Invention of blue LEDs wins physics Nobel

Congrats to professors Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura for winning the Nobel prize in Physics in 2014!

Read more about the story here: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29518521 

Illustration of an LED 

"With 20% of the world's electricity used for lighting, it's been calculated that optimal use of LED lighting could reduce this to 4%”" - Dr Frances Saunders, President in Institute of Physics

COB VS SMD

Just recently I was at a meeting.  I showed our products.   Among them were the COB LED light sources.  People were very curious about the light sources, possibly because most of them didn't even know what LED light sources looked like.

Here is a picture of our COB light sources:

They come in different shapes & sizes, depending on the watts.  All the LED dies are covered by a thin film.  By the way, COB stands for Chip-On-Board.  The yellow ones have color temperature in the range of 6000 - 6500 K whereas the orange ones have color temperature ~ 2700-3000 K.  I call the round ones cookies, the square cracker, and the strip ones bars.  Does that make you feel like having a bite?  ;-)

Here is a picture of the COB light source in the candle:

Here is a picture of a SMD (Surface Mount Device) light source in a light bulb:

You can see why with SMD light sources, it is better to have a frosted cover.  Esthetically, they are not that appealing if they are out in the open.   

 
 

Andromeda

It's rather interesting to note that not everyone knows what Andromeda is and how to pronounce it.  Not to mention, when Andromeda and LED are combined to be andromedaled.  I thought I should spend a minute on this subject.

First, the pronunciation.  I was surprised to find that there is something on youtube on word pronunciation.  Here it is  Andromeda. 

Now about the meaning of Andromeda.  I am really surprised to find that quite a few people do not know about it.  This is the ancientest galaxy of the universe, at least I was taught it was or so I remember.  I don't know if we have found other galaxies that might be even older than Andromeda.  Nevertheless, I think it is also the most beautiful one in the universe.  But of course, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.  Without further adieu,  here is the picture of it. 

So why is the company named Andromeda LED Lighting?  Cause, we do LED lighting and Andromeda appeals to the romanticism of every human being.  It is also the most well known galaxy of all.   There you go.  ;-).

Wireless communication with visible lights.

LED lighting is not just about lighting any more.  What researchers have been working on is to use LED lighting for wireless communication as well.

Below is the link to a good article that describes the research in this area. 

visible light communication

Enjoy it!

(Old) News on Global Mercury Ban

People have talked about how toxic Mercury is and how one should not just dispose items that contain Mercury to trash cans.  Why?  Because Mercury wastes can infiltrate into the soils and contaminate the ground water systems.   The mere thought of that possibility should have you think twice about throwing your CFLs to the trash cans. 

I used to just treat the CFLs like any other trash, but after learning that Mercury is hazardous to the environment, I stopped doing that.  Nowadays, I carefully put the CFLs that went bad to a designated box.   You don’t want to throw them, ‘cause you don’t want to inhale Mercury vapor should you break the CFLs.  My box is getting rather full already.  To be honest, I don't even know where to throw them.  I have talked to a few people, and they don't know either.  When they are asked how they deal with dead CFLs, they said they just put them in the traditional thrash cans.  That is not good, people!

Exactly how toxic is Mercury?  A recent news announcement on global Mercury ban from the United Nations has the following in their article:

“UNEP noted that mercury and its various compounds have a range of serious health impacts, including brain and neurological damage especially among the young. Others include kidney damage and damage to the digestive system. Victims can suffer memory loss and language impairment alongside many other well documented problems.” 

To read the full article, here is the link 

New Patents Granted

The following patents have been granted to Andromeda LED Lighting:

• 發光二極體燈具 has been granted in Taiwan.
• 發光二極體封裝結構及應用該封裝結構之發光二極體燈管 has been granted in China. 
• 發光二極體燈管 has been granted in Taiwan.

The Significance of Our “Film-Covered LED Device” Patent

The patent, Film-Covered LED Device, has been granted in the United States!

Here are a few significant facts of Andromeda LED Lighting's “Film-Covered LED Device” Patent:

Our patented technology produces high efficiency of white light and sidesteps two main categories of LED lighting patents in the LED industry-- White Light LED Phosphor and High Power LED Packaging.

Our technology streamlines the manufacture process, thus reducing production costs and increasing product quality simultaneously. The defect ratio is less than 1%!

High luminous efficiency of warm white light

Color temperature deviation is less than 30 degrees. The margin of error in the CIE chromaticity diagram is extremely small, maintaining color consistency.

Because of this design, the light source gives out areal light, as opposed to the light cones by competitors' LED point light sources.

The advantages are 1) less heat generated (warm to the touch) 2) longer lifetime 3) uniform light 4) esthetically appealing 5) maintaining constant light output (lumens) for a much longer duration of time


 

No phosphor is needed to cover the LED chips. It is replaced by a film covering the LED chips to produce the desired light colors.