Optoelectronics education begins at home

Hello dear friends, readers and well wishers, it is good to be back. How have you all been?

As 2009 was drawing to a close, It was great to see it actually closing on a very sound note – especially in terms of solar, LEDs and OLEDs. Here, I shall touch upon LEDs and OLEDs, and leave solar for another time, later.

First, I received a notification, which I'd like to share with you all. It stated that market researchers forecast a threefold increase up to almost €13 billion by 2012 for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs (OLEDs). That's great news!

LEDs are doing fine in some established market segments like cell phone backlighting, LED TV sets and automotives. In outdoor lighting, it is just starting to see the ‘light of the day.’ I had blogged last month about Bangalore's OnLeo Global Solutions, which had finished the installation and commissioning of LED streetlights in Sadashivanagar area in Bangalore. It is hoped that more such ecofriendly green technology initiatives will take place this year. OLEDs are just starting to find their feet, with some success in cell phones and OLED TVs.

Samsung Mobile Displays (SMD) reportedly continues to lead in OLED shipments and Taiwan's RiTdisplay is another strong player. In India, Samtel, in partnership with the Indian Institute for Technology (IIT) Kanpur, and the Department of Science and Technology, has set up a “Samtel Centre for Display Technologies,” located at IIT Kanpur. The centre is doing extensive research in the area of emerging technologies like OLEDs, and is working towards improving and commercially exploiting this technology.

Other news that I'd like to share is about Havells India. A leading player in the lighting and fixture segment and electrical and power equipment sector in India is entering the LED market.

I am personally thrilled to see such great developments in LEDs and OLEDs, having been a long time fan of optoelectronics myself.

Education begins at home, and so I decided to gift my family with an emergency LED light. It is a very simple unit, featuring 30 LEDs and running on a 4-V/1.2-AH sealed lead-acid battery. The duration time is approximately 12 hours. Needless to say, everyone's been thrilled to use such a simple device. It needs to be initially charged 20 to 24 hours, and then at least 8 hours every three months.

I've also started a discussion elsewhere on how to build your own solar LED lantern, but more of that in a subsequent post. Wish you all a very happy new year!

Pradeep

Jan. 12, 2010