Summary of the Study

Artificial lighting plays an inevitable role in modern day living. A typical oil lamp produces 0.1 lumen/watt, whereas incandescent lamps invented in the 1870s produce 15 lumen/watt!  Since the introduction of incandescent lamps, scientists were researching for energy efficient lamps, which led to the development of fluorescent lamps. A typical fluorescent lamp produces 70 lumen/watt.

In recent times, highly energy efficient LED lamps replaced less energy efficient fluorescent and incandescent lamps. LEDs emitting various colors have been invented since 1950s. But scientists were looking for blue-light LEDs because blue light is an essential component of white light. Akasaki, Amano and Nakamura developed blue light-emitting diodes based on Gallium Nitride (GaN).

The development of blue light-emitting diodes based on Gallium Nitride led to the development of modern-day LED lighting systems, which are 3-4 times more energy efficient, as they produce 200–300 lumen/watt. 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Akasaki, Amano and Nakamura for their pioneering work on development of GaN based blue LEDs and the modern-day energy efficient LED lighting systems.

It is interesting to note that the patent filing activity in the area of Gallium Nitride based lighting systems was started as early as 1971. US Patent 3683240 filed by Issac in 1971 claims electroluminescent semiconductor device consisting crystalline gallium nitride. JP Patent 933472C filed in 1974, JP Patent 19750119993 filed in 1975 and JP Patent 19750109889 filed in 1975 also claims GaN based light emitting systems.

A review of patents filed in the field of GaN LEDs shows that 13,000+ patent families contain the words 1) Gallium nitride, GaN, Gallium mononitride, azanylidynegallane and 2) light emitting diode(s), LED(s) are searched in the title, abstract and claims. Approximately 6,000+ patent families were retrieved when these words are searched in the title and abstracts of patents filed across the globe.

Gallium Nitride Semiconductor device market size was $ 16.5 billion in 2016 and it is forecasted to reach $22.5 billion by 2023. GaN Semiconductor Devices are primarily used in the manufacturing of Power Drivers, Supply and Inverter Systems, Radio Frequency and Lighting and Laser Systems.

In-order-to help innovative companies developing artificial lighting systems, our firm Mark IP has prepared a very detailed Patent Landscape Report on Gallium Nitride Based LED lighting system. The PLR on GaN based LEDs is ready to be delivered, however this PLR is further customizable based on our client needs.