Purdue research have developed new production methods which will cut LED lighting costs

Purdue's Professor Sands and a graduate researcher man the reactor, which produces the first blue LEDs based on a silicon process. The new LEDs promise greater efficiency, longer lifetimes, and much lower costs.


Breakthrough Allows LED Lighting to be Processed on Silicon at Great Savings
The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's solid-state lighting program, which the L Prize is based on. The project is part of a broader effort by Purdue to perfect white LED lighting, and perhaps take home the L Prize.
Purdue research have developed new production methods which will cut LED lighting costs to about a twentieth of current expenses

Purdue research have developed new production methods which will cut LED lighting costs to about a twentieth of current expenses

The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced a $20M USD "L Prize" for the first solid-state lighting meeting a strict standard of criteria. While the prize sounded very intriguing, the fact of the matter is that solid-state lighting on the market today falls short of the requirements by a sizable margin. Furthermore, it is far too expensive to see mass adoption.

However, a new breakthrough in processing from the Purdue University may change all of that. Researchers at Purdue have developed a technique to manufacture LED solid-state lighting at low cost using metal-coated silicon wafers.

Traditionally, the light-emitting layer of an LED light is a gallium nitride crystal. In sapphire based LEDs, used for green or blue lighting, mirror-like reflectors are need to reflect and resend emitted light, increasing the efficiency. Typically, this layer is extremely expensive to produce, part of the reason the current generation of LED lighting costs so much, costing at least 20 times more than conventional incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. Also, the LEDs are built on sapphire crystals, which provide the color, but are extremely expensive. The method uses aluminum nitride to provide the tint.

The new LEDs use a layer of zirconium nitride to provide the mirror effect. Normally, zirconium nitride reacts with silicon, making a silicon process difficult. However, by isolating the zirconium nitride with a protective layer to prevent reaction, scientists are able to fully deposit the need layers, including the gallium nitride necessary to build a full LED.

Timothy D. Sands, the Basil S. Turner Professor of Materials Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering states, "When the LED emits light, some of it goes down and some goes up, and we want the light that goes down to bounce back up so we don't lose it. One of the main achievements in this work was placing a barrier on the silicon substrate to keep the zirconium nitride from reacting."

With the advance, for the first time the LEDs will be able to be produced on standard silicon wafers. The new wafers can be made using cheap existing processes. To deposit the colored layer, reactive sputter deposition is used. Aluminum is bombarded with positive Argon ions, which send it flying out into the air, reacting with nitrogen gas and being deposited on the silicon. For the zirconium reflective layer, an identical process is used with zirconium metal in place of aluminum. The final gallium layer is deposited using organometallic vapor phase epitaxy; a common deposition technique performed using high heat.

The new techniques yield a crystalline structure aligned to the crystalline silicon. This means that the LEDs are less prone to defects and will perform more efficiently. Further, by using common techniques costs are dramatically reduced from using more expensive alternative methods like crystal growth on glass using sapphire crystals.

Another advantage is that silicon dissipates heat more effectively than sapphires. This will reduce damage during operation and lead to longer lifetimes and more reliability.

The new device is extremely promising as it may allow lighting to finally do primarily what it was intended -- make light. Traditional incandescent bulbs are better heaters than lights, wasting 90 percent of energy as heat. LEDs currently on the market have efficiencies from 47 to 64 percent of energy converted into light, with the Purdue design expected to fall on the high-end of this range.

With one third of U.S. electricity going to lighting and tremendous lighting-related consumption worldwide, widespread adoption of LED lighting could cut world electric usage by 10 percent. Says Professor Sands, "If you replaced existing lighting with solid-state lighting, following some reasonable estimates for the penetration of that technology based on economics and other factors, it could reduce the amount of energy we consume for lighting by about one-third. That represents a 10 percent reduction of electricity consumption and a comparable reduction of related carbon emissions."

Professor Sands expects the process to be commercially adopted and operating within two years. A final hurdle for it to overcome is a problem with the gallium nitride layer cracking during cooling. He believes this problem will soon be solved, though, with a bit more research. He states, "These are engineering issues, not major show stoppers. The major obstacle was coming up with a substrate based on silicon that also has a reflective surface underneath the epitaxial gallium nitride layer, and we have now solved this problem."

The researchers' findings are reported in this month's edition of the journal Applied Physics Letters, published by the American Institute of Physics.

The other researchers contributing to the project led by Professor Sands were Jeremy L. Schroeder, David A. Ewoldt, Isaac H. Wildeson, Robert Colby, Patrick R. Cantwell and Vijay Rawat; Eric A. Stach, an associate professor of materials engineering.

Hacking with no technology- Last HOPE to become Next HOPE

--The typical image of a hacker is a kid hunched over his keyboard in the wee hours of the night staring at commands on his computer screen that unlock the secrets of the national government.

But, according to someone who knows better, the woman sitting next to you in the airport or Starbucks fiddling with her digital camera while you work on your company's confidential sales data could be just as dangerous.



Security researcher Johnny Long speaks at Last HOPE.

(Credit: Elinor Mills)


One of the more fascinating talks at the Last HOPE hacker conference this weekend was by Johnny Long, a security researcher who hacks, writes books on hacking, and founded Hackers for Charity, which helps children and others in underdeveloped countries.

On Sunday evening, he told about an epiphany he had when he and a friend were thwarted in their attempts to get into a highly secured building. Long was ready to give up. But his friend had another plan. He got a coat hanger and a rag and proceeded to break the window in the door. He then reached in with the straightened coat hanger and the door opened up.

"What he had done was defeat this multimillion-dollar security system with trash," Long said. "The touch bar doesn't know the difference between a wet wash cloth and a hand."

The message? "There's a lot of room for...solving problems in simple ways," he said.

Some of those simple ways to get access to supposedly secured systems, such as buildings or computer networks, without using technology include: shoulder surfing, which is viewing exposed information on computer screens; dumpster diving; and if you can't get in the front door, trying the smoker entrance where you'll be less likely to be interrogated.

Long showed photos of laptop screens he had managed to photograph in airports and other public places where executives and military officials were casually but unwittingly revealing confidential and sensitive information to anyone within a few feet. It's clear--nobody tries to hide what buttons they are pushing on pass code secured doors, even at the airport's TSA room, based on his ample photographic evidence.

You have to wonder, if Long could snoop so easily, what data can someone who is really targeting a source get at.

He showed photos of ATM, grocery store check-out and other public kiosks with error messages or in some other state that they could be easily compromised.

Long also talked about how easy it is to "sniff" a hotel's billing and room entertainment network over the cable system and view other peoples' room charges and activities, such as porn surfing, logging into banking accounts, and e-mail communications.

Then there are what he called the "Jedi wave" and "fed blend" techniques of getting past security guards and mingling with federal officials by wearing a fake badge and just acting like you belong.

Blending in is the key to getting access, he said. Wearing a uniform will get you in anywhere, and telephone repair, FedEx delivery, and other uniforms are readily available on eBay and other sites


...................
Last HOPE to become Next HOPE
In case you were worried, HOPE is not dead.


(Credit: Last HOPE)
Just as hackers experiment with technology, push boundaries, and subvert the concepts of what it means to be safe and secure, the organizers of the HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth) conference have had some fun of their own.

Despite calling the event this weekend "Last HOPE," it won't be the final one; just the most recent one, organizer Emmanuel Goldstein told attendees at the closing ceremonies Sunday night.

There will be another one in two years. It will be called "Next HOPE," he said.

That was good news for the approximately 3,000 attendees of this year's confab, which was the seventh since 1994.

Word of plans to tear down the 90-year-old venue, Hotel Pennsylvania, and Goldstein's naming of the conference this year and use of funereal theme, had many in the community wondering if this was the event's swan song.

Goldstein has a predilection for wordplay--previous names were Beyond HOPE, H2K in 2000, and H2K2 in 2002.

Microsoft may come out winner in Yahoo deal

Microsoft may be the biggest winner in the proxy fight settlement between Yahoo and activist investor Carl Icahn, whose peace accord was announced Monday.

With its ally Icahn and two members of Icahn's former dissident proxy slate getting three seats on Yahoo's expanded 11-member board as part of the settlement, Microsoft may find a sympathetic ear on any future buyout or asset acquisition proposals for Yahoo's search business, said sources. That, as a result, could push Microsoft to make another bid sooner than later, sources said.

"This settlement is a good thing for Microsoft," said one attorney who specializes in mergers and acquisitions and has been involved in proxy fights before. "It puts people on the board who aren't interested in more of the same, so it creates new opportunities to get a new perspective on the board."
And Chris Young, director of M&A research for proxy advisory service RiskMetrics Group, said the settlement may bring Microsoft back to the negotiating table once again.

"In my opinion, there is a greater chance Microsoft comes back to the table than there was yesterday. Whether its more likely a deal gets done is heard to say," Young said.

He did add, however, that without Icahn waging a proxy fight and keeping the pressure and distraction on Yahoo leading up to the Internet pioneer's August 1 shareholders meeting, that Microsoft has no reason to delay making another offer for all or part of Yahoo.

"Before, they were taking advantage of the leverage that Icahn gave them. But now that leverage is gone," Young said. "If they truly were interested in a deal, there is no reason to delay to maximize their leverage."

Microsoft was not immediately available for comment. Icahn did not return phone calls.

Microsoft, in announcing its support for Icahn's initial proxy slate to run against Yahoo's current board earlier this month, said it was no longer willing to negotiate a deal with the Internet search pioneer's current board. The settlement will alter Yahoo's current board, but it has yet to be seen how much influence Icahn and two of the members from his former dissident slate will have on the 11-member Yahoo board.

Wall Street appeared a little skeptical. Yahoo fell nearly 2.67 percent in morning trading to $21.78 a share.

Nonetheless, the M&A attorney noted that Icahn has had success in winning other directors over to his views and thinking, even in situations where he or his representatives accounted for less than a majority of the seats on a company's board.

Under the agreement, Icahn will be nominated to Yahoo's board of directors and the current board will chose two additional directors from among Icahn's former dissident slate to join Yahoo's expanded board of 11 members. Icahn will have three of those 11 seats.

But only having a minority of the available board seats didn't deter Icahn from having an affect on ImClome Systems, a biotechnology company he waged war with two years ago.

In a previous CNET News article on Icahn's track record with his proxy fights, Dr. David Sidransky, an ImClone director who served on the biotechnology company's board prior to and after Icahn's arrival said:


The board was divided with different strategic alternatives in mind...Although (Icahn) was in the minority...he presented a plan and said this is what I want, and this is how I want to achieve it. He got people interested in that plan and eventually gained a majority support on the board.
Icahn, during his proxy fight, advocated taking ImClone's core cancer drug Erbitux, which is used for combating head and neck cancers, and aggressively expanding trial tests for other uses. The former corporate raider also called for finding a permanent CEO after a lengthy period with an interim CEO and tying executive compensation more tightly with ImClone's stock price. Sidransky further added:
Carl is very convincing and has passion. He convinced me that we could do it--that we could get the drug going and expand the company. We've since hired a competent CEO and the right management...This is a complete turnaround. This board is going in a completely different direction now, than before Carl came aboard.

The M&A attorney made a similar observation.

"If a strong director is on a board, even if they are in the minority, that person can add value to the board, because directors want to accommodate reasonable views," said the M&A attorney.

And if some of the advisory services to institutional investors still want to weigh in on Yahoo's director nominees, post Icahn settlement, one act they could take would to be to issue a "withhold" recommendation, noted on source with such a service.

"Yahoo's recent behavior calls into question some of their activities. Although people have called into question (co-founder David) Filo going to negotiate with Microsoft when he wasn't even a director, it raises the question of where was the chairman and the corporate governance committee?" said a source with an institutional investor advisory service. "If there is a withhold vote of 30 to 50 percent on directors, it sends a strong message and would give a dissident a strong voice on the board."

Whether or not advisory services to institutional investors, such RiskMetrics, Glass Lewis & Co., and Proxy Governance, issue withhold recommendations has yet to be seen.

But one proxy solicitor said any benefit of greater influence on Yahoo's board that Icahn may receive from a "withhold" vote recommendation will depend on the reason cited by the institutional investor advisory service.

Said the proxy solicitor: "Sometimes dissidents put on a board are piranhas and remain outsiders, and sometimes they integrate very well on the board and are thought leaders
And Chris Young, director of M&A research for proxy advisory service RiskMetrics Group, said the settlement may bring Microsoft back to the negotiating table once again.

"In my opinion, there is a greater chance Microsoft comes back to the table than there was yesterday. Whether its more likely a deal gets done is heard to say," Young said.

He did add, however, that without Icahn waging a proxy fight and keeping the pressure and distraction on Yahoo leading up to the Internet pioneer's August 1 shareholders meeting, that Microsoft has no reason to delay making another offer for all or part of Yahoo.

"Before, they were taking advantage of the leverage that Icahn gave them. But now that leverage is gone," Young said. "If they truly were interested in a deal, there is no reason to delay to maximize their leverage."

Microsoft was not immediately available for comment. Icahn did not return phone calls.

Microsoft, in announcing its support for Icahn's initial proxy slate to run against Yahoo's current board earlier this month, said it was no longer willing to negotiate a deal with the Internet search pioneer's current board. The settlement will alter Yahoo's current board, but it has yet to be seen how much influence Icahn and two of the members from his former dissident slate will have on the 11-member Yahoo board.

Wall Street appeared a little skeptical. Yahoo fell nearly 2.67 percent in morning trading to $21.78 a share.

Nonetheless, the M&A attorney noted that Icahn has had success in winning other directors over to his views and thinking, even in situations where he or his representatives accounted for less than a majority of the seats on a company's board.

Under the agreement, Icahn will be nominated to Yahoo's board of directors and the current board will chose two additional directors from among Icahn's former dissident slate to join Yahoo's expanded board of 11 members. Icahn will have three of those 11 seats.

But only having a minority of the available board seats didn't deter Icahn from having an affect on ImClome Systems, a biotechnology company he waged war with two years ago.

In a previous CNET News article on Icahn's track record with his proxy fights, Dr. David Sidransky, an ImClone director who served on the biotechnology company's board prior to and after Icahn's arrival said:


The board was divided with different strategic alternatives in mind...Although (Icahn) was in the minority...he presented a plan and said this is what I want, and this is how I want to achieve it. He got people interested in that plan and eventually gained a majority support on the board.
Icahn, during his proxy fight, advocated taking ImClone's core cancer drug Erbitux, which is used for combating head and neck cancers, and aggressively expanding trial tests for other uses. The former corporate raider also called for finding a permanent CEO after a lengthy period with an interim CEO and tying executive compensation more tightly with ImClone's stock price. Sidransky further added:
Carl is very convincing and has passion. He convinced me that we could do it--that we could get the drug going and expand the company. We've since hired a competent CEO and the right management...This is a complete turnaround. This board is going in a completely different direction now, than before Carl came aboard.

The M&A attorney made a similar observation.

"If a strong director is on a board, even if they are in the minority, that person can add value to the board, because directors want to accommodate reasonable views," said the M&A attorney.

And if some of the advisory services to institutional investors still want to weigh in on Yahoo's director nominees, post Icahn settlement, one act they could take would to be to issue a "withhold" recommendation, noted on source with such a service.

"Yahoo's recent behavior calls into question some of their activities. Although people have called into question (co-founder David) Filo going to negotiate with Microsoft when he wasn't even a director, it raises the question of where was the chairman and the corporate governance committee?" said a source with an institutional investor advisory service. "If there is a withhold vote of 30 to 50 percent on directors, it sends a strong message and would give a dissident a strong voice on the board."

Whether or not advisory services to institutional investors, such RiskMetrics, Glass Lewis & Co., and Proxy Governance, issue withhold recommendations has yet to be seen.

But one proxy solicitor said any benefit of greater influence on Yahoo's board that Icahn may receive from a "withhold" vote recommendation will depend on the reason cited by the institutional investor advisory service.

Said the proxy solicitor: "Sometimes dissidents put on a board are piranhas and remain outsiders, and sometimes they integrate very well on the board and are thought leaders



Yahoo prediction: Jerry’s a goner