September 27, 2006...To those of us who either write about, talk about, and/or work deep down in the compound semi (CS) and/or solid state lighting (SSL) technology wells of expertise, seeing our industries' devices actually working in end products can sometimes be mind-boggling. While GaAs and GaN-based devices are now ubiquitous in handheld communications devices, white LEDs for SSL applications are still a relatively new phenomenon... or are they? If you define SSL target applications as replacing conventional bulbs (incandescent, florescent, neon, mercury vapor, halogen, etc... ) all one has to do is take a close look at a trip to a big retail store like a Wal-Mart, and you'll actually see that LED replacements for conventional lighting applications are getting more entrenched than you might think.

Where are the LEDs? (A thread begun by our news editor, Scott McMahan in a July 5th editorial.) Everywhere! Starting in the car you drive to the store and the cellphone you use to call home to see what was forgotten on your shopping list. That cellphone and that car are now loaded with CS devices, beyond the obvious LED-based lights. The store's parking lot is full of lights that should be and certainly could be LED-based and probably will be after retail stores figure out that they'll save at least 50% on one-sixth of their total electric bills by changing to all LED lighting. And with the brightness and hue-changing capabilities coming online, the parking lots themselves have the potential of changing their look and mood at will. Foggy day, yellowish works better. Dark night and big doings? Why not make the hues change with a given shopping theme. I remember big search lights being used for store openings back when I was a kid 50 years ago! Imagine the juice those suckers required. Surely the next generation can figure out how to top that using advanced LEDs.

And parking lots seem like a great place for compound semi-based solar power. In fact, I don't see why the new LED-based traffic light end products aren't all solar-based by now, with wired electricity used only as a backup. As I've written about before, the four solar/LED yard lights (manufactured by a Dallas, Texas USA company called Brinkmann), which I purchased from Wal-Mart for only $14, have proved to be amazingly reliable. The solar/LED novelty lights that float in the swimming pool that change to seven soothing but vivid blinking colors (including blue, green and white) continue to work after two whole years of continuous operation in all the nasty weather Texas can conjure. Only during the darkest of rainy days do they not get a proper charge. The only parts that ever wear out are the rechargeable AA batteries! Both products mentioned above, by the way, all clearly state Made in China.

Since the above--which I collectively call Chinese lanterns--are replacing conventional lightbulb-based products, I call these, as well as automotive-related LED lights, solid state lighting (SSL) applications. You're replacing conventional lights with solid state lights. What could be more simple to understand. It's akin to the experience of replacing any old style vacuum tube electronic devices with solid state devices. All it takes to change people's attitudes is publicizing and advertising the simple dollar and environmental savings common sense facts.

I'm especially impressed by an Oregon USA company called Coast Cutlery, which established its market with fine knives for farmers, ranchers and outdoors people. We now know Coast Cutlery because Kevin Corcoran of Coast kindly sent both Scott and me samples of their new halogen replacement bulbs. Scott wrote about them on Aug. 11 titled: Coast Introduces LED-Based 12-Volt MR 16 Halogen Replacement. Coast is one of many leading the charge to convert to LED lighting, starting with LED flashlights and moving quickly into higher end SSL applications. Scott's article is an interesting read if you haven't yet done so. I've even seen their initial SSL products at my local, very rural feed stores. According to my feed store manager, hunters really like their LED-based lamps for numerous reasons and are selling well. Coast also has a product called a "headlamp" which is really for a human's head as opposed to the headlamp of a car. I saw a halogen/LED combo huge handheld spotlight from Coast at my local Wal-Mart recently, which I'm sure hunters and cops alike are going to take to. The big halogen to shock, the bright LED to dazzle or intimidate. Couple the above with compound semi infared (IR) equipment and all the cool little sensors the semiconductor industry creates, and you're practically as well equipped as the most modern military personnel. (I know soldiers wear all sorts of heads up displays, but wouldn't it be cool if their helmets were equipped with CS-based high efficiency solar cells to power all their gear? It's easy to envision the fully CS-equipped soldier. Every time I write something like this, by the way, somebody working with DARPA contacts me to say they're actually doing what I'm describing. I love it when that happens.)

Back inside Wal-Mart, if you were able to visit one of their test lab stores in either Aurora, Colorado or McKinney, Texas, you'd see all sorts of evidence that Wal-Mart, the second-largest revenue producer in the world! (behind ExxonMobil) is making a huge investment in energy-saving technologies beyond what you find on the shelf. LEDs are appearing inside the shelves, and soon will be over and under said shelves and shoppers. According to USA Today, the environmental commitment by was significantly fortified when Wal-Mart celebrated "Climate Change Day" in mid-July (I think they meant to say "Earth Day"). Wal-Mart hosted former USA vice president. Gore is a man on an even more important mission these days and was invited by Wal-Mart to show his outstanding new global warming documentary titled, An Inconvenient Truth. The film received a standing ovation from a very diverse audience that day at Wal-Mart. An Inconvenient Truth, which is doing exceptionally well in theaters, will be released by Paramount in DVD form on Nov. 21st. Every company and every individual should view this film.

Speaking of DVDs that we now take for granted, it's good to remind ourselves every now and then that DVDs wouldn't be possible without red lasers. Looking over at the entertainment section, we're seeing progressively more blue laser-based products on the shelves too. And HEMTs and HBTs? They're everywhere. Especially in all that wired and wireless electronic equipment strewn around your office and home. All of which reminds us once again, without the masters of epitaxy, we simply wouldn't have HB-LEDs (which we have started to call power LEDs) , HEMTs, HBTs and pHEMT-based advanced semiconductor devices. And what would we do without the LED indicator lights on our computers, routers, cellphones, etc... telling us that we have limited juice and it's time to "plug in." (What we all should be championing is improved battery technology!)

As stores and other such big electricity users get started in the design of a new facility, they're doing more than entertaining the notion of lighting their facilities with LEDs. LEDs have begun making inroads at stores that require refrigerators. Talking to BridgeLux's CEO, Bob Walker, I asked where the hot markets are right now, and he said "refrigeration." That makes enormous sense. Nobody likes replacing a bulb in a refrigeration unit. (It's cold in there and the conventional bulb is hot!) High-end and/or forward-thinking stores are gradually changing to LEDs for under- and over-counter lighting as well as for their general and ambient lighting. In that same USA Today article on Wal-Mart, the store has committed to convert to LEDs for their refrigeration, saving an estimated 50% in electricity bills. (Ref: our coverage). Another of our favorite companies, OptoLum, which specializes in replacing conventional lights with LED-based SSL solutions. This Phoenix, Arizona based USA company is quietly growing fast now because of their outstanding custom applications capability and unique ability to work with OEMs. They also hold a key thermal patent which other lighting manufacturers should consider licensing. Proof of OptoLum's success is that their avant-garde counter lighting is literally dazzling high end retail stores.

An article in or new newsletter, Solid State Lighting Design pointed out that Cyberlux has signed an agreement with Cottownwood Furniture, a furniture and cabinetry maker, to provide lighting for their kitchen cabinets. More and more, we'll see LED product on everyone's shelves as well as illuminated them, proudly taking their place alongside all the other CS-based products on the market as manufacturing costs come down and selling prices get even more competitive with the solutions they're replacing. Our news editor, Scott McMahan, did manage to find an online list of many different types of LED and solid state lighting related businesses including LED product retailers (mostly just online retailers) and wholesalers. The lists also include designer and consultant companies around the world, which advise on and install LED lighting. However, I doubt this list is very comprehensive. You can find the lists including LED product retailers on a site called Energy Source Guides.

Microprocessors went through the same growing pains. It's always been that way in the semiconductor industry. Now is the time for the compounds to shine.