July 30, 2012 — Just after releasing plans to cut its NAND Flash production by 30%, Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) said that it will start mass production of white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on a new 200mm wafer production line in its Kaga Toshiba Electronics Corporation fab in northern Japan. Mass production will start in October.
Toshiba will use gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) substrates for the LEDs, born from its collaboration with Bridgelux Inc. The combination of Bridgelux’s crystal growth and LED chip structure and Toshiba’s advanced silicon process and manufacturing technology yielded a prototype LED with a maximum optical output of 614mW. Toshiba will now put these LEDs into mass production.
Toshiba expects white LEDs to be the next generation growth area in its discrete semiconductors business, alongside power devices. White LEDs offer energy efficiency and long lifespans for general purpose lighting, TV backlighting, etc.
Learn more at www.toshiba.com.
Plessey Semiconductor in the UK also is setting up a GaN-on-Si LED production line, building production on 150mm wafers in Plymouth, UK.