LED industry plain period IR/UV LED is the light of hope?

According to science news reports, LED industry due to the rapid market change, have been adjusted in recent years the organization and strategic direction, constantly improving the luminous efficiency, cut down the price cost at the same time, try to break into the niche market to increase profit. The current mainstream LED applications including mobile phone, large size backlight, lighting and automotive etc. growth momentum slowed down, more and more LED plants in niche applications such as UV LED, IR LED, is expected to boost the market demand.

LED industry downturn, the rise of the field of invisible light applications

The global research agency dramexchange (Trendforce) green energy division research associate in the reservoir, "LEDforum 2015" will be in the feeling that in 2015 the global LED market estimated value of approximately $14 billion 520 million, annual growth rate (YoY) fell to 2%, but since LED prices fell faster and fierce, negative growth may not be excluded in the fourth quarter of the settlement.

Storage in ultra pointed out that LED industry has entered the plain, that in the next five years the global LED market compound annual growth rate (CAGR) probably only about 3%, LED will continue to supply and demand imbalance, but settled in the LED industry, should be able to speed up the elimination of invalid capacity, forcing some manufacturers out of the market. As for LED niche market applications such as IR (Infrared), LED (Ultraviolet, UV) LED, and according to its different wavelengths are divided into UVA, UVB, UVC, the relative opportunity to drive demand growth. Taiwan factory EPISTAR, crystal optoelectronics and plant research, Nikkiso (Nikkiso), respectively in LED, IR LED for the UV field to express their views.

IR LED: night vision system, high demand for biological sensors

Crystal Electric Research Center Deputy Chief Xie Mingxun pointed out that UV LED and IR LED belong to a niche in the market, the demand is small but the profit is better, with IR LED, the single price is about the same size of blue LED 8 to 16 times. Crystal power has a full spectrum of UV to IR LED chip, which is mainly used in IR LED security monitoring (Security) and sensors (Sensor) two categories.

On the field of security monitoring, including network monitoring application using IR 940nm LED, 850nm camera, and arranged in the headlights of night vision (Night Vision) system, driving vision can reach 150 to 200 meters away, but also more clearly. Xie Mingxun further said that the night vision system IR LED demand should be the largest.

The sensor is widely used, except for the proximity sensor intelligent mobile phone (Proximity Sensor) module, wearable devices, also contains the prospect is good biosensor (Bio-Sensor) applications, such as the detection of heart rate and blood oxygen, the former uses IR 530nm, 660nm, 940nm LED, IR 660nm and 940nm with the latter LED. In addition, according to the need for special wavelengths of iris recognition applications, crystal electric also has IR 810nm LED can be corresponding, in the competition is quite advantageous.

UV LED: customized solutions to industry, medical field

According to dramexchange's LEDinside analysis, 2014 UV LED market penetration rate of 15%, the market size of about $122 million, in 2020 UV LED storage estimates of market size, rapid growth is expected to more than $300 million; and in the UV LED market, and UVA accounted for 90% of the proportion of high, the largest is the application of UV curing (UV curing).

Wei Zhihong, chairman of the Research Institute of crystal optical description, UV curing applications covering medical bonding, electronic parts assembly, printing, coating, etc., such as photocatalyst sterilization, UV exposure also belongs to the UVA application. He said that due to the design of these applications are different, so that the UV LED in the replacement of the traditional UV lamp more difficult, you must create a whole system can be replaced, or even need to use light to meet customer needs.

Wei Zhihong said that the current UVA LED has been applied in the industrial field and to the popularization of the next two years is expected to grow significantly, but he also admitted that although UV LED relatively high gross profit, want to cut into the market still have to overcome many obstacles. UVA LED is a highly customized market, and service oriented, customer must provide a comprehensive solution, a single design does not correspond to all needs; and high light intensity (High, Irradiance) (Collimated Optics) and the collimated light also must strike a balance between cost, compromise.

UV LED another important market, is applied to sterilization, medical, resin hardening and other fields of deep ultraviolet (Deep Ultraviolet, DUV) LED. Japan factory day machine (NIKKISO) DUV LED product wavelength between 250nm to 350nm, by the Nobel prize winner professor Akasaki Yong, Professor of research and development under the guidance of Dr. Amano Hiroshi. Nikkiso manager Cyril Pernot said, DUV LED product performance after years of continuous improvement, the current 285nm products at 350mA current, the output power increased from 30mW to 50mW; the other for the application of R & D modular solutions, such as disinfection application develop sterilization water purifying device module.

The threshold of high visibility field, breaking the challenge to promote industrial growth

Looking at the development of the field of LED invisible light, stored in super IR LED, UV LED has a very good prospect, like IR LED applications in biological sensing, UVC LED applications in terms of sterilization are worth the wait. However, due to enter the field of the threshold is not low, not the introduction of the product will be able to successfully enter the market.

IR LED for biological sensing as an example, through a series of cumbersome certification and must be longer, still depend on import brands speed, so the opportunity is relatively easy to take and assessment; most of the customized UV LED, manufacturers can not like in the past to drive down the cost of economies of scale