May 2nd, 2012
Very interesting and informative article by SEMI’s Paula Doe that looks at factors under consideration by LED manufacturers that will help to reduce costs, optimize production and increase throughput. “LED utilization rates are picking up again, with utilization in Taiwan now back up to 70 to 90 percent of capacity. Companies expect to be back to close to 100 percent in a month or two”, writes Doe, referencing figures provide by Yole Développement’s senior analyst Eric Virey.
Market economics being market economics, the number of new entrants to the LED market, bolstered by the proliferation of LED use in applications such as TV backlight and general lighting (for example, commercial, architectural and domestic lighting) has seen a rapid expansion of the LED market. As the demand for LEDs increases and manufacturing ramps to meet this demand, we have seen the entry of ‘budget’ manufacturers, which in turn is seeing the market become somewhat commoditized. This increased competition has led to lower unit price and squeezed margins, ergo manufacturers are now looking to pull back some of that margin by reducing costs and optimizing their processes.
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August 8th, 2011
Very interesting piece in EE Times today that looks at the supply of rare earth materials used in slurries for CMP and the manufacture of the phosphors used in lighting applications and LEDs. According to the report, “rare earth materials are becoming increasingly rare as dominant supplier China tightens restrictions on production, essentially cutting already short-supply exports by a third.”
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July 26th, 2011
C&EN’s lead subject in their July 11 issue was electronic chemicals. We contributed to two of the lead editorial pieces. The first article , by Alex Tullo, looks at the rise of LEDs in applications such as displays, TVs and lighting, and how manufacturers of trimethylgallium (TMG), a key raw material used in LED and HBLED production, are adding capacity to meet the boom in demand.
Tullo writes that “LEDs have spurred the precursor’s enormous growth over the past few years—25 to 30% annually by most accounts. Asif Anwar, director of the GaAs and compound semiconductor service at the consulting group Strategy Analytics, forecasts that the LED market will grow at Read the rest of this entry »
July 13th, 2011
This month, InterPV (Korea) features an article by our very own Geoff Irvine, who talks about the significant interest and growth in PV and HBLEDs as the emphasis on renewable energy sources, sustainability and reducing waste increases, and how, in step with this, manufacturers who have traditionally played in the silicon and compound semi markets have reassessed their business models and are diversifying into these new markets.
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