Germany’s Merck has been granted a license from Austrian lighting solutions company Tridonic Jennersdorf to make and market silicate phosphors for potential use in white light LEDs.

Tridonic, as well as Japan’s Toyoda Gosei and Germany’s Litec, holds basic patents on a technology that generates white light using blue LEDs and novel yellow silicate phosphors. Applying silicate phosphors to blue LED chips enables the production of packaged white LEDs with high accuracy and high brightness.

Primary applications include backlights for cell phones, laptops, GPS, and other small displays which currently account for a large share of the global LED market.

The companies said they looked forward to exploiting new business opportunities based on the agreement.