Osram grants white LED license to Rohm
The technology, which was developed by the Osram Opto Semiconductors, relates to white LEDs fabricated using blue emitting InGaN-based chips and a suitable fluorescent converter.
"Over the years, we have built up a very strong position in the area of white LEDs and have a good deal of intellectual property at our disposal," explains Rüdiger Mueller, CEO of Osram Opto Semiconductors. Typical applications of white LEDs are as backlights for displays used in mobile phones and car radios.
The company is also looking for other licensees. "We are basically willing to grant licenses to other companies," says Mueller. "The demand for white LEDs is growing so quickly that for capacity reasons we are not able to provide all the products the market is calling for."
In June this year, Osram Opto and Nichia signed a cross-licensing agreement relating to white LED patents, resolving an ongoing patent dispute between the two companies.
The Osram-Rohm announcement comes the day after Nichia announced a cross-licensing agreement with Lumileds.
Osram GmbH of Munich, Germany, is one of the world’s three largest lamp manufacturers. Its wholly-owned subsidiary Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH of Regensburg, Germany offers a range of solutions based on semiconductor technology for lighting, sensor and visualisation applications.
Rohm Co. Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan designs and manufactures ICs and other electronic components, including monolithic ICs, power modules, transistors, diodes,LEDs, laser diodes, resistors, capacitors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), thermal heads, image sensor heads, and LED displays.
