| Sponsored
Links |
|
Summit
2008:
What we learned
The feedback is in, and the consensus was: Just
what we needed, do it again soon. In case you missed the Solid
State Lighting Design Summit 2008 in Weehawken, New Jersey, be sure to take
a look at the final
agenda for what went down in the first-of-its-kind event. The Summit brought
together industry thought leaders, pioneers, leading designers, lighting decision-makers
and innovators from the across the solid state lighting eco-system. Read
the conference report...
Solid State Lighting Design
is here to serve the information needs of lighting designers, specifiers, and
decision makers, along with luminaire designers, lighting system integrators
and lighting subsystem developers with application, product and market news
updates for this rapidly evolving technology. Our readership also includes LED
packagers, technology enablers and service companies seeking the the answers
to how best to meet their customers' needs.
Solid
state lighting promises to create unprecedented changes in what we can do with
light. Simultaneously, it will deliver on a promise of massive global energy savings
and access to useful nighttime lighting that has not been conveniently available
to nearly 2 billion people around the world. We're glad to have you join us in
the revolution!
|
February 8, 2008...Cree, a long-time innovator in producing LEDs, has signed an agreement to acquire LED luminaire and retrofit maker, LED Lighting Fixtures Inc. (LLF). The agreement with LLF is a cash and stock transaction worth $77 million, plus an addition 26.4 million over a three-year period. The $77 million is comprised of a combination of cash and stock to be determined at closing. The stock portion of the transaction will be based on the average share price of Cree stock over the last 20 trading days, $28.32 per share. The $26.4 million dollars of additional consideration is tied over the next three calendar years to new product milestones and key-employee retention.
LLF will be renamed Cree Lighting Solutions. Neal Hunter, chairman and CEO of LLF and a Cree co-founder, will rejoin Cree as president of Cree LED Lighting Solutions. The remaining members of LLF’s management team will continue in their roles within the organization. The agreement will allow the company to make luminaires and retrofit fixtures and will put the company in direct competition with solid state lighting giant Philips.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Vatican Uses Space Cannon Luminaires with Philips Lumileds’ Luxeon Rebels For Mobile Podium
SSLDesign News StaffFebruary 7, 2008...The Vatican needed a method of lighting a mobile podium that would allow the pope to appear before large audiences. Vatican Director of Technical Services, engineer Pier Carlo Cuscianna with the help of Giuseppe Facchini, a Vatican architect, designed a podium that could be hauled on a trailer. It could travel on highways easily and can pass underneath typical underpasses. It could be towed by a standard vehicle. Cuscianna and Facchini eventually create a podium that did all of these things, and would automatically assemble itself upon arriving at its destination. The final product was a combination of stainless steel and sheet aluminum for the external surface, and teak wood decking for the stage.
One of the major design concerns for the podium was the lighting. Another company had already failed in its attempt to provide the lighting that would meet the requirements. The lighting needed to be very robust so it could travel, be exposed to the elements, and work without tapping into a local power supply. So the lighting had to be bright, highly efficient, and tough. Luminaires from Space Cannon and Luxeon LEDs from Philips Lumileds fit the bill. The stage required 196 luminaires from Space Cannon. Each luminaire contained of 10 Luxeon Rebel LEDs.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Mercedes Benz Reveals New Model with 360 Degrees of Martin's LC Panels
SSLDesign News StaffFebruary 7, 2008...Mercedes Benz chose James Klein of Atmosphere to produce an LED lighting display to reveal the company’s new luxury car.
“My client (3 Degrees Marketing) asked me to come up with a fresh and different way of revealing the car,” explained James. “They didn’t want a normal silk reveal or to drive the car in behind a drape or anything like that. I had a look at the venue, which was Mercedes Benz’ signature showroom/office for Australia located in Melbourne and it’s in the shape of the Mercedes Benz symbol; a circular shape with the cross built in architecturally to the building."
“The client wanted to do the reveal over to one side, driving it through some drapes or something like that, but I said that the room lends itself to do the reveal right in the center of the space. Basically I left that meeting saying I had an idea and that I’d get back to them.”
James’ idea was to wrap the car in video using Element Labs Stealth panels. The guests would mingle around the vehicle and then the Klein’s client, 3 Degrees Marketing would raise the video panels into the air to reveal the car. Mr. Klein began investigating the idea and found that there were not enough Stealth panels in the country and also that they were very expensive to hire. Fortunately for him, the Martin LC Series Panels had recently made a triumphant entry into the Australian market.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Strategies in Light is an executive-level conference on high-brightness
LEDs produced by Strategies Unlimited and PennWell Corporation.
Now
in its tenth year and the longest-running conference in the LED
industry, this event is considered to be the premier annual forum
for presenting current commercial developments in high-brightness
LEDs and providing unparalleled networking opportunities for component
and equipment suppliers, manufacturers, and end-users of HB LED
devices. Strategies
in Light is the US-based event to learn about the latest innovation
in HB LED markets, applications, products, and regional activities.
This is the kickoff event of the year, which supplies the critical
market forecast you need to keep the industry working for you. Register
online now, or contact lubah@pennwell.com
for more information.
|
|
Philips Lumileds Resuming TFFC Device Production; Wins Automotive Lighting's “Supplier of the Year Award”
SSLDesign News StaffFebruary 7, 2008...Recently Philips Lumileds Lighting found that a batch of the epoxy underfill used in their Luxeon and Rebel TFFC lines was contaminated, temporarily shutting down production and prompting a recall. (Ref: Coverage) In an update today, Lumileds says that they have resolved the issue and that production of the affected items is expected to restart shortly. Philips Lumileds spokesperson, Steve Landau, commented “We expect that by the begining of March we will be delivering fully qualified Luxeon and Luxeon K2 Rebels with TFFC.”
The problem with the underfill was quickly discovered in early January 2008. The company notified customers of the problem that would cause the underfill to expand when heated at a rate that was different than that of the LED die. At the time, Philips Lumileds expected to resume production of fully qualified Luxeon Rebels with TFFC and Luxeon K2 Rebels with TFFC in late March 2008. The company decided to continue to produce and stage the LED chips up to the point where the epoxy underfill was applied to the die. The company has replaced the epoxy. With the problem resolved, production and testing can be completed on the staged deviced, have them ready for shipment in by March, sooner than previously expected.
In separate news, the company also announced that it was awarded Automotive Lighting “Best Supplier of the Year” 2007. Automotive Lighting, a leading German exterior automotive lighting manufacturer, recognized four companies for their outstanding contribution to automotive lighting in 2007.
Philips Lumileds, received the supplier Innovation award due to its Luxeon LEDs that enable the first full LED headlamp development on the Audi R8.
Stéphane Védie, Vice President Purchasing commented, "The recipients not only showed their commitment to the highest quality standards but also their outstanding ability to focus on affordability, innovation and excellence, as well. It's dedication that makes these suppliers highly valued by Automotive Lighting and makes us proud of our association with them."
Philips Lumileds noted that that the recognition highlights the company’s continued technology innovations and developments leads to new solid state sighting solutions for automotive, general lighting, and consumer products. Philips Lumileds News Release Catalyst Semiconductor Wins “Product of Year” Award for LED Driver
LIGHTimes StaffFebruary 5, 2008...Catalyst Semiconductor of Santa Clara, California USA, has earned the “Product of the Year” award from the EN-Genius Network for its 7W buck LED driver, the CAT4201. The device won the award in the “Smartest Commercial Move in Switching Regulators” category. According tot he company, the device is smaller than the linear regulators traditionally used to control high-brightness lighting applications.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Seoul Semiconductor Develops 80lm/W Version of Acriche
SSLDesign News StaffFebruary 5, 2008...Seoul Semiconductor, a leading LED maker, has reported the development of an 80lm/W version of its AC-driven light source, Acriche. The company's first version of Acriche was 40 lm/W in November 2006. Then in September of 2007, Seoul increased the efficacy of Acriche to 60lm/W. Seoul says that the Acriche is the first LED light source to be directly AC driven. Other light sources require an AC/DC converter, which invariably reduces efficiency and lifetime of LEDs, the company said. Seoul says that a DC LED light engine with an AC/DC converter lasts only for 20,000 hours as opposed to the 100,000 many companies advertise for the LED light engines by themselves. Seoul noted that using an AC/DC converter with LED light engines increases the amount of space the device occupies, increases problems of heat dissipation, and converter waste materials pollute the environment.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Researchers At Kyoto University and Nichia Systematically Accomplish What a Vanderbilt University Researcher Did Accidentally
LIGHTimes StaffFebruary 5, 2008...Researchers at Kyoto University and Nichia Corporation have created single die LEDs with multiple colors being emitted at the same time. LIGHTimes readers may recall a researcher from Vanderbilt University who did something similar by accident back in 2005.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
LED Streetlights Found to be Effective but Too High Priced for Short Term Payback
SSLDesign News StaffJanuary 31, 2008...The city of Oakland, California USA and the Pacific Gas Electric Company, assessed the applicability of LED luminaires for street lighting. During the first phase of the study, the a team of researchers took measurements both before and after the installation of LED street lights in a parking lot on a public street. The researchers compared the conventional street lights to the LED ones that replaced them and decided that the LED street lights would be safe for installation on a public street.
Then, in Phase II, the researchers installed fifteen 78-watt LED luminaries to replace a like number of 121 watt high pressure sodium (HPS) luminaires (100 nominal watts) on Sextus and Tunis roads between Empire Rd and Coral Rd in a residential area of Oakland. To compare the streetlights, Sextus Rd was illuminated with fresh HPS luminaires on the eastern half and LED luminaires on the western half. The entire portion of Tunis Rd was illuminated exclusively with LED luminaires, while the adjacent Cairo Rd was entirely relamped with new HPS lamps. All of the street lights had heights of 28.5 feet, and they were placed at intervals of 110’, 120’, or 165’ between luminaires.
The researchers performed Photopic and scotopic illuminance measurements on a 395’ x 36’ grid over an area containing four luminaires. Variables such as ambient temperature were taken throughout the testing period. And the researchers measured the illumination in each part of the grid.
The researchers measured the electricity usage as well. The LED street lights were found to consum about 35 percent less electricity than the HPS models. The LED versions averaged 77.7 watts, about 43.3 watts less than the HPS luminaires that used 120 watts.
Based upon the measurements, the researchers estimate that each LED version of the lights used 178 kWH less than the HPS version.
The average Correlated color temperature of the HPS street light was 1991 K (warm yellow). The average CCT for the LED street light was 6255 K (cool blue)
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Osram Opto Semiconductor Gets Distributor and Marketer for India
LIGHTimes StaffJanuary 30, 2008...The German company Osram Opto Semiconductors announced that its Malaysian branch signed partnership agreement with Rabyte, a world class distributor and marketer of semiconductor products. Under the terms of the agreement Rabyte will distribute and promote the entire range of products from Osram Opto Semiconductor (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. for India effective 1st, Jan 2008. Osram Opto Semiconductor is not just a maker of LEDs, it is the world’s second largest manufacturer of optoelectronic semiconductors for the illumination, sensing and visualization sectors. As part of the agreement, Rabyte will promote and distribute all of these product lines in India.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Austin Becomes Next LED City and Includes LED Lighting in Rebate Program Expansion
SSLDesign News StaffJanuary 30, 2008...The city of Austin, Texas USA , the capital of the U.S. state of Texas, has reportedly joined in Cree’s LED City initiative. Austin is the fourth-largest city in Texas with a population of 1.5 million and is among the fastest growing cities in the United States. Cree, Inc., announced that the City of Austin today joined the LED City program, an international initiative to deploy and promote energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. Austin joins Toronto, Canada, Raleigh, North Carolina USA, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, in evaluating and deploying state-of-the-art LED lighting technology in their municipal infrastructures.
In December 2007, the City of Austin and Austin Energy retrofitted a floor of the One Texas Center Parking Garage with 47-watt LED fixtures from Beta LED. LED fixtures have also been installed in a hallway at Austin Energy headquarters, in streetlights on Barton Springs, in the Palmer Events Center marquee sign, and in the water fountain at the new Palmer Events Center Park. Austin plans to have additional test installations throughout the City, including a portion of the lights surrounding the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Nearly three-quarters of SSL Industry Insiders in Cree Survey Reported Growth of Greater than 20 Percent for 2007
LIGHTimes StaffJanuary 30, 2008...Cree, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina USA, a maker and developer of LED solid-state lighting components, announced the results of an independent survey on the adoption, deployment, and benefits of LED lighting. The survey was taken at the recent 2007 Hong Kong International Lighting Fair. According to Cree, the survey confirms the strong global growth for LED lighting applications and the public awareness of the energy-efficiency benefits of LEDs. Additionally, Cree said that the survey indicates that the adoption trend should continue through 2010. Among survey respondents, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of respondents reported that they witnessed a growth rate in excess of 20 percent for LED lighting applications in their businesses over the past six months. About two-thirds of respondents (63 percent) reportedly believe LED lighting will comprise more than 50 percent of their sales or installations by 2009.
SSL Design PageTwo members login for more. Guests can view membership details.
Our news features are reported
by the SSL Design staff writers.
For submissions or content suggestions, you can contact us using
editor -at - solidstatelightingdesign.com
For more information and to reserve promotion space contact
Info7 -at - solidstatelightingdesign.com
or call +1 (512) 257-9888
|
If
you aren't a PageTwo Member yet, you need to find out what you're missing.
$99/year includes other key benefits, including a savings of at least $100
off industry events or services
Read more
about it... |
|
Commentary
& Perspectives...
A Story of Recalls and Anonymous Tips
Tom Griffiths - PublisherFebruary 7, 2008...Any news organization gets a thrill from the possibility of "getting an
exclusive", especially when it's not simply a press release that everyone
else will have in their hands momentarily, but something you have to dig for
to get the facts. The phone rings, a semi-anonymous caller whispers, "Hey,
did you hear about the recall?" What does he know? When did she know it?
Hey look, they faxed the copy of the letter that the customer's received. Time
to put on the private investigator hat and trench coat and see what the word
on the street is... or maybe it's time to grow up.
In case you missed that LED-related news, the case in point involved a limited
set of Philips Lumileds Lighting's products incorporating their TFFC technology.
A call to a company spokesperson clarified that there was a specific production
time period involved, and that the company (not the customers) had uncovered
a manufacturing issue. My simple paraphrase is, "They had some bad adhesive,"
and the result, uncovered in presumably diligent internal testing, was that
sometimes the chips (aka "die") would separate from the substrate.
For those of you who aren't coming from the semiconductor perspective, if you
lose the bonding between the actual LED chip and the "carrier" it
sits on, which holds it in place and dissipates the heat coming from inside
the chip, things go bad and the chip dies (not plural of die, but more like
"the sucker done be dead now"). A vast majority of the affected LEDs
were still in distributor inventories, or in customer inventories, and not installed
in an end product at that point. The update came in yesterday that shipping
of the affected product lines is expected to resume before the end of this month,
which is a number of weeks ahead of schedule (ref coverage).
So we're getting anonymous tips on this for exactly what reason? Is there a
hope we'll set off half-cocked and report on it as some major scandal or cover
up (since they didn't hold a press conference or broadcast a big news announcement
when the recall decision was made)? Is there an expectation that we'll help
a competitor bolster some kind of "Well, that proves our LEDs are more
reliable" story they would like to share with anyone who will listen? Again,
maybe it's time to grow up.
In fact, product recalls are probably more rare than the should be. Not that
we hope for more, but realistically, even in the world of ISO 9000 type certifications,
many manufacturing defects can slide right on through the system, often not
becoming apparent until there are widespread field failures that allow manufacturers
to connect the dots. (The ISO 9000 family of certification, by the way, merely
demonstrates that the company has consistent processes, tracking and feedback
incorporation methods in place, and does not guarantee the quality of those
processes... just that if they are followed, issues should be able to corrected
and quality should therefore improve over time). If you want to have a moment
of fun, I'd recommend a Google or Yahoo search for Intel recall then
AMD recall, Motorola recall, and continuing to replace that first
word with Dell, Sony, LG and on down the line with any
large manufacturer you can think of. Intel had to broadcast far and wide in
several instances, since some of the affected products had made it into the
hands of consumers. The scary prospect is not that a company has a recall, but
that there are probably ones that should, but avoid it because they don't want
"the bad publicity". Lumileds isn't pointing any fingers, but one
hopes that if the epoxy that Lumileds was dealing with was contaminated prior
to their receiving it, that the supplier is in contact with any other customers
who might not have identified the issue on their own.
In our opinion, a product recall is between the manufacturer and its customers.
The broader dissemination of the news would hopefully rarely be needed and should
principally apply to circumstances where it may not be so clear where the affected
products might have ended up. On other occasions, it may also be necessary to
embark on a wider communication in order to set the record straight as to the
extent of the affected products or the real nature of the problem. That's why
our publications covered it, since the anonymous email tipsters and callers
were obviously doing their best to "spread the word", we felt it our
industry obligation to make sure the factual word came to light.
For our readers that are new to the LED or LED-based lighting worlds, the question
might have popped into your head, "Is solid state lighting really ready
for primetime when it comes to reliability?". The simple answer is
"Yes it is." Any solid state technology will have its
issues from time to time, and much like this one, they are and will remain to
be transparent to the users because of the hard work of the reputable manufacturers
and integrators to make sure its caught well before the product makes it to
the field. When Intel's 1.13 GHz Pentiums glitched, or more recently Dell and
Sony laptops were recalled because of fire-breathing batteries, we didn't all
lose faith in the reliability and usefulness of our personal computers. We simply
asked, "Do you know what caused it, did you fix it, and have you adjusted
the processes to make sure that kind of thing will be caught before products
leave the factory next time?"
And to the telephone and email "their product has a problem" tipsters
out there... grow up. Spend your time improving your own product and get excited
any time you can learn from someone else's challenges rather than your own.
|
