Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院), with its one-chip AC LED (alternating current light-emitting diode) technology, has been selected as a winner of this year’s R&D 100 Awards sponsored by US-based R&D Magazine.
Receiving the award on behalf of ITRI at a gala awards banquet in Chicago on Thursday evening, Jon Hsu (徐紹中), deputy general-director of ITRI’s Electronics and Optoelectronics Research Laboratories, said that the technology innovation was the result of efforts put forward by an ITRI research unit over the past four years.
Taiwan is the world leader in LED production in terms of volume, while Japan is taking the lead in production value, Hsu said.
ITRI has recognized the importance of technology innovation in order to develop LED products of higher value.
An LED is a semiconductor device that emits light under a direct current (DC) power source of the right polarity and voltage. Currently, LEDs can only be directly powered in an AC environment with AC-DC converter sub-assemblies.
Hsu said that the ITRI research unit started the project to develop an AC LED module four years ago and that after numerous experiments achieved a breakthrough and developed much smaller and more energy-efficient AC LED models. Compared to DC LEDs, AC LEDs can reduce energy consumption by 15 percent to 30 percent.
Recognizing the great commercial potential of the one-chip AC LED, ITRI has applied for national as well as international patents, with 70 patents already granted, Hsu said.
Hsu said that the institute has formed an alliance with 19 electronics and optoelectronics manufacturers in Taiwan, including Epistar Corp (晶元光電), Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技), Tyntek Corp (鼎元光電) and Forward Electronics Co (福華電子), to apply the technology to the development of commercial products.
With patent protection, ITRI said it was confident that Taiwan would remain a world leader in one-chip AC LED technology, with production value expected to reach NT$7.4 billion in two years, Hsu said.
R&D Magazine initiated the R&D 100 Awards competition in 1963 by selecting 100 research teams of technological products or processes expected to enhance efficiency and the quality of life.
This year’s winners include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Energy Technology Laboratory of the US, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, NASA Glenn Research Center, Langley Research Center and Goddard Space Flight Center, as well as universities and corporations around the world.
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