Global LED plasma equipment demand is expected to rise in 2013

LED lighting development will push up demand for equipment and materials. Patterned sapphire wafer substrate (PSS) technology can improve the brightness due to LED, has won the majority of manufacturers favor, as of 2013, LED industry accelerated into the general lighting application products manufacturing, the PSS wafer etching and plasma tool demand will rise. According to the statistics, although LED has not been large-scale enter the general lighting market, but to make a lighting device of the latest equipment demand in the past 2 years has reached the peak. 2010 to 2012, LED manufacturers spend $1 billion 900 million, $1 billion 700 million and $600 million on advanced manufacturing equipment. Obviously, this phenomenon with the past inventory digestion model LED manufacturers the same predictable in the second half of the 2013, the industry will start LED equipment investment, so in 2014, LED devices will again experience a substantial growth, but the growth rate will be limited, and is likely to be the last major industry LED investment cycle. After that, the market for production equipment will be reduced, and the replacement of lighting equipment will be the main driving factor. The next wave of equipment investment can be regarded as the lighting industry for the ultimate application of traditional lighting to in the near future, this investment will cause LED wafer of semiconductor material growth in revenue from 2012 to 2018 the whole wafer shipments will be close to four times the growth of the general lighting the crystal growth. After 2018, LED in general lighting applications will be accounted for from near zero growth to 50%, and the LED will account for 80% of all lighting tools, therefore, 2018 LED revenue will reach the peak of $17 billion, and reached the highest shipments in 2019, began to slowly decline. Predicted that after 2020, there are two factors will lead to decline in demand for LED. First, the amount of lighting per unit has increased substantially, and the second is the life of the LED device is much larger than other existing technologies. Traditional light bulbs 1 to 2 years to change, and LED lights every 10 years to change. Therefore, the replacement demand will decline sharply, the global demand for the replacement of artificial light and growth will decline significantly. Although the next 5 years, LED production will grow sharply, production equipment market has reached its peak. In 2010 and 2011 over investment is mainly Chinese, the government of metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) equipment subsidies, but the industry caused by a card. In 2010 China, only less than ten of LED industry, but there are seventy, of which, many practitioners in the crystal growth reaction furnace (Reactor) is implemented, or even a LED lamp are not sold directly in the case, after several years disappear. However, such a tightening is necessary, it can be expected that the --LED industry has always been so. Therefore, this is why 2012 and 2013 will be on the LED equipment investment on the low side of the year. In contrast, many successful LED manufacturers, compared to the purchase of new equipment, they will be through the integration and merger of the above operating failure of LED companies, and production equipment to increase production capacity. PSS LED technology to increase the brightness of rising demand for etching tools in addition to MOCVD, the LED industry also let the past recent growth in related industries using the transfer of equipment to the industry. Over the past few years micro projection and etching technology is mostly semiconductor instrument standards, these instruments have been refurbished or re adjusted in order to make LED. However, these devices are not completely suitable for LED process requirements, from 2009 onwards, began to observe equipment manufacturers in optical lithography or plasma tools provide specialized equipment, interestingly, the traditional semiconductor equipment manufacturers did not enter this industry. There this special equipment is because in the past when manufacturing the LED, without considering the difference between making use of equipment are very similar. Have a different approach and Prospect of equipment users in the purchase, so you can move the industry into two categories -- some people will want to minimize production costs, thus reduce capital spending, choose the most expensive equipment; others believe that in some cases, the investment of higher order equipment is because of these, has the best reliability, can provide lower maintenance costs. Although some new Chinese mainland industry belongs to the former, but China, and other parts of the industry may not be quite distinct from each other. If you want to simply distinguish, it can be said that many China, LED manufacturers are beginning to buy cheap equipment, however, under the promotion of time, some manufacturers have found Chinese, quickly recognize specific equipment in some cases need to invest in higher order. The deformation, LED production tools and equipment mostly belong to MOCVD so expect these devices in 2012 sales will be lower than 2010 and 2011. However, the graphical sapphire wafer substrate (PSS) technology because it can increase the brightness of the LED, and thus promote the design of LED technology changes. Over the past 12 to 18 months, the industry has observed a substantial change in the --LED industry, about of the wafer are using PSS technology, which pushes up the demand for PSS wafer etching and plasma tools. The demand led to a substantial growth of the plasma dry etching tool. At present, there are about two hundred and eighty dry etching equipment used to make PSS, in addition, from 2011 to 2012, there are probably close to two hundred units installed capacity. The growth of plasma etching tools in 2012 will be very strong, higher than in 2011. In the business model has not yet been established, there will be three types of companies will buy PSS technology in the future, the first is the sapphire wafer manufacturer, followed by the purchase of standard wafers and then use the PSS line technology LED