LED - ein kommender Riesenmarkt? - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[R-BgO]

Hallo zusammen,

nachdem ich mich einige Jahre primär mit dem PV-Markt beschäftigt habe, bin ich zuletzt sehr interessiert an der Entwicklung des LED-Markts.

LED's können Licht energetisch günstiger und deutlich langlebiger erzeugen als herkömmliche Leuchtmittel.

Bisher waren sie schlicht zu teuer und auch oft nicht leistungsfähig genug, so dass es nur Nischenanwendungen gab.

Seit einiger Zeit gibt es aber dramatische Fortschritte in Sachen Qualität, Preis und Marktvolumen so dass mein Bauchgefühl jetzt sagt, dass es hier in (naher?) Zukunft so richtig abgehen wird.

Ich bin schlicht an allem interessiert, was mit der Branche zu tun hat: Struktur der Wertschöpfungskette, einzelne Player, Technologie- und Markttrends, etc., etc.

Da es zwar eine Reihe börsennotierter Werte gibt, von denen aber sehr viele in Taiwan notiert sind und es m.E. interessant ist ein Branchenverständnis zu entwickeln, möchte ich ab jetzt lieber primär in diesem Meta-Thread posten und hoffe, dass sich wenigstens ein bisschen Diskussion entwickelt.

Wenn man mit mehreren Leuten an etwas arbeitet, kommt einfach meistens auch mehr raus.

In diesem Sinne fange ich in den nächsten Postings mal damit an, einen Überblick über das zu geben, was ich schon weiss und/oder gepostet habe...

[R-BgO]

Folgende Wertschöpfungsstufen und darin tätige Player (mit Threads) habe ich bisher ausgegraben:


Equipment (hauptsächlich MOCVD):
Aixtron Thread: Aixtron - Die Perle im Technologiebereich
Veeco Thread: VEECO - Solar- und LED-Zulieferer
GT Solar Thread: GT Solar - Weltmarktführer (?) für Ingot-Öfen
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Thread: Taiyo Nippon Sanso - macht auch MOCVD-Equipment


Ingot-/Waferhersteller (da gibt es Saphir und Siliconcarbid):
Rubicon Technologies Thread: Rubicon Technologies - LED-Zulieferer
Crystalwise Thread: Crystalwise - taiwanesischer Saphir-Ingot-Produzent
Formosa Epitaxy Thread: Formosa Epitaxy - taiwanesischer LED-Player
Tekcore Thread: Tekcore - taiwanesischer LED-Player
Crystal Applied Thread: Crystal Applied - taiwanesischer Saphir-Ingot-Maker


LED-Chips
Epistar Thread: Epistar - LED-Chips aus Taiwan
SemiLEDs Thread: Nach Bearisher Bodenlandung gute Einstiegschance
BLUGlass Thread: BLUGLASS - Neue LED Technologie Semiconductors - Chance zum Einstieg vor der Kommerzialisierung
Changelight Thread: Xiamen Changelight - einer der größten chinesischen LED-Player
Genesis Photonics Thread: Genesis Photonics - taiwanesischer LED-Player
Edison Opto


LED-Komponenten/Systeme (Packager)
Neo-Neon Thread: Neo-Neon - chinesischer LED-Hersteller
Everlight Thread: Everlight Electronics - taiwanesischer LED-Player
Unity Opto Thread: Unity Opto - LED Packager aus Taiwan


LED-Anwendungen
Zumtobel Thread: Zumtobel - LED-Sparte wächst schnell
Nexxus Lighting Thread: Nexxus Lighting - LED-Anbieter


integrierte Player
Osram Thread: OSRAM - Siemens plant IPO
Philips Thread: Royal Philips Electronics
Cree Thread: CREE: LED-Geschäft kommt in Schwung
Nichia

[R-BgO]

Für neue Player mache ich erstmal keine eigenen Threads mehr, sondern stelle sie hier rein:


BLU maker Global Lighting Technologies sets IPO price
Rebecca Kuo, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 21 July 2011]

LED backlight unit and light guide plate maker Global Lighting Technologies (GLT) will debut on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) with an initial price of NT$50 (US$1.73) on July 28. The IPO will total 15.35 million shares.

GLT is expected to post revenues of NT$4 billion in 2011 with an EPS of NT$6, according to an estimate by industry sources.

GLT's light guide plates, built using micro lens technology, target a number of applications, including LED indoor lighting, LED TVs, notebook keyboards, LED notebooks and smartphones.

GLT posted a gross margin of 28.6% in the first quarter and aims to raise the margin to 30% for all of 2011, according the company.

[R-BgO]

LED chipmaker Lextar swings back to profitability in 2Q11


Siu Han, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 21 July 2011]

LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Lextar Electronics has managed to swing back to profitability in the second quarter of 2011 generating a net profit of NT$112 million (US$3.87 million) for the quarter. For the first half of 2011, net profits totaled NT$38.06 million, translating into an EPS of NT$0.10.

Lextar also said that its gross margin rebounded to 18% in the second quarter compared to 7.96% in the first quarter, during which time the company posted a net loss of NT$74 million due to off-season effects and non-operating losses.

Revenues will continue to move upward in the third quarter, buoyed by increasing shipments of LED lighting products, said the company, noting that sales of lighting products will account for 40% of total revenues by year-end compared to 30% in the first half.

Lextar is expected to debut on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) in the third quarter with an IPO issue of 22.5 million shares priced tentatively at NT$30 per unit.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.823.333 von R-BgO am 21.07.11 13:21:50

Von den genannten Werten habe ich in absteigender Gewichtung im Depot:

Aixtron
Veeco
Cree
Zumtobel
Epistar
Rubicon
Neo-Neon
GT Solar


Zuletzt sind fast alle LED-Aktien nach Süder gerauscht; zum einen weil ein bisheriger Hauptabsatzmarkt: Hintergrundbeleuchtung für LED-Fernseher (BLU = back-light units) schwächelt, zum anderen, weil China einen riesigen Boom für die Herstellung von LED-Chips ausgelöst hat, indem es 50% Subvention auf den Kauf von MOCVD-Tools gewährt hat (deswegen auch die raketengleichen Aufstiege von Aixtron und Veeco) und die Fortführung dieses Programms (mir) nicht klar ist...

Könnte aber ein guter Einstiegszeitpunkt sein, wenn man daran glaubt, dass es erst der Beginn des Massenmarkts ist.

Andererseits stehen zu so einem frühen Zeitpunkt die Sieger noch lange nicht fest und sehr viele werden auf der Strecke bleiben (wie z.B. auch bei PV).

Umso spannender ist die Marktbeobachtung...

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.823.415 von R-BgO am 21.07.11 13:31:26

Orders for large-size LED BLUs declining in July

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 21 July 2011]


Orders for large-size LED backlight units (BLUs) from downstream TV makers so far this month have been lower than those received in June, according to sources at LED chipmakers. Since there are no signs pinpointing to a pick-up in demand momentum, most LED makers are likely to post negative growth in the third quarter.

In previous years, July has been the month for orders to increase in the LED industry. However, demand from Europe and US markets continues to be flat causing conservative inventory control at the downstream end and downward pressure on prices in the third quarter.

According to LED chipmakers, demand for LED lighting and outdoor billboards has been good, with capacity utilization rates close to full and order visibility clear to August and September. In contrast, demand for backlight modules has been weak. Although there are customers requesting quotations, most customers are demanding lower prices.

Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Epistar indicated production of blue LEDs was at full capacity in June, but the capacity utilization rate in July has been shrinking to 70% due to a sudden decrease in demand. Industry watchers estimate the demand for backlight modules in the third quarter is likely to show an on-quarter decrease.

Formosa Epitaxy confirmed orders from TV firms have been lower compared with the second quarter.

LED packaging house Everlight believes there will be slight growth in the third quarter for the LED industry. Unity Opto optimistically estimates quarterly revenues to increase by 20-30% due to increased orders of LED lighting and the market for backlight modules will climb out of the bottom.

Demand for LED TVs will be more apparent in 2012 as the price lowers to the level of CCFL-backlit TVs, added industry sources, at that time the penetration of LED TVs should finally go over 50%.

[R-BgO]

Sapphire ingots, substrates face large price drops

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 20 July 2011]


Supply shortages caused the price of sapphire ingots and substrates to increase rapidly in 2010 resulting in high gross margins and revenues for related firms. However, the tide has been turning in 2011 as prices have dropped at an amazing rate due to lack of demand for LED products.

Alpha Xtal, a Taiwan-based sapphire crystal growing firm, announced recently a merger with sapphire substrate maker Tera Xtal. The integration combined the upstream sapphire crystal growing business with downstream substrate production into one with Tera Xtal as the surviving company.

The price of sapphire ingots was once US$25/1mm at the end of 2010 pushing the price of substrates to US$30-35/unit. The market estimated the price drop to be 5-10% on quarter and 30% on year in 2011 when the price of sapphire ingots remained high in first quarter.

As the supply of sapphire ingots started to increase, the price began to lose rigidity and reached US$20/1mm in the second quarter amid weakening demand.

Industry sources pointed out international sapphire ingot suppliers have been leading the price drops and coupled with the low demand, prices have dropped 50% recently.

The merger of Tera Xtal and Alpha Xtal has some risks. In 2010, 90% of the capacity of Alpha Xtal was to supply materials to Tera Xtal when the market was short of sapphire ingots. If the merger had occurred then, it would have been beneficial as Tera Xtal would have had no concerns over lack of supply. However, the market is now uncertain and the price of sapphire ingots has been falling, the risk of recognizing impairment losses has increased and will likely harm the gross margin.

The capacity of Alpha Xtal is about 100,000mm and is expected to increase to one million mm when installation of 150 units of equipment completes in the first quarter of 2012 to become the largest sapphire crystal growing firm in Asia. The merger means that Tera Xtal may have to expand its capacity to absorb the large quantity of sapphire ingots. The capacity expansion might cause oversupply concerns in the market.

Nevertheless, vertical integration of the sapphire industry seems inevitable. The entry barriers to growing crystals have been high, hence the market has been dominated by international firms such as US-based Rubicon, Russia-based MonoCrystal and South Korea-based Sapphire Technology Company (STC). Sapphire substrate makers have been caught between LED epitaxy customers demanding lower price and international sapphire ingot supplier with rigid quotations.

Taiwan-based sapphire substrate makers have been trying to increase the self-sufficient rate of sapphire ingots this year.

[fraufinanz]

der led markt wird boomen

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.825.219 von fraufinanz am 21.07.11 17:20:15

Über welche Werte würdest Du darauf setzen?

[boheme]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.823.415 von R-BgO am 21.07.11 13:31:26

Ciao R-BgO

Interessante Idee, NUR folgende Ueberlegungen meinerseits:

Habe schon seit Mai 2010 eine "Led-Watchlist" angelegt, mit ählichen Titeln wie Du. Zualleroberst stand Aixtron, habe jedoch den ersten Hype verpasst.

Wenn ich mir nun aber die zurzeit grauenerregenden Charts (bin jedoch kein wirklicher Chartanalyst) der einzelnen Titel, vor allem auch von Aixtron, anschaue, dann werde ich den Verdacht nicht los, dass hier das Gleiche abläuft wie mit den ( vor allem Deutschen) Solartiteln, die schlichtweg nicht mehr mit der asiatischen Konkurrenz mithalten konnten.
Ich kenne jedoch (noch) keine asiatischen Led-Hersteller und halte mich vorläufig auch mit asiatischen (chinesischen) Titeln noch etwas zurück, befürchte jedoch, dass ich wieder zu lange warte, wie damals bei "Renesola".

Ich hatte sogar schon geliebäugelt, bei Aixtron mit einem Knock-out-Zerti short zu gehen, habe es aber bisher bleiben lassen.

Viele liebe Grüsse

boheme

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.825.573 von boheme am 21.07.11 18:13:30

siehe Posting #2 unten; die Mehrheit der Werte, die ich bisher gefunden habe, kommt aus Asien

[WissenMacht]

Austriamicrosystems auch noch ein Titel in dem Bereich

müsste mal die bewertungen und auftragseingänge zerpflücken um sich ein bild zu machen.

der erste LED boom ist bereits in der konsolidierung. wird aber bald wieder anlaufen. dann bestimmt richtig

[R-BgO]

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/did-the-led-indu…

[R-BgO]

neues Listing:



Global Lighting Technologies to list on TSE

Rebecca Kuo, Tainan; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 25 July 2011]


Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), a Taiwan-based maker of light guide plates used in LED backlight units (BLU), LED illuminated keyboards and indoor lighting products, will begin listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on July 28, according to the company.

GLT expects orders for light guide plates used in LED indoor lighting products from Toshiba as well as for those used in LED backlit illuminated keyboards from vendors of notebooks to increase in the third quarter of 2011, the company indicated.

In addition, GLT has been capable of making light guide plates based on micro-lens technology for use in LCD TVs of over 55-inch.

GLT has set up three production lines with total monthly capacity of 400,000 light guide plates for large-size LCD TVs at its factory in northern Taiwan. In addition, GLT will start establishment of five more production lines at its factory in Zhoushan, southern China, in August, with completion scheduled for the fourth quarter.

GLT recently issued 15.35 million new shares for sale at NT$50 (US$1.73) per share to raise additional paid-in capital.

[R-BgO]

Quereinsteiger:

XINYU CITY, China and SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- LDK Solar Co., Ltd. ("LDK Solar") (NYSE: LDK), a leading manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers and PV products, today announced a business investment of approximately $40 million to establish a new manufacturing plant in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. This new manufacturing facility will have capacity to supply two million two-inch equivalent pieces of sapphire wafers per year and be positioned to capture the growing opportunities in the LED industry.

"We are very pleased to expand our wafer manufacturing to Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province," stated Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar.

"We believe this new investment in manufacturing sapphire wafers has a great synergy with LDK Solar's crystallization and wafer engineering and manufacturing expertise, and will enhance LDK Solar's product offerings.

"We also would like to express our sincere appreciation to Nanchang City and Jiangxi Province for the support they have shown us during the planning and construction of our wafer and module plants over the past two years."

[R-BgO]

GLT expects 2H11 revenues to exceed 1H11

Rebecca Kuo, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 27 July 2011]


Light guide plate maker Global Lighting Technologies (GLT) will list on the TSE on July 28. According to GLT, the traditional boom season will enhance performance in the third quarter. Furthermore, shipments of large-size light guide plates have been growing continuously. Revenues in the second half of 2011 will be better than in the first half, added GLT.

GLT estimates 2011 revenues to reach NT$4 billion (US$139 million) with gross margin reaching 35%.

GLT reported after-tax profits of NT$257 million in 2010. The after-tax profits from first half of 2011 reached NT$269 million with EPS of NT$2.20. GLT expects increased capacity in the third and fourth quarters, hence EPS for 2011 is likely to reach NT$6.00.

According to GLT, light guide plates can be applied to products such as LED indoor lighting, TVs, and keypads for notebooks and smartphones. GLT noted that there are currently three production lines for large-size light guide plates for LED TVs in Taiwan with monthly capacity of 400,000 units. The plant in Suzhou, China will begin production in July.

With the additional capacity, total revenues for 2011 are expected to show a 30% on-year growth.

GLT plants to adopt micro-lens light guide plate technology of LED lighting to increase even brightness and decrease the number of LED chips used. GLT's main LED lighting clients are Unity Opto and Toshiba.

[dicki31785]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.834.303 von R-BgO am 23.07.11 12:26:10

ziemlich interessant der ganze Bereich und ganz interessante Artikel denke das koennte was werden...finde Aixtron und Rubicon ganz interessant...naja muss man mal gucken...gruesse CW

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.852.655 von dicki31785 am 27.07.11 15:24:33

lange nicht gelesen; schön Dich hier zu haben...

Aixtron (siehe auch #5) ist bisher meine größte LED-Posi

[R-BgO]

Taiwan Bureau of Energy responds to criticism from Everlight chairman

Bryan Chuang, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 28 July 2011]


Weak demand for LED TVs has been causing stress to LED firms. Robert Yeh, chairman of Everlight, recently pointed out the lack of supporting policies from Taiwan's government for the LED industry, despite the fact Taiwan produces the largest quantity of LED products in the world. Taiwan's Bureau of Energy from Ministry of Economic Affairs visited Yeh to explain government policies and indicated a further NT$120 million (US$4 million) subsidy to the LED industry in 2011.

Yeh recently criticized the government's green energy policies that passed in October 2009, which allocated NT$16,687 million to the solar industry and NT$3,975 million to the LED industry. Yeh pointed out that it is more expensive to provide subsidies for the solar industry to generate 1 KWh of electricity a day. For much less, the government can invest into the LED industry that conserves up to 24KWh of energy a day.

According to Bureau of Energy, the limited budget currently provides subsidies of NT$2.5 million, maximum of 100 LED street lamps, for every city and township. Even the procurement volume is not great, the government hopes citizens can also participate to conserve energy by using LED lights.

As for the large difference between the subsidies for solar and LED industries, the Bureau of Energy indicated that to compare the two is like comparing apples with oranges as the developments of the two industries require very different strategies.

The Bureau of Energy noted the two directions to increase domestic demand for LEDs. The first is outdoor lightings. There are several policies such as replacing street signal lights and street lamps with LED products. The second direction is to promote the usage of LED products for indoor lightings. The policies promote government institutions to procure energy-saving products with government certifications. The additional NT$120 million of subsidies will be used to promote the adoption of highly-efficient LED street lamps in hope to increase the overall quality of Taiwan's LED street lamps in order to compete in the global market.

The Bureau of Energy will also promote the standardization of street lamps and unification of power supply specifications.

[R-BgO]

GlacialLight's LED panel lights have lowered customer's lighting bill by sixty-one percent

Press release [Monday 1 August 2011]


July 26, 2011, Taipei, Taiwan – GlacialLight, a sub-division of the experienced technology manufacturer GlacialTech Inc., is pleased to announce that their well-designed, environmentally-friendly lines of LED lighting products are being used in numerous applications around the world and providing users with energy-saving light of the highest quality. In the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, Marrons Cake Factory has greatly benefited by replacing their traditional T8 tube lights with GlacialLight's 595 x 595mm LED Panel Lights. Since the switch, Marrons has seen a 61% reduction in energy used for lighting, as well as better light quality. Like Marrons, consumers around the world, using GlacialLight's products, are reporting energy savings and increases in lighting quality.

With no perceptible flickering, GlacialLight's excellently designed LED Panel Lights have allowed Marrons Cake Factory to save money because of their exceptional lifespans and low power-consumption levels. The factory has replaced 720 traditional T8 tube lights (180 sets of four tubes) with a much lower number of GlacialLight LED Panel Lights. 120 GlacialLight Panel Lights now provide Marrons employees with better light quality while saving the company money. With employees enjoying better light quality and management enjoying bottom-line savings, everyone at Marrons has benefited.

GlacialLight is excited to see their product lines being used to make other businesses more successful and at the same time benefiting society as a whole by offering lighting products that have longer lifetimes and higher energy-saving levels, as compared to traditional lighting products, and that emit no harmful UV or IR radiation and contain no hazardous materials such as mercury.

Click here for more information on how consumers are using GlacialLight's products.

Excellent LED lighting products you can trust
Design of LED lighting products is based on three core technologies including electrical design (LED drivers), mechanical design (cooling devices), and optical design (lamp holders), respectively performed by GlacialPower, GlacialTech, and GlacialLight in the GlacialTech family. With the three core technologies in hand, GlacialTech has integrated all the resources required for exceptional designs and manufactures excellent LED lighting products you can trust.

Advantages and benefits of LED lighting compared to traditional lighting
1) Directional lighting: Ideal for flashlights/torches and spotlights
2) No warm-up time in cold environments: LEDs don't require warm-up time like conventional CFLs
3) No harmful radiation and no hazardous metals: LEDs don't emit harmful radiation such as Ultraviolet or Infrared emitting halogen lamps and don't contain hazardous metals such as mercury contained in mercury lamps
4) Extremely long lifetimes free users from frequent bulb replacement
5) Extremely small carbon footprints: An environmentally-friendly technology

[R-BgO]

neuer Player:

MPI expanding production capacity of LED-packaging machines

Ingrid Lee, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 3 August 2011]


Probe card maker MJC Probe (MPI) is constructing a new factory aiming to ramp up its production capacity of LED-packaging machines, according to the company.

The new factory is to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2011 and will initially roll out 100-150 LED-packaging machines a month, in addition to current monthly production of 300 units, according to the company.

However, MPI expects its sales of probe cards to go up or down in a range of 5% sequentially in the third quarter of 2011 compared to a 10-15% growth enjoyed previously in the third quarter. The company shipped 800,000 probe cards in the second quarter, down from 880,000 units shipped in the first.

For the third quarter, MPI looks to a growth of 5-10% in revenues as shipments of LED sorting, probing and packaging machines will make up the slow sale in the probe card line, the company noted.

[R-BgO]

Craton Equity Partners leads $60 million investment in Bridgelux
Date Announced: 03 Aug 2011

-- New Equity Financing to Accelerate Meeting Global Demand for LED Lighting


LOS ANGELES -- Craton Equity Partners, Southern California's leading clean tech private equity fund, today announced it has led a $60 million round in Series E financing for Bridgelux Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of LED lighting technologies.

Existing financial and strategic investors also participated in the round, including VantagePoint Capital Partners, DCM, El Dorado Ventures, Novus Energy Partners, Invus Group, VTS, Harris & Harris Group and Passport Capital among others.

Bridgelux will use the new funding to extend its leadership position in the solid state lighting market by accelerating research and development in key areas of strategic focus for the company, including GaN-on-silicon development and LED chip-on-board architecture.

"We are thrilled to partner with Bridgelux at this important point in the company's growth trajectory as it advances new lighting technologies that are more efficient yet lower-cost," said Kevin Wall, managing partner, Craton Equity Partners.

"At Craton we continually strive to support standout sector leaders, like Bridgelux, that are positioned to address today's global clean energy challenges through the application of new technologies to massive markets."

"Craton Equity Partners is a top growth stage investor in clean tech, and we welcome their support as we work to expand the market for solid state solutions for general lighting - which we expect to triple this year to over $3 billion," said Bill Watkins, Bridgelux's Chief Executive Officer.

"This additional capital will accelerate our breakthrough development efforts in producing commercial grade LEDs on silicon and in creating new packaging solutions for our LED chips. We think our proprietary innovation in both of these areas is critical to driving market adoption."

David Asarnow, principal, Craton Equity Partners, will join the Bridgelux board as an observer.

About Craton Equity Partners

Craton is Southern California's largest exclusive clean tech private equity fund. Craton was recently announced as one of the top ten California clean technology funds by PE Hub. Craton focuses its investment strategies on a diverse set of subsectors from retail alternative fuels, to wastewater treatment technology, recycling and solid state lighting to a series of smart grid and energy efficiency technologies. Craton is located in Los Angeles, California. For more information visit www.cratonep.com.

About Bridgelux

Bridgelux is a leading developer and manufacturer of technologies and solutions transforming the $40 billion global lighting industry into a $100 billion market opportunity. Based in Livermore, California, Bridgelux is a pioneer in solid-state lighting (SSL), expanding the market for light-emitting diode (LED) technologies by driving down the cost of LED lighting systems. Bridgelux's patented light source technology replaces traditional technologies (such as incandescent, halogen, fluorescent and high intensity discharge lighting) with integrated, solid-state lighting solutions that enable lamp and luminaire manufacturers to provide high performance and energy-efficient white light for the rapidly growing interior and exterior lighting markets, including street lights, commercial lighting and consumer applications. With more than 500 patent applications filed or granted worldwide, Bridgelux is the only vertically integrated LED manufacturer and developer of solid-state light sources that designs its solutions specifically for the lighting industry. For more information about the company, please visit www.bridgelux.com.

[dicki31785]

habe mir mal ein paar Aixtron zugelegt...heute ist auch RBCN mit earnings dran...die Aktien sind sowas von ausgebombt...naja schaun wir mal...mfg CW

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.891.351 von dicki31785 am 04.08.11 13:22:02

habe mir heute ein paar Rubicon geholt; sie scheinen weniger vom Preisrückgang betroffen, weil sie mehr große Wafer machen.

weiß leider nicht genau, inwiefern die möglicherweise in andere Zielmärkte als die kleinen gehen...

[dicki31785]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.900.741 von R-BgO am 05.08.11 14:20:02

aber der Outlook war schon recht bitter habe mir noch nicht den CC angehoert...weisst du warum Rev guidance so "light" war...gruesse CW

[R-BgO]

http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/MailHome.asp?datePublish=2…

[R-BgO]

China-based Tsinghua Tongfang plans to expand MOCVD capacity

Jessie Lin, Nantong; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 9 August 2011]


China-based Tsinghua Tongfang held a ceremony for the beginning of production at its semiconductor and LED base in Nantong, China on August 8. The completion of the base, which includes organizing the property, building the plant, and beginning production of LEDs took only one year. It shows the determination of China-based firms to develop the LED industry mapped out by China's 12th five-year plan.

There are currently six MOCVD sets in Beijing, according to Tsinghua Tongfang, and its plans to add another 100 units at the Nantong plant in two phases. Tsinghua Tongfang indicated the MOCVD machines are mainly from Veeco and Aixtron.

The production of LED wafers will begin with 2-inch units, and the company plans to kick-off 4-inch production in the second quarter of 2012, according to Tsinghua Tongfang. The first phase of investment in Nantong will reach CNY3 billion (US$466 million) with CNY1 billion for MOCVD crystal growing furnaces and CNY2 billion for LED wafer production.

According to Tsinghua Tongfang, the LED department will bring in revenues of CNY2.1-2.3 billion in 2011 with LED chips contributing CNY300-400 million in revenues. The Nantong base will contribute around CNY100 million and applications will bring in close to CNY2 billion. LED TV backlight modules account for 65% of applications, added Tsinghua Tongfang.

Tsinghua Tongfang hopes to increase annual capacity of LED TV backlight modules to five million units from the current 3.5-4 million units by the second quarter of 2012.

As for the LED lighting market, Tsinghua Tongfang pointed out the importance of cost. For the market for LED light bulbs to grow effectively, cost needs to be lower to stimulate demand.

Indoor lighting will likely to grow in places that use lights for a long period of time. Which means the total cost of using LED lights in such areas will be lower than the cost of using traditional lighting, said Tsinghua Tongfang.

China's LED streetlights and tunnel lights will become the world's largest regional market for LED outdoor lights, Tsinghua Tongfang concluded.

[dicki31785]

LED Manufacturers Navigate Near-Term Headwinds for Long-Term Profits
The Bedford Report Provides Equity Research on Cree and Rubicon Technology

NEW YORK, NY, Aug 11, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The LED market is experiencing significant headwinds this year as reports from DIGITIMES argue that low orders in July and decreasing growth and prices are hindering the sector's recovery. Long term forecasts remain positive, however, as several countries continue to push for the energy efficiency LEDs offer. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the semiconductor industry and provides stock research on Cree, Inc. CREE +6.90% and Rubicon Technology, Inc. RBCN +7.98% . Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.bedfordreport.com/CREE

www.bedfordreport.com/RBCN

The current downturn in the LED market is largely due to reduced prices for LED-based TV backlight and lighting systems. This is because of inventory adjustments, and increased competition from more backlight makers entering the LED lighting makers.

Rubicon Technology CEO Raja Parvez said in a statement that "prolonged weakness in the LED backlighting market is now having an impact" on demand. Parvez says that current pricing for two through four inch diameter cores is "down as much as 60 percent sequentially."

The Bedford Report releases investment research on the semiconductor equipment and materials industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at www.bedfordreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous analyst reports and industry newsletters.

In the long term, the industry's prospects remain bright. Reports from Frost & Sullivan claim that the light emitting diode (LED) market is primed to grow explosively in the next several years. The study estimated that the market, which earned revenues of almost half a billion in 2010, could reach as high as $2 billion in 2017.

Earlier this week Cree reported a fiscal fourth quarter profit of $19.8 million, or 18 cents a share, down from $52.8 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. For the first-quarter the company forecast profit of 25 cents to 28 cents a share, excluding certain expenses, with revenue between $245 million and $255 million.

The Bedford Report provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. The Bedford Report has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned publicly traded companies. The Bedford Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at http://www.bedfordreport.com/disclaimer .

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LEDs may have reached "tipping point" with electrical contractors
10 Aug 2011


A survey of 700 readers of Electrical Contractor magazine showed a majority of contractors believe LEDs are either now ready to replace incandescent and fluorescent lamps or will be ready by the Fall of 2012.
Electrical contractors may be reaching the point where specification and installation of LED lighting, where appropriate, is becoming the rule and not the exception.

Results of a survey of 700 readers of Electrical Contractor magazine indicate a majority of electrical contractors believe LED lamps are now ready or will be ready within a year to replace incandescent and fluorescent lamps.

The publisher of Electrical Contractor, John Maisel, said, “The more we educate [electrical contractors] on the technology and opportunities in the multibillion dollar LED market that’s growing more than 30 percent per year, the greater value they bring to their customers." Electrical Contractor, which reaches over 85,000 electrical contractors in the US, is published by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) in Bethesda, MD.

Among those readers who responded to the survey, 33 percent of electrical contractors said LEDs are ready to replace incandescent lamps, compared with 23 percent saying LEDs are ready to replace CFLs and 19 percent claiming LEDs are ready to replace fluorescent lamps (see figure).

Market readiness for LED replacement
An additional 33 percent of electrical contractors believe LEDs will be ready to replace these traditional lamp sources within the next two years. The remaining respondents see LEDs becoming more viable later, or they “don’t know” when viability will occur. Of those who said LEDs were not ready or they didn’t know, 19 percent said that high cost was a factor, while 10 percent mentioned needed improvements in performance.

The survey was conducted by the firm Renaissance Research & Consulting (New York, NY) in the Fall of 2010. Participants included contractors working on residential projects, commercial/industrial/institutional (CII) projects and non-building projects (see figure).


All things to all people?
Lighting is an inherent part of the electrical contractor’s job. As such, it comes as little surprise that 97 percent of respondents indicated they work with indoor or outdoor fixtures (on a combined basis), while 95 percent perform work with lamps, 93 percent with ballasts and 85 percent with controls.

A substantial portion, between 45 and 60 percent of electrical contractors, perform all functions on the job including buying, specifying and installing lighting products. Ninety percent of contractors perform some lamp work, while about 60 percent work on all aspects, meaning they specify and install lamps.

Regarding lamp types, contractors mentioned fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps the most, while LEDs actually were mentioned the least. However, the report says “ECs are proportionately more involved in LED specification than with other lamp types.”

LEDs on building projects
Beyond this recent survey, Electrical Contractor featured a special supplement entitled The LED Revolution, with its July issue. With articles addressing initial cost and payback, dimming and required drivers, compatibility with controls and LED standards, the issue provides a useful overview to contractors and distributors.

Out of the readership survey came important tips for electrical contractors. For instance, contractors should specify LED luminaires with well-designed optics to ensure the light reaches the intended surfaces. Controls are considered the largest contributor to improved efficiency through sophisticated addressable ballasts along with daylight and motion sensors.

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...gefährlich für RBCN & Co.?:

Bridgelux hits 160 lm/W in lab with LEDs produced using GaN on Silicon
09 Aug 2011


Using Gallium Nitride on 8-in Silicon wafers, Bridgelux is achieving LED efficacy in the lab on par with LEDs produced on sapphire or silicon carbide wafers.

Bridgelux announced that it has fabricated LEDs in the lab using Gallium-on-Silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology that delivers 160 lm/W (cool white) and 125 lm/W (warm white) efficacy. The performance realized using 8-in wafers is similar to the best efficacy demonstrated in the lab by leading LED vendors using traditional sapphire or silicon carbide wafers, and Bridgelux believes the GaN-on-Si approach will ultimately yield a "75% inmrovement in cost" for LED components that will in turn reduce the cost of solid-state-lighting (SSL) lamps and luminaires.

The new LEDs deliver a cool-white CCT of 4350K and a warm white CCT of 2940K. The warm white devices have a CRI of 80. The company said that its 1.5-mm blue LEDs can deliver wall-plug efficiency as high as 59% at 350 mA – and says that exceeds any published values from other vendors. The company also claims waveform uniformity of sigma 6.8 nm with a median wavelength of 455 nm.


Getting from the lab to production
Of course the Bridgelux announcement is focused on lab prototypes and production is perhaps two years away. Still it shows progress. Back in March, the company announced the demonstration of 135 lm/W LEDs. Since, the company was able to both boost efficacy considerably and demonstrate that performance on 8-in substrates that are, in large part, a key to lower-cost components.

Bridgelux VP of global marketing Jason Posselt said, "It's important that we demonstrated this on an 8-in wafer." Posselt also believes that Bridgelux has largely closed the performance gap relative to sapphire-based LEDs. Bridgelux's silicon-based LEDs appeared to be 12 to 18 months behind state-of-the-art LEDs in terms of efficacy at the public launch of the company's GaN-on-Si program.

But Posselt acknowledged the challenge that remains in terms of commercializing the technology. The company is building wafers that yield as many as a thousand good die now and ultimately they need to produce 20,000 good die on an 8-in wafer.


Silicon cost advantages
The allure of silicon-based LEDs is purely cost and the savings come in two primary areas. First, the semiconductor industry has the proven ability to manufacture low-cost large silicon wafers. Silicon would both lower baseline wafer cost and pave a smoother transition to larger wafer sizes. Long Yang, vice president of chip technology at Bridgelux, noted that you can get the equivalent number of LEDs from 3 8-in silicon wafers that you get from 42 2-in sapphire wafers today.

The second set of savings come in the back-end of the manufacturing process where fully-depreciated, and fully-automated silicon fabs stand ready to fabricate LEDs. Posselt said "Typical LED fabs are very labor intensive, and not automated like silicon fabs." And those automated fabs are ready to handle 8-in wafers and the far greater number of die on those wafers.

Of course there are technical challenges that stand in the way of a silicon transition as well as skeptics of the economic story. In an informal poll of people at the recent Semicon trade show, many pointed out that a move to silicon doesn't impact the most-expensive part of an LED factory – the MOCVD reactor. Bridgelux's Yang said that the MOCVD reactor represents 40% of the capital expenditure in an LED fab line. He believes there is substantial savings to be had in utilizing automated semiconductor systems for the remainder of the manufacturing process.


Challenges to silicon wafers
Among the challenges to GaN-on-Si technology is the thermal mismatch between the silicon wafer and the GaN layers. That mismatch can lead to cracking in the GaN layers and bowed wafers either during the epitaxial growth process or later at room temperature. Bridgelux says it has solved that problem with a proprietary buffer layer that delivers crack-free "virtually flat" 8-in wafers.

When asked about the remaining challenges, Long mentioned two important milestones and a significant challenge. Yang said, "We need to convert our process to be fully 8-in compatible." He said that Bridgelux is well along in that effort and would complete it soon. The second milestone will be achieving better uniformity across the wafer in the MOCVD reactor, followed by large runs of wafers in pilot production."
Transferable recipe

Long sees the primary challenge as developing a transferable process or recipe. He noted that even the same model of MOCVD reactor have inherent differences. And Bridgelux must develop a recipe that first is usable across the same MOCVD model and subsequently to different reactor models from the same vendor and later to reactors from different vendors. But the company could go into production once it can reliably transfer the process across the same model MOCVD reactor from a single vendor. Bridgelux is working with a single unnamed MOCVD reactor vendor for now.

Assuming, Bridgelux overcomes the technical hurdles, Yang sees other advantages in the GaN-on-Si technology. He said "It's easier to control variations when you load wafers into equipment with robots." Basically he is saying that robotics will yield more consistent components and better yield. Certainly LED manufacturing on sapphire and silicon carbide is evolving toward more automated processes, but that takes time and money.

Meanwhile those silicon fabs stand ready and Bridgelux hopes to partner with a company that can bring expertise in silicon-manufacturing to the table. Posselt asked, "How to we bridge the gap between the opto LED and the semiconductor space?" Presumbaly the answer is a partner that for now is either unidentified or unnamed.

Bridgelux CTO Steve Lester is clearly confident in the progress. He said, "We are very pleased with the pace of our progress in this area, and we will continue to aggressively develop our GaN-on-Si processes in order to drive the migration of LED commercial production from sapphire to silicon substrates. Our first commercially available GaN-on-Si products remain on schedule for delivery to the market within the next two years."

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China makes LED investments coming and going

August 10, 2011 -- SEMI released its China LED Fab Industry Report, summarizing China's rapidly growing light-emitting diode (LED) industry: capital and equipment spending, fab capacity, sales rankings of Chinese LED manufacturers, etc. Subsidies for China fab projects are included, along with new LED fab projects, names of China's sapphire wafer suppliers, and company profiles of China's top LED manufacturers.

China has develped government support infrastructure for LED manufacturing and consumption. China is the world's leading consumer of solid state lighting and the leading producer of LCD TVs (the main driver for HB-LED consumption).

LED production investments have rapidly escalated in China. Last year, SEMI recorded explosive growth on equipment spending from LED fabs globally, jumping from $606 million in 2009 to $1.78 billion in 2010. Gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxial wafer production capacity in China will grow over 300% in just 2 years (2010-2012), hitting 1,282,000 wafers per month (2" equivalents). Regional equipment spending shows an aggressive investment trend from China. Propped up by subsidy programs from local governments in China, new LED fab projects have blossomed in the past two years in China. China now accounts for almost 50% of overall equipment spending.

Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) tool installations are growing from a cumulative total 323 tools in 2010 to over 1000 tools by the end 2012. 10 new sapphire substrate projects are beginning in China to catch up with the production rise and non-Chinese supplier bases.

LEDs could go from a $10 billion (2010) industry to over $100 billion worldwide by 2020.

The China LED Fab Industry Report covers LED wafer and sapphire substrate manufacturing projects, government incentive programs, MOCVD tool forecasts, and emerging China-based manufacturing. The report is prepared by SEMI China-based market analysts and is based on the SEMI Opto/LED Fab Watch and Forecast service that monitors LED capital spending at over 160 fabs worldwide, and other sources. Purchase the report at http://www.semi.org/node/38486

SEMI is a global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries. For more information, visit www.semi.org.

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Strategy Analytics: LED Manufacturers Integrate Functions in New Products; Bridgelux, Molex, Luminus Devices, T-Opto and Cree Introduce LED Arrays and Modules

August 16, 2011

Boston, MA -- To increase ease of use and functionality for consumers, LED manufacturers are developing products that integrate functions like multiple diodes for higher output, ballasts, drivers, voltage converters and interfaces for dimmers. The recently published Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service (GaAs) viewpoint, "Compound Semiconductor Industry Review May 2011: Optoelectronics, Materials and Equipment," captures the product, technology, contract and financial announcements for companies such as AIXTRON, RIBER, Cree, Philips Lumileds, GigOptix, EMCORE, Opnext, JDSU, Oclaro and GT Solar for May 2011.


"LEDs are proving to be a more energy efficient alternative for a growing number of lighting applications," noted Eric Higham, Director of the Strategy Analytics GaAs and Compound Semiconductor Technologies Service. "LED manufacturers are improving market penetration by increasing the functionality of their products and making them easier for consumers to use."

Asif Anwar, Director in the Strategy Analytics Strategic Technologies Practice added, "There is strong activity at all levels of the optoelectronics supply chain, from the companies that make processing equipment, to manufacturers of LEDs, laser diodes and optoelectronic devices to photovoltaic component and equipment manufacturers."

This viewpoint summarizes May 2011 financial, product, contract and employment announcements from major optoelectronic material, device and equipment suppliers. It categorizes these announcements by material and equipment, laser, LED and compound photovoltaic activity.

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Rusnano to buy stake in Monocrystal

The Russian State Nanotechnology Corporation (Rusnano) plans to acquire a stake in Stavropol-based synthetic sapphire manufacturer Monocrystal.

Rusnano will invest 1.18 billion rubles in the project, the company said in a press release.
The Corporation has not disclosed the size of the stake it plans to buy.

Monocrystal tried to make an IPO on the MICEX and the RTS in the fall of 2010, but it was forced to cancel the placement because of a lack of bids. The price range was set at $15-21 per share, which corresponds to $923 million - $1.29 billion for the entire company. Monocrystal planned to place 22% of raised charter capital totaling from $202.5 million to $283.5 million.

"We hope Rusnano investment in the project will strengthen the domestic electronic materials production market, speed up development of LED technology in Russia and enable Monocrystal to occupy a stronger position on foreign markets," the release cited Rosnano Managing Director Sergei Polikarpov as saying.

Monocrystal occupied around 25% of the world's sapphire market in 2010 and around 15% of the market for aluminum pastes for solar energy. Among its main customers were Epistar, LG, Seoul Optodevice, Optogan and others.

Monocrystal posted net profit to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) of 1.7 billion rubles in 2010, compared with 198 million rubles in 2009. Revenue grew to 4.7 billion rubles from 1.6 billion.

Monocrystal is part of Vladimir Polyakov's Energomera Concern.

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http://www.electroiq.com/articles/sst/2011/08/led-forecast-a…

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MICHAEL KANELLOS: JULY 28, 2011
Bridgelux Funding Hits $180 Million
Silicon LEDs could be the key. Is it the most ever in lighting?


Bridgelux, which makes light emitting diodes (LEDs) and other technology for solid state lights and bulbs, has raised $60 million in a fifth round of funding, according to an SEC filing.

The company to date has raised $180 million and it might add $20 million more to the current round. That's not the most ever raised by a green technology company. Solyndra raised over $1 billion from its investors. BrightSource Energy has raised $530 million. Fisker Automotive has raised over $1 billion and delivered one car. Building factories takes quite a bit of cash.

Nonetheless, Bridgelux’s total might be the most ever raised by a lighting company. Some will see it as a positive -- Bridgelux now has funds to grow. Others will ask what they’ve been doing with the cash they got earlier. Competitor Luminus Devices has raised $172 million since 2002, but booming sales have always seemingly been just around the corner. (In the overall efficiency market, though, the top fundraiser is probably still GridPoint, which raised over $200 million for something or other.)

Bridgelux faces an explosive, yet challenging market. Solid state lighting is expected to grow rapidly, fueled by lower prices, higher electricity bills, regulations and efficiency initiatives. Lights represent the last vestige of the vacuum tube era. Even better, some lights can pay for themselves in saved electricity in a few years or less.

The number of manufacturers and manufacturing capacity, however, has swelled. Vizio -- the company that brought LCD TVs to Costco -- will soon come out with LED bulbs. Meanwhile, the price of LEDs -- the little chip inside of solid state bulbs that produces lights -- has declined.

Just look at the tale of woe that is SemiLEDs, a Taiwanese LED maker with some interesting recycling technology. It went public in December for $17 a share. Many Wall Street analysts, on cue, gushed enthusiastically.

Since then, SemiLEDs has reported consecutive losses and the stock wallows at around $5.

At the same time, the established manufacturers have begun to expand their portfolios to offer complete lighting solutions. Cree, which makes LEDs, earlier this year showed off a relatively inexpensive LED-powered ceiling light for offices. People are still talking about it.

Low prices, high manufacturing costs, Asian competitors, uncertain regulations: it sort of sounds like solar, doesn’t it? Lighting will generate billions in revenue, but who wins and loses remains unclear. (Interestingly both the CEOs of Luminus and Bridgelux told us in 2009 that we’d see household LED bulbs in the $25 to $50 range in two years. Correct they were: Philips and Lighting Science sell 40 to 75 watt equivalent bulbs for $18 to $40.)

Bridgelux has landed deals with customers like Tyco and has amassed an array of components that make putting together a solid state bulb or light fixture much cheaper than normal. (The picture shows packaged LEDs from Bridgelux.) But the company also doesn’t have nearly the same factory capacity or reach right now as someone like Osram, Cree or Philips.

The future of the company increasingly will be tied to its success (or not) with silicon LEDs. Right now, LEDs are made by building gallium nitride crystals on sapphire or silicon carbide substrates.

Growing GaN crystals on silicon substrates would be much cheaper, cutting the cost of individual white-light LEDs from 35 cents to 45 cents to 5 cents. More importantly, there are thousands of fabrication facilities around the world designed to handle silicon wafers, CEO Bill Watkins told us earlier this year.

Bridgelux's early silicon LEDs, in fact, were made in an aged fab in Silicon Valley.

"This is the holy grail. This is why all of the big semi guys like Samsung, LG and Toshiba are looking at LEDs," he told us a few months ago. "The problem for the semi guys is that they don't know how to do it yet."

Bridgelux hopes to produce these chips in two to three years. It also may license and/or enter into joint ventures with conglomerates to achieve scale quickly.

Is it easy? No -- which makes this a big 'if.' Growing the layers on silicon is challenging. Another problem: silicon and gallium nitride heat up and cool off at different rates, and extreme temperatures are required in the growing process. This often results in cracking. Bridgelux has inserted thin films between the gallium nitride and silicon to buffer this.

Watkins said he began to accelerate the silicon process when he became CEO, but that the work has progressed faster than expected. (He told Greentech Media in December that the company was working on silicon LEDs.)

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LED market shows slight growth in 2Q11

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 22 August 2011]


Low demand for LED TVs and the decreasing number of LED chips used per device have been causing the LED market to grow just 12.4% on quarter compared to first-quarter 2011. LED market value in the second quarter 2011 reached NT$22.734 billion (US$783 million), showing a 9.1% on-year decrease. Growth in the third quarter is likely to be limited due to gloomy demand of LED backlight modules for LED TVs, according to research firms.

The debt crisis in Europe and the US has been causing weak consumer demand, hence the growth rate of backlight modules for LED TVs has been lower than expected. Many LED firms have been decreasing 2011 revenue forecasts and increasing the development of LED lighting products.

Firms such as Samsung, LG, Everlight, Lextar and Unity Opto have been eager to increase their share in the LED lighting market, while China-based LED packaging houses and chipmakers have also been developing lighting applications.

Despite the large potential of the LED lighting market, pricing remains high. Only the Japan market has been showing increasing growth in demand. Main markets such as North America, Europe and China have been showing slight growth.

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MOCVD shipments stall, but restart in 2012

August 18, 2011 -- A rising light emitting diode (LED) surplus surpressing prices, slower LCD/LED panel growth, a slow-to-ramp LED lighting market, tighter credit in China, and other factors are converging to stall out metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) equipment installs in 2011. Once the LED oversupply is drained off, LED manufacturers will kickstart capacity expansions, likely in 2012, according to IMS Research.

IMS Research has released the MOCVD chapters of its 300-page Quarterly LED Supply and Demand Report, which reveals significant shifts in MOCVD adoption for LED manufacturing. In Q2 2011, GaN MOCVD shipments were down year-over-year for the first time since 2008 (falling 14% if Veeco's MaxBright reactors were excluded as Veeco has not yet recognized revenues for this new tool in according with GAAP; falling 2% if MaxBright is included).

As the LED oversupply grows, LED manufacturers are holding off on many MOCVD system installs in 2011, causing IMS Research to downgrade its MOCVD shipment forecast significantly.

IMS Research expects 833 reactors to ship in 2011, lowering its 2011 GaN MOCVD forecast by 24%. 2011 will see 4% growth over 2010 (see figure).

This slower MOCVD growth should help alleviate the LED oversupply, which in turn could stabilize pricing. Near-term, LED makers will see a profitability boost. This, of course, will kickstart capacity expansions again, so expect more tool sales in 2012.

Figure. 2009-2012 GaN MOCVD results and forecast. SOURCE: Q3 2011 IMS Research Quarterly GaN LED Supply/Demand Report.
In addition to restarted expansions, 2012 should see 15 new Chinese LED manufacturers stocking fabs. 569 GaN MOCVD tools will ship, down 36% vs. 2011, but higher than previously expected and "healthy," according to IMS Research. The new LED makers are a major capex driver, accounting for 110 of the 569 tools. Tool shipments are forecasted quarterly and identified by customer and wafer size.

Taiwan and Korea, which are in the low double-digits for 2011 market share, will challenge China's MOCVD tool demand in Q4 2012, shrinking China's MOCVD demand to 61% of the total market. Epistar is expected to be the #1 MOCVD customer in 2012 followed by San’an, GCL Opto, SemiLEDs and Genesis Photonics. The report also identifies two new MOCVD manufacturers who are expected to win business from 2H 2011.

LED device revenues should hit $10B in 2012, up 15% from 2011's $8.7B, with packaged LEDs for lighting up 35% to $2.3B.

Q2 2011 updates:
-- 9 of the top 10 MOCVD buyers in Q2 2011 have operations in China. Lextar was the top customer.
-- Aixtron held its lead in GaN MOCVD shipments. Including MaxBright reactors, Aixtron’s advantage slips to 49% vs. 48% for Veeco, the closest it has ever been between the two competitors.
-- The 4" shipment share rose more than 50% while the 6" share more than doubled -- larger wafer sizes are boosting output at lower costs.

IMS Research's Quarterly GaN LED Supply and Demand Report also forecasts LED demand by application through 2016, panel and LED panel shipments by supplier, number of LEDs/panel by supplier by size, LED and MOCVD supply/demand through 2016, sapphire supply and demand and sapphire pricing. IMS Research is a leading independent supplier of market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry. Learn more at www.ledmarketresearch.com.

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ein bisschen basics:



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

Meredith Courtemanche, digital media editor


May 18, 2011 -- Iain Black, VP WW Manufacturing Engineering, Technology & Innovation, Philips Lumileds, presented "LED Market & Technology" in The ConFab's final session, which focused on emerging semiconductor technologies.

LEDs are fundamentally semiconductors, Black notes. Just like semiconductors, the die is integrated into a package (which is designed to increase illumination), then assembled into an array, and eventually an end device.

LED manufacturing starts with indium gallium nitride (InGaN) epitaxy growth on a sapphire wafer (2" to 6"). The epi step is accomplished using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The LED industry is highly interested in using silicon in the future as a substrate. Wafer processing (lithography, etc.) forms the LED, then phosphor is applied at the packaging stage. LEDs are tested, much like semiconductors, before array assembly. Phosphors create LED light colors.

Like in chips, different device architectures are used to form LEDs. Black described vertical thin film devices, which are lower cost but with limited options; lateral die; and thin film flip chips on ceramic substrates, which are AC compatible.

Unlike chip manufacturing, the supplier base is fairly small, Black said, with 2 dominant suppliers for MOCVD tools, for example. And processes lack the level of automation seen in the semi chip fab industry. Wafer size transitions are occuring rapidly, and thicknesses also vary. The forefront of LED fab, much like chip fab, is wafer level packaging (WLP), cluster tools for automation, and advanced substrate materials. Black said "LED devices may just be the ultimate analog compound semiconductor products," if issues such as clear device technology path, performance and cost metrics are met. Standards will go a long way toward this.

The argument for LED bulbs over traditional incandescents is fairly clear from a performance standpoint: 50% efficiency over 5%, 25x longer life, 12W energy consumption to 60W bulb. The initial cost is prohibitive, $40 compared to about 50 cents, but cost over 25,000 hours remains $40, while incandescents will ring up to $165.

Consumer/commercial lighting isn't the only available market, with camera flash, electronics displays (TVs), and automotive lighting showing sizeable market opportunities. LED market penetration (versus traditional light sources) is accelerating, says Black, with significant upside in outdoor illumination through 2015, steady growth in automotive, and ramping usage for displays and flash. LEDs are a large, and growing, market. Not surprisingly, Taiwan, China, Japan, and Korea dominate LED production by capacity. Vertical integration of LED & Lighting businesses may be a critical success factor here (Philips, Osram, Samsung, LGI, Sharp).

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Angabe zur Kostenstruktur: Substratpreis



Price of sapphire substrates to drop in 4Q11 due to high levels of inventory

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 23 August 2011]


Weak demand in the LED market has been causing the price for upstream sapphire substrates to drop continuously. The price of 2-inch sapphire substrates dropped to US$15-17/unit in July and has continued to drop to US$12-13/unit in second half of August. The inventory levels of substrate firms have been high, hence the industry predicts the further price drops in fourth quarter.

The industry feeling is that the price of 2-inch substrates to reach around US$10/unit, close to the level at the end of 2009 before the price hikes. However, the industry also estimates pressure of growing inventories will ease in first quarter of 2012 as demand from LED firms return.

The price of sapphire ingots has been around US$7-8/mm and will likely to drop to US$4-5/mm in fourth quarter 2011, according to industry sources.

July revenues of Taiwan-based LED sapphire substrate firms showed a decrease except Crystalwise. Crystal Applied reported July revenues of NT$154 million (US$5.31 million), representing a 31% decrease on month and 25% decrease on year. Tera Xtal also reported falling July revenues of NT$152 million, a 33% on-month drop. Wafer Works reported July revenues of NT10 million with a 75.6% on-month and 78.8% on-year decrease.

The price of sapphire substrates shot to US$32-35/unit in end of 2010 due to the price hike of sapphire ingots. Sapphire substrates account for 20-30% of LED chip costs, hence the high price brought a lot of pressure on the LED chipmakers. As the demand dwindles, LED epitaxy firms have been adopting strict inventory controls which have been affecting the level of inventory for upstream substrate firms. The growing inventory has been depressing the price of sapphire substrates.

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Wettbewerb:


LCD industry yet to feel threatened by AMOLED

Yenting Chen, Taipei; Joy Wan, DIGITIMES [Thursday 25 August 2011]


AMOLED may be the next big thing for the display industry, but players in Taiwan's LCD industry have yet to feel real pressure from Samsung ramping up AMOLED production, industry observers have commented.

If AMOLED becomes the industry mainstream, the LCD supply chain, including makers of backlight units (BLUs), brightness enhancement films (BEFs), diffuser films and LEDs, would be seriously hit, the observers said.

But such an impact is unlikely to happen any time soon because not too many makers have been developing AMOLED technology due to cost concerns, and Samsung alone will be unable to drive the AMOLED market, they said.

But Taiwan's makers need to watch out for the moment when demand for AMOLED applications from international brands start picking up, they added.

Korea is the dominant player in terms of AMOLED technologies, and Taiwan is still miles away from building up a complete supply chain supportiong AMOLED, the observers said. Sintek Photronic is currently the only Taiwan-based maker that supplies touch sensors for SMD's AMOLED panels.

Michael Chiang, chairman of touch panel maker TPK Holding, said it would take two to three years for AMOLED products to reach economies of scale in the market. Production of AMOLED panels is not on the company's roadmap, but it will pay attention to business opprtunities that AMOLED will offer touch panel makers, he said.

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 42.012.120 von R-BgO am 28.08.11 10:31:15

AMOLED capacity to nearly triple in 2012, says DisplaySearch

Press release; Joy Wan, DIGITIMES [Thursday 25 August 2011]


The long-anticipated growth in size and volume of AMOLED display manufacturing is finally becoming a reality, with Samsung Mobile Display's (SMD) ramp-up of the first 5.5G AMOLED fab. The company began installing equipment in its A2 factory in December 2010 and is now expected to reach maximum capacity of 80,000 substrates per month by the end of first-quarter 2012, according to DisplaySearch. This development is forecast to drive growth in AMOLED capacity from 890,000 square meters in 2011 to 2.6 million square meters in 2012. Capacity is expected to double again in 2013.

"SMD currently accounts for nearly 100% of commercial AMOLED shipments, and its A2 5.5G fab and planned future factories will account for much of the expected capacity growth. Other existing and potential AMOLED manufacturers are watching SMD's progress and aggressive expansion plans, hoping that they will be able to leverage advances in equipment technology and take advantage of growing interest in AMOLED displays for smartphones and other applications," explained Charles Annis, DisplaySearch vice president of Manufacturing Research. "AU Optronics (AUO), LG Display (LGD), Chimei Innolux (CMI) and IRICO are also forecast to build either pilot or mass production AMOLED lines in the next two years, while other companies are currently considering entering the market."

LCD panel makers have suffered negative net profit margins for four consecutive quarters, and with excess a-Si LCD capacity for TV production, FPD equipment spending is now forecast to fall by more than 40% in 2012. On the other hand, supply of AMOLED displays has been very tight in 2011. As SMD ramps A2, many more AMOLED displays will hit the market, and demand is expected to grow in turn. AMOLED displays are a bright spot in the FPD manufacturing industry, offering hope for FPD supply chain companies.

"In addition to the opportunities that capacity expansion can provide, many companies are racing to develop material and equipment technologies to support AMOLED manufacturing. Successful development of oxide semiconductors, high resolution lithography, laser-induced thermal imaging (LITI), vertical, scanning evaporation, thin film encapsulation and flexible substrates-just to name a few-could mean big payoffs for some supply chain companies as production of AMOLEDs ramps up," Annis added.

Most of the new AMOLED capacity coming on-line is optimized for small/medium display production. But high-quality and-theoretically-low-cost AMOLED TV remains the ultimate target for FPD makers. Both SMD and LGD are moving ahead with 8G AMOLED TV pilot production plans for 2012. How successful they will be and what additional capacity expansions AMOLED TV might drive are still unclear, but these are key trends to follow in the FPD manufacturing industry.

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LED market in China faces elimination

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 19 September 2011]


Due to government policies on providing subsidies for MOCVD equipment, China quickly become the world's leading market for MOCVD equipment in 2010. However, market conditions and lack of trained employees has caused the speed of newly-added MOCVD equipment in China to slow down drastically. China-based GCL Photoelectric Technology Holdings expected to add 500 new MOCVD sets in 2011, but has reportedly put a temporary hold on the LED businesses.

GCL Photoelectric's parent company is solar firm GCL-Poly Energy Holdings.

According to statistics, the number of newly-added MOCVD sets in China from January-July 2011 exceeded 200. The revised figure of total number of newly-added MOCVD sets in China is down to 300-400 from 500-600 in previous predictions. Industry sources noted within the next year, 10% of the LED firms are expected to shutdown operations. Surviving firms are expected to continue their strong reliance on government funding.

Industry observers indicated China's commercial LED lighting market has not yet opened. The initial stage of the market depends on government and business procurement orders to facilitate the lighting industry.

[R-BgO]

Rapid price drop of LED lighting is expected in 3Q11
Thursday, 08 September 2011 01:14

ED lighting ASPs are likely to decrease rapidly. The price of high power LEDs has been falling close to 50% in 2010-2011. The price is likely to fall another 5-10% in the third quarter.

There are currently 10 LED lighting brands in the Taiwan market, and another 3-5 brands will launch in the second half of 2011. The price of 6W LED light bulbs to replace a traditional 40W lights introduced by Everlight will decrease to NT$320-399 (US$11-13.71). The price of 10W LED light bulbs will fall around NT$599. Price competition has been fierce in North America with LG introducing two 7.5W LED light bulbs that only cost US$20.

Compared with traditional light bulbs, costs to produce LED light bulbs are higher. However, the life span and energy consumption characteristics make LED light bulbs more cost competitive.

Industry watchers estimate demand for LED lighting chips will show a 68% CAGR in the next five years. According to MOCVD equipment manufacturer Veeco, 28% of the capacity of MOCVD equipment shipped in 2010 was used for lighting. However, lighting capacity has been reaching 48% of the MOCVD equipment shipments in 2011, showing significant growth.

[R-BgO]

Long life and energy efficiency push LEDs to take 40% of the global lamp market in 2013 according to IMS Research

Date Announced: 13 Sep 2011


Austin, TX – Long life and energy efficiency will underpin the success of LEDs, and their quick adoption will have a profound effect on the global lamp market with LEDs accounting for 40 percent of the total market in 2013.

That said, by 2018, the LED lamp market is expected to contract. The longer life of LED lamps means that as more are installed, the smaller the market will become as replacement lamps will not be required for several years.

The growth rate for LED lamp shipments from 2009 to 2015 is forecasted to be 97 percent (CAGR), while the growth rate from 2015 to 2020 will slow to 13 percent CAGR. The market growth rate will begin reversing in 2014 as ASPs of these lamps continues to decline, so that by 2018, the LED lamp market is actually expected to begin contracting.

There are two major implications for manufacturers due to the projected market growth and decline.

In order to profit in the LED lamp market, it will be necessary for them to enter the market early
They will be required to be vertically integrated. Price is one of the most important purchasing decision parameters for consumers, by being vertically integrated, lamp manufacturers will be better positioned to reduce their ASPs

The big three lamp companies, Philips, OSRAM and GE, currently comprise approximately 60 percent of the lamp market. Of these, GE is the only one that does not own any LED production facilities. Additionally, companies like Samsung, LG and are looking for growth markets and have been pushing hard to produce their own LED lamps.

With LEDs making up more than 50 percent of the lamp market in 2014, it is likely that the big three will become the big five or more – and that GE fades as its bargaining power declines.

[R-BgO]

(künftige) Konkurrenz?:

eMagin Announces Shipment of New OLED Deposition Machine

BELLEVUE, Wash., Sep 27, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- eMagin Corporation (NYSE Amex: EMAN, the "Company"), the leader in the development, design and manufacture of Active Matrix OLED microdisplays for high resolution imaging products, announced today that its new, proprietary OLED deposition machine has been shipped from the manufacturer, SNU Precision Co., Ltd., and is scheduled to arrive at eMagin's production facility in Hopewell Junction, New York, in early November.

The new OLED deposition machine is expected to increase OLED deposition capacity by approximately tenfold, to increase yield, and to contribute to a substantially more efficient, automated process with lower maintenance requirements and greater utilization. The new $4.0 million tool will replace the Company's existing Satella OLED deposition machine, an R&D tool adapted and used by eMagin for both R&D and production since the Company's inception in 1996. The substantial production efficiencies expected to be realized from the new machine will enable the Company to further address its key domestic and international markets, which include military, industrial and consumer applications. Once the new machine is operating efficiently, the Satella machine will be used mainly for the research and development of new, state-of-the-art microdisplay products.

Andrew Sculley, President and CEO of eMagin, stated, "We are pleased that our new OLED deposition machine is on the way to our production facility in Hopewell Junction, New York, where it will be assembled and calibrated for maximum efficiency with support from a team from the manufacturer before being brought on line."

About eMagin Corporation

A leader in OLED microdisplay technology and personal display systems, eMagin integrates high-resolution OLED microdisplays with magnifying optics to deliver virtual images comparable to large-screen computer and television displays in portable, low-power, lightweight personal displays. eMagin microdisplays provide near-eye imagery in a variety of products from military, industrial, medical and consumer OEMs. The Company's own Z800 3DVisor provides 3D stereovision and headtracking for PC gaming, training and simulation, immersion therapy, and other applications. More information about eMagin is available at http://www.emagin.com.

[R-BgO]

Preispunkt:


LSG and Dixon Technologies to offer low-cost LED lamp in India
30 Aug 2011

To be priced at less than $15, the Definity 60W-equivalent replacement lamp will be jointly manufactured by Lighting Science Group and electronics manufacturer Dixon Technologies, first targeting the LED lighting market in India beginning year-end 2011.

At a press conference held in India, Lighting Science Group (OTCBB:LSCG), a maker of LED lighting solutions based in Satellite Beach, FL, and Dixon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd, an electronics products manufacturer in Noida, India, unveiled a joint product: the Definity high-performance sub-$15 omnidirectional A19 LED bulb. The 60W-equivalent replacement lamp will be available in India by the end of the year and will be sold worldwide by Lighting Science Group (LSG) early next year.

Utilizing LSG's technical design, the bulb is the first in a series of products being jointly manufactured and distributed by the two companies. The full line of products will include street lights, outdoor and industrial light fixtures and replacement lamps that produce more light for less energy than similar products available in India.

The Indian market for LED lighting is expected to grow to $400 million by 2015 (53% per annum), making it one of the fastest-growing sectors of one of the fastest-growing economies. According to India's Ministry of Power, the country plans to build 80 new coal-fired power plants to keep up with rising electricity demand over the next 5 years, and the potential savings from simply changing light bulbs to the new LED technology can reduce they county's electricity demand by as much as 40%.

The Definity lamp uses 85% less electricity than incandescent bulbs and is designed to handle the variable quality of power in India and other emerging economies. Even compared with relatively efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), the new lamp uses 35% less electricity and, unlike all fluorescent lights, contains no mercury. At a retail price below $15, the payback from electricity savings versus incandescent light bulbs is 8 months and the LED bulb has an expected life of approximately 8 years.

"With 800 million incandescent light bulbs and 300 million CFLs sold in India each year, the market is ripe for these highly efficient, long lasting and nontoxic products," said Atul Lall, Deputy Managing Director of Dixon Technologies. "The economic and environmental implications of this partnership are significant: old-style light bulbs use 60 billion units of electricity each year, 7% of India's total, and our Lighting Science Group Definity lamps could save over 70% of that, equivalent to 32 coal-fired plants with 500MW capacity."
Earlier this year, LSG announced that it had sold over a million LED-based lamps in the first quarter of 2011.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.823.333 von R-BgO am 21.07.11 13:21:50

Re-Post von #2 mit ein paar Ergänzungen:


Folgende Wertschöpfungsstufen und darin tätige Player (mit Threads) habe ich bisher ausgegraben:


Equipment (hauptsächlich MOCVD):
Aixtron Thread: Aixtron - Die Perle im Technologiebereich
Veeco Thread: VEECO - Solar- und LED-Zulieferer
GT Solar Thread: GT Solar - Weltmarktführer (?) für Ingot-Öfen
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Thread: Taiyo Nippon Sanso - macht auch MOCVD-Equipment
MJC Probe


Ingot-/Waferhersteller (da gibt es Saphir und Siliconcarbid):
Rubicon Technologies Thread: Rubicon Technologies - LED-Zulieferer
Crystalwise Thread: Crystalwise - taiwanesischer Saphir-Ingot-Produzent
Formosa Epitaxy Thread: Formosa Epitaxy - taiwanesischer LED-Player
Tekcore Thread: Tekcore - taiwanesischer LED-Player
Crystal Applied Thread: Crystal Applied - taiwanesischer Saphir-Ingot-Maker
LDK Solar


LED-Chips
Epistar Thread: Epistar - LED-Chips aus Taiwan
SemiLEDs Thread: Nach Bearisher Bodenlandung gute Einstiegschance
BLUGlass Thread: BLUGLASS - Neue LED Technologie Semiconductors - Chance zum Einstieg vor der Kommerzialisierung
Changelight Thread: Xiamen Changelight - einer der größten chinesischen LED-Player
Genesis Photonics Thread: Genesis Photonics - taiwanesischer LED-Player
Edison Opto
Lextar



LED-Komponenten/Systeme (Packager)
Neo-Neon Thread: Neo-Neon - chinesischer LED-Hersteller
Everlight Thread: Everlight Electronics - taiwanesischer LED-Player
Unity Opto Thread: Unity Opto - LED Packager aus Taiwan


LED-Anwendungen
Zumtobel Thread: Zumtobel - LED-Sparte wächst schnell
Nexxus Lighting Thread: Nexxus Lighting - LED-Anbieter
Lighting Science Group Thread: Lighting Science - LED-Lampenverkäufer
Global Lighting Technologies
Glacial Light


integrierte Player
Osram Thread: OSRAM - Siemens plant IPO
Philips Thread: Royal Philips Electronics
Cree Thread: CREE: LED-Geschäft kommt in Schwung
Nichia
Bridgelux


Exoten
eMagin Thread: eMagin und der zukünftige OLED-Milliardenmarkt

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: China LED industry should not blindly increase capacity but focus on improving technology, management, and quality


Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Thursday 29 September 2011]

The LED industry has been growing rapidly in China. Digitimes Research recently visited China-based LED chipmaker Hang Zhou Silan Azure (Silan Azure) to gain insights in China's LED market.

Silan Azure indicated that China-based chipmakers have been expanding significantly due to policies that help firms to procure MOCVD equipment. However, even though some firms can obtain subsidies from the Hangzhou government of up to 40% of equipment procurement costs, the number of newly-added equipment sets still depends on market demand. Firms should not just blindly compete on the number of MOCVD sets.

According to Silan Azure, support from the government is beneficial but the speed of MOCVD equipment expansion should not be too rapid because technology is improving constantly. Hence equipment procured in 2011 might become obsolete in 2012-2013.

In fact, the principle of procuring equipment is like buying clothes. If a person buys too many clothes in one season, it is considered waste of resources and funds. Lack of funds prevents the person to buying new clothes while the previously-bought clothes eventually become off-season products, indicated Silan Azure.

Therefore, by observing the market, when demand is low, firms should not procure more MOCVD equipment despite having subsidies from the government. For example, Silan Azure procured eight MOCVD sets in 2010 and completed move-in by September 2011 bring its total MOCVD sets to 17. The decision to procure additional equipment was made with careful consideration, not by impulsive investment, said Silan Azure.

Silan Azure pointed out that competition among China-based LED chipmakers has been fierce. But most people forget the main focus should not be on subsidies or size of capacity, but on technologies, funds, management skills, and quality of products. If a firm lacks competitiveness, even with government funding, financial capital is likely to be depleted in 3-5 years. Currently there are many firms in China producing LED chips. But market forces will eventually wipe out weaker ones, leaving the industry with around 10 firms, added Silan Azure.

Jiang Zhong Yong, general manager of Silan Azure used China's "rural subsidy project" as an example. The policy was effective in stimulating short-term demand but lacks continuity over the long-term. The reason is the policy did not solve the actual problem, which is wealth distribution between urban cities and rural farm villages. It is like giving blood to anemia patients, instead of solving the true cause of the problem. Therefore, the government should refrain from intervening in any type of industry policies and let the market run its course.

Currently most chipmakers focus on LED lighting applications, noted Silan Azure. However, the LED monitor market has relatively more advantages because there are fewer firms and less competition. Silan Azure thinks the LED lighting market has many firms with product lines divided into low, medium, and high levels with relatively fierce competition.

Silan Azure pointed out that the current LED monitor market is likely to grow by 35-40% annually, and to win over others, firms need to grow by 5% more than the industry's average annual growth rate to ensure long-term survival.

"In addition, customers of LED monitors demand high quality products. And customers are usually businesses, not individual consumers. Therefore, buyers have lower sensitivity towards price. Of course, firms need to make sure of a certain level of quality." Jiang indicated.

Other than the LED chip business, firms can invest in or establish LED packaging houses, suggested Silan Azure. This strategy can push the progress of the high-end LED monitor market by improving quality and the number of OEMs for large brands. The reason behind this strategy is that cooperation with other packaging houses can push firms towards cut-price production. LED components might not fit standards, indicated Jiang.

"If a LED chipmaker invests in a packaging house, quality can be assured and components can be supplied for the LED monitors. The risk is that the first 2-3 years might not generate any profits because the China market is used to the view that low price as the top priority for procurement."

"The market structure of the LED monitor is more centered, unlike the horizontal spread of the LED lighting market. Also LED monitors face tougher quality demands. Therefore, the relationship with customers is a crucial key to success. An LED firm's objective should be to solve problems for customers and make the experience as pleasant as possible, like buying high-end brand handbags. When the relationship is good, customers are happy to buy more." Jiang suggested.

Silan Azure concluded that overall, even though China's LED industry has been burgeoning due to government subsidies, the expansion of MOCVD equipment has been done blindly. Silan Azure thinks the winners in the industry should be firms with capable management skills, not the firms with the most subsidies. Also, China-based LED firms have been employing many technicians from Taiwan due to the large amount of MOCVD equipment. But China should train its own human resources instead of relying on Taiwan. For China's LED industry to compete with international markets, the quality of LED products needs to improve, said Silan Azure.

[R-BgO]

Epileds Technologies to debut on TSE

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 4 October 2011]


Taiwan-based LED epitaxy firm Epileds Technologies (Epileds) plans to debut on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on October 24, 2011. The accumulated revenues for the first to third quarter of 2011 were NT$970 million (US$32 million) with third quarter gross margin to exceed 30%. The earnings per share (EPS) in first half of 2011 reached NT$1.57, exceeding Epistar's NT$1.27.
Epileds has been focusing on high-power lighting products and may develop vertical integration of LED products.

Epileds is one of the rare LED epitaxy firms that have complete products of AlGalnP and blue LED. The capacity utilization has been remaining at 90% for the past two years with 13 units of operating equipments, according to Epileds. An additional MOCVD equipments will be added to the plant in fourth quarter, stated Epileds.

To prevent the oversupply problem that cause low-price competition, Epileds will not expand horizontally such as buying unnecessary equipments. However, vertical integration is possible for the future, indicated Epileds.

Epileds noted currently China-based LED packaging houses take up 80% of the sales. White and AlGalnP LED product each make up about 40% of the total production with low-power LED makes up 20%. Currently, commercial lighting takes up about 40% of the total revenues, said Epileds.

Epileds indicated total revenues for third quarter are likely to reach NT$360 million, showing a 5% on-quarter increase.

[R-BgO]

Sapphire substrate price leveling out in October

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 5 October 2011]


The price of sapphire substrates continues to fall due to decreasing demand from LED applications. However, industry sources indicate the price decline has been coming to a slow stop. Taiwan-based sapphire substrate makers continue to hold prices above US$10/unit for 2-inch substrates. Industry watchers expect pricing to stabilize in first-quarter 2012.

The price of sapphire substrates has been falling since the end of 2010. Due to weak demand for LEDs in the third quarter, the price drop has been rapid. Pricing in September decreased to US$11-12/unit.

Industry sources pointed out the price of 2-inch sapphire substrates has been above US$10/unit, but there are a couple of China-based firms that succumbed to pressure and decreased prices to US$8-9/unit.

There is still the possibility for the price to decrease below US$10/unit in the fourth quarter due to growing inventories. Also, the growth of the LED industry will be limited in the fourth quarter, hence substrate firms are likely to continue to see low demand.

The LED industry has been facing falling ASPs and capacity utilization rates also decreased to 60-70% in the third quarter, causing some firms to report losses.

[R-BgO]

Lextar sees slight increase of September revenues

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 6 October 2011]



Taiwan-based LED firm Lextar saw a slight on-month increase of 1.4% in its September revenues. Reported September revenues were NT$890 million (US$29 million), showing a 10.8% on-year increase.

Accumulated third-quarter revenues reached NT$2.5 billion, with an on-quarter increase of 5%. Accumulated revenues from January-September reached NT$6.69 billion with an on-year growth of 5.7%.

According to Lextar, lighting products currently account for 40% of revenues.

[dicki31785]

hatte gestern das Vergnügen ein Meeting mit Aixtrons management beizuwohnen...und sagen wir es mal so kurzfristig sind die nicht sehr optimistisch allerdings langfristig bullish...schaun wir mal was passiert...gruesse CW

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 42.178.009 von dicki31785 am 06.10.11 13:31:58

Wie war Dein Eindruck von den Persönlichkeiten?

Ich finde es schon ein starkes Stück, die Gewinnwarnung erst SO spät herausgegeben zu haben. Das Blutbad bei den Margen und Kursen der ganzen Wertschöpfungskette läuft schon seit mindestens 6 Monaten. Da wäre es ein großes Wunder gewesen, wenn AIX nix davon gemerkt hätte...

[dicki31785]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 42.178.657 von R-BgO am 06.10.11 15:08:12

die haben das so verkauft das es nur 2 kunden waren die last minute ihre orders verschoben haben (einer davon ist ANGEBLICH GCL wurde nicht explizit genannt aber man hat ahnen koennen wer gemeint ist)...und die maschinen waren praktisch zur auslieferung bereit und dann kam die cancellation...das spannende war eigentlich das sie pre payments fuer die maschinen genommen haben ABER anscheinend sind die vertraege nicht so toll gestaltet worden und somit kann es - im schlimmsten fall - sogar sein das die maschinen garnicht mehr ausgeliefert werden und das die down payments auch zurueckbezahlt werden muessen....

die jungs haben aber einen fitten eindruck gemacht...scheint so als wuerden sich veeco und aixtron den markt mehr oder weniger 50/50 teilen und so lange keiner von beiden auf dumme ideen kommt "wird alles gut"...auch wenn 2012 warscheinlich nicht gut wird....sogar schlecht je nachdem wie man schlecht definiert auf jeden fall schlecht im vergliech zu 2011!!!!! wird es spaetestens 2013 wieder aufwaerts gehen evtl. 2H 2012....kommt eben drauf an wie sich demand entwickelt....gruesse CW

[R-BgO]

http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/MailHome.asp?datePublish=2…

LED firms report disappointing third quarter revenues

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 11 October 2011]


Several Taiwan-based LED firms have reported falling September and third-quarter revenues showing the low season in the LED industry in the third quarter.

Low demand for TV LED backlight modules (BLUs) and falling ASP of LED products have been causing firms to report lower than expected third-quarter revenues.

Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Epistar reported third-quarter revenues of NT$4.263 billion (US$141 million), showing a 20% on-quarter decrease and 4% decrease compared to revenues from first-quarter 2011. Formosa Epitaxy reported September revenues of NT$325 million. Accumulated revenues for third-quarter 2011 reached NT$1.043 billion, a 6% decrease on quarter.

Genesis Photonics has been reporting increasing monthly revenues in 2011, however since July, the growth in monthly revenues stopped. Genesis Photonics reported September revenues of NT$350 million. Total revenues for third-quarter 2011 were NT$1.215 billion, a 7.8% on-quarter decrease.

Lextar was the exception, reporting third-quarter revenues of NT$2.44 billion, representing an approximate 6% on-quarter increase.

Epistar stated that September revenues were better than expected, in addition, order visibility and demand have been showing signs of revival. Furthermore, the mass capacity expansion by China's LED industry has been slowing down, hence the price of LED chips stabilized in September, added Epistar.

Edison Opto, a Taiwan-based downstream LED firm, reported September revenues of NT$186 million, a 36.06% on-year decrease. Accumulated revenues for third-quarter 2011 were NT$569 million, a 15.8% decrease on quarter, and 13.9% decrease compared to revenues from first-quarter 2011.

Unity Opto saw September revenues fall 20% on month to NT$400 million, the lowest monthly revenues reported in 2011. The third-quarter revenues were NT$1.424 billion, a 17.6% on-quarter decrease and 12% decrease compared to the first quarter.

Bright LED and Harvatek reported third-quarter revenues of NT$1.019 billion and NT$894 million respectively. Both were the lowest quarterly revenues reported in 2011.

According to chairman of Everlight, Robert Yeh, the third quarter should be the worst quarter in 2011 as the fourth quarter is expected to show signs of revival.

[R-BgO]

Sapphire substrate makers report mixed September revenues

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 12 October 2011]


The price of sapphire substrates has been low due to weak demand in the downstream LED market. According to sapphire substrare maker, Crystalwise, order visibility has been low despite many requests for quotations.

The price of sapphire substrates has been falling. In July the price of 2-inch wafers was around US$18-19/unit, but in September the price was only US$11-12/unit. Industry sources pointed out that although the price of sapphire substrates in China has already fallen to US$8-9/unit, Taiwan-based firms are still hanging onto the US$10/unit level. The price of sapphire ingots is expected to fall to US$4.5/mm by the end of October, added industry sources.

Overall, there is still room for sapphire substrate prices to fall in the fourth quarter, but the drops will be less significant, stated the sources.

Tera Xtal's September revenues reached NT$110 million (US$3.62 million), the only Taiwan-based sapphire substrate firm with revenues above NT$100 million for the month. The September revenues represent a 4.76% on-month increase and the accumulated revenues for the first nine months of 2011 reached NT$2 billion, showing a 87.2% on-year growth.

Crystalwise reported September revenues of NT$75.40 million, a 31% decrease on month, the most significant decline among peers.

Wafer Works Optronics' September revenues totaled NT$8.05 million, a 20% fall on month and 87% fall on year.

Crystal Applied reported September revenues of NT$83.37 million, with on-month growth of 12.5%. But the figure represents an on-year decrease of 70%. Accumulated revenues from January-September reached NT$1.8 billion, an on-year increase of 27%.

[R-BgO]

Total sales of LED firms decline in 3Q11


Siu Han, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 13 October 2011]

Combined revenues of listed LED companies, including LED epitaxial wafer and chip makers and LED packaging firms, in Taiwan totaled NT$24.92 billion (US$819.74 million) in the third quarter of 2011, decreasing 12.8% from the previous quarter, according to data released by the companies.

Sales of LED epitaxial wafers and chips amounted to NT$11.06 billion in the third quarter, down 17% sequentially and 23% on year, the data showed.

Third-quarter revenues of LED packaging firms reached NT$13.86 billion, a decline of 9% from the second quarter. Among LED packaging companies, Everlight Electronics posted revenues of NT$1.35 billion in September, edging up 0.2% on month.

However, sales of LED products are expected to stage a rebound in October due to an influx of short lead-time orders for LED backlight products from the TV sector, according to LEDinside.

[AdHick]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 42.207.598 von R-BgO am 13.10.11 12:43:20

Einen Anstieg der Verkaufszahlen dürfte es wohl ab Januar geben, wenn die USA anfangen, wie in Europa Glühbirnen zu verbieten.

[R-BgO]

China LED lighting market to experience rapid growth in next few years

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Friday 14 October 2011]


Studies show that total market size of the global lighting market (includes both LED and traditional lightings) in 2010 was US$79.3 billion. Demand is expected to increase due to China's economic success and policies aiming to narrow the gap between urban cities and rural areas. Market watchers estimate that by 2015 China's lighting market will reach US$20 billion, accounting for 18.3% of the global market.

Developed economies such as Europe and North America currently account for more than 50% of the global lighting market with market size close to US$40 billion. However, the growth is expected to slow down as developments have come to a certain stage. China's lighting market, on the other hand, will show rapid growth.

Market research institutes indicate China's LED lighting market has been stimulated by the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Local governments have also been providing policies to support and encourage the development of the industry. In a few years, it is likely for the demand for LED related products to increase as China focuses on major developments that are also eco-friendly.

Furthermore, China's large population might cause energy shortage problems if the government does not have comprehensive measures to accommodate the speed of industrialization.

[R-BgO]

Profitability of Vizio LED light bulbs too low for Amtran

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Friday 14 October 2011]


Vizio, a leading LCD TV vendor in the North America market, originally planned to launch 450-lumen 7W LED light bulbs for sale through its existing retail channels but has not yet done so. This is because Vizio has asked its Taiwan-based ODM Amtran Technology to reduce quotes to reach a retail price of US$9 per bulb, much lower than US$12-13 for 7W LED light bulbs made by Amtran for other vendors, but Amtran has not agreed to the price, according to industry sources.

Amtran has been showing poor performance due to weak TV demand in North America. Both parties reportedly have been hoping to launch Vizio brand LED light bulbs in 2011. However, the launch of Vizio's LED light bulbs is still in question.

Vizio had hoped to adopt high-power LED light sources and push the brightness of the light bulbs to 450-lumen. These 7W LED light bulbs could replace traditional 40W light bulbs. Vizio also hopes that these light bulbs can achieve a color rendering index (CRI) above 90. Suggested suppliers for Vizio's LED light bulbs are chipmaker Epistar, packaging house Loustrous, and heat sink maker Neng Tyi. Amtran is responsible for providing optical design and assembly, said industry sources.

The price difference between LED and traditional light bulbs has been significant. Hence Vizio reportedly wanted to push the retail price below US$9/unit to gain immediate market share. But this is likely to leave ODM firms without any profits.

[R-BgO]

Commentary: LED lighting moving towards patent-dominated market

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 24 October 2011]


The big LED lighting pie has been attracting many firms to enter the market, heating up competition between traditional and new firms. Fierce competition can lead to patent wars as the top five LED firms in the world have been expanding the range of patents. These patents will become obstacles to small- and medium-size firms' survival in the long-run.

Currently, Europe-based large-size lighting firms Philips and Osram have been issuing patent permits on LED technologies. According to Philips, when LED lighting customers buy LED light source components from Philips, within the range of the patent permit, customers do not have to pay patent fees. Osram and Philips have also reached an agreement that the former can obtain patent permit from the latter in the future, which means customers of Osram can also enjoy such privilege.

Cree also has an agreement with Osram for the mutual use of LED patents. This agreement includes patents over technologies such as blue LED chips, white LED and items such as phosphor, packaging, LED light bulbs, lighting fixtures, and LED lighting control systems. Cree and Osram also have agreements with Japan-based Nichia and Toyoda Gosei.

According to industry sources, the agreements over patents can help accelerate the growth of LED technologies in applications and lower the risk of infringing on other companies' patent rights.

Philips, Osram, Cree, Nichia and Toyoda Gosei make up the top five LED firms in the world. These firms have long used patented technologies as competitive advantages. But as LED applications have been expanding, the old patents are no longer sufficient to fend off newcomers. Hence the cooperation between these firms.

Nevertheless, the top five firms have been facing challenges from firms such as Samsung, and LG. Osram was the first to file patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung over white LED patents. Samsung and LG returned with a lawsuit against Osram to prevent the sales of any automobiles that are equipped with Osram products in China and South Korea.

Taiwan-based LED packaging house Everlight recently won a lawsuit against Nichia for invalidation of patents.

Small- and medium-size Taiwan-based LED firms are likely to suffer more than strongly funded Samsung and LG if they trip over the landmines of lighting patents owned by large-size international firms. Paying patent fees seems inevitable.

The lighting market has been sparser than other technology fields and as LED lighting diversifies, the firms with the most patents will likely win.

[R-BgO]

LED prices likely to continue falling in 4Q11

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 26 October 2011]


Having fallen 5-15% in third quarter 2011, LED prices are expected to continue dropping in the fourth quarter amid oversupply pressure.

According to research firms, prices LED TV backlight units (BLUs) decreased around 8-15% in third quarter mainly due to South Korean firms clearing out inventory. The prices are likely to continue dropping.

Prices of LED BLU for notebooks and mobile devices dropped around 5-10%, and 8-10% for mobile phones, in the third quarter. This segment is currently dominated by Taiwan-based firms, but competition will heat up as more and more China-based firms are entering the market.

Price competition continues among international firms, especially when facing potential customers. Japan-, South Korea-, Europe- and US-based firms all have been lowering the prices.

Prices of high-power LEDs for lighting decreased around 8-10%. The decrease was less significant compared to second-quarter 2011, showing that demand in the lighting market has stabilized.

The government of Australia has also began to replace traditional street lamps with LED street lamps. China will begin to eliminate the use of incandescent lights by end of the year, which is expected to create demand for LED lighting products.

[R-BgO]

Supply and demand back in check for sapphire market, says Yole Developpement

Press release; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Friday 4 November 2011]


Following the massive material shortage in 2010, sapphire material and finished wafer prices remained high through early 2011, according to Yole Developpement. The situation was aggravated as wafer and LED manufacturers preparing for a massive intake of LED in the LCD TV market started building up sapphire inventory for fear that supply might remain short. But a softer than expected LED TV market and an increasing sapphire capacity coming from established vendors worked together to rapidly bring supply and demand back into balance this summer. This has triggered a fast drop in wafer prices that have now returned to their pre-shortage levels. While sapphire demand will pick up in late 2011 and early 2012, additional capacity from new entrants is expected to enter the supply chain and keep 2-inch prices at their historical lows for the foreseeable future, adds Yole Developpement.

Few new entrants will succeed

Coupled with significant volume growth, the sapphire material shortage experienced through 2010 and early 2011 have created a window of opportunity for new entrants. In the last 18 months, more than 50 companies have announced their intention to enter the industry and would bring the total number of potential participants in this market to close to 100. More than 40 of those new entrants are located in China. Looking at midterm, adding up the capacity plans announced by those newcomers leads to a figure corresponding to almost three times of actual demand, a situation unlikely to actually materialize.

Most of the new entrants have little to no prior experience in sapphire crystal growth and wafer manufacturing. While the availability of turn-key solutions from various growth equipment suppliers has lowered the barrier to entry, reaching and sustaining high quality and high yields in sapphire crystal growth still requires significant expertise. The learning curve can be steep for newcomers to reach yield levels on par with established tier one manufacturers. Wafer finishing also requires unique expertise and could prove challenging for companies with no prior experience.

The 2010 pricing environment was very forgiving and allowed some new entrants to achieve comfortable margins despite low yields and subpar technology. Yole Developpement calculated that many of those new companies have production cost in the US$6-10/mm of 2-inch core and will therefore lose money at the current market price. At the same time, established vendors with higher yields, large volumes and a more favorable product mix including large diameter wafers can achieve production cost less than US$5 that will allow them to maintain positive margins and weather the storm. Midterm, Yole Developpement expects that this situation will weed out the weakest players and trigger the withdrawal of many potential new entrants.

The sapphire substrate industry, driven by LED applications, was initially developed based on a 2-inch diameter platform. Companies like Lumileds and Nichia were the first to move to 3-inch around 2003 while Osram pioneered the adoption of 4-inch shortly after. Due to the large concentration of MOCVD capacity in Taiwan, and the current ramp in China, 2-inch is expected to remain the dominant platform through 2012, said Yole Developpement.

But many established Taiwan-based epitaxy companies are transitioning from 2-4 inch while some technology leaders in Korea, the United states and Europe have already made great strides in the their 6-inch conversion. Long term, a question mark remains regarding the economics of 8-inch. But R&D has already started and Yole Developpement believes that recent improvements in sapphire growth and slicing technologies could enable a cost of ownership that in time will be compatible with the adoption of the platform.

[R-BgO]

Heute einen Newsletter von Pearl bekommen.

Sie verschenken eine EUR 24,90 5W-LED von Luminea und verkaufen bis zu 4 Stück für EUR 6,90.

=> evtl. 'ne Abverkaufsaktion?

Weiß jemand, wer da der Hersteller ist?


Habe jedenfalls mal ein paar bestellt, um mehr eigenen Nutzungserfahrungen zu sammeln.

[R-BgO]

Competition heating up in LED sapphire market

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 14 November 2011]


The sapphire crystal growing/substrate industry has been experiencing aggressive expansion despite the weak LED market. South Korea-based STC is currently the global leader in the LED sapphire market for its massive capacity. China-based firms have also been eager to enter the market.

US-based Rubicon and Russia-based Monocrystal were the dominant forces in the sapphire industry accounting for a total of more than 50% of the global ingot capacity until STC surpassed them in 2010 with aggressive support from the South Korea government. In 2011, STC's monthly capacity for sapphire ingots will expand to 1.3 million mm.

Market research indicated the top-10 sapphire ingot producers' monthly capacity in the world will reach 5.8 million mm. In particular, Asia-based firms now account for more than 60% of the total capacity.

China-based GCL Group recently announced the plan to enter the sapphire crystal growing/substrate market.

Industry sources noted the global economy will likely recover in second-quarter 2012, and then sapphire susbtrate prices may rise.

[cmeise]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 42.318.691 von R-BgO am 08.11.11 14:17:23

Mir kommen die Preise für LED's sowieso extrem teuer vor. Ich habe in der letzten Zeit öfter 5 Meter lange Bänder gebraucht. Bei Conrad ua Händlern kostet sowas gern 50 € oder mehr - bei ebay findet man das aber für unter 20 € Festpreis und wenn man sich auf die Auktionen einlässt kann man das auch für um die 10 € bekommen.
Die Gewinnmarge muss daher zZ noch extrem sein.

[Wunram]

Zitat von cmeise: Mir kommen die Preise für LED's sowieso extrem teuer vor. Ich habe in der letzten Zeit öfter 5 Meter lange Bänder gebraucht. Bei Conrad ua Händlern kostet sowas gern 50 € oder mehr - bei ebay findet man das aber für unter 20 € Festpreis und wenn man sich auf die Auktionen einlässt kann man das auch für um die 10 € bekommen.
Die Gewinnmarge muss daher zZ noch extrem sein.

naja, ein bisschen kommt das auf die Qualität an - z.B. vernünftiger Ersatz, was Lichtfarbe und Helligkeit angeht, für Hochvolthalogenstrahler kosten mit drei Hochleistungs-LEDs schon mal um die € 12,- pro Stück.
Die Dinge die es bei Conrad oder den Baumärkten gibt, sind ja nur bedingt für irgendetwas tauglich. Darum gibt es ja auch soviele negative Aussagen zu LEDs

Gruss Wunram

[R-BgO]

LED sapphire price to return to stability in 2012

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 15 November 2011]


The price of 2-inch sapphire substrates continues to hold at around US$10/unit. However, industry sources indicated starting from the second half of October, there has been some sapphire substrates being quoted at around US$9/unit. The 4-inch sapphire substrates have also been experiencing significant price drops. Sapphire industry believes the price fluctuations will ease in 2012.

The quote for 4-inch sapphire substrates was around US$90/unit, but by fourth quarter, the price has dropped to US$55/unit. The drop might seem significant, but according to industry sources, the 4-inch surface area is four times of the 2-inch substrates, but the price is six times of the price of 2-inch sapphire substrates, hence demand to incept the 4-inch substrates has been low, only a handful of LED chipmakers have been procuring the product.

The price of sapphire ingots has been bouncing back as well. The current price of 2-inch sapphire ingots from Taiwan-based firms is above US$5/mm. Because Taiwan-based firms were late in developing the technologies causing the price to be higher than the US- and Russia-based firms, which is at US$4.5/mm.

Industry sources noted the price of sapphire substrates has been rising and falling significantly, but the market expects demand from the LED industry to return in 2012, hence the price can stabilize.

[R-BgO]

Alpha Xtal and Tera Xtal to merge ahead of schedule

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 16 November 2011]


LED sapphire ingot maker Alpha Xtal and substrate maker Tera Xtal will merge on December 10. According to Alpha Xtal, revenues for November and December are likely to be flat compared to October. The firm believes demand will return in first-quarter 2012. Alpha Xtal's monthly capacity will maintain around 80,000-100,000 and will be solely supplied to Tera Xtal after the merger.

Tera Xtal currently has a monthly capacity of 300,000-450,000 units, which means Alpha Xtal can only supply less than 50% of Tera Xtal's ingot demand. However, Alpha Xtal's new plant in Hukou, Hsinchu, Taiwan will be completed in first-quarter 2012 and new equipment will be installed. The new plant is likely to expand current capacity by five- to ten-fold, according to Alpha Xtal.

2-inch sapphire ingots currently account for more than 50% of Alpha Xtal's total revenues.

China-based firms have been eager to enter the upstream sapphire material industry recently, however, Taiwan-based firms have strong confidence in quality and competitiveness. The new entries are unlikely to disrupt shipments from Taiwan-based firms, said industry sources.

[bezz]

reife Leistung, was RBGO da recherchiert und zusammengetragen hat, Hut ab und thanx.

ich habe bisher aixtron, veeco, rubicon, gt solar gelegentlich beobachtet. aixtron u veeco mal gegeneinander gestellt:

Einfaches Einfügen von wallstreetONLINE Charts: So funktionierts.

ich vermute, der cash flow OCF von aixtron ist negativ geworden, deshalb das relative abtauchen gegenüber veeco...........

[R-BgO]

LED industry turbulence to last 3-4 years

Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 21 December 2011]


Large profits are no longer to be found in the LED industry in 2011. According to Philips Taiwan, 2012 will be the year for the market to experience a wave of consolidation and the turbulence will likely last for 3-4 years.

According to Edward Po, president of Taiwan Philips, the revenues of LED lighting in the end market in 2011 will show on-year growth of 30-40%. The market has been expanding rapidly but a lot of firms have not yet reaped the expected profits due to price competition.

Although the output value of China's LED industry will reach CNY154 billion (US$24 billion) this year, a 22% on-year growth, the industry is experiencing oversupply and demand remains low. So numerous LED firms in China that have shut production.

Po indicated that oversupply is due to an overly-optimistic attitude by the industry during the the initial stages of market growth. The optimism attracted a lot of firms to enter the market. Once gross margins grow thinner, the firms have to use price competition to increase volumes to break even. Hence, Po pointed out, 2012 will be the year when the industry experiences consolidation and it will be just the beginning. The elimination process will last 3-4 years for the industry to return to normal.

Po anticipates the LED lighting penetration rate to reach 10% in 2011.

[R-BgO]

LED market grew almost 10% in 2011, with 44% growth in lighting
07 Feb 2012


The worldwide LED market grew 9.8% to $12.5 billion in 2011, with 44% growth in the lighting sector, according to Strategies Unlimited, who revealed the top-ten LED suppliers for the year. However, the outlook remains roughly flat for the next 5 years, peaking in 2013.

The worldwide high-brightness LED market grew from $11.3 billion in 2010 to $12.5 billion in 2011, a growth rate of 9.8%, according to market-research firm Strategies Unlimited. Demand for LED components (i.e. packaged LEDs) in the lighting market grew 44%, from $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion.

However, looking ahead, the annual revenues for packaged LEDs are likely to stay approximately flat for the next five years. The growth in revenue from the lighting sector will be largely offset by a decline in the backlighting sector.

The latest HB-LED market update was revealed during a pre-conference Investor Forum at the Strategies in Light event in Santa Clara. Analyst Ella Shum of Strategies Unlimited will go into more detail on HB-LED market developments in the keynote session of the conference on Wednesday February 8.

Leading LED suppliers for 2011
On the supply side, 10 companies accounted for more than 68% of the LED market in 2011. Strategies Unlimited arrived at these figures after analyzing market demand as well as the supply-side activity of 54 LED component suppliers.

The rank order of the top 10 suppliers in the LED market for 2011, by revenue of packaged LED components, is:
1. Nichia
2. Samsung LED
3. Osram Opto Semiconductors
4. LG Innotek
5. Seoul Semiconductor
6= Cree*
6= Philips Lumileds*
8. Sharp
9. Toyoda Gosei
10. Everlight

(*Companies have the same ranking when the difference in revenue is within the margin of error. Revenue includes packaged LED sales only, so pure-play LED chip companies such as Epistar are excluded).


LED supply by region
Geographically, Taiwanese and Chinese suppliers gained market share at the expense of the other regions. China’s improvement in product quality, coupled with gains in the domestic market, fueled the growth from 2% market share to 6% in one year. Korean companies lost share in the slowing market, even though they were the most aggressive in increasing capacity during the ramp-up in 2010.

The expansion by Philips Lumileds, Cree and Osram Opto into 6-inch substrates slowed as there was a great deal of excess capacity in their existing 4-inch lines. The Japanese LED business has trended down or flat. However, Nichia and TG are major beneficiaries of the boom in tablet computers. Osram Opto gained a major design win, which propelled its visible LED component business to more than $1 billion.


Market growth by segment

Mobile
This segment stayed flat in 2011, at $3.4 billion. The overall decrease in the mobile phones market was offset by a sharp rise in tablet display and flash applications. A major development in this segment is the move to OLED displays. Approximately 50% of smartphone displays are expected to be OLEDs by 2016.
TV/Monitor backlights

The LED revenue for TV and monitor backlights was $3 billion in 2011, but it is projected to drop substantially by 2016. The key disruptive factor in this segment is the introduction of low-cost, direct-backlit technology, targeted at sub-42-inch LCD TVs. This new technology can result in significant savings in the bill of materials (BOM), reducing the gap between LED- and CCFL-backlit TVs. These TVs are known as “chubby TVs” since they are thicker than the slim edge-lit design the industry has been touting for the past few years.
Lighting

The same supply conditions that reduced the price of LEDs increased the demand for packaged LEDs in lighting applications from $1.2 billion in 2010 to $1.8 billion in 2011. System efficacy, rather than LED efficacy, was the gating factor in 2011. The LED luminaire and replacment lamp market was $9.3 billion in 2011, an increase of 45% over 2010. The market for LEDs in lighting is expected to demonstate substantial unit growth over the next five years, but revenue growth will be much lower due to pricing pressure.

Automotive
Revenue reached $1 billion in 2011 We expect a 5-year CAGR of 34% for LED headlamps. In addition to the styling issues, this is part of the trend to convert all front lighting to LEDs, as it will provide more front-end room for the car designer and reduce the overall system cost. Revenue for interior automotive lighting will show a modest decline over the next five years as instrument panel adoption reaches saturation and the market declines with prices.

Future growth
The revenues for the LED packaging industry are expected to be flat in the next five years. With excess capacity in the industry there is a threat of unsustainable prices. Consolidation – both vertical and horizontal – can help improve margins. To further improve profit margin, product strategies such as LED packages tested for high temperature, narrow binning, high CRI, directional /multidirectional LEDs, and embedded controls are being tried by the market.

About the Author
Tim Whitaker is the Editor of LEDs Magazine.

[Kleiner Chef]

Falls noch nicht bekannt hier: Pre-IPO Invest eines LED-Herstellers Made in Germany möglich - ELumix plant großes!

LED startup promises better efficacy, higher robustness

September 29, 2011 | Christoph Hammerschmidt | 222907540
A protecting mechanism against thermal overload and better efficacy for LEDs is what startup chip manufacturer e:lumix promises. CEO Thomas Zabel even suggested doubling the efficacy at LED level.

e:lumix is a relatively new company, based in Augsburg (Germany). Nevertheless, the company claims that it owns the entire value chain of LED production including semiconductor manufacturing. At the LpS Symposium in Bregenz, CEO and co-founder Thomas Zabel said his company is able to provide LEDs with an efficacy of 180lm per watt. With this statement, Zabel contradicted his previous speaker, Decai Sun from Philips Lumileds. Sun, an experienced senior manager for product development, described the current goal for the LED industry to exceed the threshold of 130lm/W.


Zabel said his company is in the process of patent application for a driver technique that easily can achieve a significantly higher efficacy. In the laboratory, the company has already been able to design LEDs with an efficacy of more than 240 lm/W, Zabel said. However, he declined to provide details on his company's driver technique, referring to the ongoing patent application.


The company already has another unique technology implemented in its LEDs: According to Zabel, the e:lumix LEDs are inherently protected against overcurrent. The semiconductor have inserted a protection layer within the LED chip that effectively overcomes the hot spot problem. "This is not a matter of electronic control but of utilizing a physical effect inside the chip", Zabel said. With the protecting layer in place, the LED chips withstand an overcurrent condition of several times the normal current.


Zabel also said e:lumix has a solution for the reliability problem in outdoor lighting applications: When it comes to service life expectations of 30.000 operating hours and beyond, the main source of failure is in the power supply and driver circuit, not the LED itself, Zabel explained. For this reason, the company has designed an LED array that does away with power supplies - the LEDs can be connected directly to the 230VAC mains grid. While he was unable to specify the number of LED strings switched in parallel and the LEDs in it switched in series, the lamp is already in serial production and has achieved the certifications necessary for street lighting applications. And of course the lamp is protected by the abovementioned overcurrent mechanism, Zabel pointed out.



e:lumix Technology AG Expands Production Facilities with Fab in Augsburg / Germany

The innovative manufacturer and service provider in the area of LED semiconductor technology, e:lumix Technologie AG, announces the expansion of the Augsburg, Germany location to the Headquarters of Technology with their project “Augsburg – FAB6.1”.

Thomas Zabel, CEO of e:lumix Technologie AG presenting an LED module assembled with the most recent generation of e:lumix "Pirate" LEDs in front of the huge 2.2m integrating sphere
The renovations on the premises taken over from Siemens will start in February of this year. Production in the Shenzhen FAB1 will be closed in Q2/2012 with production starting up in June, 2012 in Augsburg, once the necessary adaptations have been made.

Besides the research centre for LED semiconductor technology, this factory will also house the production of white and RGB LED chips, LED clusters (COB/eOB) as well as LED modules (OEM products).

The building complex will have an in-house training facility for clients and employees as well as the “Silicon and Light Gallery”, where there will be an art and light exhibit.

The acquisition of the buildings and their expansion opportunities is linked to the generation of sustainable jobs in the region. The investment plan allows for 50 new jobs in 2012 and by 2016 the number of employees will have increased to 600.

In his talks with LED professional, Thomas Zabel told us how happy he was that the new location had adequate room for high-end laboratory equipment. He explained: “For extended quality assurance we already have a room for taking measurements and have set up an environment simulation chamber, a goniophotometer, aging equipment, micro-bolometric measurement systems and integrating spheres (spectroradiometer for optic measurements). This unit is a crucial part of our efforts to be ISO 9001:2008 certified by the third quarter of 2012. The generous space conditions at this new location will make work in our laboratory much more agreeable.”

“We are bursting at the seams at our present location,” he continued. “Since we were able to make an exclusive agreement with a Chinese manufacturer in 2010 – a result of having worked together in R&D and the expansion of production in China since 2005, we have grown exponentially. In addition, throughout 2011 general agreements with large European and Asian purchasers were signed. The consequence of that was the necessity of this step.”
Thomas Zabel sees the production and development of innovative LED semiconductors, the manufacturing of his own patented retrofit lamps and diverse concepts for license models for luminary manufacturers as the 3 mainstays of e:lumix AG.

This assessment was immediately reinforced by a discussion about the current progress and research results. The ePWM technology that was presented at the LpS 2011 has been replaced by a newly established semiconductor layer which takes over this function. Through field effects a charge shifting or optimized charge distribution is achieved which reduces the usual necessary charge overload from 38% to 7%. This increases efficiency considerably. In addition, the perpetual formation of hotspots is avoided. The thermal strain of the semiconductor is also reduced. e:lumix has also been able to increase the critical value of the junction temperature. Thomas Zabel said, “Our maxim is that the implementation of LEDs should be possible without complicated thermal designs. Our products have been built so that they can virtually be started up without having to use any additional cooling systems while still having the life span that is expected of an LED.”

“In accordance with our Motto, ‘We don’t want to take part in the market – we want to make a sustainable change in the world’; the acquisition of the Augsburg location only represents the first stage of expansion. We have also ensured diverse expansion options with this procurement,” ended Thomas Zabel’s explanation. e:lumix plans to invest 70 million Euros in the Augsburg location by 2018.

e:lumix, Platinum Sponsor of the LpS 2012 (LED professional Symposium +Expo), will be presenting their technological highlights to a expansive audience from September 25th to 27th, 2012 in Bregenz, Austria. (For more information please see: www.lps2012.com )

http://www.led-professional.com/business/company-information…

Mein Fazit: Wenn ELUMIX dem 8 größten Anbieter von LED-Produkten hinsichtlich der machbaren Standards und Lichtausbeute - Phillips - in den Schatten stellt, dann ist das entweder Überheblichkeit oder aber Vorsprung "Made in Germany". Ich neige dazu die 2. Variante anzunehmen.

Gruß

[R-BgO]

Price of small- and medium-size products to fall 20% in 1Q12
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 14 February 2012]


The price of small- and medium-size LED products is expected to fall by 20% in first-quarter 2012.

According to studies, total revenues of Taiwan-based LED firms that are listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) were NT$6.07 billion (US$205 million), down 7.22% on month and 23.4% on year. In particular, the total revenues of LED chipmakers and epitaxial wafer makers were NT$2.52 billion, down 4.4% compared to December 2011 and 33.4% compared to January 2011.

Demand for LED TV is expected to increase as South Korea-based panel makers plan to introduce new models in second-quarter 2012.

Market research institutes pointed out that ASPs of large-size products will increase, but the price of small- and medium-size epitaxial wafers will decrease around 20% due to severe price competition among China- and South Korea-based firms plus existing inventory levels. The price will stabilize once weaker firms exit the market.

Many LED firms indicated that there will not be any massive expansion plans in the short term.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 41.887.523 von R-BgO am 03.08.11 19:20:11

LED Maker Bridgelux Gets $25 Million Investment From Kaistar
By Andrew Herndon - Feb 13, 2012 10:06 PM GMT+0100


Bridgelux Inc., a closely held maker of light-emitting diodes, received a $25 million investment from Kaistar Lighting Xiamen Co., a joint venture of two Chinese manufacturers.

The funding will be used to develop LED chip and packaging technology for general lighting, Livermore, California-based Bridgelux said today in a statement.

Kaistar is a venture of the LED chip and wafer maker Epistar Corp. (2448) and the contract manufacturer Shenzhen Kaifa Technology Co.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: LED ceiling lights gain popularity in Japan market
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Thursday 16 February 2012]


A recent invesitgation by Digitimes Reseach of the recent LED product prices and trends in the Japan market has revealed that the latest buzz there is the LED ceiling light.

LED ceiling lights are more diverse than the traditional incandescent lighting fixtures and relatively thinner. LED ceiling lights use similar tube lights as LED-backlit TVs, hence it would help LED firms to reduce inventories.

The price of LED light bulbs that are to replace the traditional 40W bulbs (the most common in Japan) is around JPY1,000-2,000 (US$12.76-25.51). In the retail stores, light bulbs are packed together from two a set to five a set with average price of JPY1,000 per bulb.

LED light bulbs are currently on sale in Japan and lighting firms are aiming to promote LED light bulbs that are to replace the 60W traditional light bulbs in 2012. This LED light bulbs are omni-directional with brightness of at least 800lm.

In electronics retail stores, the price of 60-inch LED TV falls to around JPY190,000-210,000, making them more affordable to most families.

[R-BgO]

LED lighting uptake to rise sharply in 2012 and reach 25% by 2014, says a new report from Digitimes Research
Press release, February 21; Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 21 February 2012]

Taipei, Taiwan - Growing concerns about energy and emissions are driving a revolution in the lighting sector, according to a new report from Digitimes Research. Advances in technology and falling prices will see the global penetration rate of LED lighting rise from a mere 1.5% as recently as 2009 to 11.6% in 2012, reaching 25.8% by 2014.

This change is nowhere more apparent than in Japan, where power shortages following the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 have spurred both the public and private sector to seek ways of reducing energy consumption. To this end, Japan has set a target of achieving a 50% LED lighting penetration rate by 2015; this may sound ambitious, but Digitimes' research shows that the country is likely to easily meet the 2015 goal. Other nations including South Korea and China have also set significant LED lighting targets for 2015.

Japan's LED lighting sector is also booming, with both household names like Panasonic and Toshiba and smaller players such as Koizumi seeing sharp growth in LED lighting sales. South Korean giants Samsung and LG are stepping up efforts to seize market share in Europe and North America and restructuring their LED businesses, while Siemens' subsidiary Osram seems likely to become the subject of Germany's largest IPO since Deutsche Post. US giant Cree and Philips, by contrast, are making a major push into China, both in terms of manufacturing and sales.

For detailed analysis of the major trends and players in the global LED lighting market, see Digitimes Research's new Special Report, "Trends in the high-brightness LED lighting market."

[R-BgO]

Sapphire substrate makers expect February revenues to improve
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 1 March 2012]


Demand in the LED industry has been returning and some LED chipmakers have been enjoying 90% capacity utilization rates. Nevertheless, inventory levels are still high, causing sapphire substrate prices to remain flat. Industry sources believe market conditions have been improving and February revenues for sapphire substrate makers will outperform those in January.

The 90% capacity utilization rates of most LED chipmakers are due to increasing orders from TV firms and sales of LED lighting products. Order visibility is clear through June, said industry sources.

The decline of LED ASPs in first-quarter 2012 has eased off, but profits are still limited.

The return of demand in the LED industry has not been helping the price of sapphire substrates to increase. The current price of 2-inch sapphire substrates is around US$6-8/unit, flat compared to fourth-quarter 2011. Sapphire substrate makers noted that orders have been increasing.

Tera Xtal's 2-inch sapphire substrate monthly capacity is currently around 450,000 units and it hopes to ramp up to 600,000 units in 2012. Tera Xtal also hopes to self-produce 30% of its sapphire ingot needs.

[R-BgO]

http://www.digitimes.com/Reports/Report.asp?datepublish=2012…

[R-BgO]

LED chip makers see increased capacity utilization and revenues in March
Siu Han, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 3 April 2012]

Taiwan-based makers of LED chips including Epistar, Lextar Electronics, Genesis Photonics and Bright Led Electronics, had increased capacity utilization in March due to increasing orders for LED chips used in backlight of LCD TVs and lighting products, and are expected to see large sequential increases in March revenues, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

The makers said there were increased shipments due to TV brands launching new models in the second quarter, which gave them an increased capacity utilization rate of 70-80%, with some even as high as 90%.

Epistar said it saw significant growth in LED orders with an order visibility of around a month and estimates that its utilization rate will reach 90% in April. Increased sales in street and tunnel lights during February brought revenues of NT$1.18 billion yuan (US$400.6 million) for the company and it hopes to see NT$1.36 billion in revenues from March sales. .

LED makers are also preparing to launch new products at Germany's 2012 Messe Frankfurt Lighting Fair this April, which will further drive LED lighting. Lextar will release LED modules that have high efficiency and high color rendering, with (CRI) greater than 95. This includes a high-saturation red color (R9) that has a CRI of over 90 and a warm white at 100 lm/W.

Genesis Photonics had a capacity utilization of only 60% and saw losses in the fourth quarter of 2012 due to weak demand in LED chips. Although the company had revenues of about NT$414 million, it saw an annual reduction of about 35.88%, but is expected to rebound in March. The company will however have a joint venture with Kunshan City to manufacture LED products, which will expand the layout of China's LED market and increase Genesis' LED product revenue from 30% to 50%.

Meanwhile, FreeSolar had sales of NT$262 million and will see sales surpass NT$300 million in March. This will improve its order visibility to 40 days and in the second quarter its capacity utilization rate will reach 90%.

[R-BgO]

Sapphire substrate quotes increase
Siu Han, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Friday 6 April 2012]


Sapphire substrates are continuing to increase in price and some suppliers have raised their April quotes for 2-inch ones to more than US$9 per piece, according to industry sources. The sources said this is because LED applications are becoming more in demand, which is increasing the need for upstream sapphire substrates.

Since LED chip makers still had losses in the first quarter and sapphire substrate capacity in China is rising, it is expected that substrate prices will continue to slowly hike in the second quarter. Although LED chip makers still have bargaining space, the price increase is estimated to help sapphire substrate plants return to a positive gross margin in April at the earliest, according to the sources.

LED chip manufacturers saw a capacity utilization rate of 80-90% in March, which increased the demand for sapphire substrates. There are more orders for the substrates and manufacturers such as Taiwan-based Tera Xtal and Crystalwise are already proposing price hikes with customers.

Despite the suppliers' quotes of over US$9, LED chip makers will likely to be able to bargain them down below US$9 for April due to their procurement scale. But if the LED industry continues to see demand picking up, actual 2-inch substrate prices may exceed US$9 in May followed by a monthly increase of US$0.30-0.50.

Meanwhile, China-based sapphire substrate manufacturers' utilization rate is increasing and some Taiwan-based LED manufacturers, in order to ease pressure on production cost, have begun to purchase substrates from China-based suppliers, whose quotes are generally lower.

But the sources said Taiwan-based substrate manufacturers still have advantage in terms of yield rates, after-sales services and stable supply.

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Unity Opto sees monthly revenues double amidst increasing LED popularity
Siu Han, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Friday 6 April 2012]


LED packaging firm Unity Opto announced revenues in March was NT$400 million (US$13.55 million), a monthly growth rate of 28%, while the company's consolidated revenues came to NT$420 million, a monthly increase of 20%.

Unity Opto said that orders are increasing due to backlighting products' terminal inventory returning to safe levels and new products being released. Firms throughout Taiwan, China, Europe and the US are all increasing orders, added the company.

Unity Opto's revenues in this year's first quarter totaled NT$995 million with consolidated revenues at NT$1.6 billion. The company noted that LED firms are reviving and that the toughest times have passed and it predicts that backlighting products including applications for new TVs and touch tablets will see increasing shipments throughout the second quarter.

Unity Opto said that its monthly revenues have almost doubled each month this year so far, and that the penetration rate for TV backlighting will reach 65-70% from 40% last year. LED TVs made up 50% of the overall penetration rate for TVs at the beginning of this year but that number is estimated to reach 80% by the end of the year, added the company.

The company also estimates that LED products will be in even more demand during the second quarter as companies release their new products.

[microby]

kennst Du die aktuelle Situation des Marktes, sprich die Aufteilung der Marktanteile im Verkauf?

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 43.016.034 von microby am 09.04.12 17:12:27

bin nicht sicher, auf welche(n) Wertschöpfungsstufe/Markt die Frage zielt;

meinst Du den Leuchtmittelverkauf? (z.B. mediamarkt, Lbenesmittelhändler,...)

oder die branded-goods Lieferanten? (Philips, Osram,...)

oder etwas weiter vorn?

oder das Verhältnis der Technologien zueinander? (Glühlampe, Energiesparlampe, LED,...)

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 43.016.034 von microby am 09.04.12 17:12:27

von DIGI:

Key trends in the development of lighting technology


Developments in LED lighting technology are taking place at a dramatic pace, heavily influencing the LED industry chain as well as final products. Component makers continually pursue the goal of raising the luminous efficacy of LEDs, while also addressing voltages that are radically different from that of main electricity, and adopting new packaging processes such as COB (chip on board). This report serves as a primer for these issues as well as highlingting breakthrough developments in terms of capacitors, heat dissipation and smart LED lighting systems.


LED lighting prices are expected to fall by 30% per year, with luminous efficacy approaching 200 lm/W by 2014. Many countries have also identified 2015 as a key milestone in their development of lighting policies, meaning that 2014 is likely to see a large-scale movement to replace traditional lighting. For example, Japan plans to raise the share of the general lighting market accounted for by LED lighting to 50% by 2015; South Korea also has a 2015 target of 30%; and China a 2015 target of 20%. The 2013-2014 period will be a crucial phase for laying the groundwork to achieve these 2015 targets; the LED lighting penetration rate is therefore forecast to hit 25.8% in 2014, with an output value of US$41.9 billion.

However, the industry has a long way to go before it can achieve those targets. Companies throughout the upstream, midstream and downstream LED supply chain are working on improving the quality of their products while reducing the costs, and Digitimes Research is keeping a close eye on the related impact on final products.

In terms of upstream LED components, manufacturers have continually pursued the goal of raising the luminous efficacy of LEDs. For example, Cree, the largest US-based LED manufacturer, had its 2W LED package products rated as high as 161 lm/W in 2011, higher than the maximum luminous efficacy of 133 lm/W for Nichia, the global LED leader by market share, and the 146 lm/W achieved by German giant Osram. However, it is Japanese manufacturer Toyoda Gosei that has positioned itself at the top of the market with the launch of a 170 lm/W LED component that delivers performance roughly two years ahead of the US DOE schedule for achieving such products. These products went on sale in early 2012.

Another challenge LED industry players are addressing is how to make LED products that are more easily used with mainstream electric grids. Most LEDs work on voltages that are radically different from that of mains electricity, resulting in a significant loss in efficiency. HV LEDs LEDs are one way of solving this problem.

In terms of LED package manufacturing processes, while COB was already in use in some sectors, falling LED prices have led more and more manufacturers to adopt it. Development efforts for COB technology have been focused on the need to increase luminous flux performance and decrease the volume of the device. Spotlights are one area where the potential of COB LEDs can be exploited, as the lack of ghosting on the subject for illumination means that optical performance is better than that of high-power LEDs.

Another type of process, which promises "freedom from binning" was developed by Philips for its Luxeon LED components. This method matches LED chips of different wavelengths with different phosphor formula in order to eliminate the different binning processes required for different LEDs. One advantage of this is that it to a large extent solves the problems of defective products and excess stocks, meaning that a much higher proportion of each batch of LED components can be used in the primary product range, i.e. LED lighting.

There have also been breakthrough developments in terms of capacitors, a key component affecting the lifespan of LED lighting products. Heat dissipation is another area where LED lighting manufacturers continue to make improvements, while on the downstream end product front, smart LED lighting systems are no longer limited to conceptual prototypes.

These various technological improvements should make a major contribution to increasing LED lighting uptake in the future, as they reduce the number of LED chips needed, reduce overall lighting costs, reduce power consumption, and improve LED usage rates.

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Taiwan LED firms display new products in Germany
Siu Han, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Monday 16 April 2012]


Taiwan LED firms are displaying their latest LED lighting technology at the 2012 Lighting+Building exhibition in Frankfurt Germany. The exhibition is held on a bi-annual basis and is estimated to have 1000 different firms participating and attract 180,000 visitors while it runs from April 15-20.

Lite-On Technology is featuring energy efficient lighting features and smart control systems along with what it claims is the world's lightest light bulb that is 78 grams with a CRI greater than 90 and brightness at 800lm. The firm is also promoting 7-15W LED bulbs that have a thermal design and an optical point of view up to 340 degrees. The bulbs also have a power efficiency of up to 88% and have been certified by TUV, as well as VDE, KEMA and S-JET, and meet IP54 waterproof and V0 fire standards.

Everlight is displaying its Shwo D high-efficiency LED products that it says offers good value per lumen and high brightness which can be used for general lighting, flash, spotlights, and advertising lighting. Everlight said under a 350mA operating current, the Shwo D series can provide a brightness of 1W and the 1W Shwo D can provide 110 lm when the color temperature is 6500K and 80 lm when the color temperature is 3000K.

Lextar introduced "Slim OLED" wall stickers that are portable and light. They have a built-in rechargeable battery and a thickness of only 3.7mm along with three different settings for dimming. The color wall stickers are red, blue, and yellow OLED modules that can stick on murals.

Industry sources said that Europe has the fastest growing LED market and countries there are starting to put bands on high wattage incandescent bulbs and focusing more on energy efficiency. The sources also said the LED lighting market there will reach around US$3 billion in 2012 with a CAGR of almost 40% from 2011 to 2015.

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OLED penetration in smartphones to reach over 10% in 2012, says AUO executive
Siu Han, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 20 April 2012]


The penetration rate of OLED panels in the smartphone sector is expected to reach over 10% in 2012, and prices of small- to medium-size OLED panels will be lowered to levels comparable to those of TFT LCD panels in two years, according to TK Wu, vice president and general manager of mobile solution business unit at AU Optronics (AUO).

While the bottlenecks in terms of resolution and yield rates still remain in AMOLED panels, resources poured in by Japan-based companies as well as by AUO, Chimei Innolux (CMI), Ritek and other companies will contribute to continuous improvement in technologies and materials in the sector, Wu stated.

The available sizes of OLED panels will also continue to expand from 4-inch to 5.3-inch and to large-size for TV applications, said Wu, but OLED panels may not be adopted for notebook and monitor applications due to factors in the IT industry and price competition.

According to DisplaySearch, prices of 55-inch OLED TVs which are expected to be launched by Korea vendors in the second half of 2012 are likely to be set around US$7,000-8,000, 4-fold the price for the same-size LCD TVs. It will take about 3-4 years to lower the price gap to two-fold, according to David Hsieh, vice president of DisplaySearch.

Shipments of OLED TVs are expected to reach 108,000 units in 2012 and grow to three million units in 2014, accounting for 1% of global TV shipments, DisplaySearch has estimated.

[microby]

ich den generellen Anteil von LED Leuchtmitteln im Markt

wächst, auf jeden Fall, hast Du einen Favoriten für eine Investition?

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 43.083.435 von microby am 24.04.12 22:37:25

bin mir noch nicht sicher,

Rubicon ist sehr profitabel und günstig bewertet, könnte aber unter einem Technologieshift weg vom Saphir leiden

Cree scheint sehr stark zu sein ,sit aber trotz starkem Rückgang immer noch teuer

Zumtobel und Acuity sind am Ende der Kette und müssten von sinkenden Preisen eigentlich am meisten profitieren

=> muss einfach noch viel mehr Zeit reinstecken, um wirklich was fundiertes sagen zu können

auf der Light & Building letzte woche bin ich noch über drei in Shenzhen notierte buden gefallen, die ich mir bei Gelegenheit mal angucken muss:

Nationstar, 002449
Honglitronic, 300219
Unilumin, 300232

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LED chipmakers report different results in 1Q12
Siu Han, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Monday 30 April 2012]


LED chipmakers Epistar and Genesis Photonics both reported losses during the first quarter due to decreasing prices for LED chip products, particularly in backlights for TVs.

Epistar reported that its gross profit margin dropped to 5.25% and had losses of NT$515 million (US$17.1 million) during the first quarter with Genesis reporting a drop of 11.42% in its gross profit margin.

However, Epistar said there is increasing demand for LED lighting and that it predicts the company will see a turnaround provided LED TV products sell as well as they are expected to. Genesis also stated that while the first quarter was not a busy season for LED products, it is optimistic its revenues will increase in the second quarter as new LED TV lighting products make their way into the market.

Edison Opto on the other hand saw its revenue increase to NT$606 million, a 3.4% improvement from the fourth quarter of 2011 along with a gross profit margin of 17.7%. Edison said the increases are largely due to its LDMS (lighting design manufacturing service) and estimates its revenue will increase 35-40% in the second quarter as the company continues to expand, particularly in China's market.

Meanwhile, Epileds had a gross profit margin of 14.47%, down from the 38% for the same period last year. It also had an EPS of NT$1.8 and a net profit of NT$180 million (US$61.8 million).

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Sapphire substrate sales increase in April
Siu Han, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Friday 11 May 2012]


Substrate manufacturers such as Crystal Applied Technologies and Wafer Works reported increased revenues during April due to upstream sapphire substrates becoming more in demand as LED sales are rising globally.

Wafer works saw a 50% increase in revenues during April and Crystal reported NT$160 million (US$5.5 million) while LED chip manufacturers Genesis Photonics, Tekcore, and Epileds all saw increased revenues during the same period.

Alphaxtal (ACTC), however, reported a 14% decline in April over March due to production transition but stated that it will start producing 4-inch substrates instead of original 2-inch ones in order to meet industry demand.

Industry sources noted, however, that sapphire ingot prices are still in a slump.

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LED lighting to boom in 2H13, says Ledlink
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 5 June 2012]


Ledlink Optics, a Taiwan-based firm that specializes in producing secondary optical lenses for LED lighting, was listed on the OTC market on June 5, 2012. According to chairman Te-Lung Tang, the market has been vying for "the year of LED lighting", but the price of LEDs has not reached its sweet spot. The revolution of indoor LED lighting will begin when the price of 160lm/W LED lighting decreases 50%. This is likely to take place in second-half 2012-2014.

According to Digitimes Research, the CAGR of the LED lighting market from 2012-2014 is approximately 85%. According to Tang, Ledlink's orders are likely to increase with this market trend if other factors (such as the debt crisis in Europe) do not affect the economy. Currently, the penetration rate of LED lighting is around 8-10%. It is very likely the penetration rate will exceed 10% in 2012, said Tang.

The firm indicated its global market share in the LED lighting market is about 35% and the firm has more than 2,000 secondary optical lenses. Ledlink's customers include industry leading firms such as Philips, Osram and GE.

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OLED-Lighting...?:


Japan maker to commercialize OLED lightings
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Friday 20 July 2012]

Japan-based OLED lighting panel maker Lumiotec plans to introduce the new P06 series with brightness efficiency of 28lm/W in August 2012. The five products in the series will be priced around JPY13,000-40,000/unit (US$165-508/unit), according to the firm.

Lumiotec, which is a joint venture of Japan-based firms such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, ROHM, Toppan Printing, and Mitsui, specializes in producing OLED panels for lighting applications. The firm was founded in May 2008.

According to studies, the global OLED lighting output value in 2011 was JPY1 billion. This figure is expected to expand to JPY500 billion by 2030. Lumiotec expects revenues in 2015 to increase to JPY10 billion and targets 2020 revenues to reach JPY50 billion due to optimistic view on the development of OLED lightings.

Taiwan-based Lextar has showcased OLED lighting products, but as the price of OLED lightings remain high, the firm currently has no plan for commercial production.

Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Epistar believes in the long-run, OLED products might compete with LED products in the lighting market, but due to factors such as brightness efficiency, price and lifespan, it will be difficult for OLED products to completely replace LED lighting products.

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Taiwan market: LED lighting penetration may rise to 50% in 2013, say Philips Taiwan president
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 24 July 2012]


The trend of using LED lighting products in place of conventional lamps in the Taiwan market is growing, and the penetration rate of LED lighting, and the proportion of total lighting products for LED lighting, is likely to increase to hit the milestone of 50% in 2013, earlier than the global average will do so in 2015 as forecast by Philips, according to president Edward Po for Philips Taiwan.

The penetration rate of LED lighting, bulbs and tubes, in terms of sales value in the Taiwan market rose from less than 5% in January 2012 to 30% in May, with an average of 20% for January-May, Po pointed out. In the period, mainstream LED lighting products were LED light bulbs to replace 40W incandescent bulbs and halogen lamps, Po indicated. However, LED light bulbs to replace 60W incandescent bulbs will become the mainstream of LED lighting beginning the second half of 2012, Po said.

Looking at the retail channel, Taiwan-based vendor Everlight Electronics has offered 8W LED light bulbs for sale at NT$299 (US$10.0) through cooperation with 7-Eleven chain while another vendor Delta Electronics has launched a 9W yellow-light and 10W omni-directional LED bulbs for sale at NT$399 and NT$499, respectively. In response, Philips has lowered the retail price for its 9W yellow-light LED bulbs from NT$599 originally to NT$499.

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Commentary: OLED technology gaining more attention globally
Rebecca Kuo, Tainan; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 24 July 2012]


Manufacturers all over the world are starting to lay out plans for developing OLED products due to the wide variety of usage for which the technology can be applied, such as for display screens, flexible displays and lighting.

Most OLED manufacturers are located in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US. In Taiwan, AU Optronics (AUO) will reportedly have a 4.3-inch AMOLED panel available in the third quarter in the hopes that it can boost smart phone panel orders as well as compete more with Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) and LG Display.

Additionally, Japan's Sony and Panasonic plan to jointly develop next-generation OLED panels and modules by each utilizing their core printing technologies. They plan to jointly develop printing method-based next-generation OLED technology, which will be suitable for low-cost mass production of large, high-resolution OLED panels and modules. Sony and Panasonic aim to establish mass-production technology by 2013, by integrating their technologies to improve the overall efficiency of development.

OLED TVs are also expected to make their first appearance in the second half of this year with Samsung and LG leading the pack. Samsung will reportedly put out a 55-inch ES9500 model that will have a price tag of 10 million Korean won (US$8,760) while LG's 55-inch EM9600 model is not expected to hit the market until 2013.

In response to this phenomenon, China-based panel makers such as Visionox and Changhong along with many others have formed an OLED industry alliance in order to boost AMOLED TV sales as well as to stay competitive with Korea-, Taiwan-, and Japan-based OLED makers in the panel industry. Sources said alliances like these are growing and will be popular with TV makers and their supply chains, particularly those who make OLED TVs, in the future.

Moreover, OLED lighting is gaining more attention globally. The advantages of OLED lighting include no mercury and UV, and it does not have overheating problems like LED lighting. OLED lighting is also self-luminous, has high-energy efficiency, and generates less heat. It is good for lighting fixtures that may be only a few centimeters thin as well as for placement on walls or ceilings.

Manufacturers all over the world such as Sharp, Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric, Osram, NEC-Lighting, Panasonic, and Hitachi-Lighting began promoting OLED lamps in 2009 at competitive prices, and are planning to push the technology even more with consumers. However, OLED lighting production costs at this stage are still high and give off a luminosity that is half as bright as fluorescent bulbs, but industry sources said this is slowly improving.

Sources added that it would still be another 3-5 years before OLED TVs and OLED lighting become the mainstream in their related fields.

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Saphir-Marktüberblick:

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SiC gains traction:


Toshiba plans silicon-based LED production; Azzurro installs Veeco MOCVD
31 Jul 2012

Veeco Instruments announced that Azzurro Semiconductors has commissioned a new Veeco MOCVD reactor for silicon-based LED production while Toshiba plans to begin mass producing silicon-based LEDs this fall.
Toshiba has announced that it will begin mass producing silicon-based white LEDs in October 2012 on a 200-mm line at Kaga Toshiba Electronics Co. Azurro Semiconductors, another silicon-based LED maker, has installed a Veeco Instruments metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system to build LEDs and other power semiconductors.

Toshiba and Bridgelux

Toshiba will manufacture phosphor-converted white LEDs using gallium-nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology developed by partner Bridgelux. By using a silicon wafer rather than the more typical sapphire wafer, Toshiba can take advantage of automated production tools for the back end of the LED manufacturing process that have been long proven in the broad IC industry, and in turn reduce component costs.

The fact that Toshiba will focus on 200-mm (8-in) wafers is also significant. Larger wafers mean more LED chips per wafer and potentially lower costs, although to date no one has fully proven such a manufacturing line with acceptable yields. Most sapphire-based LED production has been done on 2- and 4-in wafers although the industry has rapidly moved to 6-in wafers over the past year.

The production line will depend on "the combination of Bridgelux’s crystal growth and LED chip structure and Toshiba’s advanced silicon process and manufacturing technology," according to Toshiba. The company said it had manufactured a prototype chip with maximum radiometric output of 614 mW, and presumably judges that performance suitable for production components.

Bridgelux announced last year that it had produced GaN-on-Si LEDs in the lab with an efficacy of 150 lm/W in cool white. The company said it was working on making the process and recipe stable and transferrable.

In May of this year, Bridgelux announced that Toshiba had invested an unspecified amount in Bridgelux. At that time, Bridgelux had first mentioned the 614-mW performance level achieved with a drive current of 350 mW and a forward voltage of 3.1V.

Azzurro taps Veeco

Last week we covered an announcement of funding that Azzurro Semiconductors received to further develop its GaN-on-Si technology and extend it to 200-mm wafers, and subsequently Veeco Instruments announced that Azzurro has installed a Veeco TurboDisc K465i MOCVD system that's used to grow the epitaxial layer on wafers for LEDs and other power semiconductors.

"Our technology provides high-quality, crack-free GaN layers on 150-mm standard silicon wafers with very good crystal quality and extremely low bow values. We chose Veeco's K465i to produce these high efficiency GaN-on-Si stacks because of its performance, process stability, and high throughput," said Markus Sickmoller, vice president of operations at Azzurro. "We believe our GaN-on-Si technology will trigger a new wave of highly efficient and cost-optimized components for the LED and power semiconductor industry."

"The power electronics device market is forecasted by Yole Developpement to be $25B by 2015, and GaN has the ability to make devices with higher efficiency and switching speed than traditional Si devices. Further, LEDs made with GaN-on-Si technology will enable lower LED costs," said Jeff Hawthorne, Veeco's senior vice president of MOCVD. "We anticipate that the demand for MOCVD tools for these GaN-on-Si applications will grow as technology moves from R&D into production. Veeco's K465i systems offer key advantages for GaN-on-Si production, including low particle count and excellent yields, and we're looking forward to continuing to support Azzurro's growing GaN-on-Si business."

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GLT reports record high revenues for July
Rebecca Kuo, Tainan; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Friday 10 August 2012]


Light guide plate (LGP) maker Global Lighting Technologies (GLT) has reported its July revenues at NT$531 million (US$17.7), the highest it has ever reported within a single month.

The company's revenues saw a 30.63% on-month increase and a 45.55% on-year increase. GLT said it had 30% growth in LGPs largely due to increased orders from US-based customers, and that shipments for LGPs used in TVs also increased.

GLT also said that shipments of lighting-use LGPs are also recovering as Japan-based customers are adjusting their inventories. GLT is also receiving orders from new customers.

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Trends in Asia's LED chip manufacturing industry
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Thursday 13 September 2012]

Asia is playing an ever more important role in upstream LED chip manufacturing. The region accounted for 80% of MOCVD demand in 2011 and will account for 90% in 2012, largely because Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China are the major global centers for LED chip production. China will account for 68% of demand this year, although its LED chip makers still need to make major improvements to their technology; consequently, manufacturers in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea continue to have a competitive edge at present.


Abstract

Asia is playing an ever more important role in upstream LED chip manufacturing. Digitimes Research projects that the region will account for 90% of global demand for MOCVD units in 2012, up ten percentage points on the share in the previous year. China accounts for 68% of this figure, although its LED chip makers still need to make major improvements to their technology; consequently, manufacturers in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea continue to have a competitive edge at present.

South Korean manufacturers are generally more competitive in terms of their LED industry chain than their counterparts in Japan and Taiwan, largely thanks to their all-in-one, integrated modes of production, with value added by strong brands in the case of Samsung in particular. However, in terms of LED chip manufacturing capabilities alone, Japanese manufacturers are the most competitive, followed by players in Taiwan, South Korea and China in that order.

Japanese manufacturers are projected to have the highest total output value of any Asian nation/region for their LED businesses in 2012 at US$3.6 billion with year-on-year growth of 17%; followed by South Korean firms with US$3.2 billion and growth of 49.6%, thanks to vertical integration and the fact that output value figures also include modules; and Taiwan-based players with US$1.69 billion, due to their focus on LED component production. However, if modules are removed from the output value equation, Taiwan-based manufacturers will in fact outperform their South Korean counterparts in 2012.

China-based manufacturers that have recently prospered are projected to increase output value by 30% year on year to US$1.42 billion in 2012 as their newly acquired MOCVD capacity comes online. However, most China-based manufacturers mainly produce medium and low power LEDs, and as such pose little threat to the global industry standing of other players in the Asia region at the current time.

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Taiwan LED firms report falling total September revenues
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 15 October 2012]


The total revenues of Taiwan-based LED firms in September 2012 were NT$9.27 billion (US$317 million), down by 2.28% on month but up by 13% on year, according to market watchers.

Global sales of TVs, notebooks, and monitors have been down, affecting LED backlight orders, hence total September output showed an on-month decrease compared to August. Meanwhile, LCD TV sales in China during the October 1 long holidays were been better than expected which is likely to help lower inventory levels, said the watchers.

China's domestic TV brands such as TCL, Skyworth, Changhong, and Hisense saw sales during the October 1 holidays grow by 17-22% on year. Konka and Haier saw sales increase close to 10% on year during the period, according to estimates.

In September 2012, total revenues reported by LED chipmakers that are listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) were NT$3.93 billion, representing an on-month decrease of 4.2%. LED packaging houses reported a total September revenues of NT$5.35 billion, showing a slight on-month decrease of 0.82%.

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http://www.digitimes.com/reports/pic/LED/Industry_chain.jpg

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Osram Sylvania wins race to offer 100W-equivalent LED A-lamp (Updated)
13 Nov 2012


Some Lowe's home improvement retailers have begun to sell Osram Sylvania's 100W-equivalent A-21 LED retrofit lamp that is rated for 25,000 hrs of life.

Beginning at Lightfair International (LFI) earlier this year, it became clear that the major lighting vendors were in a heated race to be first to market with a 100W-equivalent LED A-lamp. Apparently Osram Sylvania has hit the finish line first with some Lowe's retailers already selling the company's Sylvania Ultra LED 20W A21 solid-state lighting (SSL) product.

Just a few weeks back, Philips Lighting announced that it was readying to ship its 100W-equivalent and that the lamps would be in Home Depot by December 1. So the race is mainly for bragging rights, but the availability of 100W-equivalent LED lamps is a positive move for the industry.

The Sylvania product outputs 1600 lm with efficacy of 80 lm/W. It has a CRI of 80 color temperature of 2700K and is dimmable to 10%. The company said that based on the 25,000-hr rated life, the lamp would save consumers $220 over its life relative to an incandescent lamp.

"Today’s announcement from Osram Sylvania shows a commitment to providing high quality, energy saving products," said Phil Rioux, vice president of lamps and general lighting. "We have a deep understanding of the challenges facing businesses and consumers, such as saving energy and reducing electricity bills without sacrificing quality of light."

Fast forward six months, and the race to market will probably matter little in terms of the sales of 100W-equivalent LED lamps. But differences in product design may. Both the Osram and Philips designs are in the A-21 form factor that is slightly larger than the A-19 size that is most common used in homes. GE Lighting has said that it will deliver an A-19 100W-equivalent lamp, although it may be six months before that product ships.

Moreover, the Osram and Philips products are vastly different in looks. The Philips design uses remote phosphor and is yellow-orange tinted in the off state. The Osram design (pictured nearby) looks white, but still has prominent cooling features evident in the design.

The specs differ as well. Philips says its lamp will deliver 1780 lm – more than is typical from a 100W incandescent lamp that comes in around 1600 lm. But the Philips design also is a 22W lamp.

Back at LFI, GE Lighting said its lamp would deliver 1600 lm and consume 27W. The design uses an active cooling device called Synjet made by Nuventix that is in part the reason that the design can meet the A-19 size. But apparently the cooler also increases power consumption.

Apparently the Osram lamp is selling for $50 at Lowe's. Philips has said that Home Depot will price its product at $55.

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Financial troubles plague China LED industry
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 26 November 2012]


Continuously falling prices, unstable subsidies, and low demand in Europe have been causing China-based LED firms to face financial troubles. The LED industry continues to suffer with oversupply. Many LED firms in China have been said to face production suspension or bankruptcy in 2011.

The latest firm to face financial woes is Shenzhen Hiboled Photoelectricity. The firm is said to owe a large sum to suppliers and has been in salary disputes with employees.

According to China-based industry sources, in 2011, there were more than 100 LED firms in China each with more than CNY100 million (US$16 million) in capital. In first-half 2012, due to weak economies in Europe and the US, and China banks reducing loans, more than 200 LED display makers suspended production.

LED makers noted that LED display makers need to maintain a gross margin above 20%. The recent price drop caused the average gross margin in 2012 to be only 15% and this induced many LED display makers to turn to lighting applications. Furthermore, local government subsidies have yet to be finalized due to the change of leadership in China in the second half of 2012.

China-based industry sources added that government projects tend to have low prices making firms reluctant to participate.

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neuer Player:

PLAINVIEW, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Veeco Instruments Inc. (VECO) (Nasdaq: VECO) announced today that HC SemiTek Corporation (300323: CH), one of Chinas leading LED manufacturers, has purchased additional TurboDisc® MaxBright® GaN MOCVD Systems for high volume production of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for display and general lighting applications. The order, placed in the third quarter of 2012, was for Veecos new High Performance (MHP) version of the system.

Dr. Rong Liu, President of HC SemiTek, stated, Veecos MOCVD products offer stable process and have already helped us to successfully produce high quality, high brightness LEDs. The addition of MaxBright MHPs to our manufacturing line will allow us to ramp additional production quickly, due to the seamless process transfer from our existing Veeco toolset.

Jeff Hawthorne, Veecos Senior Vice President, MOCVD, commented, "We are pleased HC SemiTek has once again chosen Veecos MOCVD technology for their production requirements. The MaxBright MHP helps drive our customers productivity and yield, while reducing manufacturing costs.

About the TurboDisc MaxBright MHP GaN MOCVD Multi-Reactor System

The MaxBright MHP is the industry's most productive MOCVD system designed to manufacture high quality, high brightness LEDs, by providing as much as 20% within-wafer wavelength uniformity improvement, enhanced serviceability and a 15% increase in footprint efficiency as compared to the MaxBright. Higher yields are achieved from improved thermal and flow capability. This system leverages Veecos production-proven Uniform FlowFlange® technology and automation expertise by combining multiple high throughput MOCVD reactors in a modular 2- or 4-reactor cluster architecture.

About HC SemiTek Corporation

HC SemiTek Corporation, formerly Wuhan HC SemiTek Co., Ltd., is a leading LED chip supplier based in Wuhan, China, and traded publicly on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. HC SemiTek is committed to R&D, production and sales of high-quality LED chips, mainly in GaN-based blue and green LEDs. Currently, they serve clients throughout the country, and their products have been successfully applied to a number of domestic key projects. More information can be found at http://www.hcsemitek.com/en/index.asp.

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LED chip technology to enter plateau period, says Bridgelux
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 3 December 2012]


Due to the global economic downturn, demand for LED lighting has been weakening. Meanwhile, efficiency and price-performance ratio have been increasing, and the penetration rate of the LED lighting market is expected to continue rising. Market observers believe the CAGR of the LED lighting market from 2011-2016 will reach 17%.

According to Brian Fisher, director of Corporate Marketing at US-based Bridgelux, LED demand from emerging markets such as China and India have been slowing down in 2012. Nevertheless, the US market is expected to see growing LED demand as the government solves its budget problems. Hence LED lighting is expected to grow in 2013, said Fisher.

Bridgelux added that in the past, the LED industry has emphasized increasing brightness efficiency, but in recent years, firms have been focusing on price-performance ratio to remove the problem of high costs. As for the future, the LED industry will move toward integration of technology and smart lighting, hence, lighting design will become the next focus of the market.

Bridgelux noted that as LED brightness efficiency reaches 110-140lm/W, the technology of LED chips will enter a plateau period and growth will slow down. LED makers pointed out that by 2015, when the LED lighting era arrives, firms that have integrated both upstream manufacturing and downstream packaging will be more competitive.

Currently, the LED chip market has been dominated by 2-inch sapphire substrates. Bridgelux and Japan-based Toshiba recently announced the development of 8-inch silicon substrates which has been gaining attention from the market. Bridgelux noted that R&D for the silicon substrate is on-schedule, but further announcements require the cooperation of both parties, hence the firm currently has no comment on the matter.

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China market: LED chip capacity to increase in 2013
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 11 December 2012]


China's LED chipmakers have been slowing down capacity expansion in 2012 due to market oversupply, but some firms have announced plans to invest in upstream epitaxial crystal processing.

Industry sources noted that some installed equipment has yet to start production, hence upstream LED chip capacity in China is likely to increase by 20-30% in 2013. Furthermore, as China-based LED chipmakers increase capacity, the firms will begin to penetrate China's TV backlight market and create competition for Taiwan-based firms.

According to market research, by the end of October 2012, MOCVD equipment in China had reached 823 units. Calculating using 2-inch epitaxial wafer equipment, annual capacity is around 40.22 million units per year. Capacity utilization rate, however, has been around 65% due to lack of staff and relatively weak demand.

China-based industry sources stated that the number of new MOCVD equipment installed in the first three quarters of 2012 was 93 units, a figure that is far lower than the expected 242 units for 2012. The price of LED chips has been falling rapidly due to oversupply causing gross margins to decrease continuously. Compared to the price of LED chips in China at the beginning of 2012, the price had fallen by more 30% by the third quarter. The price fall of entry-level products has been around 45%.

Taiwan-based LED chipmakers have been facing tough market competition in 2012. The supply chain has been relying on demand for TV backlights but gross margins have been falling. Major chipmakers such as Epistar, Formosa Epitaxy and Genesis Photonics have been reporting net losses. Nevertheless, Taiwan-based chipmakers have been cooperating with panel makers and system firms and have successfully become LED backlight providers for the six major TV brands in China.

But China-based makers such as Sanan Optoelectronics have begun to develop LED chips for backlights, this means Taiwan-based firms will see increasing competition.

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Samsung Plans 6.3in OLED Display for Galaxy Note 3

Samsung is also reportedly working on the Galaxy S4 smartphone, expected at the 2013 Mobile World Congress


By SARMISTHA ACHARYA
December 16, 2012 12:03 PM GMT

The third iteration of the Samsung Galaxy Note hybrid will feature a 6.3in OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display, according to a report in the Korea Times. Samsung is also expected to start commercial sales of a 55in OLED television later in 2013.

Speculation of a 6.3in screen for the Note 3 means Samsung is now moving closer and closer to traditional tablet territory (7in screens) but is consistent with increments in screen size from the original Note (5.3in) and the Note 2 (5.5in), which launched in August. Reservations over screen sizes have not stopped sales though, with reports of seven million units sold worldwide since its release.

Meanwhile, notes on the OLED television suggest Samsung is trying to reduce investment in LCD display units.

"The global LCD industry is seeing signs of a major shift as Samsung is spending less on conventional LCDs. With money saved from LCD restructuring, the firm plans to spend more on OLED and flexible displays. Profitability is the top priority for Samsung's display-making business next year," an unidentified source at a local parts supplier told the Korea Times.

The Korea Times also reports on sales data, which indicates third and fourth quarter sales in the United States (during the holiday season) have been lower than expected. This, the report reasons, is why Samsung is considering job cuts within its LCD division, to the tune of 7 or 8 percent of the total workforce. The South Koreans are expected to invest up to 6 trillion South Korean Won (£3.5bn) in OLEDs in the next year.

Finally, Samsung is also reportedly working on the fourth version of its popular Galaxy S series smartphone - the S4 - which is expected to be announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February next year.

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Prices for 60W-replacement LED bulbs expected to fall to US$10 in 1H13, say Taiwan makers
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 18 December 2012]


Prices for LED light bulbs to replace 60W incandescent bulbs are expected to keep falling from an average of US$30 in November 2012 to as low as US$10 in the first half of 2013, according to Taiwan-based LED lighting makers.

The mainstream LED light bulbs in 2012 are models to replace 40W and 60W incandescent bulbs, with a global average price of US$19 and lowest price of US$7 for the former and US$30 and US$15 for the latter in November, the sources indicated. 40W- and 60W-replacement models together account for about 50% of global demand for all LED light bulbs, the sources noted. The global proportion of all types of light bulbs that are LED models will rise from 17% in 2012 to 59% in 2016, the sources cited LEDinside as indicating.

Price drops of LED light bulbs have been significantly smaller than those of LED chips because vendors have offered LED light bulbs with value-added functions such as omni-directional and dimming to reduce the impact of price competition, the sources pointed out.

Of 40W- and 60W-replacement LED light bulbs available in the global market, models offered by LG Electronics in the South Korea market had the highest lumen per unit price of 63lm/US$, followed by models launched by Samsung Electronics in the US market with 62.4lm/US$, while models launched in the Japan market by Toshiba and Sharp had the highest luminous efficiency of 86.3lm/W and 75.7lm/W respectively, according to Digitimes Research.

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 43.448.787 von R-BgO am 02.08.12 11:27:33

echt?:


Interview with AZZURRO Semiconductors CEO Erwin Wolf: Mass production of 200mm GaN-on-Si wafer will drive significant shift of LED market

Sponsored content [Thursday 20 December 2012]

With excellent cost advantages, GaN-on-Si technology has become a new focus in the LED market in order to cope with the severe price pressure for LED makers. In recent years, this technology has made significant progress and will soon move into commercial production to grab the market of long-term dominating sapphire substrate technology.

German-based AZZURRO Semiconductors, which has patented large-diameter GaN-on-Si technology, already sets up a 150mm manufacturing site in Dresden starting 24x7 operations. With advances in its 200mm technology, the company will begin ramping up of 200mm wafers by 2H13 or 1H14. Erwin Wolf, CEO of AZZURRO, believes that within two to three years, LED market will rapidly and significantly have been shift to GaN-on-Si technology.

Though GaN-on-Si has significant advantages, the technical challenges have made it difficult so far to be widely adopted in LED market. "AZZURRO's patented strain engineering technology can control the thickness uniformity of GaN film and the wafer bow, as well as achieve high crystal quality, which are all important to the performance of manufacturing LED devices", Erwin Wolf said.

He emphasized that, take the 150mm wafers that are already in mass production as an example, the thickness of GaN layer is over 6µm and wafer bow is below 20µm. Therefore, it can utilize existing standard CMOS production line for the chip manufacturing process. Silicon is easier to be removed than sapphire, so that it can not only shorten production cycle, but also achieve better yield.

Regarding AZZURRO's 200mm wafer technology, "We can achieve the same performance in terms of bow, thickness, and crystal quality as those in 150mm. In addition, 200mm wafer can have extremely high emission wavelength homogeneity, which will be able to reduce the binning efforts when manufacturing", Erwin Wolf indicated. At present, AZZURRO can offer 200mm wafer samples to customers.

AZZURRO's factory in Dresden has already been in full operations since this year, with area of 1500mm2 and two 150mm MOCVD production lines. One is dedicated for LED wafers and the other for power semiconductor wafers. AZZURRO plans to mass produce 200mm wafers by 2H13 or 1H14.

"Our business model is to provide GaN-on-Si wafers for customers to fabricate their own LED or power semiconductor devices. We will not manufacture end devices", Erwin Wolf said, "Though there are other companies offering GaN-on-Si wafers for power semiconductor, but AZZURRO is the only company that offers also GaN-on-Si wafers for LED."

As GaN-on-Si is gaining momentum in LED market, those who invest in this technology are IDM makers, which will use GaN-on-Si technology for in-house only. Currently, no company provides GaN-on-Si LED wafer technology. "Therefore, for those LED makers who don't have in-house GaN-on-Si wafer, AZZURRO's technology will be the best solution for them to address the emerging trend in LED industry", Erwin Wolf stressed.

For LED applications, AZZURRO provides two products: LED wafer and LED template. Erwin Wolf explained that LED wafers can be used straight away to produce LEDs, while LED templates are silicon substrates with grown GaN layer by AZZURRO. Customers can facilitate their in-house designed LED MQW structures. Because of business and intellectual property considerations, most customers prefer LED template model. And AZZURRO will provide complete development kits for them to shorten development cycle of LED template.

For example, AZZURRO just announced in October that Taiwan-based Epistar has successfully migrated its LED structures to AZZURRO's 150mm GaN-on-Si LED templates[/b]. Regarding this joint project, Erwin Wolf said, "Of course, there are lots of challenges to overcome, and there are many process parameters that we haven't thought of before. This learning process can help us avoid mistakes next time and help customers smoothly transfer to GaN-on-Si substrate with our application notes and engineering supports."

AZZURRO aims to enable the migration of LED market to GaN-on-Si technology. As 200mm wafer technology gets ready, Erwin Wolf said, "When the industry can achieve mass production of 200mm wafer with CMOS process, the cost effectiveness of GaN-on-Si will stands out, and then the whole industry will move to this emerging technology quickly."

However, before this goal is achieved, AZZURRO's important job right now is to enable the mass production of 200mm wafer. "We are now talking with several foundries, hoping to jointly develop 200mm wafer mass production technology. There are lots of idle 200mm capacities that can be utilized. Since these equipments are already fully depreciated, with these equipments and existing infrastructure, we can speed up the mass production of 200mm wafer," Erwin Wolf stressed.

Meanwhile, in respond to future expansion plan, AZZURRO will have capital expansion plan next year, right now the company is aggressively talking with different parties about the investment plan.

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 43.948.275 von R-BgO am 20.12.12 14:22:25

Toshiba announces GaN-on-Si LED production start
17 Dec 2012

Toshiba will begin mass production of white LEDs on 200-mm silicon wafers this month based on technology that it licensed and jointly developed with Bridgelux.


Toshiba has announced that it will begin production of white LEDs on 200-mm (8-in) silicon substrates this month. The TL1F1 1W LED is the first product and will deliver 112 lm at 350-mA drive current. The combination of larger wafers and access to automated back-end manufacturing tools in depreciated IC fabs has the potential of lowering the cost of LEDs and accelerating solid-state lighting (SSL) deployment, although obstacles remain in reaching the optical efficiency of sapphire-based LEDs.

The race to gallium-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) has been a heated one and Toshiba, among others, will claim a win in the race to begin production. The company said back in July that it hoped to begin production in October and came close to hitting that target using the technology that it had licensed from Bridgelux earlier.

Details on the new LEDs aren't fully available beyond the luminous flux mark mentioned previously. That spec is almost certainly applicable to a cool-white LED because it's likely Toshiba would have used the highest flux spec in the family at announcement.

Based on the statement in the release that the announced product is a 1W device, that would put the forward voltage at about 2.85V and efficacy at 112 lm/W. Bridgelux has said that it produced GaN-on-Si LEDs in the lab with an efficacy of 150 lm/W.

For comparison, Cree announced the new XM-L2 LED family last week that is similar in size. The Cree LED measures 5×5 mm while the Toshiba LED measures 6.4×5 mm. Cree said the XM-L2 LED can deliver 186 lm/W in cool white at 350-mA drive current. Still, it's not fair to judge the Toshiba offering until we see a detailed data sheet.

Toshiba said it is planning to produce 10 million units per month. The company did not say how long it will take to reach that rate.

Other GaN-on-SI players

We've been expecting more news from the GaN-on-Si players throughout the fall. Azzurro Semiconductors has been attacking the problem building template wafers that have the base GaN layer applied, upon which LED companies can then build their own LED structures. That company has been linked to both Osram Opto Semiconductors and Epistar.

Partners Lattice Power from China and Plessey Semiconductors from the UK are also working on the technology. Lattice had claimed that it was in production of such devices back in the summer, but SSL products using such LEDs haven't been in evidence.

About the Author
Maury Wright is the Editor of LEDs Magazine.

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Small- to medium-size display AMOLED penetration to more than double by 2015, says DisplaySearch
Press release, December 21; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Friday 21 December 2012]


AMOLED displays have been encroaching on the dominant LCD technology in small- to medium-size (9-inch and smaller) displays, as mobile phone manufacturers have increased adoption, according to research firm DisplaySearch. This has led to AMOLED capturing 6% of the small- to medium-size display market in 2012 and is forecast to more than double by 2015 to 13%.

Total OLED display shipments are expected to reach 191 million in 2012, accounting for an 8.4% share of the overall small- to medium-size display category, said the firm.

"Prior to the start of mass production of AMOLED displays for mobile phones, only passive matrix OLED (PMOLED) displays were available, mostly used in applications such as mobile phone sub-displays, automobile displays, and some industrial and niche applications," said DisplaySearch researcher Yoonsung Chung. "AMOLED displays have driven total OLED penetration into the small- to medium-size display market since 2010 when Samsung launched the Galaxy S, the first AMOLED smartphone in 2010."

Mobile phones continue to drive the growth of the OLED market, and mobile phone applications are expected to have a 69% share of the total small- to medium-size OLED market in 2012, growing to 83% in 2015. However, mass adoption of AMOLED technology will need to overcome hurdles. Market entry for newcomers is challenging due to the very detailed and technical engineering and production experience required for OLED manufacturing. On average, successful entry takes five years. In addition, AMOLED display technology is more expensive to produce, which undoubtedly impacts demand, added DisplaySearch.

"Samsung Displays produces nearly all AMOLED displays, but more players will need to participate in order to drive growth of AMOLED technology," said Chung. "DisplaySearch forecasts that new panel makers will enter the market in 2013, particularly from Taiwan and China. In addition, the firm expects to see OLED applications for smartphones, amusement devices, digital still cameras, and home appliances drive additional demand."

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Edison Opto expands strategic alliance
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 24 December 2012]


Jason Wu, chairman of Taiwan-based LED lighting firm Edison Opto, will also be the chairman for LED packaging house Lumenmax starting January 1, 2013. This will allow Edison Opto to expand business into LED packaging. The firm also plans to expand monthly capacity for its low- and medium-power plastic lead chip carrier (PLCC) products to 150 million units. Edison Opto's plant in Taipei, Taiwan will mainly focus on production of chip on board (COB) products and it hopes to expand monthly capacity from 200,000 to one million units. Market observers believe Edison Opto's 2013 revenues are likely to show 30% growth on year.

Wu noted that 2012 is likely to be the worst year for the LED lighting market. Nevertheless, with the introduction of various combinations and the development of new products, revenues in 2013 are likely to show an on-year increase. In particular, Wu added, China's corporate lighting market has strong growth as customers have been rolling out LED lighting products into hotels, chain stores, and local lighting decoration firms. Wu predicts revenues from China will increase from 30-40% of total revenues 2012 to 40-50% of total revenues in 2013. This increase is mainly due to rising demand for corporate lighting and LED lighting design and manufacturing services (LDMS), an integrated solutions.

Edison is also expanding distribution channels in the international market by setting up subsidiaries in the US and Germany.

According to Wu, of Taiwan-based firms Edison has spent the most on adding equipment. In 2012, Edison spent NT$200 million (US$6.88 million) on equipment and NT$100 million on plant construction. Edison plans to continue expanding capacity and stated its total accumulated capex in 2013 will be close to NT$250 million.

Lumenmax recently announced the termination of trading its shares on the OTC market. Lumenmax has been focusing on low- and medium-power PLCC products and has a customer base made up mainly by China-based firms. Due to LED price competition in China in second-half 2012, the firm has been seeing a continuous fall in sales. To effectively lower operating costs, the company's board of directors decided to retract company shares from the OTC market.

Currently, Edison owns 5% of Lumenmax shares.

Market observers believe Edison Opto will see a consolidated average gross margin of 12% in 2012 and expect 2013 gross margin to be around 14-15%.

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A-lamp market shrinking, says IMS Research
Press release; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 7 January 2013]


Prior to the advent of LED lamps, the lighting market was relatively unchanged for decades. While the introduction of CFLs as the energy efficient A-lamp of choice in the early 1990s did lead to certain shifts within the market, the negative perception of the public towards their "white" light and quality control issues did not allow them to strip incandescent lamps from their perch as the number one lighting technology, according to IMS Research. Today, in the US, CFL lamps only make up approximately 20% of the residential installed base.

IMS Research senior analyst Philip Smallwood stated that "LEDs have changed the lamp world for good. The apparent global effort to phase out most incandescent A-lamps by either banning them or introducing minimal energy efficient standards is opening up the market in a way that would not have been possible in the past."

The effect that the mass adoption of LED lamps will have on the market is twofold. Lamp market value is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31% from 2011-2015. This is due to the extreme differences of LED lamp prices versus incumbent technologies. For example, in the US, a 60W A-lamp incandescent lamp will have an approximate retail price of US$0.50 while its LED replacement lamp will have a retail price over US$20.

The second effect is in shipment units as they are expected to decrease. A-lamp shipments for all technologies are forecast to have a CAGR of negative 11% from 2011-2020.

Regarding the reduction in the units, Smallwood further explained that "The long life of LED lamps (25,000 hours versus 1,000 hours for incandescent) will create a "socket saturation" effect, where each LED installation will effectively decrease the replacement lamp market by one unit. While regional differences due to light preferences and consumer purchasing power will slow down the adoption of LEDs, it is predicted that this overall shrinking pattern will continue through 2020."

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Commentary: The LED lighting market boom
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 14 January 2013]


In 2012, demand for TV-use LED backlight products was high, helping LED firms to maintain high to full capacity utilization rate. As many governments are beginning to ban the use of incandescent bulbs, the LED lighting market is expected to boom. The growth of the LED lighting market depends not only on technological improvement, but also on governments' energy-saving policies.

According to various statistics, revenues from LED lighting currently account for 25% of the total sales in high-brightness LED market and in 2014, the figure is likely to be 40%, exceeding the sales from TV-use LED applications. In the short run, demand for TV backlights will continue to stimulate market growth but as brightness efficiency (lm/W) and price-performance ratio (lm/$) continue to increase, market observers believe it is only a matter of time before LED lighting completely replaces traditional lighting. According to the observers, LED's penetration rate in the lighting market in 2012 was 7% and this figure is expected to increase to 10% in 2013 and 30% by 2015.

Taiwan market lights up

LED light bulbs were the most popular LED lighting products in Taiwan in 2012 due to a hike in electricity prices. The high demand of LED light bulbs in the Taiwan market triggerd a price competition among vendors. Studies show that LED light source sales in first-half 2012 represented an on-year increase of 500%[/b]. The growth was the most apparent in May after the Taiwan government started to increase the electricity price. The sales of LED light sources in May accounted for 30% of total first-half 2012 sales.

Despite market expansion, competition has been tough since Taiwan has a relatively small sector made up by many small- and medium-size players. According to Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan, there are 46 brands and 154 types of LED light bulbs in the market. And a lot more are expcted to hit the shelves in the near future. Many firms have been trying out their products in Taiwan first before marketing them in China.

The rising demand in Taiwan also attracted international lighting firms such as GE and Philips. The former customized LED light bulbs for the Taiwan market and the latter decreased the price of its 9W yellow light LED light bulb from NT$599/unit (US$26/unit) to NT$449/unit. Faced with price competition, Taiwan-based firms decreased price as well. Delta Electronics lowered the price of its 9W yellow light LED light bulb from NT$449/unit to NT$319/unit.

Industry sources estimate Taiwan's LED light bulb market at 1.2-1.5 million units in 2012, a growth of 200-300% compared to 2011. The sources pointed out that when the NT$1 billion subsidy program provided by Taiwan's government takes effect, demand for LED lighting will rise significantly and penetration rate will likely reach 30% in 2014 and 50% in 2015 in Taiwan. The growth pace is likely to exceed the global average.

Japan market dims

The recent development in Japan's LED light bulb market has been stagnant, with the market focus turning to ceiling light applications. Japan was once the leading market for LED lighting especially after the March 11 earthquake in 2011. The energy-saving movement in the country pushed LED light bulb sales over 31 million units in 2011.

The LED light bulb market in Japan began taking off in 2009. But sales of LED light bulbs slowed down in 2012. According to Toshiba Lightech, sales of LED light bulb products in 2012 were only 80% of the total sales in 2011. Originally, the total LED light bulb output in the Japan market was expected to reach 51 million units in 2012 and peak in 2013-2014. But now, it seems like 2011 was already the peak.

Toshiba Lightech notes that around one-third of the Japan households use LED light bulbs, but because the products have a lifespan of 10 years, a major growth of the market is unlikely to occur any time soon. Market observers believe the rapid price fall for LED light bulbs is also one of the reasons for falling demand because consumers may be waiting for even lower prices. According to Fuji-Keizai, a Japan-based market research institute, the LED light bulb market in Japan were around JPY37.7 billion (US$423 million) in 2012. The research institute further predicts the market output will shrink to JPY36.3 billion in 2015 and JPY30.1 billion by 2020.

For LED lighting firms, the tougher challenge is the turnover rate of LED light bulbs. For most households, the average daily use of lighting is around 3-4 hours, but the industry's calculation of cost recovery period using the price difference of LED and traditional lighting is based on a daily use of 6-8 hours.

Europe market slows down, US market adds entry barrier

The EU ban on incandescent light bulbs started on August 31, 2012. However, due to the debt crisis, major LED firms that focused on selling LED light bulbs in Europe saw orders drop by more than 20% in the third quarter of 2012. As the market condition was unclear in the second-half of 2012, Europe-based distribution channels reduced the orders to Asia-based LED firms.

Lighting demand has been relatively better in the US market due to the increasing number of new house construction projects. Nevertheless, lighting order visibility remains unclear. Following the launch of Energy Star lighting standard by the US Environmental Protection Agency in April 2012, consumers in the North America market have more incentives for buying Energy Star-certified products. Brands such as Philips, Osram and GE have all obtained such certification. This lighting standard is an entry barrier to Taiwan-based firms.

China market heats up

As the global market faces a bottleneck, the China government has been eager to promote LED lighting and already started banning imports and sale of incandescent lighting products in stages since October 1, 2012. This is likely to stimulate the LED lighting industry. According to industry sources in China, the market has been expanding rapidly and since the first half of 2011, almost 1,800 new firms have entered the market of LED indoor lighting.

But China lacks standards governing LED lighting quality. Although demand is high, the LED lighting market in China is considered a high-risk market. Since the second half of 2011, there have reports about China-based LED firms shutting down production without warning. In 2012, Ningbo Andy Optoelectronic filed for bankruptcy due to overexpansion. In the same year, Foshan Xurui Electronic also announced plans to stop the production of LED chips and Shenzhen Yuanjing Optoelectronic declared bankruptcy. China-based industry sources believe the chaotic market condition in China will need 3-5 years before getting back on track.

Currently, Taiwan-based upstream component suppliers have been receiving steady orders because of their superior technology and stable volume production. The China market is desperately in need of high-quality and high price-performance ratio LED products, and therefore Taiwan-based LED firms have been eager to develop the Greater China market. Epistar has been cooperating with China-based lighting firms such as Yankon Lighting and NVC Lighting. In addition, Taiwan-based Formosa Epitaxy added Sanan Optoelectronics as one of its shareholders while Taiwan-based Unity Opto has signed supply agreements with China-based Honyar. Although such cooperation have yet to provide significant increase for the Taiwan-based firms' revenues, they are crucial steps towards growing their presence in the China market.

Rapid growth expected

International firms such as Philips and Osram have been eager to invest in the China market. Osram has noted that by 2020, China's LED lighting market will account for 42% of the entire Asia market and 20% of the global market. The current LED lighting market size in China exceeds EUR8 billion (US$10 billion) and is expected to show significant growth by 2020.

However, China has strong protectionism for its domestic firms, and therefore it has been difficult for international firms to obtain projects.

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LED lighting CAGR to reach 31% in 2010-2020, says Toshiba Lightech
Siu Han, Japan; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 17 January 2013]


According to Japan-based Toshiba Lightech, Japan's LED lighting market is expected to account for around 40% of the global LED lighting market from 2012-2013 with penetration rate expected to exceed the global penetration rate. In addition, Toshiba Lightech estimates the CAGR of the global LED lighting market from 2010-2020 to reach 31% due to rapid decreases in price and market growth in Europe, the US, and China.

According to Tooru Shibuya, president and CEO of Toshiba Lightech, the firm introduced LED light bulbs in 2009, and in 2011, the LED light bulb market output in Japan exceeded 30 million units causing rapid price falls. In 2012, LED light bulb retail prices fell below JPY2,000/unit (US$22/unit), said Shibuya. LED lighting penetration rate is expected to reach close to 60% in 2015, added Shibuya.

Digitimes Research stated that in 2012, sales of LED technology accounted for 50% of total revenues reported by the lighting business unit of Toshiba Lightech, approximately JPY86 billion. Digitimes Research believes the figure will increase to JPY130 billion in 2014.

Katsumi Sato, CEO of Panasonic Lighting Americas, stated the corporation's revenues from solid state lighting are expected to increase to JPY125 billion in 2012 due to product expansion.

Digitimes Research predicts that Panasonic currently has 10% of global lighting market share. The firm will continue to expand its ceiling and LED tube lighting product lines in 2013, said Digitimes Research.

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LED driver IC vendors to see booming shipments in 2013
Cage Chao, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 22 January 2013]


Taiwan-based LED driver IC suppliers Richtek Technology, Macroblock and On-Bright Electronics are expected to see shipments boom in 2013 on anticipated growth in LED demand for backlight and lighting applications, according to industry sources.

Richtek said earlier that it expects its sales to grow 5% sequentially in the first quarter of 2013, driven by orders for its power management ICs from the LCD TV and tablet sectors as well as orders for its OLED driver ICs from the smartphone segment.

Macroblock, which saw its revenues hit a record high in 2012, expects sales of LED driver ICs to contribute more significantly to its revenues and profitability in 2013, notably starting the second quarter of the year.

On-Bright has been shipping its LED driver ICs to branded LED TV and LED lighting vendors in Korea and China, and expects shipments of LED driver ICs to double in 2013. Overall, On-Bright aims to ramp its revenues by 30% in 2013, while maintaining its gross margin at over 50%, according to the company.

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LED manufacturing investment will decline in 2013, says SEMI


LED makers are facing weak long-term demand for LEDs, and many are assessing alternative manufacturing strategies.

Spending on LED fab manufacturing equipment will decline 9.2 percent in 2013 as the industry faces weak long-term demand and consolidates manufacturing capacity.

According to the LED/Opto Fab Forecast produced by SEMI, a global industry association, spending on LED fab manufacturing equipment will drop to $1.68 billion in 2013, down from $1.85 billion in 2012. The outlook for equipment spending in 2014 is currently projected at less than $1 billion.

Global LED manufacturing capacity will continue to grow in 2013, reaching an estimated 2.57 million 4-inch-wafer equivalents, a 24% increase over 2012 (see chart). However, capacity growth is expected to be only 12% from 2013 to 2014.

SEMI recently published its first HB-LED standard, which relates to sapphire substrates.



Weak demand outlook for LEDs

LED manufacturers are currently assessing an uncertain competitive environment and potential alternative manufacturing strategies.

The decline in manufacturing-equipment investment is linked with the fact that demand for packaged LED components is at or nearing its peak, despite growing LED demand for solid-state lighting (SSL) applications. Last year, Strategies Unlimited forecasted that demand for LEDs would peak in 2012 or 2013 at approximately $13.3 billion, declining to less than $13.0 billion in 2014.

Among the reasons for weak long-term demand is that the LED count per system is falling. Also, the long life of LED-based lighting systems is radically reducing the replacement lamp market.


GaN on silicon

Excess LED manufacturing capacity is still a feature of the industry, and this continues to place price pressures on LED components. With this in mind, manufacturers are cautious in embarking on major new manufacturing investments. Low fab utilization is also delaying the transition to 6-inch sapphire wafers.

In addition, new GaN-on-silicon products are just now reaching the market, creating further uncertainty. Last month, Toshiba announced the beginning of production of white LEDs using GaN on 8-inch silicon substrates, utilizing depreciated IC fabs with modern automation tools. Working with technology from Bridgelux, Toshiba has reportedly indicated they will eventually ramp to 10 million units per month.

Germany-based Azzurro Semiconductors announced that Taiwan-based LED maker Epistar has successfully migrated their LED structures to its 150-mm GaN-on-Si templates and the company is feverishly working on 200-mm technology. Philips, Osram and Samsung are all actively exploring GaN-on-silicon technology.

GaN on silicon could be a game-changer in the LED market, but its impact is still uncertain. Yole Developpement estimates that significant cost benefits can only occur if equivalent yields to sapphire processes can be achieved, and that production utilizes fully amortized 200mm lines. Sapphire wafer prices have significantly declined over the past 18-months, lessening the benefits of a move to silicon.

Apart from major substrate technology changes, manufacturing spending will increasingly be focused on yield rather than capacity and throughput. Equipment, materials and technology suppliers who can deliver a return-on-investment through improved manufacturing yields can still prosper in the weakened market.


China pursues LED leadership

China’s 12th Five Year Plan took effect in 2011 and renewed the country’s commitment to LED and SSL technologies. While the massive MOCVD spending of 2010/2011 has significantly declined, China remains the leading region in manufacturing investments.

China will be the largest market for LED fab equipment in 2013 with projected spending of $667 million, approximately 40% of the total worldwide spending and almost double Japan’s spending, the second largest region. In 2011, China spent over $1.2 billion on LED fab manufacturing equipment.

China’s generous national and local subsidy programs behind the massive industry development (China now has 82 LED fabs, up from only 16 in 2006) have all but disappeared, but the country remains committed to developing all sectors of the LED industry.

China is a major consumer of LEDs in signage, mobile displays, TVs, and lighting that utilize low and mid-power LEDs that Chinese suppliers specialize in. Energy conservation through SSL is a national priority.

Most observers predict a consolidation of the China LED industry, with perhaps one of two companies emerging as global powerhouses. While much of China’s LED capacity is dormant, in transition or reliant on older technology, companies such as SanAn and ETi will invest new and upgraded manufacturing technology over the next two years.


Industry structure implications

Another troublesome aspect of the LED industry is that nearly 70% of the LED market is supplied by only ten companies, most of whom are directly involved in manufacturing lighting systems. Increasingly, the LED components may be seen as loss leaders offering little incentive for manufacturing investments.

With falling average selling prices (ASPs), soft demand, vertically-integrated customers, and increasing supply of quality products from China and elsewhere, the outlook for continued LED manufacturing investments will be limited for the foreseeable future.



Strategies in Light

Tom Morrow will be providing a keynote address during the Manufacturing Track at the Strategies in Light (SIL) conference on February 12, 2013. SEMI members can receive a special discount rate with a saving of up to $200 to attend the Manufacturing Track. Register for SIL with the promo code “SEMI”.

SEMI HB-LED Standards

The SEMI HB-LED Wafer Task Force, Equipment Automation Task Force, and Impurities & Defects Task Force will be meeting in conjunction with the Strategies in Light conference http://www.strategiesinlight.com/index.html (February 12-14, 2013) in Santa Clara, California.

Following Strategies in Light, the North American HB-LED committee and its task forces will meet in conjunction with the NA Standards Spring 2013 meetings (April 1-4) in San Jose, California. For more information and to register for these meetings, please visit the SEMI Standards website.

This article is presented courtesy of the SEMI organization and originally appeared on the SEMI website.

About the Author
Tom Morrow is the chief marketing officer of SEMI.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.067.921 von R-BgO am 26.01.13 12:01:01

Link zum Original-Artikel: http://www.semi.org/en/node/44471

[baggo-mh]

Interessanter Beitrag von CBS zur Zukunft des Lichts - natürlich stark US lastig.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6601560n&tag=related;…

Gruß
baggo-mh

[R-BgO]

Marktübersicht von der SIL:
http://ledsmagazine.com/news/10/2/14?cmpid=EnlLEDsFebruary20…

Samsung scheint hier auch mächtig Boden gutzumachen...

[R-BgO]

Global high-brightness LED market forecast
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [To be published on March 18, 2013]

Digitimes Research forecasts that the global LED lighting market will be worth US$25.4 billion in 2013, representing 54% growth on the 2012 figure of US$16.5 billion, while the LED lighting penetration rate will also rise to 18.6%. This report covers the various areas of the LED market including applications, LED street prices and the main players in the global LED supply chain, with forecasts mostly extending to 2015.
Abstract


Digitimes Research forecasts that the global LED lighting market will be worth US$25.4 billion in 2013, representing 54% growth on the 2012 figure of US$16.5 billion, while the LED lighting penetration rate will also rise to 18.6%. In terms of technological improvements, the luminous efficacy of LEDs compared to traditional lighting continues to rise. Given that the US Department of Energy (DoE) development targets were set at 129 lm/W for warm white light LEDs and 164 lm/W for cold white light LEDs, a quick look at the track record of many manufacturers shows that the industry has surpassed the brightness standards set out in the DoE targets every year since their inception.

LED lighting product prices are likely to drop by 20-25% in 2013, as LED component performance/price ratios rise from 2012's 500 lm/US$ to 1,000 lm/US$ in 2013.

Looking further ahead to 2015, the US DoE targets are for LED component costs to drop 37% from 2013 levels, while 60W-equivalent LED bulb costs are to drop by 38% from 2013 levels by 2015. Assuming this is the case, LED lighting prices will then be at a price point even more acceptable to general consumers.

Lighting policy in many countries is also critical to the development of LED lighting, and this effect has been most marked in the Asia region. For example, Japan now has the highest LED lighting market penetration rate of any region, with the rate set to rise to 73.8% by 2015; South Korea's Korea Association for Photonics Industry Development (KAPID) projects that the country's LED lighting industry will have an output value of US$7.8 billion by 2015, 5.6 times the figure for 2012; while China's LED lighting market is growing by 30% per year, which will give the country nearly one third of total global output value for LED lighting in 2015.

All of these factors are driving major growth in the LED lighting market. Digitimes Research therefore projects that the global LED lighting market will be worth US$44.2 billion in 2015, while the market penetration rate will reach 38.6%.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.240.052 von R-BgO am 12.03.13 07:56:52

http://www.digitimes.com//supply_chain_window/story.asp?date…

[R-BgO]

Global LED lighting demand to hike 100-200% in 2013, says Epistar chairman
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 26 March 2013]


Global LED lighting demand has been growing fast due to continual drops in LED chip prices, and the demand in 2013 will hike 100-200% from 2012 while global LED lighting production value will see a CAGR of 30% over the next five years, according to chairman Lee Biing-jye for Taiwan-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Epistar.

Prices for LED chips dropped about 35% in 2011 and 2012 and are expected to slip 15-20% in 2013, Lee indicated.

LED backlight and lighting account for 50% and 20%, respectively, of total LED production value currently, and the former proportion will decrease to 35% while the latter will increase to 35% in 2015-2016, Lee noted. LED penetration of all lighting products is expected to rise from below 10% in 2012 to 10% in 2013 and further to 70% in 2018, Lee said.

Retail prices for an LED light bulb to replace a 60W incandescent bulb have dropped from US$19.99 to US$12.99 currently and are expected to further slip to below US$10 in the third quarter of 2013[/b], Lee indicated.

[R-BgO]

Global LED light bulb prices continue to drop
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 1 April 2013]


Global LED light bulb retail prices in February 2013 continued to fall, and in particular, retail prices of retrofit 40W LED light bulbs fell 8.2% to US$17.8/unit, according to studies. Retail prices for retrofit 60W LED light bulbs fell an average of 13% to US$25.7/unit. The price falls were due to the inclusion of pricing from the China and Taiwan markets where prices are relatively low, pulling down the global average.

According to research institutes, the average price of retrofit 40W LED light bulbs in China is relatively low compared to other regions at US$11/unit, and most prices of LED light bulbs from domestic brands are less than US$10/unit with the lowest at US$5.50/unit. Prices of retrofit 40W LED light bulbs in Taiwan are also relatively low with the price of most domestic brands below US$8.80/unit. According to the data, prices in the UK market fell by 0.6% in February due to the appreciation of its currency. The price of the same product also fell in Japan by 11%. However, prices for retrofit 40W LED light bulbs in the US market increased 5.9%, caused by new products that have higher retail prices.

As for the February prices of retrofit 60W LED light bulbs, in China, the lowest price was US$7.80/unit and the average price in Taiwan was US$14.80/unit. Prices of retrofit 60W LED light bulbs in Japan fell by 5.8% in February to US$26.80/unit and prices in South Korea fell by 2%. February prices of retrofit 60W LED light bulbs also fell in the US and UK markets. However, prices increased in Germany by 9.7% due to the end of special markdown promotions pushing the average price to rise.

Compared to other markets, the price of LED light bulbs from domestic brands in Taiwan and China are low. For example, Taiwan-based LED packaging house Everlight introduced 8W retrofit 60W LED light bulbs with luminous flux reaching 810 lumens at a retail price of only US$11.20/unit in Taiwan. This price is far below the global average.

Market research institutes believe the LED light bulb markets in China and Taiwan have yet to enter maturity compared to other regions. Especially in China as the market is filled with low-priced and poor-quality products causing consumers to shy away from LED light bulbs. To push the market into maturity, unified standards and quality verifications are necessary. From the current market conditions in China, consolidation of the industry and elimination of weak products needs more time.

[baggo-mh]

Goodbye Fluorescent Bulb? Philips Says Yes.
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 11, 2013 7:28 AM

AMSTERDAM (AP) — If you've worked in an office, you're probably familiar with the soft glow of fluorescent tubes drifting from the ceiling. If Europe's Philips brand is right, those lamps could soon be history.

Royal Philips NV, the Dutch consumer appliances giant, said Thursday that it has developed an LED light that will soon be far more efficient than the best fluorescents on the market. That should make it cheaper and greener, as well.

It's a combination that will inevitably help the LED dominate the market for illuminating the world's workplaces, according to the global leader in lighting sales.

In an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the unveiling of the new light, a top executive said the prototype LED is headed to mass production and will hit the market in 2015. He claimed that in 10 years, LEDs will replace at least half of the world's fluorescent bulbs, which have been the main source of workplace lighting since shortly after World War II.

"This is a major step forward for the lighting world," said Rene van Schooten, CEO of Philips' light sources division. "It will bring an enormous savings in energy."

Experts outside the Dutch company say they have long expected LEDs to eclipse fluorescents. If Philips' predictions are correct, however, the arrival of the LED in office spaces will come faster than expected.

The potential impact in energy and cost savings, as well as pollution reduction, is significant — though toxic materials are used in manufacturing both fluorescents and LEDs.

Lights suck up more than 15 percent of all energy produced globally, and fluorescent lights currently make up more than half of the total lighting market.

In the United States alone, fluorescents consume about 200 terawatts annually, according to Philips' estimates. Cutting that in half would save $12 billion in electricity costs and lessen carbon dioxide emissions by 60 million metric tons per year, the company said.

Dr. Eugenia Ellis, a professor of engineering and architecture at Drexel University, who works with LED installations, said an efficiency improvement at the level Philips forecasts would be impressive. Cost savings from using LEDs can already be significant: Ellis gave the example of a hospital recently saving $75,000 a year on energy bills by switching.

In recent years, energy-efficient lights made by Philips, Siemens AG, General Electric Co., Cree Inc. and others using LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, have made significant inroads in the home market, replacing many incandescent and halogen bulbs.

But because fluorescent bulbs are themselves highly efficient, LED lights have so far achieved only a small foothold in business and industry. LEDs are competitive in heavy use settings where their longer lifespans and a minor energy edge pay off.

Philips says its new lamp will change all of that. The technical milestone the company claims to have achieved is the ability to produce 200 lumens of light per watt. A lumen is the standard measure of the amount of light a lamp casts in a given area.

According to Mark Hand, a technology expert at Philips competitor Acuity Brands Inc., that's about twice the output per watt of the best fluorescent tubes currently on the market; he estimated the best LED lamps may get up to 120 lumens per watt.

Cree already advertises an LED lamp it says reaches 200 lumens per watt under some circumstances. Van Schooten said the Philips lamp is different. It will be the first on the market that reaches that level of efficiency and functions across a normal range of temperatures and is capable of consistently producing the same amount of warm white colored light as comparable fluorescent tubes.

Essentially, Van Schooten said, "if you walk into the room, you don't say, 'what a funny lamp.'"

U.S. Department of Energy projections published in April 2012 showed the government had expected the industry would only achieve efficiencies of 160 lumens per watt for LED lamps by 2015.

Philips' Van Schooten said that initially, prices of its LED tubes will still be higher than fluorescent lights. But taking into account electricity costs, the increased efficiency in 2015 will make them cheaper to own within a year, as opposed to three years at present.

And further manufacturing savings and efficiency improvements to LED lights will come with each generation of technology.

"The case is rather compelling, but of course it takes some time to replace existing infrastructure," Van Schooten said.

Philips lighting sales in 2012 amounted to 8.4 billion euros ($11 billion) in a total global market that consulting firm McKinsey puts at 70 billion euros.

Acuity Brands' Hand said that Philips' 10-year view may even be pessimistic. Although LEDs currently make up only a small percentage of his company's $1.9 billion in annual sales, he expects that to change quickly.

"LEDs will take over, definitely within 10 years," he said. He predicted that LEDs would make up more than 50 percent of new sales "certainly within 5 years, maybe within three."

Ironically, Philips will both lose and gain from the change: It is not only the largest maker of LEDs, but also of fluorescent tubes.

"Clearly we'll have to phase that out," Van Schooten said. But "we knew this moment was coming for some time."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1768754…

Gruß
baggo-mh

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: March LED light bulb prices rise in Japan, fall in other markets
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Monday 15 April 2013]


The March average retail pricing of retrofit 40W and 60W LED light bulbs increased in Japan while other markets saw prices fall compared to February.

According to Digitimes Research, the March average retail prices of retrofit 40W and 60W LED light bulbs in Japan were JPY1,815/unit (US$18.47/unit) and JPY2,694/unit, respectively. Compared to February, the March average prices of the two products showed on-month increases of 2.3% and 0.3%, respectively.

In South Korea, the March average retail prices of retrofit 40W and 60W LED light bulbs were KRW15,331/unit (US$13.60/unit) and KRW22,275/unit, respectively, representing on-month decreases of 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively.

The March average price of 7W LED light bulbs from local brands in China was CNY41.3/unit (US$6.67/unit), showing an on-month decrease of 2.4%; the average price of 9W LED light bulbs was CNY55.1/unit, showing an on-month decrease of 2.3%. The highest prices of the 7W and 9W LED light bulbs came from China-based tier-one firm Tsinghua Tongfang at CNY99.5/unit and CNY110/unit, respectively. The March prices of 7W LED light bulbs from Philips and Osram showed on-month decreases of 32.3% and 6.4%, respectively.

In the US market, March average retail prices of retrofit 40W and 60W LED light bulbs were US$21.6/unit and US$24.5/unit, showing sequential decreases of 11.8% and 8.2%, respectively. In Europe, the March average retail price of retrofit 40W LED light bulbs was EUR16.1/unit (US$21.08/unit), up by 1.3% compared to February. The March average price for retrofit 60W LED light bulbs in Europe was EUR25.7/unit, down by 0.8% compared to February.

Digitimes Research has found that in March, South Korea-based LG Electronics had the highest price-performance ratio for its retrofit 40W and 60W LED light bulbs at 66lm/US$1 and 98.7lm/US$1. As for brightness efficiency, Sharp's retrofit 40W LED light bulbs had the highest average brightness efficiency at 75.6lm/W compared to products of the same level by other brands while Toshiba was number one in the brightness efficiency of retrofit 60W LED light bulbs with 92.1lm/W.

[baggo-mh]

Chinese LED firms are sitting on CNY5B ($807M) worth of inventory, and attempts to unload it...

Monday, April 15, 6:04 PM ET
Chinese LED firms are sitting on CNY5B ($807M) worth of inventory, and attempts to unload it could lead prices to dive in Q3, Digitimes reports. As Cree (CREE) can vouch, pricing has been bolstered this year by healthy LED lighting and TV demand, but 2H pricing visibility remains limited. Separately, Osram is launching a 40W-replacement LED bulb in Germany that will cost less than €10 ($13.05). Cree recently announced it would sell a 40W-replacement bulb through Home Depot for $9.97 in the U.S.; 60W-replacements will go for $12.97 and $13.97.

http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/944191?source=email_rt…

Gruß
baggo-mh

[baggo-mh]

LED price battle heats up as Osram launches 10-euro bulb

FRANKFURT | Mon Apr 15, 2013 4:56am EDT

(Reuters) - Germany's Osram is launching a new LED light bulb that costs less than 10 euros ($13.10) to battle rivals, such as Cree and Samsung Electronics, for a share of the fast-growing market.

Light-emitting diodes (LED) - known for lighting flat-screen televisions and tablet PCs - are increasingly replacing other lights in homes, stores and on streets because they use less energy and are more durable.

But they cost much more than incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent lights, putting off consumers from buying LED lighting for their homes.

A spokesman for Osram, which is being spun off by engineering conglomerate Siemens, said on Monday the company's new LED replacement for 40 watt incandescent bulbs would retail at 9.95 euros in Germany from June. Most comparable LED bulbs in Europe currently cost more than 15 euros.

Osram's announcement comes only six weeks after U.S.-based Cree raised its quarterly earnings forecast as it announced it would sell a new LED bulb replacing 40 watt bulbs for less than $10 in the United States.

Consultancy McKinsey has estimated that the market for LEDs will grow more than sevenfold to almost 65 billion euros by 2020, accounting for the bulk of global demand for lighting.

It expects the market for replacement bulbs to reach its peak next year and then slow as LED bulbs last significantly longer than other types of lamps, meaning customers buy new bulbs less often.

Osram said its new LED bulb lasts for 15 years. It will also offer LED replacements for 60 watt incandescent bulbs for less than 10 euros for a short time as a sales promotion.

(Reporting by Jens Hack; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Louise
Heavens)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/15/us-siemens-osram-i…

Gruß
baggo-mh

[NoamX]

Genau deshalb scheint mir des gesamte Sektor kein interessantes Investment zu sein: Teure Technologieentwicklung, Überkapazitäten und ruinöser Preiskampf

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.433.977 von R-BgO am 15.04.13 16:09:42

China market: Veeco, Aixtron cut MOCVD prices by 30-40% due to competition from local makers
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 16 April 2013]


MOVCD vendors US-based Veeco Instruments and Germany-based Aixtron SE have lowered quotes in the China market from about US$2 million to about US$1.4 million for a single-wafer MOCVD set and by 30-40% for a multi-wafer model mainly because at least four China-based makers are set for market competition, according to industry sources.

The four China-based MOCVD makers are Tang Optoelectronics Equipment, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, Brilliant Light Technologies and Ideal Energy Equipment, the sources indicated. In particular, Tang Optoelectronics claimed that its MOCVD equipment can lead to production of 155lm/W LE chips.

As China's 12th Five-year Plan promotes domestic supply of LED production equipment, the China government has been supporting China-based makers developing MOCVD equipment since 2011. Consequently, a few China-based makers are technologically poised to start production of MOCVD sets, the sources noted.

Since local governments have ended subsidies for China-based LED makers procuring MOCVD sets, and total LED production capacity is 20-30% in excess of demand in China, the MOCVD market has been in favor of buyers, the sources indicated. As a result, Veeco and Aixtron have faced bottlenecks marketing MOCVD equipment due to shrinking demand and less price competitiveness, the sources said.

According to Digitimes Research, there will be 148 MOCVD sets shipped globally in 2013, dropping 46% from 2012, and Veeco and Aixtron will reach market shares of 60.2% and 35.8% respectively. Some China-based makers have begun shipments of multi-wafer MOCVD sets and there have been a few China-based LED makers adopting locally made equipment, Digitimes Research indicated.

[R-BgO]

LEDs to account for a quarter of global lighting market by 2016, says DisplaySearch
Press release, April 17; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 17 April 2013]


Demand for LED lighting is growing rapidly thanks to significant expansion in manufacturing capacity, falling prices, environmental concerns, and government incentives. According to DisplaySearch, this new opportunity for LED lighting applications will double the market, from 16 million units in 2012 to a forecast 33 million in 2013, and will nearly triple by 2016.

As a result, the demand for all LED lighting products-including spot lights, LED luminaries, street lights, LED light bulbs and fluorescent tubes-will reach 90 million in 2016, increasing the global penetration for LED lighting applications to 26% in 2016, up from only 5% in 2012. This increase is due in large part to continued growth in commercial applications, government incentive programs, and consumer demand for energy-saving technology. The highest growth will be in LED-based tubes that replace fluorescent tubes used in commercial applications, LED-based street lights, and LED luminaires-innovative designs that produce light across various shapes and sizes.

"LEDs are playing a leading role in the lighting industry, driven primarily by government incentive policies and consumer demand for more efficient light sources with advanced technologies such as wireless and color control," noted Steven Sher, analyst, DisplaySearch. "This increased demand will manifest over the next three years, as consumers look to replace their traditional light bulbs with more efficient LED lighting options."

Japan has been the largest market for LED lighting applications since 2011, and DisplaySearch projects this dominance will continue through 2016, driven by the adoption of LED bulbs, spot lights, fluorescent tubes, and luminaires. LED lighting growth in China will be higher than other regions from 2012-2016 due to government policies such as the 12th Five-Year Plan, which is already driving demand for LED street lights. North America and Europe are also experiencing increased demand for LED lighting applications through 2016, particularly for LED fluorescent tubes.

The market opportunity for LED lighting is playing out in the context of a stagnant market for LEDs in LCD backlighting, currently the largest application for LEDs. In 2014, general illumination will pass display backlighting as the largest application for LEDs. In addition, the market for LED chips has been in oversupply as LED makers have invested heavily in MOCVD equipment, particularly in China. The surplus has caused competition to intensify and prices to drop dramatically, leading to higher LED penetration in lighting, but lower profits for LED makers. This has led many LED makers to pursue vertical integration, in which the LED chip makers integrate the chip, phosphor, and control circuits to make lighting engines, and in which LED package makers integrate the lamp assembly. Success in the lighting market requires technical integration, but also optical design and the development of brand and channel strategies.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: Sapphire 2-inch substrate prices to be around US$8/unit in 2013
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Thursday 9 May 2013]


Over-investment has caused rising inventories in the sapphire industry. Although demand has been returning in the first-half of 2013, to reduce inventories, sapphire prices are unlikely to show any strong increase.

Digitimes Research predicts prices of 2-inch sapphire substrates for LED applications to be around US$8/unit in 2013.

US-based sapphire crystal growing firm Rubicon and South Korea-based Sapphire Technology Company (STC) both saw falling 2012 revenues compared to 2011. In 2013, Rubicon has been lowering its percentage of 2- and 4-inch products and shifting focus to 6-inch silicon-on-sapphire (SoS) products, hence revenues are unlikely to show a strong rebound. Digitimes Research predicts Rubicon's 2013 revenues to be US$55.80 million. On the other hand, STC has downstream customers such as LG Innotek and Seoul Optodevice and has been aggressive in expanding sales in the international market. The firm's 2013 revenues are expected to reach US$62.90 million, said Digitimes Research.

In 2013, the top-seven firms' combined market share is expected to reach 85%, while the combined market share of the top-three makers, Monocrystal, STC, and Rubicon, is likely to be 56%.

Some China-based solar firms have been entering the sapphire crystal growing market over the past two years, but due to low yields and price drops for sapphire for LEDs, many newcomers have exited the market. The sapphire market is likely to continue being dominated by firms with experience.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: Global LED tube light shipments to reach 220 million units in 2013
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Wednesday 22 May 2013]


Global LED tube lighting shipments in 2013 will increase to 220 million units to account for 5.5% of the entire lighting market, as LED tube lights' luminous efficiency reaches 110lm/W, which is comparable to that of fluorescent ones, Digitimes Research estimates.

In the Japan market, 21.72 million LED tube lights will be shipped in 2013, taking up 9.9% of the global total, with Panasonic estimated to have about 50% of the LED tube lighting segment in Japan, Digitimes Research believes.

LED chips account for 51.1% of the production cost for 4-foot T8 LED tubes, heat-dissipation materials for 17.6%, power supply modules for 12.1%, FR4 boards for 6.4% and others for 12.8%.

Own-brand vendors are expected to lower retail prices for 4-foot T8 LED tubes to US$48.3 on average in 2013, dropping by 25.7% from 2012.

[sufenta]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.691.271 von R-BgO am 22.05.13 14:56:14

Danke,

Und welche Aktie/Aktien empfiehlst Du/ hast Du auf Deinem Radar?

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.691.405 von sufenta am 22.05.13 15:15:38

auf dem "Radar" habe ich in meinem (O)LEDiversum:

Cree
Rubicon
Zumtobel
AMS
GT Advanced
Advanced Energy Industries
eMagin
Acuity Brands
Neo-Neon
Epistar
Veeco
Aixtron
Universal Display
LG Display
AUO
SemiLEDs
Philips
MeyerBurger

von denen ich auch alle mindestens mit einem Stück im Depot habe; die größte Position dürfte derzeit Universal Display sein, ist aber auch klein

am ehesten Nachkaufen würde ich persönlich im Moment wohl AMS, aber "empfehlen" kann und will ich nichts

das muss jeder für sich selbst entscheiden

PS: eMagin könnte was Interessantes sein, aber visher habe ich mich zuwenig damit beschäftigt und CREE ist sicher ein sehr starker Player, aber SEHR teuer

[sufenta]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.691.565 von R-BgO am 22.05.13 15:31:51

Vielen Dank,

hab ne MINI-Position von NBIC. Nur noch in Hamburg gelistet.

Sowie GT-Advanced, eine etwas grössere Position.

eMagin gucke ich mir an.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.691.645 von sufenta am 22.05.13 15:39:21

siehe #677 in Thread: Lifespot Capital AG (früher CDC Capital AG)

[R-BgO]

LED driver IC vendors look to strong revenue growth in 2Q13
Cage Chao, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 28 May 2013]


Some Taiwan-based IC suppliers have been ramping their shipments of LED driver ICs to China thanks to the fledging LED lighting industry in the country and growing demand for LED backlight products from China-based smartphone, tablet and consumer electronic product makers, according to industry sources.

Among the IC vendors, Macroblock and On-Bright Electronics are expected to see their revenues grow over 30% sequentially in the second quarter, while fellow companies Richtek Technology and Global Mixed-mode Technology (GMT) are likely to double their shipments of LED driver ICs on quarter, the sources estimated.

The LED lighting industries in China and Taiwan have been growing robustly since the beginning of 2013, with orders for LED driver ICs showing a significant growth in the second quarter, the sources indicated.

Macroblock and On-Bright have ventured into the LED driver IC segment much earlier than fellow companies in Taiwan due to demand from their clients in the LED display and power supply industries, said the sources.

Meanwhile, Richtek and GMT are cooperating with flat panel and LED makers to penetrate into the LED driver IC segment, optimizing on their brand names and production scales, added the sources.

More Taiwan-based IC vendors are expected to join the development of the LED driver IC market given that the LED lighting industry is expected to grow by a CAGR of over 20% in the next few years, commented the sources.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: AMOLED production capacity expected to increase 327% by 2015
Tony Huang, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Friday 31 May 2013]


The production capacity of AMOLED panel technology is expected to reach 11.47 million square meters in 2015, up 327% compared to 2012, according to Digitimes Research.

The percentage increase is largely due to Korea-based panel makers expanding production of the technology for use in smartphone and TV applications. In 2012, LG Display and Samsung Display were responsible for 97.7% of AMOLED production capacity, but that percentage is expected to drop to 83.7% in 2015 as other panel makers in China, Taiwan and Japan are expected to bump up production of the technology, said Digitimes Research.

China-based panel makers alone are expected to hold a 7.4% AMOLED production capacity proportion in 2015, Digitimes Research added.

By 2015, 53% of AMOLED production capacity is expected to be used for small- to medium-size applications.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: May LED light bulb prices fall in Japan
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Thursday 6 June 2013]


In May, prices of 40W and 60W retrofit LED light bulbs in Japan were on average JPY1,719/unit (US$17.32/unit) and JPY2,350/unit, respectively. May prices of 40W and 60W retrofit LED light bulbs in Japan fell 1.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

In South Korea, according to Digitimes Research, the May average price of 40W retrofit LED light bulbs was KRW14,992/unit (US$13.40/unit), up 1.6% on month. The average price of 60W retrofit LED light bulbs in South Korea was KRW17,655/unit, down 25.6% in May. Digitimes Research noted that the price drop was due to the launch of a low-price 60W retrofit LED light bulb by Philips at KRW9,650/unit.

In China, the average price of domestic brand 7W LED light bulb was CNY36.9/unit (US$6.02), an drop of 3.7% compared to April. The price of 9W LED light bulbs averaged CNY54.4/unit, up 1.5% in May. Among international brands, prices for Osram's 7W retrofit LED light bulb showed the most significant drop at 31.2% compared to April.

US prices of 40W and 60W retrofit LED light bulbs in May were US$21.50/unit and US$24.00/unit, respectively, showing an on-month decrease of 3.2% and 2.8%, respectively.

In Europe the May average prices for the 40W and 60W retrofit LED light bulbs were EUR15.90/unit (US$20.83/unit) and EUR20.10/unit, respectively. Both prices were lower than prices in April.

Among all 40W retrofit LED light bulbs, Sharp's light bulbs in the Japan market had the highest brightness efficiency at 75.6lm/W. However, among all 60W retrofit LED light bulbs, Toshiba's product in the Japan market had the highest brightness efficiency of 92.1lm/W.

[R-BgO]

Global output of LED light bulbs to reach 600 million units in 2013, says Epistar chairman
Siu Han, Taipei; Jackie Chang, DIGITIMES [Monday 17 June 2013]


According to Biing-Jye Lee, chairman of Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Epistar, global shipments of LED light bulbs in 2013 are likely to reach 600 million units compared to 200 million units in 2012, showing an on-year growth of 300%.

However, compared to the total shipments of 10 billion light bulbs per year, the figure fo rhe LED segment is still small, said Lee. But if the growth can be maintained at 300% in 2014, the global output of LED light bulbs is likely to reach two billion units, Lee stated.

In addition, the price gap between 40W retrofit LED light bulb and energy-saving light bulb continues to narrow in 2013.

Lee added that when global shipments of LED light bulbs reach 1.8-2 billion units, it will require 300 MOCVD equipment sets to cater for the output. Taking demand for LED tube and special lighting also into consideration, the global LED market may return to balance in second-half 2014 to 2015, said Lee. Currently, Lee disclosed, the global capacity is around 2,300-2,400 MOCVD equipment sets.

By observing the sales in the market, Lee added, the 40W retrofit LED light bulb market is the main battlefield for firms.

According to Lee, the ex-factory prices of 40W energy-saving light bulbs are around US$1.20-1.30/unit compared to the ex-factory prices of US$2.50/unit of LED light bulbs of the same grade. Although the price difference is big but compared to energy-saving light bulbs, the lifespan of LED light bulbs is 300% longer.

The story is different for the 60W retrofit LED light bulbs, said Lee. For LED lighting, costs increase significantly as firms increase lumens but the price gaps between energy-saving light bulbs of different wattage is only about 10%. This means the ex-factory price gap between energy-saving and LED light bulbs of the same grade may be 400-500%. Hence, many lighting brands have been shifting focus back to the 40W retrofit LED light bulbs, Lee noted.

[sufenta]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.862.143 von R-BgO am 17.06.13 12:45:20

Thanks for the infos.

But the question is: which company we should buy now ?


Unfortunately I had to to sell GT Advanced last week because of my SL.


s.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 44.862.763 von sufenta am 17.06.13 14:11:56

überlege derzeit, ams zu kaufen

habe aber zuletzt wenig zeit in recherche gesteckt

generell würde ich eher nach einem marktabsturz kaufen wollen

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: Upstream LED firms continue to strive for higher brightness efficiency
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Thursday 27 June 2013]


At 2013 LED Lighting Taiwan, Russia-based upstream sapphire crystal maker Monocrystal showcased 12-inch substrates. The firm aims to produce crystal of over 150kg in 2014 for manufacturing 6-inch sapphire ingots.

Digitimes Research noted that judging from the exhibition, it is apparent that upstream LED firms have been aiming to achieve higher brightness efficiency while downstream firms have been expanding applications to new markets such as plant factories.

Taiwan-based LED chipmaker Formosa Epitaxy showcased package free chip (PFC) technology which can lower production costs while increasing brightness efficiency. The white LED components that adopt such technology have brightness efficiency of 180lm/W.

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) showcased 70-inch Ultra HD edge-lit LED TVs with product thickness of only 75.26mm.

Rohm was the only firm to display OLED lighting products although the product has yet to enter the lighting market and brightness efficiency is only 40lm/W. However, the product is light and thin with the possiblity of multiple designs, and hence it was one of the spotlights of the exhibition, said Digitimes Research.

[R-BgO]

LED backlighting application growth eases in June, manufacturers rush toward lighting market, says LEDinside
Press release, July 15; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Monday 15 July 2013]


The total revenue of Taiwan listed LED vendors plunged to NT$10.6 billion (US$354.63 million) in June 2013, as the LED market was affected by declining demand for backlight applications and stocktaking, according to research firm LEDinside. Additionally, revenues of listed LED chip manufacturers located in Taiwan reached NT$3.97 billion, while LED package manufacturers' revenues grew to NT$6.63 billion.

Facing decreasing demand and revenues in the backlighting market, Taiwan-based LED vendors have shifted focus to lighting products in hopes revenues from the backlighting segment can compensate.

Meanwhile, Taiwan companies including Epistar, Everlight, and Lextar have become ODMs or OEMs for major international lighting brands, but will need to focus on profitable products that offer more differentiation to break free from competitive OEM pricing wars, said the firm.

LEDinside also said that research firm WitsView has lowered its TV shipment estimates made earlier in 2013 from 216 million to 209 million in 2013, with annual growth rate reaching only 1.1%, which is likely to affect backlighting shipments as well.

[R-BgO]

LED bulb retail pricing steadily declines in October; shipment volume anticipated to exponentially increase in 2014, says LEDinside
Press release, November 26; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 26 November 2013]


According to LEDinside's retail findings for October 2013, global 40W LED bulb ASP dipped 2.3% to US$15.80, with price declines most evident in the UK. Conversely, the global 60W LED bulb ASP rose 1.2% to US$21.60.

Pricing in the UK declined 11% and pre-existing product prices steadily decreased, with the largest decline seen from Samsung and Osram. Pricing for 40W LED bulbs in the UK dropped as low as US$8.10, Pricing for 40W LED bulbs in the US dropped as low as US$9, the firm said.

LEDinside forecasts 2014 LED lighting product shipments to reach 1.32 billion units, a growth of 68% from 2013. Shipment volume for replacement light sources such as LED bulbs is especially anticipated to increase, with companies such as IKEA already distributing LED bulbs in volume. Attitude towards LED lighting by traditional luminaire makers such as Philips has become more aggressive. Spurred by various large lighting brand vendors and end channels, 2014 LED bulb shipment volume is anticipated to grow exponentially, the firm added.

[R-BgO]

Sapphire ingot supplier Acme to return to profitability in 4Q13
Eileen Chen, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 3 December 2013]


Buoyed by rising sales generated by its sapphire ingot-making subsidiary USI Optronics, ferrite core maker Acme Electronics is expected to return to profitability in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to market watchers.

Acme posted a net loss of NT$233 million (US$7.86 million) or NT$0.25 per share on revenues of NT$1.87 billion in first nine months of 2013.

The growing popularity of fingerprint encryption functionality in smartphones and other end-market devices will bring a substantial boost to demand for sapphire ingots and substrates, benefiting related suppliers including USI Optronics, Crystal Applied Technology and Tera Xtal Technology, the sources noted.

[R-BgO]

GaN-on-silicon LEDs forecast to increase market share to 40% by 2020, says IHS
Press release; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 6 December 2013]


The penetration of gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) wafers into the LED market is forecast to increase at a CAGR of 69% from 2013 to 2020, by which time they will account for 40% of all GaN LEDs manufactured, according to IHS.

In 2013, 95% of GaN LEDs will be manufactured on sapphire wafers, while only 1% will be manufactured on silicon wafers. The growth in the manufacturing of GaN-on-Si LEDs between 2013 and 2020 will take market share from both sapphire and silicon carbide wafers, IHS believes.

"Manufacturing large ingots made from sapphire is difficult, whereas silicon wafers are available from 8-inch up to 12-inch and are generally cheaper and more abundant," said Dkins Cho, senior analyst for lighting and LEDs at IHS. "There is a large pre-existing industry for silicon-based manufacturing that is leveraged to create economies of scale and reduce the cost of an LED."

Repurposing manufacturing facilities to accommodate the shift toward GaN-on-Si LEDs is generally accepted to require minimal investment. Companies that previously manufactured CMOS semiconductors already own legacy 8-inch CMOS fabrication units that can be converted for LED production with a small modification. These companies already have in-house expertise and technology associated with silicon-based processes, IHS noted.

"Many of the CMOS semiconductor manufacturers already have excellent inspection tools, unlike traditional LED companies," Cho continued. "This could help increase their process yield through in-situ monitoring. However, it is unlikely the repurposing will happen overnight; instead we forecast a shift during the coming years."

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: Global high-brightness LED value estimated over US$12.7 billion in 2014
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Friday 13 December 2013]


Global production of high-brightness LED chips in 2014 will reach a total value of US$12.743 billion, increasing 129% on year, according to Digitimes Research.

LED lighting will take up 39.4% of high-brightness LED chips to be produced in 2014, followed by mobile device LED backlighting with 18.6%, LCD TV backlighting 8.5%, LED display boards 7.7%, automotive use 6.8%, tablet backlighting 6.3%, notebook backlighting 4.9% and LCD monitor backlighting 2.3%, Digitimes Research said.

Global LED lighting will reach a total market value of US$25.82 billion, hiking 38% on year and taking up 23.4% of total market value for all types of lighting. Of LED chips to be used in lighting in 2014, light bulbs will account for 36.8%, tubes 33.4%, downlight/projection lamps 23.3% and street lamps 6.5%.

[R-BgO]

Global LED lighting penetration estimated at 20% in 2013, 30% in 2014, says Everlight
Julian Ho, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 17 December 2013]


LED lighting as a percentage of all types of lighting in the global market is expected to reach 20% in 2013, and the penetration is likely to rise to 30% in 2014, according to Taiwan-based LED packaging house Everlight Electronics.

Everlight has been setting up retail channels for marketing own-brand LED lighting products in Taiwan and China, with revenue contribution to begin in 2014, the company indicated. As retail prices for LED light bulbs keep falling, international vendors are expected to release OEM orders to Taiwan-based makers, Everlight said.

Epistar, the largest Taiwan-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker, has 70% of consolidated revenues coming from blue-light LED chips and 30% from red-light AlGaInP chips, the company indicated. Red-light LED chips are mainly used in signage boards and outdoor display panels, and blue-light LED chips in backlighting and lighting, Epistar noted. The company expects fourth-quarter 2013 consolidated revenues to be flat or slightly increase sequentially.

Harvatek, another Taiwan-based LED packaging house, has 30% of consolidated revenues coming from LED lighting, 15% from backlighting and 40% from SMD LED devices. The company saw operation swing from net losses for seven consecutive quarters into net EPS of NT$0.25 for the third quarter of 2013.

[R-BgO]

Super high power LEDs to be in 50% of lighting shipments by 2017, says firm
Press release, January 29; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 29 January 2014]


According to Strategies Unlimited, revenues for LEDs in lighting applications, which includes both replacement lamps and luminaires, are expected to have a CAGR of 30% and reach a total value of US$13 billion by 2017.

HB-LEDs saw a precipitous fall in prices over the last several years, which helped reduce the price of LED lamps and luminaires, but this decrease in prices has been slowing down in recent times. According to Philip Smallwood, research director of LEDs and lighting at Strategies Unlimited, "ASPs of packaged LEDs are declining at a slower rate than previous years, as super high power LEDs increase in the market. While prices for all LEDs are decreasing, the increased penetration of these SHP LEDs (which have a higher price) is raising the overall ASP for all packaged LEDs."

Efficacy improvements are continuing to take place in the market as well, with the average efficacy of commercially available LEDs for lighting applications increasing to greater than 100lm/W for 1W packages while multi-chip arrays reached efficacy of 200lm/W. LED efficacy is no longer the gating factor for LED applications, cost is. Lighting applications have seen a variety of different packages used over the previous year, including arrays, high CRI, tighter color bins, directional, multi-directional and high voltage LEDs.

Strategies Unlimited has reported that the growth rate for LED package units and revenues are both expected to be in double digits for the forecast period. According to Smallwood, "While growth in the market can be attributed to improvements in the technology and decreases in its price, the largest penetration increases seem to be coming from government mandates that either restrict incumbent lighting technologies or push the usage of LEDs." One of the largest impacts of these regulations will be seen in 2014 in the US, as the implementation of the Energy and Independence Security Act of 2007 is phasing out 60W and 40W incandescent A-lamps.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: January 40W-equivalent LED bulb prices in Japan market down on month
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Wednesday 19 February 2014]


Average retail prices for LED light bulbs equivalent to 40W and 60W incandescent ones in the Japan market stood at JPY1,633 (US$16) and JPY2,473 respectively in January 2014, slipping by 3.2% and remaining unchanged on month respectively, according to Digitimes Research.

January average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets are as follows: US$20.60 (up 3.0% on month) and US$22 (down 0.5%) in the US; EUR13.70 (US$18.80, up 2.2%) and EUR17.50 (down 8.9%) in Europe; KRW14,353 (US$13.20, down 1.3%) and KRW16,035 (down 0.8%) in South Korea, Digitimes Research indicated.

In the China market, January average retail price for 7W and 9W LED light bulbs stood at CNY46.9 (US$7.80, down 1.3%) and CNY55.30 (down 4.8%) respectively.

Osram 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs and Osram 60W-equivalent models for sale in the South Korea market had the highest average lumen-price ratio of 72.4lm/US$ and 114.8lm/US$ respectively in January. In terms of luminous efficiency, Cree 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs for sale in the US market and Toshiba 60W-equivalent models available in the Japan market had the highest average level of 75.0lm/W and 96.5lm/W respectively.

[Crowww]

Interessanter Thread muss ich gleich mal mitlesen.

[R-BgO]

LED bulb prices to drop further in 2014, says firm
Press release, February 24; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Monday 24 February 2014]


Global 40W equivalent LED bulb ASPs rose 0.5% to US$15.30, with price increases most evident in Japan, according to LEDinside. Conversely, the global 60W equivalent LED bulb ASP dipped 0.9% to US$21.20.

The ASP for 40W equivalent and 60W equivalent LED bulbs dropped 21% and 28% on year, respectively. The decreasing LED bulb price trend is anticipated to continue in 2014, the firm said.

The rise in bulb price was most evident in Japan in January 2014, largely due to a surge in prices for select items during the holiday period. Additionally, Panasonic 6.9W bulbs rose from US$5.50 to US$9 in December and Sharp's omni-directional 10.4W bulbs increased substantially from US$21 to US$41.

In China, bulb prices declined 16.2% for 60W equivalent LED bulbs in January, affected by large drops for sales promotions. Samsung 10.8W bulbs with a luminous flux of 810lm decreased 50% in price from US$30 to US$15.

LEDinside also said it observed that bulb pricing in South Korea is stabilizing with few price fluctuations. This is mainly because of control measures implemented by the government to protect small businesses. As a result, Korea-based LED lighting makers are smaller and lack channel and cost advantages which have made it more difficult to rapidly reduce prices, the firm said.

[Crowww]

Aixtron wird wieder günstig.

[R-BgO]

Shift in lighting technologies to dim energy use by end of decade, says IHS
Press release, March 3; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Monday 3 March 2014]


A fundamental paradigm shift in lighting technologies toward more efficient lamps and bulbs will significantly reduce global electricity demand for general illumination in the next few years, according to IHS.

The energy usage of the installed base of lighting technologies for general illumination will fall to a projected 2.75 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) by 2020, down 24% from 3.61 trillion kWh in 2013. Overall, the installed base for general lighting-which covers homes, businesses and street lamps but not architectural or theatrical lighting-will account for 10.3% of the net electricity generated in 2020, down from 16.4% in 2013.

Electricity usage will decline even as the number of lamps increases. The global installed base of lamps is projected to rise to 59.3 billion units in 2020, up from 56.4 billion in 2013.

"The fall in electricity consumed by lighting is being driven by the systematic ban of inefficient – mainly incandescent – lamps and bulbs in countries across the world," said William Rhodes, lighting research manager for IHS. "As these bans start to kick in, consumers and business owners will be replacing their lamps with more energy-efficient technologies, such as LED alternatives."

Even so, consumers are not currently flocking to LED in great numbers because of the relatively high pricing involved, Rhodes noted. Instead, shoppers are opting for cheaper options like CFL or halogen lamps.

Most CFL lamps, for instance, consume just 25% of the electricity used by an equivalent incandescent lamp but are 87% cheaper on average. As a result, CFL lamps provide a suitable energy-saving alternative to consumers without a significant price premium.

For their part, halogen lamps have a similar cost and light compared to incandescent but also consume less electricity, making halogens suitable options as well for consumers in the short to long term.

As pricing falls for LED lamps and bulbs toward the end of this decade, consumers and business owners can be expected to start replacing incandescent, CFL, halogen and other lighting technologies with LED alternatives, even though cost will remain an inhibitor for many years. This will be the case despite average electricity savings of 85% for LEDs, Rhodes said.

One factor could reduce the potential savings to be gained. LED's flexibility could make it more attractive for decorative and architectural applications, including new design possibilities such as under-counter lighting in kitchens or kickboard lighting close to the floor.

Such a shift toward LED decorative lighting could offset some of the energy savings gained by replacing incandescent lamps with LEDs in the first place, Rhodes added.

[R-BgO]

In China sind die Dinger echt billig; frage mich, ob Qualität vergleichbar ist:



Digitimes Research: February LED bulb prices in China market down over 18%
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Thursday 6 March 2014]


February average retail pricing for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescent ones) in the China market slipped 18.8% sequentially to CNY38.1 (US$6.2), and 9W ones (equivalent to 60W incandescent) dropped 18.1% to CNY45.3, according to Digitimes Research.

Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in the Japan market in February stood at JPY1,633 (US$16) and JPY2,447 respectively, the former remaining unchanged and the latter slipping 1.1% on month, Digitimes Research indicated.

February average retail pricing for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets are: KRW14,540 (US$13.6, up 1.3% on month) and KRW16,169 (up 0.8%) in South Korea; US$20.10 (down 2.4%) and US$22.30 (up 1.4%) in the US; EUR13.80 (US$19, up 0.7%) and EUR17.50 (flat) in Europe.

Osram 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs available in South Korea had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 69.9lm/US$ and 113.6lm/US$ respectively in February. In terms of luminous efficiency, Cree 40W-equivalent models for the US market and Toshiba 60W-equivalent models available in Japan had the highest average levels of 75.0lm/W and 96.5lm/W respectively.

[R-BgO]

LED industry to enter 3 golden years, says Epistar chairman
Sammi Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 20 March 2014]


Mainly due to fast growing global demand for LED lighting, the L ED industry will enjoy three golden years during 2014-2017, according to chairman Lee Biing-jye for Taiwan-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Epistar.

Global demand for LED lighting as a percentage of all lighting products will increase to at least 30% in 2014, Lee said. LED lighting penetration in the Japan market will remain the highest around the world and is expected to rise from over 50% in 2013 to about 70% in 2014, while the US market will grow from about 10% to 20%, Lee said.

Epistar has fully utilized its production capacity so far in the first quarter of 2014 and capacity utilization will stand at a high level in the second, Lee indicated.

Everlight Electronics, the largest Taiwan-based LED packaging service provider, expects double-digit growth in 2014, company chairman Robert Yeh noted.

[R-BgO]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterdetwiler/2014/03/27/leds-wi…





LEDs Will Get Even More Efficient: Cree Passes 300 Lumens Per Watt

LED maker Cree announced this week that it had achieved a new record in terms of lighting efficiency, harvesting 303 lumens per watt from a white high power LED at room temperature. This represents a 10% increase over last year’s record of 276 lumens per watt, also held by Cree.

For comparison’s sake (though admittedly not a pefect example), the traditional 60 watt incandescent bulb (now essentially outlawed as a consequence of new lighting standards that took effect in January, and which utilized 95% of its energy to produce heat), typically yielded 750-1150 lumens, or between 12.5 and just over 19 lumens per watt. The warm white LED from Cree that you can currently buy at Home Depot HD +0.05% in some markets for as little as $5 (with utility subsidy included in the shelf price) yields 800 lumens for 9.5 watts, or 84 lumens per watt.

Clearly, there is a big difference in efficiencies in the lab and the products currently on the shelves, and that’s the point. There is significant further room for improvement, and Cree keeps driving in this direction. In January, the company announced its demonstration of the first 200 lumen-per-watt LED concept luminaire (according to the company, the Department of Energy forecasted this would occur by the end of the decade). The efficiency of this device eclipses its nearest fluorescent competitor by 2x.

According to Cree vice president for product strategy, Mike Watson, the aim of this research is to build a better mousetrap, “Achieving a major performance milestone like Cree’s 303 lumens-per-watt (LPW) development result affects more than just increased LED efficiency; it also helps deliver new, smaller and ultimately lower cost lighting solutions to more customers.”

Watson notes that the path from laboratory to store shelf is not immediate, but it often only takes a few years or less. “While some of these performance improvements already impact our current developments, commercializing products with this level of performance typically takes between 18 to 24 months from when we announce a research and development result.”

Cree’s announcements have far-reaching implications for energy users, and for utilities looking at flat or declining consumption curves in the future. The latest numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that that in 2011, about 461 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity were dedicated to lighting in the residential and commercial sectors. This was equal to about 17% of the total electricity used in these sectors and approximately 12% of total U.S. electricity consumption.

Widespread adoption of LED products from Cree and their competitors will be positive for our economy – consumers and businesses get a lot more light for each dollar spent, putting money in their wallets or freeing up capital for other investments. But it may well cause a challenge for utilities whose profit is often coupled to kilowatt-hour sales, and who are seeing the rise of all kinds of new and efficient technologies, as well as distributed solar, storage, and other on-site technologies. The recent announcements from Cree suggest a pretty clear and obvious trend. The increasing substitution of innovation and intelligence for raw materials – such as fuel and energy – is likely to increase in the foreseeable future.

[R-BgO]

40W LED bulb prices drop in March, says LEDinside
Press release, April 21; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Monday 21 April 2014]


The global 40W equivalent LED bulb ASP dipped slightly by 1.3% in March to US$14.90, with the price decrease most evident in China, according to LEDinside. The ASP for 60W equivalent LED bulbs did not fluctuate and remained at US$20.80.

In China, the ASP for 40W products dropped 14.7% in March on the back of increased exchange rates. Existing products also dipped in pricing. US 40W equivalent LED bulb ASP decreased as well in March, sliding 7.6%, the firm added.

In terms of 60W products, the ASP in Japan declined 14.8% to US US$19.20 in March. Existing product prices mostly dipped slightly, and sales for a portion of high priced products temporarily ceased, such as Sharp's 10.4W bulb priced at US US$32.40, noted LEDinside.

[cmeise]

Cree Inc. (CREE) Has Fallen To A 5-Month Low On Disappointing Q4 Forecast

(RTTNews.com) - Cree Inc. ( CREE ) reported third quarter adjusted EPS of $0.39 after the bell Tuesday, compared to $0.34 a year ago. Analysts expected EPS of $0.38. The company expects to report fourth quarter adjusted EPS of $0.38 to $0.44, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.44.

Cree gapped open sharply lower Wednesday morning and is now down 5.24 at $52.81 on above average volume. The stock has dropped to a 5-month low.

-----

Laut comdirect KGV von 34. Jetzt seit 6 Monaten absteigende Tendenz. Hat jemand eine Vermutung ab wann das Teil als günstig zu betrachten sein kann? Hab mich mit den Zahlen bislang noch nicht näher beschäftigt.

[R-BgO]

Preise STEIGEN?


Digitimes Research: LED bulb prices in China market up sequentially in April
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Friday 16 May 2014]


April average retail price for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescent ones) in the China market rose by 5.9% on month to CNY35.9 (US$5.7), while 9W (equivalent to 60W incandescent) models saw an 1.4%, according to Digitimes Research.

Average retail price for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in the Japan market in April stood at JPY1,668 (US$16) and JPY2,681 respectively, with the former rising on month by 1.5% and the latter by 3.3%, Digitimes Research indicated.

April average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets are: KRW14,215 (US$13.7, down 2.2% on month) and KRW16,355 (up 1.4%) in South Korea; US$19.2 (down 11.9%) and US$21.6 (down 1.8%) in the US; EUR13.4 (US$18.8, up 1.5%) and EUR14.6 (down 3.9%) in Europe.

Osram 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs available in the South Korea market had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 67.9lm/US$ and 110.2lm/US$ respectively in April. In terms of luminous efficiency, Toshiba 40W- and 60W-equivalent models for sale in the Japan market had the highest average levels of 74.6lm/W and 97.4lm/W respectively.

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 46.995.296 von R-BgO am 16.05.14 12:28:37

Hast Du immernoch einige LED Aktien?

Gruß
P.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 47.015.634 von Popeye82 am 20.05.14 17:53:57

Habe ich, aber in kleiner Dosierung:

Cree, UDC, Rubicon, Aixtron, Veeco, AMS, Zumtobel, Acuity, Philips, Osram, Epistar, Neo-Neon, SemiLED, eMagin

[R-BgO]

LED bulb ASP drops in April, with price drops most notable in China, says LEDinside
Press release, June 3; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 4 June 2014]


The global 40W equivalent LED bulb ASP dipped 1.5% in April 2014 to US$14.70, with price decreases most evident in China. Additionally, the global 60W equivalent LED bulb ASP dropped 2.5% to US$20.20, according to LEDinside.

"China's 40W equivalent LED bulb ASP decreased 22.9% on quarter to US$7.40 in April 2014, making it the lowest globally. International brands are less price competitive, as China manufacturers continue to dominate the low-to-mid priced LED bulb market", said LEDinside analyst Terri Wang.

The firm said China-based lighting manufacturers have sped up investments in the LED market, most notably in bulb retrofit. Although overt market competition has caused unsatisfactory gross profits, it has helped in acquiring necessary market shares, as well as establishing a firm foundation to uphold China manufacturers' advantages in the domestic market. Additionally, most China-based lighting manufacturers have a background in manufacturing, giving them an advantage in cost management and resource integration, and they are able to easily find suppliers in the local supply chain, offering them more vertical integration opportunities.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 47.102.728 von R-BgO am 04.06.14 18:39:21

ja wat' denn nu?:


Digitimes Research: LED bulb prices in China up sequentially in May
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Friday 6 June 2014]


May average retail pricing for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescent) in the China market rose 4.2% on month to CNY37.4 (US$5.90), while 9W models (equivalent to 60W incandescent) increased 2.7% to CNY45.80, according to Digitimes Research.

Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in Japan in May stood at JPY1,662 (US$16) and JPY2,423, respectively, with the former dropping 0.4% and the latter 9.6% on month, Digitimes Research indicated.

May average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets were: KRW12,344 (US$11.10, down 13.2% on month) and KRW16,470 (up 0.7%) in South Korea; US$19.30 (up 0.5%) and US$22 (up 1.9%) in the US; and EUR13.4 (US$18.80, down 1.5%) and EUR14.3 (down 2.1%) in Europe.

LG Electronics' 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs and Osram 60W-equivalent models available in the South Korea market had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 71.0lm/US$ and 98.8lm/US$, respectively in May. In terms of luminous efficiency, Toshiba 40W- and 60W-equivalent models for sale in the Japan market had the highest average levels of 74.6lm/W and 97.4lm/W, respectively.

[Popeye82]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 47.102.710 von R-BgO am 04.06.14 18:36:07

hier hast Du eine, 1 Jahr alte, Branchenrecherche.
Ich habe nichts aus diesem Bereich.
Kapiere aber den grundlegenden Reiz.
www.file-upload.net/download-9166750/LED-sector-report---EIR…l

[baggo-mh]

Zitat von R-BgO: Habe ich, aber in kleiner Dosierung:

Cree, UDC, Rubicon, Aixtron, Veeco, AMS, Zumtobel, Acuity, Philips, Osram, Epistar, Neo-Neon, SemiLED, eMagin

Hi R-Bgo

darf ich fragen was AMS in Bereich LED macht?
Danke und Gruß
baggo-mh

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 47.263.614 von baggo-mh am 04.07.14 21:35:25

Elektronik, z.B. Driver

[Popeye82]

"Playing the LED Light Bulb Revolution" - E.com/CR - Jul 7, 2014
www.equities.com/editors-desk/stocks/industrials/playing-the…

[R-BgO]

AMOLED handset panel costs expected to fall below LCD, says DisplaySearch
Press release; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Thursday 17 July 2014]


Improvements in production yields of AMOLED handset panels are closing the manufacturing cost gap between AMOLED and TFT LCD smartphone displays. According to DisplaySearch, manufacturing costs for AMOLED panels are currently 10-20% higher than for TFT LCD displays; however, manufacturing costs for AMOLED handset displays are expected fall below costs for LCD handset displays within two years due to rapid improvement in AMOLED panel production yields.

Early on, AMOLED panels were expected to cost less than LCD panels, because they do not require backlighting. Instead, production challenges kept AMOLED yields low, so costs remained higher than for equivalent LCDs. AMOLED became a high-end product, due to its high color gamut, good contrast, and slimness. Recent production yield improvements are expected to help AMOLED penetrate more broadly into smartphone panels, said the firm.

"Until recently there have been few breakthroughs in the production of AMOLED displays, and the OLED industry seemed to be facing hard times," said Jimmy Kim, senior analyst of display materials and LED at DisplaySearch. "If AMOLED costs fall below LCDs, as expected, it would lead to more opportunities for the OLED display industry, greater competition with LCD, and more choices for consumers."

For example, currently there is a 16% cost gap between 5-inch AMOLED and LCD 1920 by 1080 handset panels, but AMOLED panel costs are expected to fall below LCD panel costs when AMOLED production yields reach 90%, which is within sight. With cost reductions for OLED materials, the yield rate can be lower and still have a similar effect, added DisplaySearch.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: July LED bulb prices grow in China market
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Monday 18 August 2014]


July average retail price for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescent ones) in the China market increased by 5.2% sequentially to CNY36.3 (US$5.9), while the 9W segment (equivalent to 60W incandescent) also saw a 8.3% increase to CNY50.9, according to Digitimes Research.

Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in the Japan market in July stood at JPY1,701 (US$17) and JPY2,807 respectively, with the former growing 2.3% sequentially and the latter 4.2%, Digitimes Research indicated.

July average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets were: KRW12,462 (US$12.5, down 0.5% on month) and KRW14,645 (down 2.2%) in South Korea; US$20 (up 4.2%) and US$20 (down 7.0%) in the US; EUR12.9 (US$17.4, down 3.7%) and EUR11.8 (down 13.9%) in Europe.

Osram 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs available in the South Korea market had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 67.8lm/US$ and 92.9lm/US$ respectively in July. In terms of luminous efficiency, Toshiba 40W- and 60W-equivalent models for sale in the Japan market had the highest average levels of 74.6lm/W and 100.5lm/W respectively.

[R-BgO]

Global retail price of LED lamps drops in September, says DisplaySearch
Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Friday 3 October 2014]


The global average retail price of LED lamps was US$21 in September 2014, indicating a fall of 4.9% from the prior month, and down 19.2% compared to the same time a year earlier, according to DisplaySearch.

Over the past 12 months, the lumens-per-dollar ratio of LED lamps has increased by 27.1% to 35.44 lumens per dollar, the firm added.

LED luminaires for outdoor and parking applications meanwhile will see revenues grow from US$921 million annually in 2014 to US$1.4 billion in 2021, said Navigant Research.

The firm also recently said the market share of LEDs in street lighting worldwide will grow from 53.3% in 2014 to 93.8% in 2023.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: Global LED lighting demand in 2018 to grow 180-190% from 2013
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Wednesday 8 October 2014]


Global demand for LED lighting products and LED-based lighting systems and services in 2018 will increase from 2013 by 190% and 180%, respectively, and global demand for LED lighting will begin to exceed that for conventional lighting products in 2017, according to Digitimes Research.

In contrast, global demand for conventional lighting products in 2018 will decrease 40% from 2013, Digitimes Research indicated.

Conventional lighting products are still and will be mainstream in developing and underdeveloped countries, with about 70% of such products being compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and fluorescent lamps. Average annual decreases in CFL use will be higher than that for fluorescent lamps mainly because CFLs will face increasing price competition from LED light bulbs.

[R-BgO]

Strategies Unlimited report gibt Eingruppierung von Playern

Introducing...Taiwan Monthly and China Quarterly LED Manufacturers Report

This monthly report will give an update and quarterly forecast for the Taiwanese LED market by providing an overview of the production and sales of the major manufacturers at each stage of the supply chain:

Sapphire (TXT, CWT, CAT Procrystal USIO),
chips (Epistar, Forepi, Genesis, Tekore, EpiLEDs, Arima Opto), and
packaged LEDs (Everlight, LExtar, Unity Opto, Harvatek, Bright LED, Edison Opto, Ledtech, THEIL).

The report will also break down the packaged LED market by application (Non-visible, Lighting, TV backlighting, CE & Mobil Device, and Others).

The Chinese portion of the report will provide a quarterly update and forecast on the health of the packaged LED market by covering the production and sales of the main manufacturers (Sanan Opto, Nationstar, Refond, Mason, Hongli, Ledman) in that country.

Have a question? Contact Tim Carli at [e-mail]

[R-BgO]

GaN LEDs in automotives to reach US$1 billion in 2014, says IHS
Press release, October 22; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 22 October 2014]


The market for GaN packaged LEDs in automotive applications is forecast to reach the US$1 billion mark in 2014 for the first time, according to IHS.

Industry revenues are projected to grow 11% from US$943 million in 2013 to US$1.05 billion in 2014. Growth comes from the exterior applications in the vehicle such as headlamps and daytime running lights, where LED penetration is still low, but the LED value per vehicle can be quite high. Osram, Nichia and Lumileds are ranked by IHS as the leading three suppliers to the market and are particularly dominant in exterior applications, the firm said.

Audi has been a leader in the use of LEDs in its vehicles (especially in daytime running lights) since 2008, and many other manufacturers have followed the steady trend toward more LED. However, many vehicles that do not use LED lighting still remain, even at the high end of the market. For example, the cutting-edge Tesla Model S retailing for approximately US$100,000 does not yet have LED headlamps. Moreover, daytime running lights, cornering lights and indoor ambient lights are only available as an option rather than as standard.

LED lighting should increase in vehicles over the next several years and the market is forecast to grow further to US$1.3 billion in 2018, added IHS.

[R-BgO]

Samsung, TSMC Solid State Lighting reportedly to quit LED lighting business, say Taiwan makers
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 21 October 2014]


Samsung Electronics will reportedly withdraw from the global LED lighting market due to low-price pressure from China-based makers, while Taiwan-based TSMC Solid State Lighting will reportedly cease operations, according to industry sources.

As Samsung is at a disadvantage in terms of technology and patents compared to Japan-based Nichia, and has relied on low quotes to compete, the sources said. However, China-based makers, by virtue of government subsidies for production equipment, have offered even lower quotes to compete with South Korea-based makers including Samsung, the sources indicated.

TSMC Solid State Lighting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), adopts silicon substrates instead of sapphire wafers to produce LED epitaxial wafers and chips, the sources said. TSMC Solid State Lighting has reshuffled personnel and its main clients, such as LED lighting lamp maker Leadray Energy, have shifted orders from the company to other suppliers, the sources noted. TSMC Solid State Lighting will reportedly quit operations and sell production equipment to LED maker Advanced Optoelectronic Technology (AOT), a member of the Foxconn Group, the sources indicated.

In response to the reports, TSMC Solid State Lighting declined to comment but said it maintains regular operations.

[R-BgO]

China lighting e-commerce market to become largest LED distribution channel, says LEDinside
Press release; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Monday 27 October 2014]


China's e-commerce market scale will reach US$445.1 billion in 2014, and the lighting e-commerce market scale in China has reached US$2.4 billion in 2014, according to LEDinside.

"As LED lighting products continue to sellout online, the online lighting market is expected to grow well into 2017, with Internet sales estimated to reach 30% to become the largest LED lighting distribution channel, and overtake traditional lighting distribution channels including construction project and luminaire retail shops", said Figo Wang, senior analyst at LEDinside.

E-commerce channels in China are gradually transitioning from C2C models to B2C, which can be especially seen in the lighting e-commerce segment, said Wang. Lighting e-commerce sales from B2C models reached 55% above C2C's 45%.

Analysis based on China's e-commerce platforms indicate Tmall.com has been most successful in its lighting e-commerce business, and has a market share of 54% in the B2C market. Top three LED luminaire makers in terms of online revenue are Opple, NVC Lighting and Xiamen Aoduo lllumination, while three major players for LED lamps are Philips, Opple, and NVC Lighting. JD.com is the second largest lighting e-commerce platform with a market share of 19.2%, but its sales volume and brands represented are much lower than Tmall.com. It will be difficult for newcomers, such as other e-commerce platforms, to make significant breakthroughs in the short term as Tmall.com and JD.com firmly establish their market positions as leaders in the lighting e-commerce segment. Other e-commerce platforms have also placed value on the lighting market, and are trying to attract lighting manufacturers to invest, the firm said.

[R-BgO]

China LED makers cut prices, Taiwan makers to follow suit
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 28 October 2014]


China-based LED makers' production capacity expansion in the first half of 2014 has since resulted in oversupply, forcing them to reduce quotes to compete for orders in the fourth quarter. Taiwan-based competitors will follow suit in cutting prices, with quotes for backlighting products used in hand-held devices to drop by about 10%, according to industry sources.

A power supply maker and 23 others in the LED supply chain in China have formed an alliance to minimize production cost by increasing economies of scale, with ex-factory price for a T8 LED light tube lowered to CNY11 (US$1.8) initially and further to CNY9 currently, the sources indicated.

In comparison, Taiwan-based makers' ex-factory prices for a T8 LED light tube stand at US$3-4, the sources noted, adding price competition for LED lighting may continue until 2015.

In the China market currently, LED's penetration rates in the streetlamp, commercial lighting and office lighting segments stand at about 20%, 15% and below 10% respectively, the sources said. LED lighting demand in China in 2014 will grow 60% on year in volume but only 30% in sales value due to price drops, the sources indicated.

[R-BgO]

LED penetration rate expected to reach between 60-70% over the next 5 years
Julian Ho, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 28 October 2014]


The LED penetration rate is expected to reach between 60-70% over the next five years due to decreasing prices and energy-saving capabilities, according to Everlight chairman Robert Yeh.

With the LED penetration rate reaching over 90% in LCD TV backlighting applications, LED makers are anticipating a surge of growth in the lighting market, as economies across the globe are looking to more energy-saving solutions.

Additionally, the LED industry will enjoy three golden years during 2014-2017, according to chairman Lee Biing-jye for Taiwan-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Epistar, who also recently added that global demand for LED lighting as a percentage of all lighting products will increase to at least 30% in 2014. LED lighting penetration in the Japan market will remain the highest around the world and is expected to rise from over 50% in 2013 to about 70% in 2014, while the US market will grow from about 10% to 20%, Lee said.

With LED chipmakers expanding production capacities to meet growing demand for lighting applications, 186-228 MOCVD sets will also be shipped globally in 2014, rising 25.7-54.1% on year, according to Digitimes Research. Global demand is rising and makers will bump up production capacity for MOCVDs by 300 units in 2015, said industry sources, adding that China makers are also expected to expand capacity by 100 units over the next two years.

Meanwhile, the market for GaN packaged LEDs in automotive applications is forecast to reach the US$1 billion mark in 2014 for the first time, according to IHS. Industry revenues are projected to grow 11% from US$943 million in 2013 to US$1.05 billion in 2014. Growth comes from exterior applications in vehicles such as headlamps and daytime running lights, where LED penetration is still low, but the LED value per vehicle can be quite high. Osram, Nichia and Lumileds are ranked by IHS as the leading three suppliers to the market, and they are particularly dominant in exterior applications, the firm said.

Such developments with applications ranging into street, vehicle and various outdoor applications coupled with increasing amounts of LEDs used in Ultra HD applications will put the market at about NT$3 trillion (US$98.71 billion), according to various market estimates.

However, there will be competition from China-based LED makers, as their production capacity expansion in the first half of 2014 has since resulted in oversupply, forcing them to reduce quotes to compete for orders in the fourth quarter. Taiwan-based competitors are expected to follow suit in cutting prices, with quotes for backlighting products used in hand-held devices to drop by about 10%, the sources said. In the China market currently, LED penetration rates in the streetlamp, commercial lighting and office lighting segments stand at about 20%, 15% and below 10%, respectively. LED lighting demand in China in 2014 will grow 60% on year in volume but only 30% in sales value due to price drops, the sources indicated.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: Japan LED lighting demand to reach JPY507.8 billion in 2015
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Friday 7 November 2014]


Japan is the world's leading country in terms of LED lighting penetration and its LED lighting demand in 2015 will reach JPY507.8 billion (US$4.43 billion), increasing by 13.2% on year and accounting for 78.6% of the total shipment value for all lighting products, according to Digitimes Research.

LED lighting will take up 71.6% of total shipment value for lighting products in Japan in 2014, much higher than the corresponding global average of 22.4%, Digitimes Research indicated. The Japan government and LED lighting industry aim to increase the proportion to 100% by 2020.

In the Japan market, retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs currently stand stably at JPY1,633-1,701 and JPY2,447-2,807 respectively, and at JPY9,000-10,300 for LED lamps.

Due to relatively high LED lighting penetration, LED lighting vendors in the Japan market are expected to promote sales through enhancing quality and added value instead of lowering prices. Connection of LED lighting with HEMS (home energy management system) is a way of increasing added value. There were about 500,000 homes introducing HEMS as of the end of 2013 and the goal is to increase the number to five million.

[R-BgO]

Philips, Panasonic and Toshiba expected to dominate LED lighting market share in 2014

Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Monday 10 November 2014]

The global LED lighting market is expected to reach US$25.7 billion in 2014 followed by a market penetration increase to 31% in 2015 as the overall lighting market grows to US$82.1 billion. The top five lighting brands in terms of revenues during 2014 will be Philips, Panasonic, Toshiba, GE and Osram, according to findings from TrendForce.

Digitimes meanwhile reported that the LED penetration rate is expected to reach between 60-70% over the next five years due to decreasing prices and energy-saving capabilities.

With the LED penetration rate reaching over 90% in LCD TV backlighting applications, LED makers are anticipating a surge of growth in the lighting market, as economies across the globe are looking to more energy-saving solutions.

Global demand for LED lighting products and LED-based lighting systems and services in 2018 will increase from 2013 by 190% and 180%, respectively, and global demand for LED lighting will begin to exceed that for conventional lighting products in 2017, according to Digitimes Research.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: October 7W LED bulb prices up sequentially in China

Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Tuesday 18 November 2014]

October average retail pricing for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescents) in the China market increased 2.4% on month to CNY34.70 (US$5.70), while that for 9W models (equivalent to 60W incandescents) fell 0.2% to CNY41.60, according to Digitimes Research.

Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in Japan in October stood at JPY1,668 (US$15) and JPY3,370 respectively, rising 0.2% and 9.7% on month, Digitimes Research indicated.

October average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets were: KRW11,450 (US$11.5, down 8.1% on month) and KRW14,256 (down 2.3%) in South Korea; US$17.5 (down 9.8%) and US$20.8 (up 5.1%) in the US; EUR11.50 (US$14.70, down 12.9%) and EUR14.20 (up 11.8%) in Europe.

[R-BgO]

LED lighting marks a new era: Q&A with Hubie Notohamiprodjo, SSL, Dialog Semiconductor

Cage Chao, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 26 November 2014]

With the global LED lighting application market taking off, and business opportunities emerging fast, semiconductor firms, particularly LED driver IC vendors, around the globe have been exerting efforts to enhance their presence in the LED lighting market.

Hubie Notohamiprodjo, divisional director of marketing for solid state lighting (SSL) products at Dialog Semiconductor, shared his insights and product design trends of the LED lighting application market during a recent interview with Digitimes.

Q: How would you assess the LED lighting application market in 2014-2015?

A: Market demand for LED lighting applications has been growing rapidly in 2014, driving down the unit price of LED bulbs to US$6 on average in the year compared to US$25-30 previously.

I think the unit price is likely to drop to below US$3 in the next 2-3 years. Additionally, global demand for LED bulbs is expected to reach 375 million units in 2014 and over 600 million units in 2015.

LED lighting applications will reach far beyond just replacing traditional lighting bulbs. The production value of the global LED industry will also keep growing fast in the next 3-5 years as the ongoing designs will keep upgrading the efficiency, specifications and yield rates of LED bulbs.

Q: What kind of role LED chip vendors should play at the time when the end-market is growing rapidly?

A: Chip suppliers are bracing for brand new challenges when demand for LED bulbs is expanding at a fast pace. They should firstly tackle the issue related to production costs, not only just for chips but also including modules and end-systems so that end-market clients will prevail in a new round of price competition.

And also basically, it is a mandate for chip vendors to roll out IC parts with high quality, high yield rates and high efficiency. Lastly, they should also help clients differentiate their products from others such as making use of wireless and smart-controlled technologies to enable clients to advance from the low-end market to the mid-range to high-end segment.

Q: Do you think that the adoption of smart controls and wireless connection will endow more value added to end-market devices?

A: Indeed, we have seen more products and applications being applied to LED bulbs or LED lighting fixtures which are not just for the sake of energy-saving and long-lasting performance that LED bulbs are designed to offer. For example, LED bulbs controlled by Bluetooth and related applications are expected to hit store shelves soon. Additionally, some clients are testing the market for LED bulbs integrated with smoke control and temperature sensing capability.

For Dialog, our research team has followed the steps of Osram to roll out LED bulbs complied with DLT specifications that can smartly control the brightness and luminosity of the bulbs. Utilizing built-in DLT modules, users could turn their LED lighting applications into smart appliances through a set of applications at affordable cost.

DLT-compliant LED bulbs have been successfully marketed in Europe and are expected to make inroads into the markets in North and Latin Americas in 2015. The innovative DLT bulbs do bring some qualitative changes to the LED lighting market.

Q: What kind of role Taiwan-based makers can play in the global LED lighting supply chain?

A: Price competition is a necessary evil in the pursuit of high market share and growth rate in the global LED lighting application market in the short term, but it is not necessarily a shortcoming for Taiwan-based LED suppliers. Facing more and more fierce competition from China-based vendors, Taiwan's LED makers should maintain their competitiveness with high quality and high yield rates, while moving upward to the mid-range to high-end segment.

The arrival of LED lighting marks a transition between generations, a process that is not just about replacement demand. LED makers should devote efforts to making LED lighting smarter, easier to control and with value added.

(This interview was translated from Chinese)

[R-BgO]

Global LED lighting production value in 2015 to grow 30%, say Taiwan makers

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 28 November 2014]


Global LED lighting shipments in 2015 will double those in 2014, but the corresponding production value will increase only 30% due to estimated price drops of 30-35%, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

Europe will account for 23% of the global LED lighting market in 2015, China 21% and the US 19%, the sources said. Global LED lighting shipment value in 2015 will reach US$25.7 billion, taking up 31.3% of total lighting shipment value, the sources cited LEDinside estimates as indicating.

In contrast to LED lighting, global demand for LED backlighting is on the decline, the sources said. This is mainly because fewer LED chips are used to backlight LCD TVs. For example, the number of LED chips used in 32-inch direct-type backlighting LCD TVs has dropped to 12-14, the sources indicated.

In addition to decreasing use of LED chips, prices for backlighting LED chips are falling. For example, quotes for a 7020 LED package used in edge-type backlighting of LCD TVs have slipped by about 6% in the fourth quarter and those for a 3528/3030 LED packages used in direct-type backlighting by about 10%, the sources said.

[R-BgO]

The installed base of LED luminaires expected to reach nearly 2.8 billion by 2023, says Navigant

Press release, December 1; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 2 December 2014]


The ongoing transition from fluorescent to LED lighting technologies amounts to a significant disruption for the lighting industry, potentially changing the methods by which lighting is provided and sold to customers. While conventional lighting systems, including fluorescents, remain the dominant technology today, within the next 10 years LEDs are expected to become the lighting technology of choice, especially for commercial markets. According to a new report from Navigant Research, the installed base of LED luminaires for commercial applications is expected to grow from 187 million in 2014 to nearly 2.8 billion by 2023.

"While LED products are still more expensive than the fluorescent lights they are meant to replace, they are also more efficient and offer a range of additional benefits, such as improved color quality and better dimming," said Jesse Foote, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. "As such, an industry-wide transformation to LED lighting is picking up steam and is expected to accelerate in the coming years."

Because of the longer lifespans of LED lamps, replacement cycles for commercial lighting systems are expected to become much longer. Navigant Research expects overall revenues from lamp sales to decrease in the next 10 years, driving lighting companies to change their focus from that of equipment suppliers to providers of services and advanced lighting controls.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: November 7W, 9W LED bulb prices sequentially up, down in China market

Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Monday 15 December 2014]

November average retail pricing for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescents) in the China market increased 12.7% on month to CNY39.1 (US$6.4), while 9W models (equivalent to 60W incandescents) decreased 1.9% to CNY40.80, according to Digitimes Research.

Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in Japan in November stood at JPY1,655 (US$14) and JPY3,142 respectively, with the former slipping 0.5% on month and the latter 6.8%, Digitimes Research indicated.

November average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets were: KRW11,366 (US$10.2, down 0.7% on month) and KRW14,405 (up 1.0%) in South Korea; US$18.6 (up 6.3%) and US$20.5 (down 1.4%) in the US; and EUR9.40 (US$11.7, down 18.3%) and EUR14.4 (up 1.4%) in Europe.

LG Electronics 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs for sale in Europe and Philips 60W-equivalent models in South Korea had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 91.0lm/US$ and 96.2lm/US$ respectively in November. In terms of luminous efficiency, Toshiba 40W- and 60-equivalent LED light bulbs available in the Japan market had the highest average levels of 79.1lm/W and 103.5lm/W respectively.

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: Global LED light bulb shipments in 2015 to reach 1.81 billion units

Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Wednesday 17 December 2014]
There will be 1.81 billion LED light bulbs shipped globally in 2015, hiking 59.9% on year and accounting for 13.9% of all lighting products, according to Digitimes Research.

In 2015, 6.02 billion compact fluorescent lamps and 5.13 billion incandescent light bulbs will be shipped globally, with penetration rates of 46.5% and 39.6% respectively, Digitimes Research indicated.

For 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs, the average luminous efficiency will increase from 75.8lm/W in 2014 to 79.3lm/W in 2015 and the average lumen-price ratio will rise from 46.2lm/US$ to over 60lm/US$.

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Demand for LED chipsets to increase to 1.4 billion in 2018, says DisplaySearch

Press release; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Thursday 25 December 2014]


The demand for LED chipsets, primarily for the LED lighting market, is forecast to increase substantially through 2018. According to DisplaySearch, measured in standard units (500 by 500 micron chip size), demand for LED chipsets are expected to increase 293% from 35.8 million in 2013 to 1.4 billion in 2018.

"This forecast growth in the LED market is due in large part to increasing demand from the LED lighting segment," said Steven Sher, analyst for DisplaySearch. "As average selling prices continue to fall, shipments of all LED lighting products will remain on the rise."

In 2014 the LED market became more integrated from chip to channel, as competing companies merged and supply-chain companies acquired LED industry players. "The LED chip industry is expected to fare better than the LED package industry, as demand for lighting continues to increase through 2018," Sher said.

While previously strong, the chipset demand from LCD TV backlights has slowed, due to a combination of sluggish growth in LED-backlit LCD TV sales, as well as improved efficiency in the number of chips used per backlight. For those reasons, growth in the global demand for chipsets used for display backlighting flattened after 2012, with a slow decrease forecast after 2014.

[R-BgO]

LED demand rebounds early in 1Q15

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 16 February 2015]


Due to strong demand for LED backlighting in smartphones and LED lighting, global demand for LED chips has rebounded in the first quarter of 2015, earlier than previously as the first quarter is traditionally an off season , according to Taiwan-based LED makers.

Booming shipments of LED chips and LED packaging are expected to persist in the first half of 2015 and prices will generally remain stable in the period, the sources said. Even prices for some high-end products may rise in the second quarter, the sources indicated. Currently, a high-power LED chip is quoted at about US$0.06 and a mid-power one at below US$0.03, the sources noted.

Epistar, the largest Taiwan-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker, has received orders with urgent shipments from LED lighting vendors and therefore expects utilization of its production capacity to gradually increase to over 70% in March.

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Digitimes Research: Global LED lighting demand in 2015 valued at nearly US$30 billion

Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research [Wednesday 25 February 2015]

The global LED lighting market value in 2015 is estimated at US$29.908 billion, increasing on year by 24.8% and accounting for 27.2% of the 2015 global market value for all lighting products, according to Digitimes Research.

LED light bulbs, light tubes (T5), projection lamps and street lamps are the four main categories of LED lighting products, Digitimes Research indicated.

There will be 1.81 billion LED light bulbs shipped globally in 2015, hiking on year by 59.9% and taking up 13.9% of all light bulbs shipped in the year.

Global LED light tube shipments in 2015 will reach 520 million units, growing on year by 58.5% with a penetration rate of 13% of global shipments for all types of light tubes.

There will be 1.035 billion LED projection lamps shipped globally in 2015, with on-year growth of 56.3% and penetration of 23%.

Global LED street lamp shipments will rise on year by 30.1% to 9.43 million units in 2015, accounting for 11% of all street lamps shipped in the year.

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High-brightness LED market trends and forecast, 2015

Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Monday 16 March 2015]


Digitimes Research forecasts that in 2015, the global high-brightness (HB) LED industry will have annual growth of 7.5% in terms of output, reaching US$13.7 billion. The total number of LEDs used will reach 186 billion units, representing annual growth of 32.6%, out of which lighting applications will have the highest annual growth rate in terms of usage, reaching 65%.

From the perspective of LED usage distribution, in 2015, lighting applications will account for up to 49.3% of LED usage, representing growth of 9.9 percentage points (pp) compared to 2014. 37.4% of the LEDs used in lighting applications will be used for public LED tubes. Furthermore, the prices for LED light bulbs will drop, and these types of light sources will account for 32.5% of the LEDs used in lighting applications.

LED light source categories whose usage rates will decline due to drops in end-user device demand in 2015 include tablets, notebooks, and monitors. Due to the effects of large-screen mobile phones as well as consumers allocating budgets to buying smart watches, it is forecasted that in 2015, the amount of LEDs used for tablets will see an annual decline of 9.8%, making it the application category of backlit LED displays with the largest decline.

In response to increased demand for LEDs in 2015, upstream equipment vendors also have plans to expand production capacity, out of which Mainland Chinese LED chip vendors are being the most aggressive. Based on LED epitaxy plant expansion plans for 2015, Digitimes Research calculates that global shipments of LED MOCVD equipment in 2015 will reach 252 units, growing by 10.5% compared to the 228 units shipped in 2014, with the highest demand coming from Mainland Chinese vendors, accounting for 73.8% of global demand (higher than the 63% of 2014). The primary reason for this is because the Mainland Chinese government is continuing to provide subsidiaries in 2015 and because many vendors are turning to the Mainland Chinese supply chain to purchase LED components for low-price lighting products.

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Global LED lighting market to reach JPY5.5 trillion in 2020, says Fuji Kenzai

Fan Jen-chi, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 25 March 2015]

Global LED lighting market value reached JPY1.7 trillion (US$48.7 billion) in 2014, accounting for 28.9% of total lighting value, and will increase to JPY5.5 trillion in 2020, with the corresponding market value proportion to rise to 58%, according to Japan-based research firm Fuji Kenzai,.

Main Japan-based LED lighting vendors, including Hitachi Appliance, Toshiba Lighting, Iris Ohyama and Rohm Semiconductor, have been actively developing new products, Fuji Kenzai said.

Hitachi Appliance has developed an LED ceiling lamp featuring brightness of 8,000 lumens, low power consumption and even distribution of light in a large room.

Toshiba Lighting has developed dimmable LED light bulbs using GaN-based power components to replace Si-based ones to reduce power consumption and enhance dimming function.

Iris Ohyama has developed LED light tubes with luminous efficiency of 190lm/W, while Rohm Semiconductor has also offered 190lm/W LED lighting products.

Pioneer has cooperated with Shisedo to develop cosmetic OLED lighting devices specifically for make-up rooms.

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Digitimes Research: US, Japan firms dominate UA LED

Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Wednesday 20 May 2015]


Leading companies developing UV (ultraviolet)-A LEDs include

Japan-based Nichia and Nitride Semiconductors,
South Korea-based LG Innotek and
US-based Lumileds Holding.


Japan-based Riken and Nikkiso as well as
US-based Crystal IS and HexaTech

lead in the UV-C LED segment, according to Digitimes Research.


Based on wavelength, UV LED is broken into
UV-A LED (320-410nm in wavelength),
UV-B LED (275-320nm) and
UV-C LED (200-275nm), Digitimes Research indicated.

UV-A LED is mainly used in drying and solidifying,
UV-B LED in bio-sensing and
UV-C LED in sterilization and purification. In terms of application, UV-A LED accounts for 99% of UV LED.

[R-BgO]

Habe mir jüngst mal wieder alle LED-Werte in meinem Depot hintereinander angesehen

und komme auf folgendes Zwischenfazit:


* Volumen marschiert stärker denn je
* Preise sinken -müssen sie ja- aber so stark, dass praktisch niemand Geld verdient
* ganz arm dran sind die Equipment- und Commodityhersteller
* am profitabelsten sind noch die Endproduktlieferanten, vermutlich weil die "branden" können; das wird aber bei den meisten noch überlagert durch legacy-Beleuchtungsprobleme

=> zum Investieren sehe ich derzeit wenig Anlass, wer hat eine bessere Idee?


Übersicht zu den Einzelthreads:

Equipment
Thread: Aixtron - Die Perle im Technologiebereich
Thread: VEECO - Solar- und LED-Zulieferer

Saphir
Thread: Rubicon Technologies - LED-Zulieferer

Wafer & Chips
Thread: Epistar - LED-Chips aus Taiwan
Thread: Nach Bearisher Bodenlandung gute Einstiegschance
Thread: Neo-Neon - chinesischer LED-Hersteller

Endproduktanbieter
Thread: BB&T Capital Markets stuft ACUITY BRANDS INC. DL-,01 auf buy
Thread: Zumtobel - LED-Sparte wächst schnell

Integrateds
Thread: CREE: LED-Geschäft kommt in Schwung
Thread: OSRAM - Ein neues Licht am Aktienmarkt
Thread: Royal Philips Electronics - im Vorgriff auf spinoff von Lumiled
Thread: Everlight Electronics - taiwanesischer LED-Player - nicht im Depot
Thread: Samsung Kombi Thread - nur der Vollständigkeit halber, LED spielt kaum eine Rolle

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Bridgelux scheint sich guter Gesundheit zu erfreuen:

Dear Valued Partner and/or Customer,

I’m very pleased to provide you with an update of Bridgelux’s industry-leading recent achievements.

Bridgelux has demonstrated clear leadership and market acceptance of its high performing and cost effective solid state lighting solutions. This quarter we introduced our V10 and V15 products into the V Series family, offering high quality light and tight beam control suited for both the commercial and residential lighting market segments. We are also now shipping samples of our much anticipated OLM solution, a unique modular approach for ready integration of an LED subsystem into outdoor fixtures, and expect general availability in Q4 ‘14.

Reflective of our success, Bridgelux is proud to announce record first half revenues and is on-track to exceed $100m in revenue for 2014. In the first half of 2014, Bridgelux also experienced 104% unit growth year over year for sales of package products and 36% for sales of die products.

Bridgelux is building and accelerating on this success by substantially increasing investments in next generation products and technologies. Additionally, the Company continues to increase investments in R&D and applications engineering, particularly in support of our strong customer base in Asia. Currently we carry no outstanding debt and have a substantial unutilized credit facility. Bridgelux ended the second quarter with $45 million in cash.

As a team of more than 150 employees worldwide, Bridgelux is committed to providing industry leading products and services that allow you to quickly deploy the most competitive LED luminaires. Our leadership in innovation, protected by an extensive IP portfolio, is stronger than ever and we look forward to continuing to provide the technology and expertise you’ve come to rely upon to help grow your business.

If you have any questions, please do reach out to your Bridgelux Sales Representative or [e-mail].

Brad Bullington
CEO, Bridgelux

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Digitimes Research: LED makers extend development to IR, UV applications

Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Tuesday 30 June 2015]


An international LED forum held in Taiwan in mid-June showed that makers have extended development and production from general lighting to IR (infrared), UV (ultraviolet) chips, and high-end automotive lighting, according to Digitimes Research.

Taiwan-based Epistar has become the globally largest IR LED maker, Digitimes Research indicated. Epistar-developed dual-junction high-power IR LED chips can increase recognizing distance at night and are mainly used in nighttime security surveillance. Epistar has developed low-power IR LED chips with wavelength of 1,550nm for use in measuring blood glucose. Low-power IR LED chips can be used in smartphones to recognize iris for personal identification.

For development of UV LED, Taiwan-based makers currently focus on UV-A (320-410nm in wavelength) LED and lag behind international vendors in more advanced UV-C (200-275nm) LED.

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Global market value from external sales of LED chips reach US$4.35 billion in 2014, says LEDinside

Press release, July 15; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 15 July 2015]


The global market value from the external sales of LED chips grew 18% from US$3.677 billion in 2013 to US$4.35 billion in 2014, according to LEDinside. The share of Chinese companies in the external sales market also rose from 27% in 2013 to 36% in 2014.

Epistar led in the external sales revenue of LED chips for both 2013 and 2014 due to its technological advantages and stability in customer management. Epistar's rival San'an Opto increased its MOCVD equipment capacity during 2013-2014 as well as exploiting the lowering price trend in the Chinese lighting market. San'an Opto therefore took second place in 2014 with its revenues reaching US$565 million. Owing to their capacity expansion efforts, China-based manufacturers ETi and TongFang entered the list of top 10 LED chip manufacturers in 2014, respectively taking US$161 million and US$145 million in LED chip revenues.

The firm added it believes demand in the LED end market will weaken during 2015. However, Chinese and Taiwanese LED chip manufacturers are still actively increasing their production capacities before the end of LED subsidy programs in China. Consequently, the current oversupply situation will become more severe when the additional capacities become available in the second half of this year. On the other hand, the industry's long-term development may gain from the intensifying price war since the competition will eliminate second-tier manufacturers that are without competitive advantages.

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Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 50.048.877 von R-BgO am 25.06.15 13:32:45

und weg vom Markt:

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China-based CEC to acquire Bridgelux
Press release, July 22; Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 22 July 2015]

Bridgelux, a developer and manufacturer of solid state lighting (SSL) technologies, today announced it has entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by an investment group led by the China Electronics Corporation (CEC), and ChongQing Linkong Development Investment Company.

Established in 1989, CEC controls 61 second-level subsidiaries, including 13 listed holding companies. With over 70,000 employees, CEC is one of the largest IT companies in China, with manufacturing facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Changsha, and Xiamen. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"The advances Bridgelux has made over the last 13 years have been instrumental in driving the adoption of energy efficient LED technologies worldwide. Bridgelux has all of the characteristics we look for in an investment, including leading technology, a broad IP portfolio and a globally recognizable brand and channel," stated Liu Liehong, CEO of CEC. "This investment is an important step toward further aligning CEC and partner assets into a coordinated supply chain built to serve the unique requirements of the solid state lighting market."

With its existing investments in lighting fixture and lamp manufacturing as well as other IT and consumer electronics technologies, CEC's captive businesses is expected to offer substantial scale and growth for Bridgelux. Additionally, CEC and its affiliates have built technology development and manufacturing operations across the LED supply chain. Alignment with these partners will give Bridgelux a durable, long-term cost advantage, complimenting its existing technology leadership, and will further allow Bridgelux to focus on segment and application level innovations to better serve its customers, the company said.

"We are convinced that CEC is the perfect partner to help Bridgelux achieve its next level of growth. Leveraging the momentum of our existing partnerships with CEC affiliates, complimented by a strong supply chain, world-class manufacturing, and chip, packaging and go-to-market capabilities, CEC will help Bridgelux expand its technology footprint and reach more customers globally." stated Brad Bullington, CEO of Bridgelux.

Following the acquisition, Bridgelux will continue to operate as a standalone company, reporting into CEC through a US subsidiary. Additionally, Bridgelux will spin off its smart lighting business as a new standalone company, Xenio Corporation. Bridgelux and Xenio will be led by the current Bridgelux management team. Xenio will focus on LED module design and manufacturing to address the emerging US$135 billion lighting opportunity in the Internet of Things (IoT) market.

Bridgelux and CEC expect the acquisition to close within the next six to eight weeks, subject to customary regulatory approvals. After the close, Bridgelux will continue to serve its customers on a standalone basis by continuing forward with its existing products and next-generation roadmap. -

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LED prices in 3Q15 expected to be stable

Siu Han, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Thursday 23 July 2015]


As prices for LED chips and LED packaging services dropped 10-17% in the first half of 2015, prices are expected to be stable in the third quarter due to peak demand, but may fall again in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2016 due to slow demand, according to Taiwan-based LED makers.

Prices in the first half of 2015 were affected due to a slowdown in the industry coupled with China makers unleashing new capacity. Makers competed for orders through lowered price quotes as a result, which also affected the profits for various LED makers. LED 2835 products saw an average of 10-17% price declines, higher than packaging pricing that saw around 10%, noted makers.

Heading into the third quarter of the year, these trends will balance due to a heat up in the market but are likely to slow down as of the fourth quarter. Going into 2016, makers aim to reduce packaging sizes and LEDs used on various applications to save on costs, most notably for 2835 products, to reduce the effects from the price drop.

For the LED backlighting market, growth in 2015 has been slower than previously expected because end market demand picked up much later and changes were made to China's LED subsidy policy. LEDs for direct-type TV applications have experienced the greatest price decline in the second quarter, with 3030, 2835, 3535 and 3228 packages falling to US$0.25-0.30/unit. LED package price for mid-range and low-end TVs has dropped by nearly 6% each quarter. 7020 packages, which are the mainstream for edge-type TV application, are priced around US$0.085-0.095/unit, according to a recent report from LEDinside.

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Prices drop for LED bulbs and components in August, says LEDinside

Press release, September 15; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 16 September 2015]


The global average price of

-40W replacement LED light bulbs fell 1.5% in August to US$10.90,

while the

-60W replacement LED light bulbs fell 2.3% to US$14.90,

according to LEDinside. The US was again the regional market that had the biggest decline in LED light bulb prices after July as product vendors including Cree and Philips are using package promotion deals and low prices to drive up sales volume and capture market shares, according to LEDinside analyst Allen Yu. Furthermore, China LED and chip manufacturers have been gradually expanding their capacities, pushing down component prices during this period of slowing demand. The competition in the LED market on the whole has therefore become more heated.

Yu pointed that capacity expansion efforts by many China companies in the upstream have led to a general supply glut, making price decline inevitable. HC Semitek, for instance, is raising MOCVD capacity of its Souzhou plant, while Changelight's blue and green LEDs have entered mass production at its Xiamen operation. Nationstar is also steadily increasing its chip capacity. Consequently, prices of 0.2W 2825 LED products fell in August with a decline of 1.36% on average. Prices for 0.5-1W 3030 products also fell with decline reaching 2.15%. In general, China and foreign first-tier package suppliers - Lumileds, Seoul Semiconductor, OSRAM, Honglitronic and Refond - have all marked down their prices.

After witnessing a sharp 14.1% drop on average in July, the prices of 40W replacement LED light bulbs continued to fall in the US market through August with a smaller average decline of 3.7%. Vendors such as Cree and Philips had reduced prices of their products significantly during their promotional campaigns. Among Cree's products, the price of a pack of six 8.5W 470lm bulbs fell 20% to US$62.26, while a pack of four 6W 450lm bulbs fell over 30% to US$27. Besides these examples, other vendors including Philips and EcoSmart have also cut prices for their products as part of their sales activities. Many markets outside the US experienced a gradual price decline in August as well for 40W replacement products. Prices in Germany and the UK fell 1-2% on average, while China's drop was 1.3%. Japan, however, was exception to this downtrend as the prices there went up by 0.9% instead.

The US was also the market where the prices of 60W replacement LED light bulbs had the biggest drop. In July, vendors pushed the average price of these products down 9.5% with their promotional pricing strategies. Prices fell further in August with the average monthly decline at 3.9%. Among Philips' products, a pack of four 11W 830lm bulbs fell 20% to US$45.41, and a pack of six 8.5W 800lm bulbs fell 2.57% to US$29.22. A pack of six 13.5W 800lm bulbs from CREE also dropped 20% to US$62.26. In the UK, the price decline of the 60W replacement LED bulbs grew from 1.1% in July to 3% in August. However, only a minority of these products had significant price decrease. An example of such an extreme case is the price of a Verbatim 10W 820lm bulb, which plummeted near 30% to US$18.78 in the UK market. During the same month, prices of 60W replacement products also fell by 1-3% in other regional markets, including China, Taiwan, Germany and South Korea. Japan was again the exception to the price downtrend with its 60W replacement LED bulb market seeing a slight 0.2% increase, the firm said.

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Prices for China-made mainstream LED devices fall 50-60% in 2015

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 18 September 2015]


Prices for 2835 LED devices, currently the mainstream specification among China-based LED packaging service providers, have dropped 50-60% so far in 2015 due to overcapacity, according to Taiwan-based LED makers.

Many China-based LED packaging service providers have been fast expanding their production capacities, the sources said.

For example, MLS has a monthly capacity of packaging 30 million LED chips and will invest CNY2.316 billion (US$364 million) to add an annual SMD (surface-mount device) LED capacity of 133 billion chips, according to the sources. Guangzhou Hongli Opto-Electric will also expand SMD LED capacity.

Price drops for LED lighting products have also led to decreases in LED device prices, the sources said.

MLS and other China-based LED lighting vendors, including Opple Lighting and Foshan Lighting, have triggered a price war for LED light tubes, while Philips, Cree, EcoSmart and Verbatim have lowered LED light bulb prices in the international market, the sources indicated.

Consequently, Taiwan-based LED packaging service providers decreased quotes by an average of 15-17% in first-half 2015, the sources said.

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China LED capacity expansion to lead to global chip oversupply in 2015

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 21 September 2015]


Global supply of LED chips will be 22% in excess of demand in 2015 mainly because China-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip makers have been expanding production capacities, according to Taiwan-based LED makers.

There will be 3,130 MOCVD sets installed around the world in 2015 and 47% of which will be in China, 19% in Taiwan, 15% in Japan and 13% in South Korea, the sources cited LEDinside as indicating.

Based on the total number of MOCVD sets, global output is estimated at 72.31 million 2-inch-equivalent LED epitaxial wafers in 2015, increasing 14% on year and resulting in 22% oversupply of LED chips, the sources indicated.

China-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip makers, such as San'an Optoelectronics and Xiamen Changelight, have obtained local governments' subsidies and raised funds from stock markets to expand production capacities, the sources said.

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Six China LED makers receive government subsidies in 3Q15

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 13 October 2015]


Six China-based LED firms obtained subsidies of CNY391.43 million (US$62.1 million) in total from local governments in the country in thrid-quarter 2015, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

LED epitaxial wafer and chip makers San'an Optoelectronics, Xiamen Changelight and Bengbu Sanyi Semiconductor received CNY170 million, CNY10.78 million and CNY20 million respectively, while LED packaging service providers Elec-Tech International, Yankon Lighting and Shenzhen Mason Technologies obtained CNY50 million, CNY91.88 million and CNY48.77 million respectively.

There are about 2,600 firms in China's LED lighting industry and 570 of them suffered losses of CNY1.215 billion in total in first-half 2015, the sources cited China's National Bureau of Statistics as indicating.

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Philips asks for reduction in ex-factory price for LED light bulbs to US$0.80 in 2016, say Taiwan makers

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 19 October 2015]

Philips has asked Taiwan- and China-based ODMs/OEMs to lower ex-factory prices for an LED light bulb to US$0.80 in 2016, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

Currently, ex-factory prices for inexpensive simply-designed LED light bulbs launched in the second half of 2015 have dropped to a minimum level of US$1-1.20, the sources said. China-based ODMs/OEMs, even with competitive advantages in production costs, will struggle to lower quotes to below US$1 currently, the sources indicated.

It is difficult to reduce prices for an LED light bulb to US$0.80 merely through decreasing LED chip and packaging costs, the sources noted. To reach such a low price, it will be necessary to minimize total production costs through offering new designs, the sources explained.

Taiwan-based LED packaging service provider Everlight Electronics indicated that it has developed a solution using thee China-made LED chips to make an LED light bulb and the corresponding ex-factory price can be lowered to US$0.90.

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LEDs expected to account for more than half of horticultural luminaire sales in 2017, says Navigant

Press release, December 17; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Thursday 17 December 2015]


Though horticultural LED products have been commercially available for a decade, they are now beginning to pick up steam as the technology and its quality advances. Today, LEDs are significantly more efficient, and the additional benefit of supplying the correct wavelengths of light to improve crop yield has made them the lighting technology of choice in a growing number of facilities. According to a new report from Navigant Research, in some regions, LEDs are expected to make up more than half of new horticultural luminaire sales as early as 2017.

"LED technology is able to greatly improve the profitability of indoor farming, which is leading to a boom in the growth of such facilities," said Jesse Foote, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. "By increasing crop yields and allowing more efficient use of energy and space, LEDs are leading to a boom in new indoor food production facilities."

According to the report, the low heat output of LED lighting allows growers to place lights closer to plants without singeing leaves and without needing additional heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, allowing a much greater density of plants within vertical indoor facilities. At the same time, the fine-tuned application of specific wavelengths of light from LEDs can increase crop yield by up to 30% depending on the plant species.

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Philips asks suppliers to reduce LED light bulb ex-factory prices to US$0.80 in 2016

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 22 February 2016]


Philips has asked suppliers to lower ex-factory quotes for LED light bulbs to US$0.80 in 2016, according to Taiwan-based LED makers.

Ex-factory prices for LED bulbs dropped from US$1.50 in mid-2015 to US$1.00-1.20 at the end of the year, the sources said. Based on production cost, many LED bulb makers may have difficulties lowering ex-factory prices to below US$1, the sources indicated.

However, thanks to depreciation of Chinese currecny, some China-based makers will be able to reduce ex-factory prices for LED bulbs to US$0.8 at the end of the first quarter or in the second one, the sources noted. But this is likely to lead to a retail price war in the global LED lighting market in the second to third quarter of 2016, the sources said.

In 2015, LED chip and packaging prices fell over 40% on year, while retail prices for LED light bulbs dropped 20-30%, the sources indicated.

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Digitimes Research: Global LED lighting market value in 2016 estimated at US$34.64 billion

Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Friday 18 March 2016]


Global LED lighting market value in 2016 will reach an estimated US$34.64 billion, accounting for 31.3% of total lighting market value, rising 4.1pp on year, according to Digitimes Research.

In terms of global market value, LED light bulbs will account for 28.2% of all types of light bulbs (penetration) in 2016 and the penetration will be 32.8% for LED projection lamps, and 17.3% for LED light tubes, Digitimes Research indicated.

52.3% of LED light tubes in 2016 will have luminous efficiency of 100lm/W or above, while average retail pricing for a 4-foot T8 LED light tube will drop 37.6% on year to US$11.8. Consequently, there will be 693 million LED light tubes shipped globally in 2016, hiking 45.9% on year.

LED projection lamps are mainly used in retail, hospitals, exhibition centers, transportation and indoor public spaces. There will be 1.476 billion LED projection lamps shipped globally in 2016, growing 42.6% on year.

There will be 10.043 million LED street lamps installed globally in 2016, increasing 13.5% on year.

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Nichia aims at revenues of JPY330 billion for 2016

Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 25 March 2016]

Japan-based LED maker Nichia, while forecasting 5% on-year growth in 2016 global LED production value, aims to increase its revenues by 11.9% from JPY295 billion in 2015 to JPY330 billion (US$2.93 billion) in 2016 due to the high performance and differentiation, according to company chief legal and IP officer Katsuyuki Akutagawa.

Global LED backlighting production value in 2016 will slip about 30% due to decreased demand, use of fewer LED chips arising from increased brightness and falling prices, Akutagawa said. However, Nichia expects revenues from LED backlighting in 2016 to remain unchanged on year. In addition, Nichia expects revenues from LED lighting and LED automotive lighting to grow 11% and 24% respectively. In 2015, LED backlighting, LED lighting and LED automotive lighting took up 36%, 20% and 18% respectively of Nichia's total revenues.

In terms of LED applications, automotive lighting has particularly large market potential, Akutagawa said. For example, LED accounts for only 10% of automobile headlights globally at present and penetration is estimated to rise to 50% in 2020. Nichia had a global market share of 30% for LED automotive external lighting in 2015, slightly lower than Osram's, and expects the global market share to rise to 40% in 2020, Akutagawa said.

In order to tap China's LED automotive lighting market, Nichia will provide advanced technology to Taiwan-based LED packaging service provider Advanced Optoelectronic Technology, a member of the Foxconn Group, Akutagawa indicated.

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von OLED-Info!!!:

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IHS: a 5" FHD AMOLED costs less than an equivalent LCD

According to IHS, a 5" Full-HD AMOLED display now costs $14.3 (down from $17.1 in Q4 2015) - and now costs less than a similar LCD display ($14.7, down from $15.7 in Q4 2015). This is the first time an AMOLED costs less than an LCD. IHS says that to make a 5" FHD LCD, the materials costs are $9.2 and non-material costs (including deprecation) s $5.4. For an AMOLED display, materials cost $7.2 and non material costs amount to $7.2.

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Sanan Optoelectronics to put 50 MOCVD sets into use at end of 2016
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 21 April 2016]

The largest China-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Sanan Optoelectronics, despite global overcapacity for LED chips, will begin operation of 50 new MOCVD sets at the end of 2016, and this is likely to push down LED chip prices, according to industry sources.

Sanan placed orders for 50 MOCVD sets with US-based Veeco Instruments and for another 50 sets with Germany-based Aixtron SE in 2015, the sources from China said, adding Sanan will bring the 50 Veeco sets into use at the end of 2016. Aixtron has already delivered three sets to Sanan, but the contract for the remaining 47 sets has been terminated, the sources indicated.

Sanan is headquartered in Xiamen City, southeastern China, and the city government has been boosting LED the industry by subsidizing MOCVD tool procurement with CNY6-8 million (US$0.92-1.23 million) per set, the sources said. To qualify for the subsidization, the orders for MOCVD sets must be placed by the end of April 2017 and the operation of tools must begin by the end of the year, the sources indicated.

In order to obtain the subsidies by the deadline, Sanan is expected to place orders for another 50 MOCVD sets by the end of 2016, the sources noted.

In related news, China-based fellow maker HC SemiTek plans to invest CNY6 billion to expand production capacity, the sources said.

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India market: Government-procurement price for LED bulbs expected to fall to INR44
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Friday 22 April 2016]


For the India government's procurement of LED light bulbs, open-bid prices for an LED light bulb are expected to drop to INR44 (US$0.662) in the second half of 2016, according to industry sources.

The India government procured 150 million LED light bulbs - meant for subsidized purchases in the local maket - through open bids in 2015 and is expected to procure more than 200 million units in 2016, the sources said.

Since the India government's requirements in terms of the suppliers' sales, production capacity and manufacturing capability make it easier for international and major local lighting vendors to win the bids. China- and Taiwan-based LED makers mostly look to become LED chip and packaging service providers for these bid winners, the sources indicated.

LED light bulbs offered for the India government's procurement should pass BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification, the sources noted. BIS has hiked specifications for LED light bulbs from 7W, 700lm with luminous efficiency of 95lm/W originally to 9W, 900lm with at least 100lm/W currently, the sources indicated. Due to increasing competition, however, bid prices for an LED light bulb dropped from INR310 in 2014 to INR72 in 2015 and will further drop to INR44 in the second half of 2016, the sources said.

The largest Taiwan-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Epistar and the largest China-based LED packaging service provider MLS have set up a joint venture in India to supply LED devices for main suppliers of LED light bulbs in the government procurement program, the sources noted. The joint venture aims to ship 600-700 LED devices a month for an India market share of 30-50% in two years and will offer LED light bulbs for sale under MLS' brand Forest Lighting in the market in the second half of 2016, the sources indicated.

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Digitimes Research: Nichia tops LED packagers in 2015 revenues
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Wednesday 27 April 2016]

Japan-based

Nichia continued to rank the number one LED packaging service provider globally in 2015 with related revenues reaching US$2.72 billion, or about 200% higher than those generated by the second to fourth largest vendors, according to Digitimes Research.

Taiwan-based
Everlight Electronics ranked second with revenues totaling US$895 million in 2015,

followed by
Seoul Semiconductor with US$893.1 million,
Osram Opto Semiconductors US$881.9 million,
LG Innotek US$693.6 million and
Cree US$578.2 million.

In terms of revenue growth rate, China-based Hongli Opto-Electronic and NationStar Optoelectronics led all LED packagers, with their revenues growing 60.3% and 25.5%, respectively, on year in 2015. Both companies plan to continue to ramp capacity in 2016, Digitimes Research noted.

In fact, Nichia's 2015 LED revenues were lower than those it generated a year earlier, affected mainly by lower-than-expected demand for LED backlight products in emerging markets, particularly in China, where sales shed 32.2% on year in 2015. The operating margin of Nichia's optical semiconductor business stood at 28% in 2015, down 1.5pp from a year earlier.

Hongli's high revenue growth rate recorded in 2015 was attributed to its capacity ramps and the acquisition of fellow company Smalite Optoelectronics, said Digitimes Research, adding that the company plans to ramp its capacity to 3.2 billion units a month in the first half of 2016. NationStar will also expand its LED packaging capacity in 2016.

Osram's revenue growth rate in 2015 was the third highest among all LED packagers, led by automobile-use and invisible LED products. Seoul Semiconductor also saw its revenues grow significantly in 2015 thanks to new clients from the handset sector. However, LG Innotek and Cree both suffered a decline of over 20% in 2015 revenues.

[R-BgO]

Coherent sees a massive shift from LCD to OLED production

In January 2016 Photonics-based solutions provider Coherent announced large (well in excess of $150 million) orders for its Linebeam systems which are used for laser annealing (turning a-Si into LTPS) for OLED producers. Coherent also said it has a significant number of orders pending for the remainder of 2016.

In the company's latest conference call, Coherent announced that the recent OLED capacity expansions generated more than $300 million of orders for Linebeam 1000, Linebeam 1500, and UV Blade systems in Q2 2016. The UV Blade is used for laser lift-off in flexible OLEDs. These systems will be delivered to end customers in South Korea, Japan and China.

Coherent says that it sees a large buildup of OLED capacity. The company currently estimates that about 80% of LTPS mobile displays are LCDs, and 20% are AMOLEDs. But by 2019 this will be inverted as AMOLEDs will represent 80% of the production capacity. It's not clear if Coherent CEO means total capacity or new installed capacity in 2019, but in any case he is "very excited about the OLED ramp"


=> market shift?

[baggo-mh]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 52.335.409 von R-BgO am 03.05.16 16:25:41

market shift ?

Kürzlich gab es Gerüchte von mehreren glaubhaften Quellen dass Apple 100 Million AMOLED Displays von Samsung bestellt hat.

OLED's gehört die Zukunft da bin ich mir ziemlich sicher.

Gruß
baggo-mh

[R-BgO]

Digitimes Research: April 7W LED light bulb prices in China market up
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Tuesday 17 May 2016]

April 2016 average retail price for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescent ones) in the China market increased 4.9% on month to CNY27.9 (US$4.30), while that for 9W models (equivalent to 60W incandescent ones) decreased 2.3% to CNY29.2, according to Digitimes Research.

Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in the Japan market in April stood at JPY1,384 (US$13.0) and JPY1,951 respectively, the former slipping 1.6% on month and the latter dropping 4.1%, Digitimes Research indicated.

April average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets were: KRW8,791 (US$7.90, down 13.7% on month) and KRW11,609 (down 1.3%) in South Korea; US$17.20 (down 8.0%) and US$20.90 (up 1.0%) in the US; EUR7.40 (US$8.4, down 1.3%) and EUR9.10 (up 11.0%) in Europe.

Samsung 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs and Osram 60W-equivalent models for sale in the South Korea market had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 113.7lm/US$ and 140.2lm/US$ respectively in April. In terms of luminous efficiency, Toshiba 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs and 60W-equivalent models available in the Japan market had the highest average level of 84.0lm/W and that of 105.1lm/W respectively.

[R-BgO]

China makers count on government subsidies for profits, says report
Su Hui-fen, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Friday 24 June 2016]

The amount of government subsidies received by major players in China's flat panel, semiconductor and LED industries reached 20-50% of their recurring net income in the latest three years thanks to the China government's subsidy policy, according to a Korea-based ET News report.

As a common accounting practice, companies listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange book government subsidies as non-operating income, while the Hong Kong-listed Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) will use government subsidies to offset its R&D expenses, the report said.

Officials from SMIC have confirmed that recurring net incomes stated in its financial reports are the results after consolidating with government subsidies.

The annual subsidies also accounted for 33% on average of recurring net income of BOE Technology, the largest LCD display maker in China, during the period from 2013-2015, the report indicated.

BOE posted an operating loss of US$200 million in the first quarter of 2016, but was able to swing back to profitability for the quarter after receiving government subsidies of US$216 million, the report noted. BOE received total subsidies of US$157 million in 2015.

Another LCD panel maker Tianma Micro-Electronics also reached breakeven in the first quarter of 2016 after using government subsidies to write off losses. Government subsidies accounted for 48% of Tianma's recurring net income during 2013-2015, added the report.

SMIC has also been receiving a significant amount of subsidies in recent years, but with the ratio of the subsidies to its total recurring net income declining from 80% in 2013, to below 40% in 2014, and to 20% in 2015.

LED chipmaker Sanan Optoelectronics received government subsidies of US$89 million in 2015, accounting for 28% of the company's recurring net income of US$317million for the year, the report said.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 52.420.962 von R-BgO am 17.05.16 12:00:10

Digitimes Research: June 7W LED light bulb prices down in China market
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Monday 11 July 2016]


The June 2016 average retail price for

7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescent ones) in the China market decreased 10.8%

from April to CNY24.9 (US$3.7), while that for

9W models (equivalent to 60W incandescent ones) increased 5.1%

to CNY30.7, according to Digitimes Research.


Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in the Japan market in June stood at JPY1,389 (US$14.0) and JPY1,832 respectively, with the former inching up 0.4% from April and the latter dropping 6.1%, Digitimes Research indicated.

April average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets were: KRW7,744 (US$6.9, down 11.9% from April) and KRW12,341 (up 6.3%) in South Korea; US$16.8 (down 2.3%) and US$20.7 (down 1.0%) in the US; EUR7.2 (US$8.0, down 2.7%) and EUR8.6 (down 5.5%) in Europe.

Philips 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs and Osram 60W-equivalent models for sale in the South Korea market had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 116.4lm/US$ and 188.3lm/US$ respectively in June. In terms of luminous efficiency, Toshiba 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs available in the Japan market and Osram 60W-equivalent models in the Europe market had the highest average level of 84.0lm/W and that of 131.8lm/W respectively in June.

[R-BgO]

Nichia, Taiwan LED chips makers to start UV-C LED production
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 20 September 2016]


Japan-based Nichia will begin production of UV-C (ultraviolet with wavelength of below 280nm) LED products in fourth-quarter 2016, while Taiwan-based LED chip makers will do so by the end of 2016, according to industry sources.

Application of UV LED mainly includes UV-A (wavelength of 320-400nm) LED for use in light-curing (drying, solidifying) and UV-C LED for use in sterilization and purification, the sources said.

Global production value for UV-A LED will increase from US$81 million in 2016 to US$195 million in 2021 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19%, while that for UV-C LED will rise from US$28 million to US$257 million with CAGR of 56%, the sources indicated.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 52.814.209 von R-BgO am 12.07.16 12:01:41

Digitimes Research: October 7W, 9W LED light bulb prices in China market rise
Jessie Lin, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei [Friday 11 November 2016]


October 2016 average retail pricing for 7W LED light bulbs (equivalent to 40W incandescents) in the China market increased 4.9% from August to CNY27.8 (US$4.10), while 9W models (equivalent to 60W incandescents) also rose 13.9% to CNY30.30, according to Digitimes Research.

Average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in Japan in October stood at JPY1,368 (US$13) and JPY1,912, respectively, growing 5.8% from August and slipping 3.2%, Digitimes Research indicated.

October average retail prices for 40W- and 60W-equivalent LED light bulbs in other markets were: KRW7,890 (US$7.10, up 0.7% from August) and KRW12,579 (up 2.3%) in South Korea; US$17.20 (down 6%) and US$21 (up 3.4%) in the US; EUR6.70 (US$7.40, down 1.5%) and EUR7.90 (down 3.7%) in Europe.

Philips 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs and Osram 60W-equivalent models for sale in South Korea had the highest average lumen-price ratios of 121.4lm/US$ and 201.8lm/US$ respectively in October. In terms of luminous efficiency, Toshiba 40W-equivalent LED light bulbs and 60W-equivalent models available in Japan had the highest average levels of 84.2lm/W and that of 107.8lm/W in October.

[R-BgO]

Sanan Optoelectronics to hike prices for some LED chips
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 5 January 2017]

China's largest LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Sanan Optoelectronics will hike quotes by about 8% for S-30MB and S-32BB-series LED chips beginning January 10 to reflect increased costs for copper, gold wire, aluminum and PCBs in the second half of 2016, according to the company.

The two series are 0.2-0.5W LED chips which are in high demand and intense price competition, according to Taiwan-based LED chip makers. As the first quarter is a traditional off-season, the Lunar New Year holidays in late January, and order visibility is low, Taiwan-based makers indicated that they will not adjust quotes for the time being.

In particular, Taiwan's largest LED chip maker Epistar hiked prices for LED chips of some specifications by 5-10% in May 2016 and will not hike prices for the time being because sapphire wafer prices have not risen.

[R-BgO]

"tight supply"

gab es lange nicht...


Tight LED chip supply due to robust demand for lighting, fine pixel pitch displays
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 16 February 2017]

Supply of low- and medium-power LED chips has become tight arising from strong demand for LED lighting and LED fine pixel pitch displays and consequently, several China-based LED chip makers are expanding or will expand production capacities, according to LED industry sources.

In particular, supply of LED chips used in LED light bulbs and tubes has been 30-50% short of demand, the sources said.

For capacity expansion, China-based LED chip makers may have ordered at least 120 new MOCVD sets in total, with 60-80 of them expected to come into operation in the first half of 2017 and the remaining in the second half, the sources noted.

China-based LED chip maker HC SemiTek has invested CNY6 billion (US$876 million) to set up a factory with annual production capacity of three million LED epitaxial wafers in eastern China and will start production at the factory in May 2017, the sources said.

San'an Optoelectronics, the largest China-based LED chip maker, will expand production capacity for blue-light and AlGaInP LED chips in 2017.

Huaian Aucksun Optoelectronics Technology has been expanding production capacity since the second half of 2016, with monthly capacity to be expanded to 800,000 LED epitaxial wafers, the sources indicated.

Xiamen Changelight will add MOCVD sets for producing AlGaInP LED chips, the sources noted.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 54.334.612 von R-BgO am 16.02.17 10:58:05

China LED chip makers expanding capacities
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 28 March 2017]


Sanan Optoelectronics, the largest China-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker, is expanding production capacity through adding 94 MOCVD sets to a total of 380 at the end of 2017, while fellow maker Huaian Aucksun Optoelectronics Technology will start operations at its new factory with monthly production capacity of 600,000 LED epitaxial wafers in the second quarter of 2017 and increase total monthly capacity to 7.5-8 million wafers at the end of the year, according to industry sources.

In addition, Sanan will add 19 MOCVD sets with total monthly capacity of 100,000-150,000 wafers specifically to make AlGaInP LED chips, the sources said.

Despite expansion of LED chip production capacities, the largest China-based LED packaging service provider MLS indicated that global supply of LED chips will be tight until the third quarter of 2017 because there will be a larger increase in demand than in supply.

Based on MLS' estimates, global LED chip production capacity in 2017 is equivalent to 83.28 million LED epitaxial wafers, while global demand is 92.35 million wafers, with demand for LED chips used in indoor fine pixel pitch displays and LED lighting to increase 50% and 20% respectively on year.

However, Taiwan-based LED makers hold a conservative outlook that the current tight chip supply is likely to turn into oversupply in the second half of 2017.

[R-BgO]

LED overcapacity likely in 2018
Siu Han, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES Friday 26 January 2018

China-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip makers began massive expansion projects in 2017 and most of their new production capacities will come online in 2018, likely resulting in global overcapacity and price drops, according to industry sources.

Sanan Optoelectronics and HC SemiTek, the top-2 China-based LED chip makers, lowered quotes for mainstream products in fourth-quarter 2017, signaling oversupply and prompting smaller makers to give up or defer their expansion plans, the sources said.

China-based LED packagers were also keen on expanding production capacities in 2017, increasing pressure on their Taiwan-based competitors, the sources said. To cope with price competition, some Taiwan makers adjusted product mix to maintain gross margins despite decreased revenues in 2017.

Taiwan-based LED packagers' profits in 2018 will rely on VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) diodes for consumer electronics and LED devices for sensors for surveillance system, IoT (Internet of Things), IoV (Internet of Vehicles) and drone applications, the sources indicated.

[R-BgO]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 56.840.641 von R-BgO am 26.01.18 16:10:11

...schätze, dass man damit das Buch hinsichtlich upstream-Investments so ziemlich geschlossen werden kann:


Listed China makers to take up 70% of global LED chip output over next 3-5 years, says Xiamen Changelight chairman

Staff reporter, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES Wednesday 18 July 2018


As many China-based LED epitaxial wafer and chip makers have expanded or are expanding production capacities, several major makers listed on stock markets in China are expected to account for 70% of global output of LED chips over the next 3-5 years, according to chairman Jin Zhang-yu for China-based maker Xiamen Changelight.

According to China's 13th Five-year (2016-2020) National Development Plan, China's total production value for LED lighting is targeted at CNY1.0 trillion (US$153 billion) for 2020, with LED lighting to take up 70% of total sales value for lighting products in the year. According to a study report done by China-based Qianzhan Industry Institute, China's LED lighting production value kept increasing from CNY7.8 billion in 2009 to CNY255.0 billion in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate of 54.62% for the period.

After stake investment from Hejun Capital in December 2016, Xiamen Changelight adjusted corporate organization and planned to upgrade technology in red- and yellow-light LED chips and expand production capacity for blue- and green-light LED chips. The company invested CNY737 million to add 20 MOCVD sets specifically for producing red- and yellow-light LED chips in May 2017. Xiamen Changelight has become the largest China-based maker of red- and yellow-light LED chips, with production capacity taking up over 30% of China's total and about 11% of global total.

For blue- and green-light LED chips, Xiamen Changelight in July 2017 began to expand production capacity at its factory in Nanchang, central China, with total investment of CNY5.0 billion. The additional production capacity at the factory will be 1.2-1.6 million epitaxial wafers a month, with initial monthly capacity of 600,000-800,000 epitaxial wafers to gradually come into operation beginning August 2018.

In addition, Xiamen Changelight has started production of infrared LED chips at its factory in Yangzhou, eastern China, and will increase investment in the corresponding R&D in 2018.

In addition to LED chips, Xiamen Changelight is the largest China-based maker of triple-junction GaAs-based solar cells mainly used in aerospace vehicles, with energy conversion rates for such solar cells exceeding 30%. Being a partner for China Aerospace Science and Technology, Xiamen Changelight has supplied many such solar cells for use in many military and civil satellites.

China-based LED chip makers' capacity expansion has aroused worry about oversupply. In this context, Jin indicated that relatively small China-based makers with less competitive production capacities will be forced out of market and this will ease possible oversupply.