Category Archives: LED Packaging and Testing

January 13, 2012 — Taiwan’s light emitting diode (LED) chip and package manufacturers failed to reproduce the booming revenue growth of H1 2011 in the second half, according to LEDinside, a research division of TrendForce. Given inventory pressure, many LED makers are actively seeking joint ventures and improving product quality to create greater product differentiation.

LEDinside expects the difficult economic climate to weed out weaker LED makers. New manufacturers are still considering entering the LED market on the potential of LED lighting. Also read: China lights up LED roadmap; Taiwan leaders seek similar support

In terms of revenues in December, the upstream players’ revenues plunged by 30% YoY while the downstream package makers’ dipped by 10% YoY. The difference is attributed to LED chip makers’ higher base year value of December 2011. In December 2010, products such as tablet PCs and LCD TVs underpinned the backlight demand, while currently the LED chip market is slightly oversupplied, with prices plummeting quickly. Since LED package manufacturers supply the end market, the upstream oversupply has less impact on them, and they are benefitting from a recent surge in backlighting demand.

Revenues of Taiwan’s LED chip makers dipped to NT$45.4 billion, representing a 7% decrease compared to 2010. Revenues hit NT$2.64 billion in December supported by the end-market demand surge and the increasing rush orders, but this was a 30% decline from December 2010.

In 2011, revenues of Taiwan’s LED package makers totaled NT$54.92 billion, a 3% decrease compared to 2010. The revenues of Taiwanese LED package makers in December hit NT$3.9 billion, a 10% decline from the prior year.

Around the LED industry:
Epistar has foreseen the slowdown in backlight growth after 2013, and the demand from the lighting market will have to fill the vacancy. For this reason, Epistar has been actively seeking joint efforts with downstream lighting companies, increasing overseas market share through reinvestment. In addition, the company also cooperates with global lighting big names in terms of technology to secure its position in the light market. Epicrystal Cooperation (Changzhou), a subsidiary company of Epistar, began its production in September 2011.

The luminous efficacies of Forepi’s chips reached 120lm/W in 3Q11. Its production will increase considerably in 2012. Moreover, the Japanese big brand Mitsui & Co. brings Forepi a list of clients. LEDinside believes that in 2012, Forepi will be able to use the cooperation with Mitsui to its advantage in regard to backlight and lighting products.

Genesis Photonics joined forces with JFE Enginnering, targeting at the Japanese market. Although the lighting products merely account 10-15% of the total production at present, the portion is expected to increase in 2012.

Helped by its vertical integration model, Lextar successfully made way into the supply chain of global major makers, which canceled out the slump in the backlight market.

According to Lite-On Technology, the company has signed strategic alliance agreements with six lighting companies and will manufacture LED light source and LED light modules in the future.

According to LEDinside, the value of China’s lighting market will reach US$7.6 billion in 2015. With China’s comprehensive production bases and supply chains, and high domestic demand and market prospects, many manufacturers have been targeting the Chinese market. Epistar cooperates with Sunny Technology Lighting and NVC Lighting, Everlight with Yaming Lighting, and Forepi with NVC Lighting. Philips recently announced that it will set up a LED lighting product plant in Chengdu, which marks Philips’ second large-scale investment in China. Furthermore, LED makers including Liteon and Lextar are taking more aggressive actions to gain a place in the supply chain of global big names. The common goal for the companies is to continue increasing the portion of lighting product in their revenues and preempt an advantageous position in the lighting market.

Taiwan also re-elected its leader Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang (KMT) for a second term this week. Ma is not expected to make any major economic and regulatory reforms, according to the US-Taiwan Business Council. Also read: New installed wafer capacity leader: Taiwan took over in 2011

TRENDFORCE is a global leading research institution providing market intelligence, in-depth analysis reports and consultant services on technology sector. Our company consists of 4 major research divisions: DRAMeXchange, WitsView, LEDinside and EnergyTrend, which cover the DRAM, NAND Flash, PC, display, LED and Green energy research sectors respectively. LEDinside is online at www.LEDinside.com.

 

Figure. Revenue at the Top 9 Taiwanese LED Manufacturers Fell (9%) Q/Q in 4Q11. SOURCE: Maxim Group Equity Research, January 2012.

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!

December 19, 2011 — Strategies in Light Europe 2012, September 18-20 in Munich, Germany, is accepting abstracts through February 17. The Strategies in Light Europe conference and exhibition covers the rapidly growing LED lighting industry.
 
Papers should describe or demonstrate efforts to improve quality and performance of LED lighting, activities that help accelerate the market adoption of LED lighting, and results from real-world LED lighting applications and installations.

Papers will be selected by the SIL Europe Advisory Board on the basis of technical content, audience interest and industry relevance. Papers with an overt marketing/sales/commercial subject will be rejected. Please do not submit presentations that are scheduled to be presented at other LED-related conferences.

Suggested subject areas include:

Applications

  • Market growth and outlook, penetration of LEDs into key applications, barriers to further market penetration
  • Case studies of specific installations: cost and performance analysis, user feedback, lessons learned 
  • Requirements and perspectives from lighting designers, specifiers, architects and other end-users

Supply chain and LED manufacturing

  • Supply and demand, capacity constraints, availability of materials and equipment
  • Advanced chip design and lower-cost manufacturing; epitaxial growth and processing
  • Luminaire design: role of thermal management, advanced packaging & optical concepts 
  • Advances in LED cost, performance, lifetime and reliability

Market transformation

  • Regional- and country-specific activities to promote LED lighting
  • European activities to develop high-quality LED lighting products
  • Quality control and labelling programs
  • Customer awareness and acceptance, incentives and subsidies
  • Funding from governments and investment community
  • Standards development and implementation 
  • EU Directives: development and impact on LED market

Technology

  • Color quality metrics, optical safety, test & measurement
  • Development of OLEDs and other competing lighting technologies
  • Drivers, and dimming & control networks 
  • Replaceable modules and light engines

In submitting an abstract you are indicating your availability and willingness to attend and present a paper at Strategies in Light Europe 2011, if selected, and to comply with all deadlines. Please ensure that the speaker and author details you are providing when submitting your abstract are correct as these will be used for pre-event marketing purposes.

For information/assistance on submitting an abstract for the Call for Papers, please contact: Emily Pryor, Conference manager, Tel: +44 (0) 1992 656 614. Submit an abstract here: http://www.sileurope.com/conference.html
 
Visit our new LED Manufacturing channel on ElectroIQ.com!

Visit our partner publication, LEDs Magazine

December 14, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Cree Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE) added 2 Cree TEMPO offerings to its LED design and evaluation services: TEMPO (Thermal Electrical Mechanical Photometric Optical) thermal simulation and photometric testing options.

The aim is to eliminate design, engineering, and manufacturing barriers to solid-state lighting manufacturers, said Mark McClear, Cree, director of global applications engineering.

TEMPO Thermal Simulation is a cost-effective way to model the thermal performance of prototype LED fixtures. The simulation predicts the thermal behavior of LED-based fixtures, including junction temperature (Tj), heatsink temperature, temperature profile, and airflow profile.

The quick-turn photometric evaluation option, joining Cree’s TEMPO SPOT service, allows customers to access complex, expensive photometric performance measurement equipment. Rapid photometrid analysis of prototype devices can help prevent design mistakes throughout development of luminaires and replacement lamps. Customers can choose integrated measurements from a 2-meter sphere or 3D measurements from a Type C Goniophotometer to visualize and predict the photometric performance of an installed luminaire.

Cree currently provides TEMPO Services out of its Cree Technology Centers, located in Research Triangle Park, NC and Santa Barbara, CA. Future TEMPO Service locations in Munich, Germany; Shenzhen and Shanghai, China; and Taiwan are targeted to open in 2012.

Cree makes lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications. Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. For additionalinformation, visit www.cree.com.

Update, January 18, 2012 – Marketwire — inTEST Corporation’s Temptronic Corporation has closed on the acquisition of Thermonics, Inc. on January 16, 2012, pursuant to the agreement entered into in December 2011. The purchase price for the assets was approximately $3.8 million cash, which included net working capital of approximately $1.1 million.

—————————————————————-

December 13, 2011 – Marketwire — Temperature management and semiconductor ATE company inTEST Corporation (NASDAQ:INTT) will acquire the assets and certain liabilities of Thermonics Inc. from Test Enerprises Inc. inTEST’s Temptronic Corporation, of the Thermal Solutions Group, will integrate the company.

The acquisition is expected to close in January 2012.

Thermonics develops precision temperature testing systems with emphasis on speed, accuracy, and reliability. The precision temperature forcing systems are used in semiconductor and other industries to verify product performance at a range of temperatures. Acquiring the company expands inTEST’s semiconductor and non-semiconductor customer base — addressing temperature-related problems in the test, manufacturing, conditioning and process control arenas, said James Pelrin, president of inTEST Thermal Solutions. Pelrin points out that the product ranges are complementary to those of Temptronic Corporation, which inTEST acquired in 2000.

Robert E. Matthiessen, inTEST Corporation’s president and CEO, noted that the thermal products expand inTEST’s served available market in non-semiconductor businesses such as Automotive, Aerospace, Industrial, and Telecommunications. "inTEST Corporation began 2011 with non-semiconductor related bookings of 18% for the first quarter; and the company has systematically expanded its product offerings, with our most recent third quarter non-semiconductor related bookings increasing to 41% of consolidated bookings…During the third quarter of 2011, nearly 60% of our Thermal Group’s bookings came from non-semi customers, driven by requirements from manufacturers of oscillators, industrial sensors, LEDs, equipment for the nuclear process industry, and military/aerospace applications."

inTEST Corporation is an independent designer, manufacturer and marketer of temperature management products and ATE interface solutions, which are used by semiconductor manufacturers to perform final testing of integrated circuits (ICs) and wafers. inTEST’s Thermal Solutions Group provides customized temperature test solutions. For more information, visit www.intest.com.

Subscribe to Solid State Technology/Advanced Packaging.

Follow Advanced Packaging on Twitter.com by clicking www.twitter.com/advpackaging. Or join our Facebook group

December 12, 2011 — Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ:MENT) has combined technologies for thermal characterization and simulation with T3Ster hardware test products and its FloTHERM software, enabling better heat management in power semiconductor packages, such as LEDs.

T3Ster performs advanced thermal transient testing for semiconductor device packages and LEDs. FloTHERM provides electronics thermal simulation and analysis to predict airflow, temperature and heat transfer throughout electronics components, boards, and systems. Engineers can evaluate and test designs automatically before physical prototypes are built. The T3Ster/FloTHERM interface enables more accurate thermal simulation than working from vendor datasheets, MENT reports. The characterization is JESD51-14-compliant. JESD51-14 is a measurement methodology standard for the junction-to-case thermal resistance of power semiconductor devices.

When combined with the T3Ster product, engineers using the FloTHERM tool will benefit from both accurate thermal simulation models derived from real measurements and thermal package characterization testing.

The integrated thermal suite is designed to eliminate manual thermal characterization work and improve accuracty. The combined T3Ster hardware measurement and FloTHERM software simulation methodology optimizes heat management in devices, sub-systems and full systems. Component makers can optimize LED and IC package designs for effective heat dissipation. Device prototypes can then be characterized thermally to build accurate models for subsystem and system designs. Systems integrators can verify heat management strategy with physical measurements in T3ster.

LEDs are becoming more powerful, drawing more attention to heat in failure mechanisms, said Dr. Thomas Zahner, quality manager, Osram Opto Semiconductors, who is using the product. "OSRAM is devoting considerable attention to thermal design." Zahner notes that testing in bulk increases their statistical confidence in measurement results. Thermal attach issues are identified by the T3Ster product (from

December 9, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC or K&S) named Chin Hu Lim to its Board of Directors, also serving on KLIC’s Management Development & Compensation Committee. Lim is the managing partner of Stream Global Venture Catalyst Pte Ltd., a venture fund providing seed funding for start-up companies in the social media and interactive digital media space.

Lim has over 28 years of experience in the information and communication industries.
Previous experience:

  • CEO BT Frontline Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of British Telecom Group.
  • CEO of Frontline Pte Ltd., a Singapore exchange listed company with operations in Asia Pacific, South East Asia, China and India. 
  • Sales, marketing and management positions with Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard.

Lim has served as a council member of the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation, the IT Standards Committee and the National Infocomm Manpower Council. He was also a board member of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. He is currently a board member for the Changi General Hospital and G-Able (Thailand) Ltd., a leading information technology services company in Thailand.

Lim holds a bachelor of electronics & computer science degree from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia and a degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore.

MacDonell Roehm, Chairman of the K&S Board of Directors, welcomed Lim, praising his expertise in the information and communication industries, finance and Asian markets.

Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC) designs and manufactures semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. Learn more at www.kns.com.

November 29, 2011 — OSRAM Opto Semiconductors introduced the Oslon Square LED for lighting applications, packaged enclosed in a reflective layer to boost light output.

The reflective package technology increases system efficiency, redirecting light from the side and back of the LED chip to the front. Light that is reflected back to the LED within a system, for example from a diffuser, can also be recycled in this way. At an operating current of 700mA, it achieves an efficiency of above 90lm/W and a luminous flux of 200lm and more. At 350mA, its efficiency exceeds the 100lm/W mark.

Also read: Thin-film chip boosts LED optical output without changing footprint

The Oslon Square is available in various versions and color temperatures, and can be operated with different currents. The Square measures 3 x 3mm, has thermal resistance of 3.8

November 10, 2011 — LED lighting maker Gem Hsin Electronics reduced the size of heatsinks in its LED products by drilling miniscule holes beneath LEDs. The holes allow heated air to escape the LED package.

The holes are drilled with laser-guided technology. The direct-air-release holes improve LED efficiency and lifespan, the company reports. It also wides the company’s lighting beam angles (up to 220). Gem Hsin also says that the finished LED products require 20% less energy than competing products and offer 30,000-hour LED life.

Also read: HB-LED packaging materials vs heat

Gem Hsin has started incorporating this advance into its line of T5/T8 LED Tube Lights.

Gem Hsin Electronics is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of LED lamps and other products. To find out more about Gem Hsin and the company’s line of products, go to www.GemHsin.com.

Subscribe to Solid State Technology/Advanced Packaging.

Follow Advanced Packaging on Twitter.com by clicking www.twitter.com/advpackaging. Or join our Facebook group