Category Archives: LED Manufacturing

January 12, 2012 — OSRAM Opto Semiconductors manufactured high-performance 1mm2 blue and white light emitting diode (LED) prototypes, growing the light-emitting gallium-nitride (GaN) layers on 150mm silicon (Si) wafers rather than sapphire substrates.

OSRAM’s researchers report no loss of LED quality in the pilot run. The blue UX:3 chips in OSRAM’s standard Golden Dragon Plus package achieve 634mW brightness at 3.15V, equivalent to 58% efficiency; white LEDs, using a conventional phosphor converter in a standard housing, showed 140lm at 350mA with an efficiency of 127lm/W at 4500K. The new LED chips are being tested under practical conditions, and OSRAM LEDs-on-Si could hit the market in as little as two years.

Figure 1. The production of a UX:3 chip on a silicon wafer. SOURCE: OSRAM.

Silicon offers a lower-cost alternative to sapphire substrates, and silicon wafer processing in larger diameters is already widespread in the semiconductor market, potentially enabling large-volume LED fabrication. New chip technology, production processes, and housing technologies will enable a switch to silicon-based LED manufacturing, said Dr. Peter Stauss, project manager at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors. Today, LED makers can fabricate over 17,000 1mm2 LED chips on a 150mm wafer. Larger silicon wafers could increase productivity even more; researchers have demonstrated the first structures on 200mm substrates.

Also read: Bridgelux fundraises for GaN-on-Si LED ramp and Integrating photonics: Hitachi, Oki put LEDs on silicon

Figure 2. OSRAM high-performance LED chips based on InGaN technology today are fabricated on 6" wafers. SOURCE: OSRAM.

Lowering component costs while maintaining quality and performance [of sapphire-based LEDs] opens up the lighting application sector, said Stauss.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors has acquired comprehensive expertise over the last 30 years in the process of artificial crystal growth (epitaxy), the foundation for this milestone in the development of new manufacturing technologies. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research funds these activities as part of its “GaNonSi” project network.

OSRAM AG (Munich, Germany) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens AG and a leading light manufacturer. Its subsidiary, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH, offers semiconductor-technology-based products for lighting, sensor and visualization applications. For more information, go to www.osram-os.com.

Visit the new LEDs Manufacturing Channel on ElectroIQ.com!

January 11, 2012 — Worldwide light emitting diode (LED) manufacturing capacity will reach 2 million wafers in 2012 (4" equivalent per month), a 27% increase over 2011. More wafers do not neccessarily mean more LED fab equipment, however. Global LED manufacturing equipment spending will fall 18% from "massive" numbers in 2011, shows SEMI’s Opto/LED FabWatch and Forecast.

2012 will be the first time in over 5 years when overall LED equipment spending decreases — blame a 40% decline in metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tool purchases. Spending for non-MOCVD LED fab equipment — lithography, etch, test and packaging tools — will increase in 2012, as manufacturers optimize their production lines and improve product designs. "Future equipment and capital spending will drive LED cost reduction through larger wafers, automation, and dedicated equipment specifically designed to improve to LED manufacturing yield and throughput," said Tom Morrow, EVP, Emerging Markets Group, SEMI.

SEMI recorded 29 new LED fabs in 2011. For 2012, SEMI forecasts 16 new fabs coming on-line.   

Regional equipment spending shows China holding the lead with an expected $719 million planned for 2012, followed by Taiwan ($321M), Japan ($300M) and Korea ($260M). Taiwan will continue to lead in capacity at 25% of the world LED capacity, followed by China (22%).

LED makers have seen several years of rapid capacity expansion, driven by TV backlighting demand for high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB-LEDs), as well as government incentives and economic development funding in China. HB-LEDs used in liquid crystal display (LCD) TV backlighting units (approximately 40% of the total HB-LED market) failed to reach growth expectations in 2011. Growth targets were missed for total TV unit sales, and for LED penetration into LCD TVs.

HB-LED demand continues to grow in solid state lighting. LEDs used in solid state lighting, currently totaling approximately $2.5 billion, may exceed $30 billion by 2020, according to many estimates. LED manufacturing capacity and technology investments will correspond, long-term, with demand for key applications: primarily solid state lighting, said Morrow, who added that this mirrors other microelectronics industries.

Looking at the back-end of the LED market, the recent Global Semiconductor Packaging Materials Outlook by SEMI and TechSearch Inc. shows very strong growth in LED leadframe shipments. Following the 69% unit shipment growth in 2010, LED leadframe shipments are estimated to have increased by another 10% in 2011. In 2012, shipments are forecasted to reach almost 83 billion units. Data are based on shipments reported by sixteen leadframe suppliers.

Table. Estimated LED leadframe units shipped globally (in billions of units).
2008 2009 2010 2011F 2012F
35.7 39.5 66.9 73.6 82.7

 

The SEMI Opto/LED Fab Forecast tracks over 250 Opto/LED fabs activities worldwide, with detailed information on fab construction and equipment spending, key milestone dates, capacity and ramp up schedule, and more. For more information, visit: www.semi.org/en/Store/MarketInformation/OptoLEDFabForecast.

SEMI is a global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronics manufacturing supply chains. For more information, visit www.semi.org.

Visit the new LEDs Manufacturing Channel on ElectroIQ.com!

January 10, 2012 — Philips Lumileds appointed Pierre Yves Lesaicherre as CEO, succeeding the company’s first CEO Michael C. Holt. Lesaicherre will report directly to Philips Lighting’s acting CEO, Frans van Houten.

The experience gained from NXP Semiconductors, where Lesaicherre was SVP and GM of the microcontrollers and logic business lines, among other titles, makes him "uniquely qualified to lead Philips Lumileds," van Houten asserts, adding that the LED lighting market is "fast changing." Lesaicherre has more than two decades of experience in the semiconductor and component industry. He lives in Silicon Valley and speaks multiple languages including French and Japanese.

Also read: LEDs are fundamentally semiconductors, running up against fab and packaging issues, says Philips Lumileds

Under Mike Holt, Philips Lumileds introduced high-power LEDs and entered new lighting segments, van Houten said. Holt, who worked with the company for a decade, is retiring to spend time with his family.

Philips Lumileds is a leading provider of LEDs for illumination. Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE:PHG, AEX:PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, operating in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting. Website: www.philips.com.

Visit the new LEDs Manufacturing Channel on ElectroIQ.com!

January 10, 2012 – PRNewswire — EV Group (EVG), wafer fab equipment provider, signed a joint-development and licensing agreement with lithography company Eulitha AG, integrating Eulitha’s PHABLE mask-based ultraviolet (UV) photolithography technology with EVG’s automated mask aligner product platform.

The aim is low cost of ownership (CoO) nanopatterning of high-brightness light emitting diodes (HB-LEDs). Through this agreement, EVG and Eulitha will explore new manufacturing technologies that support lower manufacturing costs and higher light output/efficiency for LED manufacturers.

Figure. Hexagonal pattern with 300-nm hole diameter generated by PHABLE. (PRNewsFoto/EV Group).

Combining Eulitha’s full-field exposure technology with EVG’s mask alignment platform reportedly provides low-cost, automated fabrication of photonic nanostructures over large areas, and supports the production of energy efficient LEDs, as well as solar cells and liquid crystal displays (LCDs).

Proximity lithography is low-cost, easy to use, and non-contact with the substrate. EVG’s wafer alignment offers sub-micron resolution. "We believe the synergies of our respective technologies have great potential to provide the resolution and volume-production capabilities of lithography steppers at a fraction of the cost," said Harun Solak, CEO of Eulitha.

EVG plans to offer a PHABLE-enabled EVG620 system as an extension to its well-established mask alignment system platform. Demo capabilities are already in place, and the first products are expected to ship later in 2012.

Eulitha AG is a spin-off company of the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland. It specializes in the development of innovative lithographic technologies for applications in optoelectronics, photonics, biotechnology, and data storage. For more information, visit www.eulitha.com.

EV Group (EVG) supplies wafer bonding, lithography/nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and metrology equipment, as well as photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection systems for semiconductor, MEMS and nanotechnology applications. Learn more at www.EVGroup.com.

January 6, 2011 – BusinessWire — Materion Microelectronics & Services, a unit of Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN), expanded its Wheatfield, NY facility, adding 50% more space with a fully automated robotic twin wire arc spray, increased precious metal refining capacity, new cleaning processes, and a Class 10,000-certified cleanroom. The site provides precision parts cleaning and surface treatment of physical vapor deposition (PVD) shield kits.

The NY facility serves manufacturers of LEDs, wireless products and other semiconductors, photovoltaics, medical consumables, and other products.

The fully automated robotic twin wire arc spray applies an under-layer surface coating to parts after they have been cleaned and the precious metals recovered. The coating enhances surface roughness, increasing adhesion in the vacuum chamber, so that more material is deposited and fewer random particles end up on the product. This increases the process lifetime of shielding used in particulate-sensitive processes. Each part is individually programmed into the system for precise, consistent coating. After the part has been used and returned to Materion, the under-layer coating can be quickly and easily removed for cleaning. See a video of the process: http://materion.com/Businesses/MicroelectronicsandServices/Related-NSE/TwinWireArcSprayVideo.aspx

After cleaning, all parts pass through various inspections and testing for dimensional tolerances and complete cleanliness. Parts are returned to PVD users ready to be installed into thin film chambers for deposition.

Materion also has precision parts cleaning facilities in Ireland and the Czech Republic, and is always considering additional locations and services. Materion is a vertically integrated global provider of thin film deposition materials, precision parts cleaning services, and precious metal recovery and refining. Materion Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, supplies highly engineered advanced enabling materials to global markets. Products include precious and non-precious specialty metals, inorganic chemicals and powders, specialty coatings, specialty engineered beryllium alloys, beryllium and beryllium composites, and engineered clad and plated metal systems. Website: http://www.materion.com.

January 5, 2012 — Barclays Capital forecasts 2012 as a "subdued year" for the light-emitting diode (LED) industry, plagued by overcapacity, average selling price (ASP) pressures, and only gradual growth in LED lighting demand.

Metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tool demand will decrease from around 700 systems in 2011 to about 400 in 2012 and 440 in 2013. Depite the lack of an overall MOCVD tool replacement cycle, there is some economic support for pulling out very early generation, fully depreciated MOCVD tools (e.g. Veeco’s E-300 and K-300, Aixtron’s CCS and G3) and replacing them with the latest Maxbrights and CRIUS II-XL, Barclays predicts, adding that makers in Korea and Taiwan have been seen making this switch.

Also read: LED fab trends: Capex decline, cost-effective fab key

Tool utilization levels at Korean fabs are hovering between 50 and 60%. Utilization in Taiwan facilities is between 50 and 70%; Chinese LED makers are using less than 30% of capacity, Barclays estimates. Utilization levels at Tier 1 LED makers — Cree, OSRAM, and Lumileds — appear to be higher at ~70-80%.

Top 10 LED themes of 2012, from Barclays Capital:

1) MOCVD tool upgrades could add an incremental revenue stream for equipment suppliers, despite weak capital expenditures from LED makers. The revenue opportunity for upgrades ranges from ~$200K for simple upgrades to ~$1.5M if the customer is reconfiguring the tool and changing the gas chambers.

2) MOCVD tool replacement is unlikely to grow. Gradual improvements in LED fab yields, coupled with slow-growing end-market demand, will delay large-scale expansions. Used/unpackaged tools remain unattractive to Tier 1 and 2 LED makers, though some MOCVD equipment vendors will work with key customers on refurbishing such tools, pulling out contaminated parts, upgrading them, and again placing them under warranty.

3) Gallium nitride (GaN)/Silicon carbide (SiC) power electronics will be a small, growing application for MOCVD equipment. STMicroelectronics (STM), Infineon, Analog Devices and other analog names are buying tools from AIXTRON and Veeco. See also: Power semiconductors to see modest growth in 2012

4) Despite entries from Applied Materials (AMAT counts Samsung, Silan, Toshiba, TSMC, Micron, and IMEC among its MOCVD customers), Chinese companies, and others, the main MOCVD tool suppliers will remain AIXTRON and Veeco, with 90% of the MOCVD market. These 2 will see a boost from the upgrades mentionned in #1.

5) M&A potential exists for the tool makers, though Barclays suggests AMAT is not able to swallow up any large LED tool providers due to its semiconductor-space acquisition, VSEA, of 2011.

6) Incandescent bulb bans will be instated in the US and Europe, though this is not likely to drive 2012 demand, given the available stock of incandescents remaining. LED bulbs will really catch on in Japan.

7) LED component/luminaire price declines will make the payback period for non-residential projects much more attractive. Barclays estimates that LED chip/component ASPs declined 30-40% in 2011, depending on the applications.

8) China LED demand growth will likely fall in-line with the overall market, despite possible government subsidies. There is no sign yet of the speculated 8B Yuan subsidy from the central government being deployed.

9) LED lighting penetration will steadily ramp, with the associated revenue growth for LED component suppliers being more muted due to ASP pressure.

10) China will continue to lag on the LED manufacturing quality front; Korea will make more noticeable advances. The quality of LED output from Chinese players continues to trail the Tier 1 LED makers by several years. Output from the Korean LED suppliers — Samsung, Seoul Semi, LG Innotek — has been improving, reports Barclays. Given Samsung and LG’s vertical integration and aggressive push downstream, they could be meaningful threats to the traditional Tier 1 LED makers Cree, Osram, Nichia, and Lumileds.

January 5, 2012 — Nocilis Materials, a spin-out from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH, Sweden), opened its silicon foundry service globally. Nocilis Materials AB provides epitaxy service of advanced Si-Ge-Sn-C alloys for both electronic and photonic applications.

The foundry supplies advanced Si-based composed materials, with niches in IR & THz uncooled detectors and thermoelectric structures based on group IV materials. Its epitaxy services are based on RPCVD and epitaxy layers are provided on 4”, 6” and 8” substrates.

Details:

  • P-, As- and B-doped Si and SiGeSnC layers (doping level of 1015-1019 cm-3 in Si but for Si alloys depends on the material design)
  • Selective epitaxy of doped and undoped SiGeC layers on patterned substrates
  • Multilayer structures (superlattices) of Si-or Ge-based materials
  • Ge (unstrained) on Si
  • Compressive and tensile strained SiGe layers
  • Strained Si on relaxed SiGe layers
  • Tensile strained Ge layers (on-going)

Further services can be provided for material characterization of epitaxial films:

  • High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). Planar and cross-sectional view
  • High-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD):
  • Reciprocal lattice mapping (RLM), grazing angle measurement, strain measurement and layer profile over the substrate area. These analyses will provide the interfacial roughness, composition, strain amount (in-plane and perpendicular to the plane).

Nocilis Materials AB uses silicon epitaxy – and characterization equipment. Web: www.nocilismaterials.com.

January 4, 2011 — AIXTRON SE (FSE:AIXA, NASDAQ:AIXG) delivered multiple AIX G5 HT metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors to existing customer Nantong Tongfang in China.

The reactors, in 56 x 2" and 14 x 4" configurations, will be used to grow high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB-LEDs). The Tsinghua Tongfang Group required the reactors for a capacity expansion of HB-LED production, said Mr. Wang, VP of the Group. The company already has 2 existing AIX 2800G4 systems. Mr. Wang cited reliability, cost-effectiveness, and service as reasons for choosing AIXTRON MOCVD systems.

Also read: LEDs and a MOCVD bubble: We’ve only just begun

Nantong Tongfang placed the order in Q1 2011; systems were delivered through Q2-Q4. A local AIXTRON support team will install and commission the new reactors in state-of-the-art cleanrooms at the China factory.

AIXTRON SE is a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry. Learn more at www.aixtron.com.

December 29, 2011 — The updated IEST "Garment System Considerations for Cleanrooms and Other Controlled Environments" recommended practice document includes new sections on measuring cleanroom footwear, frocks and other garments, as well as a new subsection for tracking system use, such as RFID chips and barcodes.

A new edition of IEST-RP-CC003.4, Garment System Considerations for Cleanrooms and Other Controlled Environments, includes a 20-page supplement on recommended garment measurement specifications. The supplement, Guide to Measuring Cleanroom Garments, provides illustrated instructions for measuring coveralls, frocks, hoods, and footwear.

The revised Recommended Practice (RP) is published by the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST).

Also read: ISO Cleanroom standards update

IEST-RP-CC003.4 addresses the gowning of personnel as a critical aspect of cleanroom contamination control. Specification and use of an appropriate gowning system is essential in preventing human-generated contamination from reaching and affecting product or processes in the cleanroom. The RP provides non-mandatory guidance for the selection, specification, maintenance, and testing of garments or apparel and accessories appropriate for use in non-aseptic and aseptic environments.

The RP defines required performance criteria, test methods, and procedures for gowning system use and maintenance. It also features guidelines for developing a quality control (QC) plan for the apparel and accessories that may be part of the system. This edition includes a new subsection on the use of advanced tracking systems, such as barcodes and radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips, to monitor garment service life. Also provided is a section describing types of fabrics and relevant properties and methods of testing of the materials used in cleanroom garments, as well as the design and construction of appropriate configurations and special features of such garments.

Appendix B explains the Helmke drum test method, introduced in an earlier edition of the RP and based on round-robin testing performed by the IEST Working Group. This method is used to quantify particles dislodged through the application of mechanical energy under dry conditions as a means of simulating particle shedding from the surface of the garment during use. Garments being tested are tumbled in a rotating drum to release particles from the fabric in a controlled manner, while a discrete-particle counter is used to sample the air within the drum.

Ordering information for IEST-RP-CC003.4 and other IEST publications is available at www.iest.org.

IEST is an international not-for-profit technical society of engineers, scientists, and educators that serves its members and the industries they represent (simulating, testing, controlling, and teaching the environments of earth and space) through education and the development of recommended practices and standards. IEST is an ANSI-accredited standards-developing organization; Secretariat of ISO/TC 209 Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments; Administrator of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 209; and a founding member of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies.

December 28, 2011 — Maxim Group, in its equity research on light emitting diode (LED) sector companies, finds that competition and demand strategies will push LED prices lower in the near future, and the capital expenditures surge of 2010-2011 is giving way to a tool spending downturn.

LED prices are poised to drop ~30% per year in response to demand elasticity strategies meant to drive market penetration. Another price-reducing factor is LED maker competition; LED makers will need to take their production costs lower to maintain profitability. Maxim Group asserts that higher efficiencies, transitions to larger (6") wafers, and lower-cost materials will improve production costs.

Technology and intellectual property (IP) rights are the LED maker’s barrier to price-only-based competition in key markets of Europe, the US, and Japan, as LED technology is still in its nascent years, notes Maxim Group.

LED manufacturing equipment companies will see a drought in new orders in 2012 and 2013. This downturn follows a burst of capex for LED makers in 2010 and 2011. While LED lighting growth will likely eventually drive a reinvestment cycle, Maxim believes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tool orders at Aixtron (AIXG) and Veeco (VECO) are likely to fall (45-50%) in 2012.

Also read: LEDs and a MOCVD bubble: We’ve only just begun