Category Archives: LEDs

March 29, 2012 — Light emitting diode (LED) revenues are slowing down in 2012, after two years of remarkable growth, according to Strategy Analytics. LED fab equipment spending and epitaxial substrate demand in the LED sector will decline in 2012.

Equipment manufacturers like AIXTON have recently reported that inherent softness in LED demand was being masked by substantial funding from Asian governments. Despite the demand weakness, the industry is developing new products with an eye on higher-performance and lower-cost LEDs, said Asif Anwar, director, Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice. The industry is preparing for "the next wave of LED adoption."

This wave appears to be commercial and residential LED lighting, said Eric Higham, director of the Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service, who notes that the LED industry grows in cycles. “The first phase involved backlighting for small consumer devices, like mobile handsets. These solutions have evolved to meet the needs of laptop, television, electronic sign and automotive applications and the next wave for LED adoption appears to be commercial and residential lighting.”

The Strategy Analytics viewpoint, "Compound Semiconductor Industry Review January 2012: Optoelectronics, Materials & Equipment," summarizes financial, product, contract and employment announcements from major optoelectronic material, device and equipment suppliers in January 2012, categorizing by material and equipment, laser, LED and compound photovoltaic activity. The report captures announcements for companies such as AIXTRON, Soitec, Sumitomo Electric, AXT, IQE, Oclaro, Cree, Renesas Electronics, GigOptix, Avago Technologies, JDSU, Lumileds and First Solar. Access the report at http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=ReportAbstractViewer&a0=7210

March 22, 2012 — Strong demand for micro electro mechanical system (MEMS)-based sensors, CMOS image sensors, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fiber-optic laser transmitters, and power transistors enabled the optoelectronic, sensor/actuator, and discrete (OSD) semiconductors market to grow by 8% in 2011, hitting a new record revenue of $57.4 billion, according to IC Insights’ 2012 Optoelectronics, Sensors/Actuators, and Discretes (O-S-D) Report.

Collective sales growth of OSD devices (8.4%) surpassed IC growth (0.4%) in 2011, and has in 3 of past 4 years. OSDs will grow faster than the IC market in 2012 as well, for the third straight year. Collectively, OSD devices accounted for 17.9% of the world’s $320.8 billion in semiconductor sales in 2011 compared to 14.7% of total revenues in 2001. OSD products are expected to represent about 18.2% of the world’s $339.0 billion semiconductor market in 2012, based on IC Insights’ forecast. OSD revenues will grow at a 2011-2016 CAGR of 10.6%, while IC sales are expected to rise by an annual average of 9.4%.

OSD growth was not steady throughout 2011 — most product categories saw "a substantial pullback" toward the end of the year. In 2012, expect 7% growth in total OSD sales to $61.6 billion, with nearly all product categories experiencing modest growth.

Figure. Optoelectronics, sensors, and discretes (OSD) market growth. SOURCE: IC Insights.

 
2012 growth rates by segment:
Acceleration/yaw sensors +21%
laser transmitters +18%
pressure sensors +15%
magnetic-field sensors +14%
actuators (+11%)

The sensor/actuator market is projected to grow at the highest rate among the semiconductor segments in the forecast period with its CAGR being 16.4% between 2011 and 2016.  IC Insights anticipates stronger and more consistent growth in the sensor/actuator market due to higher volume shipments of these devices in consumer electronics and portable systems.  In addition, the automotive industry continues to gain strength after the 2008-2009 recession, and that is adding additional stability and growth momentum to the sensor/actuator market segment.

Solid-state lamps grew 16% in 2011, driven by high-brightness LED (HB-LED) adoption. This application will grow another 10% in 2012, hampered by price erosion from a buildup of inventories, slow LED-backlit display applications growth, and slow adoption of room-lighting products worldwide. Expect relatively slow sales growth in high-brightness white LEDs until 2014, when solid-state lights finally price in the same range as conventional lighting products in mainstream end-user markets, says IC Insights.
 
Motion-activated user interfaces, embedded automatic controls, and location-aware features in cellphones and portable electronics will continue to drive up sales of sensors built with MEMS technology. MEMS products like accelerometers and gyroscopes will products hit the $6 billion revenue mark in the next 5 years.

Power transistors and related discrete semiconductors are climbing steadily to record sales levels, shows the OSD report’s 5-year forecast, with drivers in the spread of battery-operated electronics, renewable energy systems, hybrid and electric vehicles, and the global emphasis on reductions in electricity consumption. The discretes segment, which is composed of low-priced commodity devices, actually outperformed the market growth of ICs in 2006-2011. The discretes sales volume grew at a 5-year CAGR of 5.6% compared to 3.3% CAGR in IC revenues. By 2016, power transistors are expected to account for 60% of total discrete sales.

CMOS image sensors shook off excess inventories and pushed beyond $6 billion in sales with 29% growth in 2011. CMOS image sensors are also expected to see another wave of strong growth from new imaging applications and machine-vision designs, which will include automotive safety systems and intelligent surveillance networks.

The 2012 edition of the O-S-D Report includes detailed analysis of trends and growth rates in the optoelectronics, sensors/actuators, and discretes market segments. The seventh annual edition of the report contains a detailed forecast of sales, unit shipments, and selling prices for more than 30 individual product types and categories through 2016. View http://www.icinsights.com/services/osd-report/ for more information.

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March 27, 2012 — Barclays Capital shares some take-aways from the Intertech Pira Phosphor Summit, a conference on phosphors being used in the light-emitting diode (LED) industry. The analysts touch on LED efficiency and quality from phosphors, color mixing, remote phosphors, and silicone encapsulants for LED packages.

The phosphor market is largely a game of scale and relationships, as much of the intellectual property (IP) around phosphors was created in the 1970-80s (at least for select element combinations) and protection has by now expired, Barclays notes. However, Intertech Pira Phosphor attendees saw some of the top LED makers pursuing phosphor development to improve LED efficiency and color quality.

Phosphor color mixing: Most of the LED industry uses a blue LED die topped with a yellow-phosphor-coated lens for white light emission. Leading LED makers presented new manufacturing approaches, adding a red phosphor to the yellow phosphor to increase the white light quality (the color rendering index [CRI] increases from 67 to 78).

Remote phosphors: Philips introduced a remote phosphor architecture several years ago, wherein the LED die are arranged in a bulb or module topped with a phosphor-coated ceramic plate. This avoids the heat generation, lowered efficiency, and precise match between the wavelength of the die and the composition of the phosphor of putting the phosphor inside the LED package. Remote-phosphor packaged LEDs withstand higher system-level temperatures and enable more flexibility at system-level design — mixing and matching LED die and phosphor plates to achieve consistent light output and quality.

Remote phosphor plates use more phosphor than standard coated lenses. The presenters at the Intertech Pira Phosphor Summit are working on stacking the phosphors in a remote phosphor plate (i.e. a yellow followed by a red layer) rather than mixing them together.

Silicone encapsulants: The LED industry has traditionally used epoxy encapsulants to seal the LED, despite the materials’ tendency to brown with heat exposure. Now, LED makers are switching to silicone encapsulants.

Rare earths: Rare earths compose LED phosphors: terbium, europium, and yttrium. Phosphor is expensive and is increasing in price due to rare earth supply constraints instituted in China, where 95% of rare earth production is concentrated. The industry expects shortages of these rare earths to last through at least 2015. Phosphors account for ~10-15% of rare earth volume end demand. Given expectations for supply tightness and growing demand for LED phosphors as unit shipment continue grow, phosphor prices are likely to continue to move higher. However, phosphors explicitly account for <5% of an LED chip’s total cost, higher from a BOM perspective. Some pressure could come onto LED profit margins/selling prices if phosphor costs spiral upwards.

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March 23, 2012 — About half as many metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tools for gallium nitride (GaN) light-emitting diode (LED) manufacture will ship in 2012 than last year, IMS Research reports in its most recent GaN LED Quarterly Supply and Demand report. This means 342 GaN LED MOCVD reactors in 2012 vs 654 in 2011.

The forecast is a downward revision from IMS Research’s mid-year 2011 forecast, which showed 569 GaN MOCVD tools shipping in 2012. Last month, Barclays Capital set its 2012 MOCVD shipments expectations at 300-400 tools.

Even with this severe market decline, 2012 should see 52% higher MOCVD spending than 2009 (342 reactors vs 224). Q1 and Q2 2012 will see the lowest MOCVD shipment levels, IMS Research reports. Expect a modest recovery in Q3 and Q4, as LED makers add capacity to meet demand growth in solid state general lighting applications in 2013.

The first 3 quarters of 2012 will see around the same number of MOCVD reactor orders as just 1 peak quarter, said IMS Research analyst Jamie Fox. The market peaked in Q3 and Q4 2010, with 239 and 238 GaN reactors shipments respectively.

LED TV manufacturing ramp ups energized MOCVD capex in 2009-2010. MOCVD spending remained healthy in 2011 thanks to new Chinese LED manufacturers and Chinese-Taiwanese joint ventures entering the market with government subsidies to buy MOCVD reactors. This exacerbated an emerging oversupply of LEDs, which, combined with subsidy expirations in China, stalled MOCVD shipments in late 2011-2012.

Figure. MOCVD units shipped, 2009-2012. SOURCE: IMS Research.

Several factors are to blame for the LED oversupply: weaker-than-expected demand due to global macroeconomic weakness, slower than expected growth in LED TV penetration, new backpanel designs with fewer LEDs per panel, and the small size of the LED lighting market.

China accounted for 76% of the 2011 market, reaching a peak of 92% in Q4 2011. "Apart from China, the market is extremely quiet. Without the Chinese growth, the market would have almost completely collapsed," Fox said. Big orders in China actually pushed Q4 2011 shipments up quarter-over-quarter (Q/Q). This was a short-term improvement, however; Q1 2012 will see shipments of around half of Q4’s.

Veeco was the top MOCVD supplier in 2011, although strong demand pushed Aixtron to the lead in Q4. The top MOCVD tool buyer of 2011 was Sanan. IMS Research predicts that Elec-Tech will buy the most MOCVD tools in 2012.

Despite a trend to 4" and 6" wafers globally at Tier 1 manufacturers, 2" remains in the majority due to China’s manufacturing lines.

IMS Research supplies market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry. Access reports at http://imsresearch.com.

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March 23, 2012 — SEMI is seeking papers for technical sessions and presentations at the upcoming SEMICON Europa 2012, October 9-11 in Dresden, Germany. Technical presentation abstracts are due April 30.

SEMICON Europa serves the global microelectronics industry in Europe, with new products and technologies from across the microelectronics supply chain: electronic design automation, device fabrication (wafer processing), and final manufacturing (assembly, packaging, and test). SEMICON Europa also features emerging markets and technologies, including micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), flexible electronics and displays, nano-electronics, solid state lighting (LEDs), and related technologies.

SEMICON Europa 2012 plans to host more than 100 hours of technical sessions and presentations on the design and manufacturing of semiconductors, MEMS, printed and flexible electronics, and related technologies:

• International MEMS/MST Industry Forum, 8-9 October; theme: “New Dynamics in the MEMS Industry”

• Advanced Packaging Conference (APC), 9-10 October; theme “Packaging Solutions for the New Technologies”

• 14th  European Manufacturing Test Conference (EMTC), 10-11 October; theme: “Overcoming New Test Challenges through Cooperation and Innovation”
 
Submit a 200-400 word abstract of original, non-commercial and non-published material to [email protected], indicating in the subject line of the e-mail: “TEST Call for Papers,”  “MEMS Call for Papers” or “Advances Packaging Call for Papers.” The deadline for submitting abstracts is April 30, 2012. Abstracts must clearly detail the nature, scope, content, organization, key points and significance of the proposed presentation.  The abstract should also contain the main author contact details like job title, company, address, telephone and e-mail, with a short biography.

For more information about the conference or submitting abstracts, including guidelines and requirements, visit http://www.semiconeuropa.org/ProgramsandEvents/CallforPapers, or contact Carlos Lee, SEMI Europe, Tel. +32 2 6095334. SEMI is a global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronic manufacturing supply chains.

March 23, 2012 – Marketwire — Luminus Devices, Inc., manufacturer of Big Chip LEDs, received accreditation to test light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to the LM-80 standard in its Boston-area R&D and Testing Laboratory. LM-80 is the approved method for measuring LED light sources under ISO/IEC 17025:2005, endorsed by the Department of Energy and the Illumination Engineering Society (IES).

The accreditation was bestowed under the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It included an evaluation of Luminus Devices’ technical qualifications and competence to carry out specific calibrations or tests.

The accreditation ensures accurate measurements to industry standards in LED quality and performance, said Arvind Baliga, Ph.D., VP of engineering at Luminus Devices, adding that it will help cut the company’s product development time. "The reports generated by our LM-80 testing are also critical if customers wish to seek an Energy Star certificate."

More on LED standards:

Luminus Devices, Inc. develops and manufactures high-performance, solid-state light sources. Luminus Big Chip LEDs enable major global brands who manufacture products for general lighting, signs and displays, projectors, entertainment lighting, portable lighting, medical devices and UV curing. For more information, visit www.luminus.com.

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March 23, 2012 — H.C. Starck exhibited at the FPD China show this week, noting that the majority of flat panel display (FPD) production occurs in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. The rapid growth of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens in the FPD industry punctuates the increased need for high-tech materials, the company asserts.

”We are excited about the recent industry developments in FPD,” says Dmitry Shashkov, president and CEO of H.C. Starck’s Fabricated Products business segment. “New technologies such as ultra-high resolution displays and OLED demand different performance levels from all display materials and components."

H.C. Starck provides molybdenum planar and rotary sputtering targets for thin film sputtering applications in Asia. At FPD China, the company promoted its Gen 4.5 and larger molybdenum sputtering targets with high deposition efficiency, >99.5% density, and >99.95% purity. The planar targets are as large as 14 x 1580 x 1950; rotary targets reach 2700mm long.

H.C. Starck manufactures custom rotary and planar sputter targets from molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), niobium (Nb), tungsten (W), and their alloys. The company supplies refractory metals and technical ceramics to the electronics, chemicals, automotive, medical technology, aerospace, energy technology, and environmental technology industries, as well as mechanical engineering and tool manufacturers. Learn more at www.hcstarck.com.

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March 22, 2012 — Linde LienHwa (LLH) China will be the exclusive gas supplier to Kaistar, a joint venture of LED maker Epistar Taiwan and China Electronics Corporation (CEC). LLH China will deliver bulk gases and high-purity ammonia (NH3) to Kaistar’s new light-emitting diode (LED) production facility in Xiamen, China.

Kaistar’s new facility will be constructed near to Linde’s ultra-high purity ammonia plant in Xiamen, which was built in 2010 as the first operating plant in China to produce ultra-high purity ammonia. Ultra high-purity ammonia increases LED efficiency by eliminating oxygen, which can contain molecules such as moisture. Linde’s ammonia purification plant, which has an initial capacity of 500 tonnes per year, produces ultra-high purity ammonia at 7N (99.99999%) levels.

Also read: Chinese LED subsidy update

Kaistar will use Linde’s new SPECTRA PURE high flow ammonia delivery system for high-volume manufacturing, with integral purification.

Linde LienHwa (LLH), a joint venture in mainland China between The Linde Group and LienHwa MiTAC Group of Taiwan, is dedicated to the supply of ultra-high purity gases and the delivery of engineering projects and services to the semiconductors, TFT-LCD, photovoltaic and LED industries. Linde LienHwa (LLH) Taiwan, The Linde Group’s joint venture with LienHwa MiTAC Group of Taiwan, is already one of Epistar Taiwan’s biggest suppliers of high purity gases. The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company. For more information, visit our website at www.linde.com or www.linde-gas.com/electronics.

Kaistar is a Joint Venture company by Epistar Corporation (Taiwan), China Electronics Corporation (CEC) and TPV group etc., with initial invested capital of USD 120 million.

Epistar Corporation focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing high brightness Light Emitting Diode (HB-LED) products. For further information, visit http://www.epistar.com.tw/

China Electronics Corporation (CEC) is one of the key state-owned conglomerates directly under the administration of central government, and the largest state-owned IT company in China. For further information, please visit: http://www.cec.com.cn/

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March 22, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) inaugurated its Dow Seoul Technology Center, a global research & development (R&D) center with focus on technological advances in display technologies and semiconductor-related applications.

The Dow Seoul Technology Center is located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, strategically near to semiconductor and display customers. The 23,700sq.m., 5-story site will employ approximately 300 people at capacity.

With the addition of the new R&D Center, Dow has invested more than USD$400 million in Korea over the last decade to establish advanced manufacturing sites for semiconductor, display and light-emitting diode (LED) technologies, and to further new business development in the area of electronic materials.

Also read: DOW CMP slurry boasts lower defects and better removal rates

Major areas of research and development at the Dow Seoul Technology Center include lithography, organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), display materials, and advanced chip packaging to support growth.

The site will be the global hub for Dow’s OLED research, and Dow has also equipped the site with a Nikon 193nm immersion scanner and 300mm tool cluster. Dow also has a 193nm dry scanner at its Cheonan, Korea facility.

Dow Electronic Materials is a global supplier of materials and technologies to the semiconductor, interconnect, finishing, photovoltaic, display, LED and optics markets. Dow (NYSE:DOW) is a science and technology company. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

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March 20, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Novaled AG filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its American Depositary Shares (ADS). Novaled develops and commercializes technologies and materials for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and other organic electronics.

Novaled offers OLED product manufacturers a combination of proprietary technology, materials and expertise, licensing and selling organic conductivity doping technology and materials for use in the commercial mass production of display products in the OLED industry.

Novaled has partnerships with OLED companies globally. It boasts a portfolio of 500+ patents granted and pending on OLED technologies, structures and materials.

The company was spun out of the Technical University and the Fraunhofer Institute of Dresden in 2001. It became commercially active in 2003. In late 2011, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation became a shareholder, and Novaled founders Professor Karl Leo, Dr. Jan Blochwitz-Nimoth, and Dr. Martin Pheiffer won the Deutscher Zukunftspreis in Germany.

For more information, visit www.novaled.com.

Legal statements:
Novaled intends to apply to have its ADSs listed on the NASDAQ Global Market or New York Stock Exchange. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Deutsche Bank Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Canaccord Genuity, Commerzbank, Cowen and Company and JMP Securities are acting as co-managers.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification of these securities under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of any jurisdiction outside of the United States of America. The registration statement may be accessed directly through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the IPO may be obtained, when available, from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, telephone: +1-866-471-2526, facsimile: +1-212-902-9316 or by emailing [email protected], or from Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Prospectus Department, Harborside Financial Center, 100 Plaza One, Jersey City, New Jersey 07311.

This communication has been prepared on the basis that there will be no public offering of the securities in the European Economic Area. No approved prospectus will be prepared in connection with the proposed IPO. Any offer of securities in any Member State of the EEA which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (2003/71/EC), as amended, including any relevant implementing measures to implement the Directive 2010/73/EU, (each, a "Relevant Member State") will only be made if no prospectus for offers of securities is required to be published. Accordingly, any person making or intending to make any offer in a Relevant Member State of securities which are the subject of the IPO contemplated in this communication may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for Novaled AG to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive (as amended by the Directive 2010/73/EU, to the extent such amendments have already been implemented in the Relevant Member State) in relation to such offer. Novaled AG has not authorized, and will not authorize, the making of any offer of securities in circumstances in which an obligation arises for Novaled AG to publish a prospectus for such offer.

In the United Kingdom, this communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons who (i) are investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) (the “Order”) or (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) (all such persons together being referred to as “Relevant Persons”). This communication is directed only at Relevant Persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. 

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