LED substrate prices fell steady growth in the market

Sapphire producers in the West have stopped supplying products to Taiwan's GaN LED manufacturers, and they would rather have made profits in the electronic substrate market. Market analyst Yole D at this year's vELoppement industry report stressed that "huge pressure" to force the 2 inch sapphire wafer price fell to $17, so each bare chip chip manufacturer can price to 2-3 cents. According to the report's author Philippe Roussel said that although the United States Rubicon exposure, and now Taiwan LED manufacturing is still a hotbed of Asian and Russian sapphire suppliers.

Despite the development of a number of other technologies in the world, 2 inch sapphire chips remain dominant in LED manufacturing, while Taiwan is a major market. Photograph: Yole Developpement other suppliers are concerned with other global markets, including the $25 2 inch sapphire substrate, and was about to launch 4 inch substrate, priced between $170-180. The huge price difference to the world's leading LED manufacturers (most in Taiwan) pushed to the waves, began to produce 4 inch sapphire as appropriate. It is reported that, OSRAM and Showa Denko has begun to part of the production to the larger size of the substrate. But Roussel thinks it should be cautious.

Roussel in the "Sapphire Market 2008" in the report pointed out that the value oriented sapphire substrate LED industry more than $100 million last year, the compound annual growth rate is 15%, the sapphire substrate some recent market turmoil, but sales are expected to grow steadily.

For RF applications sapphire silicon (SoS) business will be more than 100 million U.S. dollars in 2011. The Peregrine GaAs RF semiconductor company to stop the decline, the market will not be immediately threatened. However, he also pointed out the crux of the problem: the situation is very embarrassing, customers do not like to be controlled by a company of all patents. Now Peregrine company is authorized by the Japanese Oki to disperse the risk of customers, in addition to some production outsourcing to foundries. Peregrine restructuring will undoubtedly affect the income of Q4 Rubicon.

Combined with LED and SoS two markets, by 2012, a total of $400 million sapphire business. Among them, the market share of 67% of the sapphire manufacturers in Asia, the European manufacturers represented by the Russian Monocrystal and French Saint-Gobain accounted for the total sales of $20%, the rest is the North American market in charge of Rubicon.

Source: LED chip network