Category Archives: LED Manufacturing

Pixelligent Technologies, a nanocomposite advanced materials manufacturer, announced today that it has been awarded grant funding from the Department of Energy SBIR program and the Department of Defense STTR program, that totals a combined $2.15 million. This funding will be used to accelerate and further develop a diverse range of applications leveraging Pixelligent’s core PixClear® nanocomposite technology.

“The grants from the Dept. of Energy will help to extend our technology leadership in OLED lighting applications. These SBIR Phase I and Phase IIB grants will allow Pixelligent to further extend our OLED light extraction materials to enable next generation flexible OLED lighting applications. The STTR Phase II grant from the Dept. of Defense will support our continued collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania and Argonne National Laboratory to further the development of PixClear — enabled gear oils for improving the lifetime and energy-efficiency of gear boxes and drive trains,” said Gregory Cooper, PhD, CTO & Founder of Pixelligent.

“We are proud to have been selected for these three grant awards from the Department of Energy and Department of Defense. These are highly competitive programs and theses awards point to the broad applicability of our materials, which can deliver unparalleled efficiency gains in applications ranging from OLED technology to lubricant additives,” said Craig Bandes, President & CEO of Pixelligent.

Through grant awards and private funding, Pixelligent has emerged as one of the only companies that has developed a truly disruptive manufacturing and advanced material technology platform for commercializing the promise of nanotechnology. This was recently recognized by Frost & Sullivan who honored Pixelligent with the 2017 Manufacturer of the Year award for SMB under $1B in revenues.

Umicore’s business unit Precious Metals Chemistry today inaugurated its production unit for advanced metal organic precursor technologies used in the semiconductor and LED markets, respectively TMGa (Trimethylgallium) and TEGa (Triethylgallium). The event was attended by European and overseas customers as well as local and regional politicians. The guest of honor was Dr. Barbara Hendricks, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.

Umicore’s TMGa manufacturing process is innovative and unique. It offers a more sustainable and ecological production method by minimizing hazardous side streams and material losses and optimizing yield to nearly 100%.

Dr. Lothar Mussmann, Vice-President of Umicore Precious Metals Chemistry said, “I am proud that this patented innovation has now become a world-class and industrial scale manufacturing plant. It will provide benefits for our customers and the environment and underlines Umicore’s position as a pioneer in sustainable technologies.”

Umicore Precious Metals Chemistry is the only European manufacturer of TMGa and TEGa and supplies customers across the world from its Hanau manufacturing base. Umicore Precious Metals Chemistry helps to reduce cost of ownership through its innovative approach to process chemistry and its collaborative approach with customers and end users.

About Trimethylgallium and Umicore’s manufacturing process

Trimethylgallium (TMGa) is a colorless liquid with very high vapor pressure, which boils at low temperatures. Umicore’s new production process increases the yield of TMGa in comparison with current production technologies. In this way, organic solvents can be completely dispensed with. The TMGa is prepared by chemically reacting gallium trichloride with a more efficient methylating agent in molten salt. This reduces the amount of waste per kilogram of TMGa by more than 50%, with the resulting intermediates being recycled in the process. The finished product is then used in the semiconductor industry, where it evaporates in closed systems onto a substrate. This creates, for example, environmentally friendly LED lamps.

Pixelligent Technologies, a developer of high-index advanced materials (PixClear) for displays, solid state lighting and optical components, announces that it has been named the 2017 Manufacturer of the Year by Frost & Sullivan. It won this award in the small/midsize company category for companies with revenues under $1B, for its PixClearProcess that is revolutionizing chemical composite technology. The winner for the large company 2017 Manufacturer of the Year was Dow Chemical.

Over the past five years, Pixelligent has invested over $20 million in designing and building its advanced product development and manufacturing platform, the PixClearProcess. This proprietary platform has enabled Pixelligent to scale from a manufacturing capacity of grams-per-year, to one of the most sophisticated and highly capital efficient manufacturing lines in the world, capable of mass production volumes in the tons.

“We are deeply honored to be named the 2017 Manufacturer of the Year by Frost & Sullivan. It’s especially gratifying as we competed against some of the most respected high-tech manufacturers in the world. This award is also a great recognition of what we are most proud of, namely the balanced approach we have executed in developing both one of the most innovative materials in the world alongside one of the most advanced manufacturing lines in the world,” remarked Craig Bandes, CEO, Pixelligent Technologies.

The Company’s breakthrough PixClearProcess allows its customers to more efficiently tune and magnify the desired optical, mechanical, and electrical properties of their formulations with unprecedented levels of precision. Depending on product performance requirements, incorporating PixClear can deliver the highest possible light extraction, near perfect transmission, increased mechanical strength, and dramatic improvements in overall operating efficiencies. We enable our customers to deliver unprecedented levels of performance for OLED and HD displays, LED and OLED lighting devices, and optical components.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced that it has begun mass producing a new mid-power LED package, the LM301B, which features the industry’s highest luminous efficacy of 220 lumens per watt. The package is well suited for a range of LED lighting applications including ambient lighting, downlights and most retrofit lamps.

Samsung was able to achieve its industry-leading efficacy (@ 65mA, 5000K, CRI 80+) by incorporating an advanced flip-chip package design and state-of-the-art phosphor technology. The LM301B’s flip-chip design uses a highly reflective layer-formation technology to enhance light efficacy at the chip level. Also, a complete separation between its red phosphor film and green phosphors allows minimal interference during the phosphor conversion process, resulting in higher efficacy than conventional phosphor structures. These combined technology enhancements enable a 10-percent increase in overall efficacy compared to competing 3030 platform packages, without compromising on premium-quality light output.

“With our LM301B, we are able to deliver even greater mid-power value and help lower the total cost of ownership for LED lighting manufacturers,” said Jacob Tarn, Executive Vice President of LED Business Team at Samsung Electronics. “Thanks to advancements like the LM301B, Samsung will continue to drive innovation in next-generation LED technologies.”

Samples of the LM301B are available now.

Samsung_LED_Mid-power_package_LM301B

 

Osram Opto Semiconductors today presented the latest generation of surface-mountable LED, the Topled E1608, with a package smaller than its predecessor models by a factor of 20. Despite this considerable miniaturization, the low-power LED is bright, reliable and robust, offering greater options and design flexibility, particularly for car interior applications.

ThinGaN, thin film and Sapphire – the new Topled E1608 LEDs from Osram Opto Semiconductors are based on the latest chip technologies. In combination with the latest high-efficiency converters, the low-power LEDs produce outstanding performance values. At a normal operating current of 20 mA, the new Topleds are 3.6 times brighter than preceding models. The converted pure green version, for example, achieves the impressive and unprecedented value of 780 mcd at 10 mA. For the package, Osram uses tried and tested pre-mold technology, but reduced in size compared to the previous version. The E1608 in the name refers to the more compact package dimensions of 1.6 mm x 0.8 mm compared to the standard Topled measuring 3.2 mm x 2.8 mm. At 0.6 mm, the E1608 height is also considerably less than the previous height of 1.9 mm.

Due to the new package dimensions, the E1608 can now be used for more compact customer systems.

“The new Topled E1608 LEDs are some of the smallest LEDs in their class, offering reliability, a wide selection of colors and impressive performance values,” said Michael Godwin, Director, World Wide Interior Automotive Products, Osram Opto Semiconductors. “In addition, they are suitable for all customer requirements – whether the application is toward the top or bottom of the brightness range. We anticipate they will become firmly established in the market and may eventually define a new industry standard. These robust LEDs are suitable particularly for the automotive sector for applications such as displays, ambient lighting and backlighting of switches and instruments.”

Osram’s next-gen Topled will be available in numerous colors – from yellow and orange to super red, white, pure green and true green as part of the current market launch, expected to be the first of an entire series throughout the remainder of 2017.

OSRAM-TOPLED-20E-product

Dow Corning today introduced Dow Corning CL-1000 Optical Silicone Binder, a new, more thermally stable, high refractive index (RI) material available only in China that is formulated to expand design options for high-power chip-scale LED packaging (CSP). The latest addition to the company’s portfolio of advanced solutions for LED lighting, CL-1000 Binder offers best-in-class thermal stability and is optimized for compression molding processes.

“The growing adoption of chip-scale packaging is enabling lighting designs that pack increasing numbers of LED dies more densely together in smaller form factors,” said Takuhiro Tsuchiya, global marketing manager at Dow Corning. “CL-1000 Optical Silicone Binder is Dow Corning’s response to the rapidly rising temperatures within these emerging applications. A more thermally stable iteration of our high-RI optical materials, this new product is formulated specifically to help enhance the robustness of high-power CSP designs.”

Validated through Dow Corning’s testing, the thermal stability of CL-1000 Optical Silicone Binder enabled it to exhibit lower degradation and improved maintenance of mechanical properties vs. other high-RI silicone encapsulants after 2,000 hours exposure to temperatures above 180°C. The new high-RI material also delivers excellent photo-stability with high clarity to further support reliable performance over the life of LED devices.

New CL-1000 Binder demonstrates good conformance with highly reflective Dow Corning WR-3001 and WR-3100 Die Edge Coat materials, enabling CSP packaging with enhanced reliability over longer periods. The product’s high Shore D60 hardness also enables LED packaging to withstand dicing operations.

CL-1000 Optical Silicone Binder leverages the same phenyl silicone chemistry as Dow Corning’s other industry-leading high RI optical encapsulants, which can help optimize the efficiency of next-generation LED lighting designs without costly investments in more powerful LED dies.

A market leader in materials, expertise and collaborative innovation for LED lighting concepts, Dow Corning offers solutions that span the entire LED value chain, adding reliability and efficiency for sealing, protecting, adhering, cooling and shaping light across all lighting applications.

Today FlexTech, A SEMI Strategic Association Partner, announced the full agenda for the inaugural flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) conference coming up on May 31-June 1 in Seoul at COEX Exhibition Center.  The new conference, 2017FLEX Korea, focusing on the theme “A Practical Path to Flexible Hybrid Electronics,” is brought to action with a market-focused agenda and presentations on Displays, Wearables, Sensors, OLED, Quantum Dot, Micro LED, Head Up Display, Roll-to-Roll and 3D Printing by experts from both the industry and academia.

2017FLEX Korea features a technical conference, a Short Course, and networking opportunities. The two-day technical conference includes four sessions on critical areas for FHE success. The four sessions will feature 14 technology experts from Korea, America, Asia and Europe representing organizations active in the FHE area, including:

  • Display Applications: KIMM and UIN3D
  • Wearables and Sensors Applications: KT and KITECH
  • Emerging Markets Applications: EyeDis, KOPTI, and KITECH
  • Core Technology Applications: Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH, Daelim Chemical, Dankook University, DuPont, Kolon Industries, Nanosys, and Universal Display Corporation

Three keynotes will set the stage for all of the other topics, including:

  • LG Display: “Flexible Display Changes Your Life” by Joon Young Yang, head of OLED Advanced Research Division
  • FlexTech: “Emerging Product Opportunities and the Worldwide Ecosystem of FHE” by Melissa Grupen-Shemansky, Chief Technology Officer
  • Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology: “Quantum Dot Display” by Shinae Jun, research master

Combining traditional IC manufacturing with printed electronics, FHE is the leading technical approach to design and manufacture devices for fast-growth markets. Flexible and printed electronics applications have the potential to create business opportunities in growing market opportunities such as wearables, health care, flexible displays and other advanced applications. A 3-hour Short Course is intended for individuals and organizations seeking a comprehensive overview on the Printed Electronics industry.

“We are pleased to hold the 2017FLEX Korea conference,” said Hyun-Dae CHO, president of SEMI Korea. “We hope the conference will provide you with the insights into the FHE industry and you will also find networking opportunities at the event.”

Register by May 26 to reserve your spot with a discounted price: http://www.semi.org/ko/flex-korea-register

At SEMICON Southeast Asia 2017, Dr. Chen Fusen, CEO of Kulicke & Soffa Pte Ltd, Singapore, will give a keynote on digital transformation in the manufacturing sector. Chen believes that Smart Manufacturing, or Industry 4.0, is no longer hype but real, and Asia needs to get on board sooner rather than later. SEMICON Southeast Asia (SEA) 2017, held at the SPICE arena in Penang on 25-27 April, is Asia’s premier showcase for electronics manufacturing innovation.

“Digital transformation has proven to provide solutions for addressing challenges in the manufacturing industry but there is still the issue of acceptance as well as lack of skills and knowledge that needs to be addressed,” said Chen. “With disruptive technology changing our world, I expect that more companies will see the value of their investments realised as this technology accelerates the creation of more individualised products and services.”

Dr. Hai Wang from NXP Semiconductors Singapore Pte Ltd agreed that more consumer-related innovations would stem from digital transformation as demand for solutions that provide efficiency and security increases. “At NXP, we look at developing advanced cyber security solutions for the automotive industry, such as tracking and analysing intelligence around connected and automated vehicles, which will help to counter any adverse threats in real time. These innovations are real and will soon mark a shift in the future of automation and manufacturing. It is vital that we embrace the change and adapt accordingly,” he said.

Other speakers at SEMICON SEA also feel strongly about the importance of Smart Manufacturing and digital transformation. David Chang of HTC Corporation, Taiwan, sees a dramatic shift in the value of being a “smart” manufacturer to address to the rising demand in consumer products and services innovation. “We have seen virtual reality technology offered by products such as HTC VIVE(TM) really shaping the future of the world. Transformative innovations such as this will pave the way for disruptive technology to be coupled into business models to benefit consumers in the long term,” he said.

These three speakers will join a long list of thought leaders from the electronics manufacturing sector – including Jamie Metcalfe from Mentor Graphics U.S., Chiang Gai Kit from Omron Asia Pacific Singapore, Ranjan Chatterjee from Cimetrix U.S. and Duncan Lee from Intel Products Malaysia – to speak at SEMICON SEA 2017. Topics discussed will cover issues relevant to the transformation of the manufacturing industry ranging from next-generation manufacturing to system-level integration, including exhibitions that will highlight the market and technology trends that are driving investment and growth in all sectors across the region.

The conference also aims to champion regional collaboration through new business opportunities for customers and foster stronger cross-regional engagement through reaching buyers, engineers and key decision-makers in the Southeast Asia microelectronics industry, including buyers from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Learn more about SEMICON Southeast Asia 2017 in Penang, Malaysia on 25-27 April: http://www.semiconsea.org/.

LG Innotek succeeded in mass-producing ultraviolet (UV) LED module that sterilizes the inside of water purifier faucet aerators.

The company started to mass-produce the UV LED module for sterilizing water purifier faucet aerators at the end of the last month. This product is built in LG Electronics’ new direct water purifier “PuriCare Slim Updown” launched in March in the Republic of Korea.

A water purifiers faucet aerator always holds a small amount of water. This part is prone to contamination due to the growth of germs that come in with the influx of air. However, it was difficult to install a sterilizer inside a faucet aerator because its space is too narrow.

LG Innotek developed a UV LED module customized for the faucet aerator that has strong sterilizing power and is harmless.

This module directly sterilizes the water inside faucet aerator with ultraviolet rays. The product is 1.5cm in width and 3.7cm in length and can be mounted in the small space inside the water purifier.

The product kills 99.98% of germs when a faucet aerator is exposed to ultraviolet rays for 5 minutes. This result was obtained by sterilizing a faucet aerator with 278nm wavelength.

UV LED module is also harmless since it uses only ultraviolet rays for sterilization without any chemicals or heavy metals. Also, unlike a mercury UV lamp, you don’t need to worry about breaking it.

This product is convenient to use as it allows you to control ultraviolet rays quickly and accurately. As soon as its sterilization function is activated, ultraviolet rays are released at peak performance. On the contrary, a mercury UV lamp requires about 2 minutes of warming period.

LG Electronics’ direct water purifier installed with this module allows you to sterilize faucets in an instant by pressing the “Self Care” button anytime. It also performs automatic sterilization every 1 hour.

LG Innotek plans to actively expand the application of UV LEDs to various products. The company already developed a 280nm UV-C LED that has the power of 70mW for the first time in the world.

The company has already secured a product line-up with products that are optimized for different applications, including 365nm, 385nm, 395nm and 405nm UV-A LEDs for general industry and 305nm UV-B LED for biomedical field as well as 280nm UV-C LED for sterilization.

Ho-rim Jung, the vice president of LED marketing division, said, “Our UV LEDs will increase the value of the end products that are installed with them and allow us to care for the health of users in a smart way.”

According to Yole Development, a market research firm, the global market for UV LEDs is expected to grow more than seven folds from USD 130 million in 2015 to USD 1 billion in 2021. Especially, the UV LEDs for water purification is expected to occupy 60% of the said UV LED market.

On March 31, 2017, Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd (Seoul) filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Germany in the District Court of Düsseldorf against Mouser Electronics Inc. (Mouser), a global electronic components distributor, asserting infringement of an LED patent.

According to the complaint, the infringement involves products from Mouser – LEDs for high-power light emission – manufactured by multiple LED companies, including Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd, a global top-10 LED maker. In the lawsuit, Seoul has sought a permanent injunction, damages, and recall and destruction of the alleged infringing products.

The asserted patented technology serves to efficiently extract light emitted from the internal LED structure by treating LED chip surfaces, thereby significantly improving light intensity and brightness. This patented technology has been widely used for various high-power LED applications, such as automobile lighting, cell phone flash lights, outdoor lighting, UV LED appliances, and others.

“The asserted patent is considered an essential technology for manufacturing high-power LEDs and has been widely used in various LED applications,” said Ki-bum Nam, Vice President of the Lighting Business Department at Seoul Semiconductor. “Seoul has actively enforced our patent rights against products that infringe high power LED technology. To create fair market competition and promote technological innovation, we continually take actions necessary to deter such infringement and protect our intellectual property,” Nam added.

According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), among the companies that exclusively manufacture LED components, Seoul Semiconductor was the only one to be selected in the 2013 Semiconductor Manufacturing Patent Power Ranking. Seoul Semiconductor was also selected for the same category in 2012. IEEE’s patent power scorecards for each industry segment are based on the evaluation of the patent portfolios of more than 5000 leading commercial enterprises, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies worldwide. They take into account not only the size of the organizations’ patent portfolios, but also the quality of their patents with regard to growth index, impact of their patents, originality, and general applicability of the patents.

According to market research firm IHS, the LED penetration rate in automobile headlamps is expected to increase sharply to 32.3 % by 2021 from the current penetration rate of 16.4%. This high-power LED technology is already being used for exterior automobile lighting including headlights and daytime running lights. Furthermore, it is expected to become a significant technology for electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles, which require high-power LED lighting with high heat dissipation for energy efficiency.

In addition, this high-power LED technology applies to LEDs for mobile phone flash lights, which require higher light intensity. Because margins for LEDs used in flash applications are higher than those for backlights, this segment of the LED market for mobile phones has still grown steadily despite the overall decline in the IT sector LED market.

Further, this high-power LED technology is widely applicable to general lighting products for outdoor illumination, as well as commercial and industrial lighting systems, because such technology substantially enhances light efficiency and improves the brightness per unit area obtained from the LED. The technology is also widely used in manufacturing UV LEDs for sterilization, purification and curing processes. The UV LED application market is expected to grow rapidly, reaching $800 million by 2020.