Core patents have expired LED or welcome explosive growth

This week, A shares of another company announced its entry into the LED industry: electronic cards (002197, closing price of 20.25 yuan) 16 announcement that the company will invest 20 million yuan into the LED chip packaging and downstream applications such as LED lighting field.

In two markets, Sanan Optoelectronics (600703, closing price of 38.15 yuan) this week under a record high of 40.57 yuan, once again aroused the concern of the market.

Reporters learned that, from next year, there will be a number of core patents will continue to spend 20 years of patent protection, whether it is an enterprise or capital market investors are eager to LED industry. With the gradual opening of a wider downstream applications, LED market will usher in the explosive growth in the future.

Status and patent barriers

LED industry is a high barriers to entry of the industry, here refers to the upstream chip and epitaxial film, which currently accounts for 70% of the entire industry chain output value.

Do LED chip, epitaxial film than simply do packaging, downstream products to do more difficult, which involves many aspects of technology, process, including requirements. An industry analyst told reporters, the other is not to say, is used to do the substrate sapphire, hardness is only close to the diamond, processing up to the high technical requirements. "

Another substrate material of silicon carbide is more "harsh", the price is higher than the sapphire and little attention is prone to cracking, luminous efficiency fail, poor reliability, so although the performance of LED chip made out of a sapphire, but the mainstream is the latter.

Even if the substrate crossed this threshold, the epitaxial wafer, chip manufacturing problems also put it aside. The analyst said. Different substrate materials will use different epitaxial growth technology, and continue to subsequent chip processing and packaging. Removal of process requirements, light technology should pay attention to luminous efficiency, reduce the heat dissipation and other issues.

It is precisely because of this, only the formation of LED patent barriers. At present, the global LED market by the industry's top 5 vendor, namely Japan's Nichia (Nichia), TOYOTA (ToyodaGosei), American CREE company, PHILPS Europe (PhilipsLumileds) and OSRAM (OSRAM). These 5 manufacturers in order to maintain a competitive advantage, to maintain their market share for a number of patents, covering almost all of the raw materials, equipment, packaging, including the entire industry chain. LED manufacturers through patent licensing and cross licensing to carry out R & D and production, not only hindered the emergence of new entrants, to some extent, also increased the cost of production.

Opportunities to promote the pattern of patent maturity

But there are signs of loosening on the patent. National semiconductor lighting engineering research and development and Industry Alliance Office Director Geng Bo told reporters, the next 2 to 3 years, there will be a number of core patents in 90s of the last century due. "

Speaking of the industry, this may become an opportunity to change the existing pattern. Because the LED related patents from the beginning of 1990, will be 20 years since the year 2010 will gradually reach an effective patent term, and a large part of which also involves important white LED.

The weakening of foreign patent protection umbrella will stimulate the emergence of new entrants from two levels. On the one hand is opening up new markets, Nichia patents blocked from the Taiwan region of China's LED products to enter the Japanese market; and if he moved to the United States, there is considerable potential to Cree patent infringement, the legal disputes between domestic and foreign LED companies also originated here.

On the other hand, Datong Securities researcher Li Zhizhong believes that the patent can be expected to decline in the cost of LED. He said, coupled with the new entrants to promote competition and technological progress, LED products in the most important lighting market to replace the traditional large-scale light source will be accelerated.

This is expected not only to the industry, but also investors. Reporters in the LIAN photoelectric (600363, closing price of 10.04 yuan) and audio (600651, closing price of 8.76 yuan) saw it shares, investors have been posted that the development prospects of the two companies after the patent expires next year.

Industry is on the eve of explosive growth

There is no doubt that with the patent lifted, LED concept in the A-share market will be further warming A. Industry boom in the end how high?

Globally, LED manufacturers this year have started the expansion plan, Sanan optoelectronics will be 18 sets of MOCVD equipment to expand to 33 units this year; but the pace of expansion with the three factory of Korea SamSung LED than it is completely "pale into insignificance by comparison, the latter year plan breath 70 increase this move LED equipment! MOCVD manufacturer Aixtron Germany and raised its full capacity, the annual performance forecast. Manufacturers confidence comes from the huge market demand for LED. CIC securities electronics industry Wang Haijun said that next year the global LED industry the potential demand in 229 billion 700 million, and two MOCVD plant equipment for the supply of 1 million 800 thousand units, the annual production capacity of 58 billion pieces, can not satisfy the demand. In September this year held a new conference at three optical message, the current industry supply capacity to become a bottleneck, an optoelectronic three downstream, packaging companies to supply a "critical".

Closely followed an optoelectronic three Haitong Securities analyst said the current ball spring, the industry boom maintained until at least 2010, the downstream application market growth space and times, the industry is still in early development "". He pointed out that mobile phones, decoration, lighting and other sophisticated applications have been updated demand, the demand for large-size backlight continues to grow, large size