Category Archives: LEDs

August 6, 2012 — Zeta Instruments Inc. will install multiple optical profilers for micron-scale surface analysis at sapphire substrate maker Rubicon Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:RBCN). Rubicon is using the Zeta 300 series optical profilers for metrology and inspection on its sapphire substrates and wafer production aimed at the high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB-LED) market.

Zeta’s 300 series high-precision metrology systems are designed to address the stringent specifications of the patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) market, enabling higher yields and lower wafer scrap at LED makers. One system performs detailed measurement of PSS structure dimensions and wafer defect inspection. It offered the best combination of speed and accuracy for Rubicon’s production-environment metrology needs, said Raja M. Parvez, president and CEO of Rubicon Technology.

Also read: Technology and cost considerations for high-volume HBLED lithography

The Zeta-300 series leverages Zeta’s Z-Dot technology to deliver high repeatability and accuracy for the measurement of LED-patterned/etched substrates, photo-resist and stacked structures on transparent surfaces. Coupled with application-specific software and a companion automated wafer handler, the Zeta-380 provides imaging and measurement capabilities superior to those of laser confocal microscopes.  The Zeta-380 measures and detects defects falling outside the industry certification levels that may not be detected by competing offerings.

Rubicon Technology, Inc. is an advanced electronic materials provider that is engaged in developing, manufacturing and selling monocrystalline sapphire and other crystalline products for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), blue laser diodes, optoelectronics and other optical applications.

Zeta Instruments provides optical profiler systems that enable manufacturers of microfluidics/biotechnology, high-brightness LEDs, solar cells, and magnetic storage media to improve yields and process control. To learn more about Zeta Instruments, please visit www.zeta-inst.com.

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August 3, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Panasonic Corporation (NYSE:PC, TOKYO:6752) will reform its head office and governance as of October 1, aiming to reduce internally focused work and focus on customer needs.

The strategy involves reviewing the mission of the corporate R&D division, transferring “themes” and personnel to their relevant business domains within Panasonic. Corporate R&D’s new mission will be to create new business and technologies in long-term growth areas and develop uniform technologies across the entire company.

The personnel working on existing business fields will gear their R&D toward midterm business growth. Panasonic recently focused research on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with Sony, and on flexible electronics with imec.

Panasonic is also establishing a corporate strategy head office, staff of about 150, which will oversee midterm strategies and allocate management resources, as well as develop executives and promote cash flow management. Functions other than the above will be realigned as part of a Professional Business Support Sector. Panasonic will regroup some of the related divisions into single divisions and simplify organizations. 

A Group Management Team will evaluate Panasonic’s mid- and long-term strategy and important business moves, with about 10 executives involved. Various meetings will be reorganized as appropriate under this new structure.

Learn more about Panasonic at http://panasonic.net/.

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August 2, 2012 — Facing a difficult capital market environment, Siemens will publicly list OSRAM via a spinoff to Siemens shareholders, rather than an initial public offeing (IPO). Spinning off OSRAM will make the public listing more independent of capital market conditions.

The aim of Siemens’ move is to give OSRAM independence with more flexible financing options.

OSRAM’s subsidiary, Osram Opto Semiconductors, makes high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs), infrared components and high-power laser diodes (LDs). Recent news: Osram devises LED solder pad concept for easier second sourcing and Osram plans LED packaging facility in Wuxi

"The deceleration of the world economy has increased in the past few months…our focus above all is on increasing our productivity and efficiency," said Siemens CEO and president Peter Löscher in the company’s Q3 fiscal report. See Siemen’s full Q3 fiscal report here.

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August 1, 2012 — NanoMarkets announced a new report on the transparent conductor (TC) market which includes the dominant indium tin oxide (ITO), along with other transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), conductive polymers, silver grids and coatings, copper, carbon nanotubes and graphene and nanocomposite materials of various kinds.

Most firms offering alternatives to ITO focus on the touch-screen sensor market; however, this sector is too small for many of these firms to generate significant revenues.

Also read: Soaring indium costs drive hunt for alternative in transparent electrodes

NanoMarkets believes that the current rapid development of the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display and lighting market could boost the makers of non-ITO TCs. While ITO is widely used in OLEDs it is not well suited to this application. The OLED sector is already beginning to seek alternative TCs.

ITO also may not work well in high-throughput roll-to-roll (R2R) processes used to manufacture flexible displays. ITO cannot be used in rollable displays, due to its material nature. Flexible displays, primed to become a sizable market, could be major contributors to the mainstream adoption of ITO alternatives for TC.

NanoMarkets expects a resurgence in thin-film solar panels for use in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). This will boost firms selling tin oxide (SnO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) materials and there is considerable research activity currently seeking the best dopants for these materials for TC applications.

Silver-based TCs seem to have taken off commercially and can now be found in a number of commercial cellphone models.

Nanotube-based TCs have made little commercial progress, although a few well-funded firms — Samsung, Linde and Toray, for example — still back this approach.

Meanwhile, Agfa, Heraeus and Kodak seem to be making progress with their low-cost conductive polymer TCs. The materials have considerable potential for growth in small displays for electronic labels and smartcards.

NanoMarkets provides in-depth analysis of the applications from which TC firms will be able to make money in the next few years including touch-screens, OLEDs, e-paper, thin-film and BIPV, organic/DSC PV, smart windows, etc. The report examines implications for TCs of the rise of flexible and transparent electronics and provides an in-depth discussion of how non-ITO TCs may be able to break into the LCD market. For each application the report contains separate eight-year forecasts in terms of value ($ millions) and volume (square meters). Each forecast is also broken out by material type.

Firms discussed in the report including 3M, Agfa, Asahi Glass, Atmel, Cambrios, Cima NanoTech, Corning, Dow Chemical, Evonik, Ferro, Fujitsu, Harima Chemicals, Heraeus, Hitachi, Idemitsu Kosan, Indium Corporation, Kodak, LG, Linde, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Nippon Mining and Metals, Nitto Denko, PolyIC, Pilkington, Saint-Gobain, Samsung, Schott, SKC, Sony, Oike, Sumitomo, Teijin, Toray, Tosoh, Ulvac, Umicore, Unidym, and many others.

NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in energy, electronics and other markets created by developments in advanced materials. Visit http://www.nanomarkets.net for a full listing of NanoMarkets’ reports and other services.

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July 31, 2012 — NanoMarkets issued a new white paper on LED phosphors, "LED Lighting Driving Demand for New Phosphors," that covers the shifting use of phosphors, which modulate the light emitted by LEDs, from LCD backlighting to solid-state lighting.

Today, the majority of phosphors used in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) go into LCD backlighting units. Blue LEDs are coated with yellow or other down-conversion phosphors to make “white” LEDs. In the next several years, saturation will slow growth for LED-based backlighting, phosphor prices will fall, LED-per-unit values will be reduced, display demand will soften, and backlight-free display technologies like active matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLEDs) will take over market share in smartphones/tablets and TVs, NanoMarkets reports.

Figure. Phosphor growth for LED applications, 2012-2019. SOURCE: NanoMarkets.

The situation is very different in the solid-state lighting sector. In fact, a major shift is occurring in the lighting industry toward more-efficient, longer-lifetime, LED-based lighting, which will more than make up for the slowing display market. Governments are encouraging use of higher-efficiency lighting products with new regulations and subsidies. Since LEDs are potentially more efficient than any other alternative lighting source, LED lighting will preferentially enjoy the benefits of these mandates.

Going forward, growth in sales of LED phosphors will be driven by sales to the LED lighting industry. Backlighting LEDs are growing at <5% annually; LED lighting is growing at about 30% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), by LED count.

Better phosphors are needed to bring LED lighting into wider use. Phosphors are one of the keys to achieving the ambitious LED lighting market penetration goals and differentiating the quality of LED lighting products versus other technologies, NanoMarkets reports. Phosphors can improve the quality of LED light to meet what consumers want, an important factor when LEDs are still many times more expensive than incandescent bulbs.

NanoMarkets tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in energy, electronics and other markets created by developments in advanced materials. Access the white paper at http://www.nanomarkets.net/Downloads/LEDPhosphors.pdf.

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July 31, 2012 — Light emitting diodes (LEDs) comprise an LED chip, package frame, phosphor for light modulation, and encapsulants, which protect the LED from external environment moisture and other elements. The functional properties of these LED packaging elements are being increased as LEDs are more widely adopted.

LED encapsulants are closely related to the LED’s lifespan and light transmittance. With high-power and high-brightness LEDs emerging, the encapsulant’s role is becoming more important, says Displaybank.

Epoxy resin was the common encapsulant for lamp-type LEDs in the 1990s. As LEDs were adopted for mobile phones and LCD TVs, silicone encapsulants began to be used to meet the various functional property needs such as refractive index, heat resistance, light resistance, and so forth. Today, by revenue, more than 97% of the LED encapsulant market uses silicone encapsulant, a trend expected to continue in the future, Displaybank reports.

Figure 1. LED encapsulant market forecast, based on quantity.

LED use in LCD TVs began to grow significantly in 2009, which kickstarted a growth spurt in LED package-use encapsulants in 2010. As the LED industry declined in 2011, demand also declined for encapsulants. The encapsulant market is forecasted to continue to grow in the future, as LED lighting grows globally.

Figure 2. Regional LED encapsulant market proportion forecast, based on revenue.

Regionally, China will become the biggest market globally, accounting for more than 30% of the global LED encapsulant market in 2015, thanks to government support, continued investments from related companies, and the increased demand for LED lighting.

Based on such trend, Displaybank analyzed the overall industry overview of encapsulant and LED package-use encapsulant market, especially, focusing on the market by type and by region in the silicone encapsulant field, of the LED package-use encapsulant market. This report intends to assist LED encapsulant and LED package companies, the companies with interests in LED-related parts materials and new LED business, and the companies that belong to all LED related fields.

Learn more about Displaybank’s report, “LED Package-use Encapsulant Market Forecast,” at http://www.displaybank.com/_eng/research/report_view.html?id=873&cate=8

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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.

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July 30, 2012 — Plessey Semiconductors is installing a multi-million-pound (£) high-brightness light-emitting diode (HB-LED) production line at its Plymouth, UK facility.

The semiconductor product maker took delivery of a CRIUS II-XL reactor in a 7 x 6” wafer configuration from AIXTRON for the line, which will make Plessey’s MaGIC (MAnufactured on Gan ICs) gallium nitride (GaN) technology on 6” wafers. Also read: Plessey acquires CamGaN for GaN-on-Si LED technology

Plessey’s GaN-on-Si technology uses a 2.5µm GaN layer, as compared to 6-8µm layers in other GaN-on-Si approaches, said Neil Harper, Plessey’s HBLED product line director. The thinner GaN layer means less deposition time, which allows multiple production cycles in the reactor in 24 hours.

The 6” silicon wafers offer up to 80% cost reduction from silicon carbide (SiC) or sapphire LED substrates. The current design enables more than 14,000 LEDS (1mm2 1W) per wafer. Plessey’s roadmap is to move to 8” substrates for even greater cost savings.

Efficiencies in the new technology will enable outputs in excess of 150 lumens per watt to be achieved. Typical MAGIC HB LEDs are yielding at 95%. The first samples of a blue LED are characterized by peak emission at 460nm with typical current of 350mA. The technology extends to other emission wavelengths: cyan at 500nm and green at 530nm with amber and white output enabled by phosphor conversion. White output will initially achieve 80 lumens/watt with 450mW output from 1W input, which will be available later this year, and 150 lumens/watt devices are planned for June 2013 with the support of British and European partners.

Plessey intends to integrate its MaGIC HBLED products with its EPIC sensor technology to provide smart lighting solutions for even greater energy savings and carbon footprint reductions.

Plessey Semiconductors develops and manufactures semiconductor products used in sensing, measurement and control applications. Learn more at http://www.plesseysemiconductors.com/products/magic.

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July 26, 2012 — FUJIFILM Corporation sold its entire worldwide patent portfolio of more than 1,200 organic light-emitting diode (OLED) patents and patent applications to Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:PANL) for $105 million.

Fujifilm has researched and developed OLED materials as well as devices for more than 10 years.

Universal Display is expanding its business for OLED materials and the licensing of its patented OLED technologies through this acquisition. In related news, Universal Display expanded its OLED partnership with Plextronics to cover hole injection and transport materials.

In addition to the patent sale, the 2 companies are engaged in “a strategic relationship,” with strengthened and enhanced alliances between the companies. Fujifilm will expand its business for the supply of Fujifilm’s highly functional materials, such as barrier films, conductive films and flexible substrates, to OLED manufacturers globally, including Universal Display’s worldwide customer base. Universal Display will develop new technologies and processes for OLED manufacturing. "Fujifilm and Universal Display will continue discussions for further possible strategic relationship between the two companies," said Shigetaka Komori, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fujifilm.

“This transaction will almost double Universal Display’s patent portfolio,” noted Steven V. Abramson, president and CEO of Universal Display, who called the patent buy and the collaboration with Fujifilm a rare opportunity.

FUJIFILM Corporation is one of the major operating companies of FUJIFILM Holdings. Since its founding in 1934, the company has built up a wealth of advanced, highly versatile technologies in the field of photo imaging, and Fujifilm is now applying these technologies to other new business fields.

Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: PANL) is a leader in developing and delivering state-of-the-art, organic light emitting device (OLED) technologies, materials and services to the display and lighting industries. To learn more about Universal Display, please visit www.universaldisplay.com.

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July 26, 2012 — AIXTRON SE introduced a 5 x 200mm gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si) reactor design for its G5 Planetary Reactor metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) platform. AIX G5+ comprises special reactor hardware and process design, developed with customers in AIXTRON’s R&D lab.

Any existing G5 system can be upgraded to this latest version.

Figure. AIX G5+ offers fully rotationally symmetrical uniformity pattern on five wafers.

Power electronics makers are using GaN-on-Si technology, and future high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HB-LEDs) are in development on GaN-on-Si substrates, noted Dr. Rainer Beccard, VP, marketing at AIXTRON. Recent GaN-on-Si development has occured at Lattice Power, NXP Semiconductors, EpiGaN, Bridgelux, Toshiba, and Nitronex, among other semiconductor and LED makers.

GaN-on-Si offers high performance on a lower-cost substrate than sapphire. “Wafer size and material plays a crucial role when it comes to cost-effective manufacturing processes, and thus the transition to 200mm standard silicon wafers is a logical next step on the manufacturing roadmaps,” said Beccard.

The GaN-on-Si reactor was designed for high uniformity and yield. It was developed via simulations, which guided the “fundamentally new” hardware design in the 5 x 200mm configuration.

Select AIXTRON customers are using the AIX G5+, reporting fully rotationally symmetrical uniformity pattern on all five 200mm wafers, which are standard-thickness silicon substrates. These trials also show controlled wafer bow behavior.

AIXTRON provides MOCVD production technologies for semiconductor devices, such as LEDs, lasers, transistors and solar cells. For further information on AIXTRON (FSE: AIXA, ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6, DE000A1MMEF7; NASDAQ: AIXG, ISIN US0096061041), see www.aixtron.com.

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