Development Co. (Yangzhou Longyao), Ltd real estate, buildings and equipments in Yangzhou City’s economic development area in Jiangsu, China. Changelight acquired the company at RMB 75 million.

According to understanding, Yangzhou Longyao currently has six MOCVD equipments from Aixtron to make 31”-2 sized wafers. The equipment is mainly used to manufacture InGaN epiwafers.

Changelight has clearly shown with its acquisition of Yangzhou Longyao that it has shed behind previous uncertainties and is incisive about entering InGaN market.

An investigation of Changelight 2011 to present financial reports revealed the company’s epiwafer (including AlInGaN LED epiwafer, LED chips, triple-junction gallium arsenide (GaS) solar cells epiwafer, and other chips) gross margin have declined slightly. In 2011, the company epiwafer business reported 60.07% gross margin by 2012 it was down to 41.58%, and in 2013 an incremental decrease of 40.22%.

As for the company’s 2013 annual AlInGaP performance, Changelight’s recent financial report showed the company’s total revenue for 2013 was RMB 487 million, up 29.38% compared to the same period in 2012. Stockholders net profit was RMB 107 million, an incremental decline of 1.17% compared to the previous year.

LED chip market competition is expected to intensify in 2014, according to LEDinside. Compared to mainstream InGaN chip manufacturers 54 chip 10 MOCVDs, Changelight’s six Aixtron MOCVD production capacity of 31”-2 wafer equipments cannot really compete. It still needs to be observed as to how Changelight can quickly expand production capacity and gain greater market share.

(Author: Amber Liu, Reporter, LEDinside)

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

LED Engin Named Best New Component in the Architectural SSL Product Innovation Awards 2014

Organised by Architectural SSL, one of North America’s flagship trade magazines for architects, lighting designers and specifiers, the PIAs are designed to recognize the most outstanding innovations in solid-state lighting fixtures and components embracing design, manufacturing and installation. All PIA winners are feted in a special issue of Architectural SSL magazine and trophies are presented at Lightfair in June 2014.

Designed to replace halogen downlight dimming applications, LuxiTune delivers warm, soft tones of dimmed light in a compact single emitter while maintaining color quality and consistency within three MacAdam ellipses over the full dimming and correlated color temperature (CCT) range. Combined with the benefits of a long and sustained service life, LuxiTune provides high lumen density and lux-on-target performance.

The independent judging panel consists of professionals working in lighting design, sales and manufacturing along with industry analysts. The judges were very impressed with LuxiTune, commenting: “The calming and romantic warming effect of dimming halogen and soft candlelight has been lost with LED—until now. This warming effect will help break down one of the last barriers for LED adoption in high-end hospitality, restaurant and other applications where creating the right ambiance is critical.”

President and CEO of LED Engin, David Tahmassebi, commented: "It is a great honor to have been awarded Best New Component in the PIAs. The true CCT tuning achievable along the black body curve with LuxiTune gives designers freedom without some of the hue changes found in rival CCT tuning products. Having successfully designed, developed and marketed LuxiTune, we look forward to launching a next generation version later this year with enhanced tunability and connectivity.”

Jim Crockett, editorial director of Architectural SSL and chair of the PIA judging panel, explained: “Now four years into conducting the PIA program, a definitive trend jumps out: We’ve noticed a definitive maturation—even specialization—of the products being submitted. This is very encouraging and is reflected by the quality of products we reviewed.”

LuxiTune has a luminous flux of 1100 lumens, equivalent to a 60W halogen lamp. Luminous efficacy is 63 lm/W at temperature including the secondary optic, far higher than that of rival products. At full intensity, color rendering index (CRI) is 90 and LuxiTune maintains a CRI average of 85 and R9 red content of 70 as it dims.

With a diameter of 50mm, LuxiTune makes it quick and easy to create a compact lighting fixture that works with standard 0-10V dimmers or via a DMX interface. Optics are available in 24°, 32° and 45° beam angles.

For more information about LuxiTune, please visit http://ift.tt/1cOoKmf.

More details about the PIAs can be found at http://ift.tt/1cOoMdG

About LED Engin:

LED Engin, based in California’s Silicon Valley, specializes in ultra-bright, ultra-compact solid state lighting solutions that allow designers and engineers the freedom to create uncompromised yet energy efficient lighting experiences. The company’s LuxiGen™ Platform - an emitter and lens combination or integrated module, delivers superior flexibility in light output, ranging from 3W to 90W, a wide spectrum of available colors, including whites, multi-color and UV, and the ability to deliver upwards of 5,000 high quality lumens to a target. The small size combined with powerful output allows for a previously unobtainable freedom of design wherever high flux density, directional light is required.

LED Engin products are sold directly through LED Engin sales channels and its distributors. They are available for immediate sampling.

For additional information, or to find a sales representative, please visit: www.LEDEngin.com.

New Cree CXA High-Density LED Arrays Offer Unmatched Lumen Density

“The beauty of these new high-density LED arrays from Cree is that they are helping us bring products to the market that currently don’t exist,” said Mike Wang, vice president, lighting engineering, Edison Price Lighting, Inc. “Never before have we been able to harness such a large amount of light in such a small package, which can help us improve our lighting designs and address a number of applications that we previously could not.”

Beside the CXA1520 LED Array, already introduced at LpS 2014, the most popular Array sizes are now available as high lumen density versions. By emitting more than 15,500 lumens from a 19-mm light source, the CXA2590 LED Array enables luminaires with the same center-beam candlepower (CBCP) and light quality of a 150-watt CMH light source at lower power, longer lifetime and with better control. Delivering more than 9,000 lumens from a 12-mm light source, the CXA1850 LED Array enables lighting solutions with the same CBCP and light quality as 70-watt CMH while using half the power. The CXA1310 LED Array provides more than 2,000 lumens in a 6-mm light source, which allows lighting manufacturers to design smaller, more-efficient track lights, reduce the size of halogen replacements by half and deliver twice the CBCP of CMH at 30 percent less power.

“The high-density LED arrays from Cree are extremely impressive,” said Kenny Eidsvold, president, Intense Lighting. “We are looking forward to using these products in applications requiring very-high-center-beam candlepower that previously could not be achieved with LED-based solutions.”

Cree continues to lead the industry by offering the largest portfolio of integrated LED arrays and the only portfolio of high-density LED arrays. Having multiple size and lumen-output options from the extended CXA product family helps lighting manufacturers address a wide range of lighting applications from small-form-factor halogen and CMH, to sports and stadium lighting. Lighting manufacturers can also take advantage of the CXA’s ability to increase light output without increasing size.

“Having access to such intense light sources without having to account for lots of variation in size is a tremendous benefit to our product-design process,” said Seok-Ki Park, CEO, Hwang-Duck Engineering Co., LTD. “We have the flexibility to increase our design options while protecting our investment in ongoing product development.”

Offering the industry’s best color consistency for designs that use only one LED, Cree XLamp CXA LED Arrays are characterized and binned at 85°C, available in ANSI White and EasyWhite® color temperatures (2700 K – 6500 K), and CRI options of 70, 80 and 95. Samples of all three new high-density LED arrays are available now, and production quantities are available with standard lead times.

Please visit www.cree.com/cxa to learn more.

About Cree:

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio frequency (RF) applications.

Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, power suppliers and solar inverters.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com

AIXTRON Announces Further Stabilization of Results

AIXTRON SE today reported revenues of EUR 182.9m (2012: EUR 227.8m) and an EBIT of -95.7m (2012: EUR -132.3m) for the full fiscal year 2013. In the fourth quarter of 2013, revenues were up sequentially to EUR 51.5m (Q3/2013: EUR 46.2m). The Q4 EBIT (excluding unusual items) of EUR -8.3m (Q3/2013 excluding unusual items: EUR -9.2m) came in slightly above the previous quarter. In spite of a 20% decrease in revenues the Company's earnings benefited from positive cost effects and efficiency gains from the 5-Point-Program initiated in Q1/2013. Thereby, operating costs (excluding unusual items) were reduced in fiscal year 2013 to less than the previously targeted EUR 100m (operating costs 2012, excluding unusual items: EUR 124.9m).

Key Financials

	2013	2012	+/-	2013	2012	+/-
(in EUR million)	FY	FY		Q4	Q4

Revenues	182.9	227.8	-20%	51.1	77.5	-34%
Gross profit	-7.4	0.4	n. a.	17.4	17.7	-2%
Gross margin	-4%	0%	-4 pp	34%	23%	11 pp
Operating result (EBIT)	-95.7	-132.3	28%	-12.6	-19.3	35%
EBIT margin	-52%	-58%	6 pp	-25%	-25%	0 pp
Net result	-101.0	-145.4	30%	-14.8	-43.2	66%
Net result margin	-55%	-64%	9 pp	-29%	-56%	27 pp
Net result per share - basic (EUR)	-0.98	-1.44	32%	-0.13	-0.43	70%
Net result per share - diluted (EUR)	-0.98	-1.44	32%	-0.13	-0.43	70%
Free cash flow FCF*	-1.1	-61.6	+60.5	-0.2	1.8	-2.0
Dividend proposal/
dividend per share (EUR)	0	0	0%
Equipment order intake	133.2	131.4	1%	37.1	35.5	5%
Equipment order backlog
(end of period)	59.6	79.4	-25%	59.6	79.4	-25%

* Operating CF + Investing CF + Changes in Cash Deposits

Although capacity utilization rates in AIXTRON's target industries have increased significantly, for example at leading Taiwanese and Korean LED chip manufacturers, demand for AIXTRON's production equipment remained at a very low level throughout the fiscal year 2013. Consequently, equipment order intake at EUR 133.2m was broadly unchanged year-on-year compared to EUR 131.4m of the fiscal year 2012. The total equipment order backlog of EUR 59.6m at December 31, 2013 was 25% lower than the EUR 79.4m at the same point in time in 2012. This sustained weakness in demand was also reflected in the reduced revenues.

Influenced by several unusual items, the Company’s gross profit in 2013 decreased year-on- year from EUR 0.4m to EUR -7.4m, resulting in a negative gross margin of -4% (2012: 0%).

Decreased revenue-related costs were more than offset by lower selling prices for MOCVD equipment and the negative effect of EUR -5.1m from inventory destroyed in a fire.

The absolute operating result (EBIT) increased by EUR 36.6m year-on-year from EUR -132.3m and came in at EUR -95.7m for the fiscal year 2013. Write-downs and restructuring expenses recorded throughout the fiscal year were more than offset by insurance proceeds and cost reductions realized through the 5-Point-Program.

The 2013 after-tax result attributable to the equity holders of the AIXTRON SE was EUR -101.0m compared to EUR -145.4 million in 2012.

Throughout the fiscal year 2013, the AIXTRON Management has put a special focus on liquidity. Although the Company recorded an increased cash outflow from restructuring related payments, the significantly improved free cash flow of EUR -1.1m (2012: EUR -61.6m) underlines the successful liquidity management. As a result of the capital increase executed in October 2013, AIXTRON has further strengthened its financial position. With a total of EUR 306.3m in cash and cash equivalents (including cash deposits with a maturity of at least three months) at the end of the year, the Company maintains a sound capital base for its future business development.

Appropriation of Net Loss

AIXTRON’s Executive and Supervisory Boards will propose to the shareholders’ meeting that the 2013 loss amounting to EUR -1.1m should again be carried forward and consequently no dividend payment should be made for 2013.

5-Point-Program

At the Annual General Meeting on May 23, 2013, the President and CEO of AIXTRON, Mr. Martin Goetzeler (in office since March 1, 2013) introduced a 5-Point-Program to restore the Company's sustainable profitability even under difficult market conditions. A number of targeted individual projects were designed to address the following topics: 1) focus on customer benefits; 2) utilization of the Company's technology and product portfolio; 3) process structures; 4) attention to clearly defined financial targets; 5) strengthening of AIXTRON's management and corporate culture. A pivotal element of this program is to improve the Company's cost efficiency as well as proactively manage its assets.

Philips Lumileds Doubles Lumen Density and Center Beam Candle Power with Newest Emitter

Philips Lumileds newest high-power emitter, the LUXEON MZ, enables customers to create tighter beam angles with higher lumen density at a lower cost than was previously possible. The LUXEON MZ emitter delivers excellent optical control in a 600-1000 lm package. Outdoor, industrial and area lamps as well as spotlights and downlights benefit from the faster qualification and time to market with the LUXEON MZ due to its design compatibility with the proven LUXEON M emitter.

“With the LUXEON MZin combination with LUXEON M, designers can create two solutions with one optic

and one PCB, thereby lowering overall costs. Our customers are already designing platforms with LUXEON M and LUXEONMZ to create multiple SKUs using less engineering resources,” explained Senior Vice President, Emmanuel Dieppedalle.

In an MR16 the LUXEON MZ delivers greater punch, achieving 50,000 candela center beam candle power (CBCP) compared to encapsulated emitters that only achieve half the beam intensity using the same sized optics. Flood lamps that formerly required large optics now deliver the necessary brightness and range with smaller optics and off-the-shelf drivers.

The LUXEON MZ features an industry leading forward voltage of 11.2V, a small light emitting surface of 4.2 mm diameter, and an undomed design to deliver smaller beam angles. Philips Lumileds is offering the emitter family across the full range of CCT and CRI(70, 80, 90)and CCT (2700-6500K) options.

Philips announces Energy Star certified 75- and 100-watt replacement LEDs

Philips announced Energy Star certification for their second-generation 75- and 100-watt replacement LEDs, along with exclusive discounts on both bulbs at Home Depots nationwide. Combined with the regional utility rebates that come with Energy Star certification, this means that consumers in some parts of the country will be able to purchase the 75-watt replacement for less than $10, with the 100-watt replacement going for just under $15. For the rest of us, the bulbs will retail for $19.97 and $24.97, respectively.

TerraLUX Debuts 39-Watt PAR20 LED for Track and Landscape Lighting

TerraLUX Inc., a manufacturer that designs, patents, and manufactures LED-based lighting solutions for illumination, has introduced the TLM-R20 LED Engine, a modular spotlight source for landscape and track lighting.

Designed to replace a 39-watt PAR20 Metal Halide, using only 17 watts, the TerraLUX TLM-R20 LED Engine delivers the same center beam candlepower of traditional light sources.

TerraLUX Inc.TLM-R20 LED Engine. (LEDinside/TerraLUX)

The TLM-R20 is extremely compact and has the same diameter as a PAR20. The driver is integrated, obviating the need for large ballast or driver boxes. This enables fixture manufacturers more streamlined designs. In landscape fixtures this can eliminate buried ballast boxes.

Line-voltage connected, the TLM-R20 is modular, and is typically equipped with a high performance TerraLUX LED module. Manufacturers will also have the option to drive other LED modules. It offers dimming options including: dimmable to less than 2 percent on reverse-phase dimming systems, and 4-level light output mode set by push button.

The TLM-R20, with TerraLUX LED module is available in 4 CCTs (2700K, 3000K, 3500K, and 4000K) and > 90 CRI in 2700K and 3000K. Reflector optics enables a wide range of distribution from spot to flood. Beam angles available are 15°, 23°, 35° and 51°. The TLM-R20 is a UL Recognized Component.

For more information visit http://ift.tt/1cNZKeN.

Dow Corning Global Director to Talk On Improving LED Efficiency with High-Performance Silicones at Strategies in Lighting 2014

Dow Corning, a global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, announced today that Kaz Maruyama, global industry director for Dow Corning Lighting Solutions, will deliver a presentation at the 15th Edition of Strategies in Light in Santa Clara, Calif. Titled “Materials Solutions for Maximizing LED Package Efficiency,” the presentation will detail how new high-performance optical silicones are increasing the efficiency of LED packaging design. Maruyama’s presentation is part of the conference’s Optics, Materials & Packaging Technology Track, and will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27 in Grand Ballroom G & H of the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara.

“LED packaging manufacturers are under increasingly intense pressure to develop differentiated high-end products in order to compete in high-margin segments, and only the highest performing materials can help them achieve this goal,” Maruyama said. “This is where silicone technologies truly shine. These materials provide an exceptional combination of high refractive index, thermal stability and mechanical toughness to enable breakthrough new LED designs from the module level through lamp and luminaire applications.”

Maruyama’s presentation will cover topics such as how encapsulant materials can boost LED efficiency, how materials for phosphor color conversion can enhance light quality, how silicones can improve light output stability and where silicones are helping manufacturers innovate new, leading-edge package housing designs. He will also discuss the market trends that are driving the shift to higher performance materials.

In addition to Maruyama’s presentation, Dow Corning will feature its line of high-performance LED packaging silicone products and moldable optical-grade silicone products at the Strategies in Light exhibit (Booth 315), as well as its complete portfolio of LED lamp and luminaire assembly solutions.

Strategies in Light is the world’s largest and longest-running conference and exhibition covering the LEDs and solid-state lighting sectors. It will be held from Feb. 25 – 27 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara Calif.

Supertex Releases High Power LED Driver for Luminaire Applications

Supertex SUPX, a recognized leader in high voltage analogand mixed signal integrated circuits (ICs), today introduced theHV9805, an LED driver IC, where the LED light source is arranged as a high voltage LED string in order to accommodate certain lamp form factors, while allowing for cost savings through less complicated cooling and optical arrangements. The driver includes a linear postregulator to provide a pure DC current drive, for flicker free light output. The linear post regulator also provides protection from line voltage transients.

The boost converter employs a cascode switch for high speed switching and convenient generation of the housekeeping (VDD) supply. The low voltage device of the cascode switch is integral to the HV9805 and is rated at a current of 1A. VDD power is derived with high efficiency and without the need for extra components or magnetic windings.

"The HV9805 offers an interesting alternative for lowering the cost of LED lighting solutions, while improving the performance of the light source. High power factor, low THD, and high efficiency are attained through use of two simple stages. The HV9805 offers the lighting designer a powerful alternative for optimizing their designs, as they examine the tradeoffs of performance and lower system cost," states Alex Mednik, Application Engineering Director at Supertex.

The HV9805 is available in a lead (Pb)-free/RoHS compliant 10-leadMSOP package (HV9805MG-G). Samples are available from stock. Pricing is US$ 0.77 each in 1K quantities.

About Supertex Supertex, Inc. is a publicly held mixed signal semiconductor manufacturer, focused in high voltage interface products for use in the telecommunications, networking systems, flat panel displays, medical and industrial electronics industries. Supertex product, corporate and financial information is readily available at www.supertex.com.

Tuesday Roundup: Lighting Cuts

This week: an explainer for dimming LEDs, rebounding demand for sapphire, and Philips's shopping assistant.

Tracking you to help you shop

Soon after we wrote about the people-tracking lights at Newark airport, Philips announced a shopping assistant in which LED lighting in retail stores tracks the location of customers by way of their smartphones, in order to deliver to them messages relevant to what they are looking for and guide them to it on the shelves. One innovative detail: messaging between lights and smartphones is done via visible light communications, what some are calling Li-Fi.

Privacy concerns are allayed by the "opt-in" nature of the system: No tracking takes place unless the shopper has downloaded the Philips app to their smartphone.

Click here to open a larger version in a new window. (Source: Philips)

The shopping assistant system is being piloted with retailers, Philips says, and was demonstrated at the Euroshop retail show in Düsseldorf last week.

LED dimming explainer

KNX Today, a trade magazine catering to users of this common protocol for controlling industrial and home lighting, has posted a tutorial on dimming LED lights. It is directed at those specifying, configuring, or installing a KNX control system, so its emphasis is on the practicalities of getting such a system to work properly with LED drivers, whether they take 0-10V input, Dali, direct KNX, or something else. The tutorial is full of down-to-earth advice such as the following:

The key thing to watch out for is the inrush current that is generated as the LED fitting turns on. This can be as high as 1A on a 7W fitting, and is the reason why all universal dimmers are downrated when used with LED. For example, the two-channel 400W Theben DMG2T can only drive 60W of LEDs. LED manufacturers rarely publish this information, so downrating the dimmer by 80% is a general rule.

(Source: X-Acto)

A lighted X-Acto knife

Back in the day when cutting and pasting were more literal than they are in this age, I could definitely have used the X-Light. Four batteries (included with the knife) give up to three hours of bright white light "X-Actly" where it is needed most.

Demand for sapphire "rebounding"

Rubicon, the US-based supplier of sapphire boules, substrates, and windows for LED lighting and optics applications, says that demand for its products will be picking up now after a "challenging" 2013. Much of the increase is due to Apple's use of sapphire in its iPhone 5s home button and lens cover. Rubicon says that LED lighting, now "in its infancy," will provide strong growth for several years to come. The company is also expecting growth from its new patterned sapphire substrates, and expects that the LED market will be "looking for more advanced sapphire substrates this year in terms of larger diameter, tighter specifications, and sophisticated patterns."

— Keith Dawson , Editor-in-Chief, All LED Lighting

Related posts:

Newark's Airport Lighting Tracks You

LiFi in the Real World

Philips SlimStyle 60W Equivalent: Guilty of Common Sense

The Philips SlimStyle design is very well thought-out and shows an awareness of nuances that seems to escape many lamp and luminaire designers.

The new Philips SlimStyle 60W equivalent lamp is notable for its flat appearance. Many speculate about how and why this design came to be and to what extent it is better or can be indicative of future directions. There is no certainty about whether others will follow, but some things seem clear. The surprising thing is how unsurprising some of the design details are.

Let's first get a few simple things out of the way. Some speculative postings on this site and elsewhere have suggested that this lamp does its thing and magically achieves its thermal management objectives without a heat sink, by using only what seems to be a plastic case. Not so. The internal LEDs are actually mounted on a 2.6" diameter traditional aluminum metal core board (MCB). That 5.3 sq. inch MCB is indeed the heat sink.

Heat sink

The fact that the 26 SMD emitters are placed near the periphery creates excellent heat spreading and the lowest thermal resistance to air -- better than a typical extruded or cast heatsink. The solder mask on both sides of the MCB increases emissivity by 10% (i.e., increases heat-sink cooling effectiveness by 10%). Counter-intuitively perhaps, the plastic shells over the MCB do not meaningfully impede heat transfer from MCB to ambient (I'll omit the math here).

The bulb employs 26 LEDs nominally rated about 500 mW each but used here at about 380 mW. Interestingly, Philips used a double-sided MCB with 13 LEDs on each side in a mirrored arrangement. Double-sided MCBs are rare in lighting products, but not entirely unknown. Philips can use one here because they are not affixing to another heat-sink surface.

Operating temperature

All 26 LEDs are driven as a series string from a circuit having a nominal output, at full brightness, of just under 80 VDC -- an approach tailored for maximum efficiency. The driver pushes the LEDs quite hard. After stabilizing at full brightness, the LED packages are operating at, or slightly above, 90°C in a 25°C ambient. That is a kind of no-no in commercial LED luminaires, where 80°-85°C is considered the edge of the danger zone. But the SlimStyle is a consumer item, rated for 25,000 hours, with great competitive price pressures from folks who often bend rules -- so I get it about the 90°C.

Foldback

A key thing here -- I noticed that lumen output dropped about 15%-20% as LED temperature passed through 70°C to the 90°C range on the way to equilibrium. The driver circuit has an NTC protection for thermal "foldback" (i.e., dimming) in the event of MCB overheating. I suspect that the threshold was set such that I was seeing some of that protective dimming just starting to kick in as the lamp stabilized at maximum temperature. It's hard to say if the lamp would have gone to 850-900 lumens and then "folded back" to its rated 800 lumens, or instead gone to 800 and folded back to 720-750. I think the former. I can test relative lumens against a reference but do not have an integrating sphere to make exact lab-type total lumen measurements of an A-19 type.

The point is that Philips incorporates thermal protection. It probably wanted to set its knife-edge on the conservative side, in case somebody sticks the lamp into a base-up socket or in an enclosed fixture where things could cook.

(Click the "Next" link below for page 2.)

Related posts

Philips SlimStyle Looks Like a Winner

Monday, February 24, 2014

Cree Extends Breakthrough XSP Series Street Light Performance to Outdoor Area Lighting

XSP Area and Wall-Mount luminaires“The Cree XSP Series Area and XSPW™ Wall Pack luminaires represent the latest examples of Cree’s mission to replace inefficient technologies with LED alternatives that provide the price, quality and energy savings that dramatically improve the lighting experience and save customers money,” said Norbert Hiller, Cree executive vice president, lighting. “These new luminaires provide high performance, nearly maintenance-free lighting for up to 100,000 hours, ending the need for compromised metal-halide alternatives.”

Featuring Cree’s NanoOptic® Precision Delivery Grid™ optic technology, the XSP Series Area LED luminaire and the XSPW Wall Pack LED luminaire deliver better optical control and more uniform white light than metal-halide fixtures. Both the XSP Series Area LED luminaire and the XSPW Wall Pack LED luminaire offer multiple mounting and optical options to support a variety of installations and applications. Both luminaires are backed by Cree’s 10-year limited warranty.

The Cree XSP Series Area LED luminaire and XSPW Wall Pack LED luminaire are sold through Cree lighting sales channels throughout the U.S. and Canada. Please visit http://ift.tt/1hAcOIU and http://ift.tt/1f0EVcq to learn more.

* Compared to metal-halide wall packs and 400-W probe-start metal-halide luminaires

About Cree:

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications.

Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and solar inverters.

A Roadmap to Efficient Green-Blue-Ultraviolet LEDs

Epitaxial perfection in the growth of quantum wells has been the key to achieving light emitting and laser diodes of superior power, efficiency, and performance. Ternary group-III nitrides LEDs based on GaInN/GaN, AlGaN/GaN, and AlInN/GaN quantum wells now find widespread application in energy-efficient as well as decorative solid-state lighting. But their use in high-power lighting applications is currently hindered by a significant loss in efficiency even at modest electrical currents. Indeed, the quantum efficiency of the LEDs peaks at relatively low currents—a few tens of amperes per square centimeter—and then steadily drops, by almost half, as the current increases. This "droop" in the efficiency is observed in the visible, blue, as well as ultraviolet spectral regions.

Scientists at NRL's Center for Computational Materials Science, in collaboration with researchers at the Technion, Israel, and Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Russia, have created computational models showing that the observed droop effect arises from non-radiative Auger recombination of the injected carriers. The rate of the Auger recombination is proportional to the cube of the carrier concentration. As a result, the noradiative Auger decay rate grows rapidly with current density, quenching the generation of light.

To suppress these non-radiative Auger processes one needs to create quantum wells with a soft confinement potential. Dr. Alexander Efros, a senior researcher in NRL's Materials Science and Technology Division, previously showed theoretically that a softened electrostatic potential prevents carriers from acquiring the momentum necessary for nonradiative Auger processes, and thus suppresses the Auger decay rate. This concept was patented by NRL in March 2013. The latest calculations by the NRL-Technion-Ioffe research team demonstrate that softening the confinement potential—by varying the alloy composition along the growth direction—also completely suppresses the piezoelectric field that normally enhances nonradiative Auger processes in GaN/AlN QWs. The calculations show that the droop effect in such quantum wells can be significantly or even completely suppressed.

In addition to Dr. Efros at NRL, the members of the research team include Roman Vaxenburg and Efrat Lifshitz from the Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, and Anna Rodina from the Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia.

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory:

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of nearly 2,800 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 90 years and continues to meet the complex technological challenges of today's world. For more information, visit the NRL homepage or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. - See more at: http://ift.tt/1dsdCYV

Malaysian City to Make LED Lighting Mandatory for New Buildings

A Malaysian city, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), new building standards will make LED lighting mandatory in new commercial buildings or mixed developments to meet the city’s goal of becoming a green sustainable city by 2030, according to a report by The Star.

MBPJ’s new building guidelines will require commercial and mixed developments to have rainwater harvesting system, green building index (GBI) compliance, use LED lamps, eco-friendly development manual (Masma) specs and include a landscape area of 10 percent to 15 percent of total development area.

Aside from making LED lamps standard in new buildings, the company has also spent RM100,000 (US$ 30,501) to install LED streetlights in residential areas with back lanes.aPetaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)