Strategies in Light (SIL) 2013 is just over two months away, and informative elements of the conference have been formalized with this year's event promising a comprehensive look at the LEDs and solid-state lighting (SSL) industries. Workshops will allow registrants to dig into topics in depth, while the primary tracks cover the future of the LED and manufacturing technology. Also expect coverage of modules to be prominently featured this year.
Workshops
Let’s start with the six four-hour workshops that will dive deeply into topics that are of concern to our industry. In the “Human factors & lighting design” workshop moderated by Robert Karlicek, director of the Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, we will explore how lighting control, wavelengths, dimming, and distribution affect our health. Experts will present research on studies done on an older population, a group of 3rd graders, office workers, shift workers, and others.Driver electronics are of course critical to good LED-based products. In the “Driving your way to better LED lighting” workshop, we will have several speakers discussing different approaches to driver design. Steve Paolini of Next Lighting will host “The replacement lamp tear down” workshop where he will present results from taking apart different lamps and tubes. He will also have a hands-on lab that will allow participants of the workshop to have an opportunity to learn how to take apart products and how to analyze them.
The standards governing our industry are still in a malleable state so it is always good to get an update on the latest. Jianzhong Jiao of Osram Opto Semiconductors will present the “LED lighting standards and methods of measurements” workshop where he will discuss the latest standards and methods of characterizing LED packages and LED lighting systems.
Paul Kallmes of Metis Partners was previously licensing director for Philips Color Kinetics and has deep experience in understanding the LED IP landscape. In his “IP business strategies in the LED Industry” workshop, he will explain how you should manage IP as an intangible asset and how it should be incorporated into your business strategies.
The “Color science for lighting” workshop that will be presented by Mark Butterworth of Philips Lumileds will take a tutorial approach to the subject. He will discuss how the brain perceives colors and the specifics of color science metrics including CRI, CQS, and others.
Looking forward
Moving to the tracks, expect many opportunities to learn about where LEDs are headed and how best to apply SSL technology in compelling products. LED lighting is no longer an exotic novelty. The lighting market transformation is taking us in many different directions. For James Brodrick of the US Department of Energy (DOE), energy efficiency is an important factor in the cost calculations of SSL and he will describe how it's vitally important to continue the progress made with improving the efficacy of LED lighting technology.
Brad Koerner of Philips Lighting will talk about how LED technology has the potential to modernize the specification and commissioning process by adopting building-information-modeling (BIM) and digital fabrication, opening up creative new possibilities for architectural design and construction. Steve Paolini of Next Lighting will explore the potential of LEDs in conjunction with spectral/temporal/spatial control systems, local positioning systems, and data communication systems.
These visions of future will be supported by speakers who are monitoring this transformation. Erik Frykholm of Juno Lighting will walk us through the design process which will shed light on how LEDs have affected the lighting design community. Marco Ludwig of Zumtobel will report on the differences in US and Europe as the two regions adopt LED lighting. Ted Konnerth of Egret Consulting Group will talk about the changes happening in the construction industry as it integrates controls, LED lighting and off-grid power.
The complexity of LED technology also requires a strategic approach to product development that accounts for market potential. Brent York and Robert Nachtrieb of QuarkStar will present a model that will help in projecting sales by using a multivariate model based historical data and real world market perspective.
Attendees will also hear about the latest in modular light engines as such technologies can simplify the luminaire design process and accelerate time to market. We have talks from companies that have pro-Zhaga, anti-Zhaga, don’t-care-about-Zhaga and no-Zhaga perspective.
Manufacturing track
Again in 2013, SIL will include and LED Manufacturing track as manufacturing continues to be one of the hot topics for the LED industry. With worldwide overcapacity and ever increasing pressure to lower the cost of LED component production, the industry is continuously seeking new ways to increase yields and bring overall costs down, while also continuing to improve device performance. The track will provide a focused forum in which key issues that affect the future of LED manufacturing can be addressed.
We are fortunate to have two outstanding keynote speakers who will provide overviews of the status of and outlook for LED manufacturing. Roland Mueller, managing director of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Malaysia, will give a presentation entitled “Key manufacturing success factors in the ever competitive LED market”. Tom Morrow, executive vice president of SEMI, will present “Worldwide LED manufacturing: The race to cost reduction and profitability.” Other topics to be addressed in the track include advances in MOCVD technology, high-volume lithography, GaN-on-silicon substrates, process control methods and software implementation, and substrate manufacturing, metrology and standards.
