Cheaper lighting via lower cost LED manufacturing process...

Okay so for a while now I've been following this company called Bridgelux because of their research into more efficient LEDs and cheaper methods of manufacture.  They have been using silicon as the substrate for the galium nitride layer that emits the light we see from LEDs.  Other materials are currently used instead of Silicon, like sapphire or silicon carbide, but these are more expensive than silicon to extract and/or manufacture.  However the GaN mix, until recently, hasn't produced the same Lumen figures as the LEDs made using the more expensive substrates.  This is where Bridgelux has just stepped in.  Their new research has increased the output of the GaN based LEDs and they've had success with fabrication on larger, lower cost silicon wafers.

So what does this mean?

I'm hoping that it means LED lighting for everyone at lower cost than the current incandescent and CFL lighting and better quality colour.  Plus lower demands on the energy production systems and power grids.  This could also lead to cheaper and simpler alternative power generation systems for residential homes.  And as an extra bonus all those prefab plants that are no longer capable of producing layers for CPU manufacture can be used for this process instead.

Here's a couple more articles about the push to LED lighting:

No compromise LED replacement
LED light a window to a new future
New Zealand Manufacturer Supplier