Welcome to the LEDs Magazine News & Insights newsletter for Sept. 8, 2021. I hate to be one to complain about a day off, but… Here in the US, Monday was our Labor Day holiday, and the world seems out of whack. I realize it’s not like jet lag. There is no circadian impact — a topic we will discuss in a second. But I and obviously many others struggle to right our bearings in a short week.
I want to start our newsletter this week with a reminder that HortiCann Light + Tech is coming up in just a few weeks on Sept. 28–29. Attendees from past years know that the content will be first rate. We will have a mixture of plant science and AgTech approaches to pleasing the plants. There will be a deeper look into efficiency and sustainability.
The virtual event will include online demonstrations and enable attendees to communicate directly with sponsors. Our Carrie Meadows recently previewed what she called three cool sessions at HortiCann. Don’t miss it.
An important birthday just passed in our LED and solid-state lighting (SSL) sectors. Nichia just issued a press release, actually more an infographic, celebrating the 25th birthday of the white LED. The white LED emerged just three years after the company produced the high-power blue emitter that would become the workhorse of the lighting industry. Cheers!
One area where I continue to have great interest is the mini/micro LED sector. The impact on lighting is a ways off; indeed, some don’t foresee it happening. I do think it will ultimately impact lighting, but I also think we should cover the technology development even if the near-term application is displays. It wasn’t that many years ago that displays were a major focus for the magazine. The problem is getting any real detailed and accurate information from a development that is being locked down by the consumer electronics industry.
Send me a note if you have any suggestions of coverage strategy that we might pursue. Mini LED displays and TVs are here, although I’m not sure they have moved beyond legacy pick-and-place assembly at this point. We did have a column on the topic from Rohinni executive Matt Gerber earlier this year.
We do have a story today about one of the first new things to emerge from the Mount Sinai Light and Health Research Center (LHRC). The lab has announced the CS Calculator 2.0. The new version features enhanced accuracy, an improved user interface, support for new metrics and parameters, and more flexibility in input and output. It will remain a crucial tool for product developers to designers/specifiers working in the lighting for health and wellbeing area.
You will find many more stories of interest in the body of today’s newsletter. And always feel free to contact me to discuss content we post or to pitch a contributed article.
- Maury Wright, (858) 208-9442, [email protected]