LED production equipment manufacturers: market size will shrink

Now, LED has not yet been widely used in general lighting, but it is expected that by 2018, more than 50% of the lamp holder will support LED, the market sales of lamps will also have more than 80% for the LED lamp. However, the market for LED production equipment currently in use is less than the size of the previous two years. Compared with $1 billion 900 million in 2010, the market size of $1 billion 700 million in 2011, the scale of only $600 million in 2012. These companies will invest in the second half of 2013, by 2014, LED production equipment industry will achieve significant growth. But it will also become the last large-scale investment in the LED industry. After that, the size of the market will continue to shrink, the market needs to rely on the basic needs of the exchange.

It is estimated that by 2018, the area of LED semiconductor materials will be increased to 4 times in 2012, revenue will reach a peak of $17 billion. Although sales will also reach a peak around 2019, but by the impact of the following 2 factors, and then is expected to gradually shift to reduce. First, because the amount of light emitted by a single LED increases dramatically, the number of LED required is reduced. Secondly, compared with the current technology, LED product life is greatly extended, no 1 years to replace the light bulb for one or two years, the replacement of the 1 can be 10 years. This will allow the replacement of the LED market with substantial and permanent deceleration.

Over investment before 2011

In the next 5 years, LED production will continue to expand, so why the production equipment market has peaked? This is because of the massive overinvestment in 2010 and in the year of 2011. The main reason is that the Chinese government subsidies to MOCVD equipment, companies to ensure that the market position to make the best investment. As of 2010, only a few Chinese companies involved in the field of LED production equipment, but now has increased to 70. But most companies are afraid of a flash in the pan, and the survival of the enterprise estimates will not buy new equipment, but through the acquisition of failed enterprises to increase production capacity.

In the past, the LED industry has been in accordance with the requirements of LED, the standard exposure equipment and etching equipment slightly modified, in the adjustment, re installation to be used. 2009, in the process of using the same equipment for different companies with the help of LED, the production of professional equipment LED debut. It is interesting that the old semiconductor equipment companies have not been involved in this market.

In the purchase of production equipment, in order to reduce the equipment cost (COO), part of the enterprise investment is reliability, uniformity and high performance equipment. On the other hand, there are companies intend to reduce equipment investment, through the purchase of the cheapest equipment to minimize manufacturing costs. But from now on, most companies, including most Chinese companies, have begun to choose the former.

The popularity of PSS makes the demand for plasma equipment expand

Other equipment market and supply and demand differences in the MOCVD equipment market, sales in 2012 and 2011 than in 2010. However, the field of technological change leading LED design has shown a different trend. The use of patterned sapphire substrate (PSS: Patterned Sapphire Substrate) can enhance brightness. More than a year ago, PSS has accounted for nearly 80% of the world's LED sapphire substrate, gave birth to the demand for plasma etching PSS wafer equipment. Now, there are about 280 dry etching devices that have been put into use for the production of PSS, of which 200 were installed in 2011 or 2012. 2012 estimates will also remain at this level.

At present, there are three kinds of enterprises to improve PSS production capacity. The first is the sapphire substrate manufacturers; the second is to buy standard wafers, self PSS LED manufacturers; the third is to buy the substrate, the formation of the pattern after the sale of professional PSS generation business.

Plasma etching is to determine the pattern on the substrate after the treatment of the photoresist layer, thus giving birth to the mask positioning tools and stepper machine needs. However, it is difficult to achieve the resolution of the PSS requirements for the mask positioning tool, although the resolution of the stepper machine can meet the requirements, but the problem will not be caused by the fracture or crack under the condition of the size of the wafer pattern. 50mm wafer, for example, PSS manufacturing yield is usually 80 ~ 93%, but for 100mm wafers, the yield is only about 40 ~ 70%. In the next 6 months, including nano imprint transfer, including the emergence of a variety of commercial solutions are expected to increase the yield of large diameter wafers, reducing the cost of PSS.

LED in order to be successful, it is necessary to reduce costs, in addition, we must improve the performance and uniformity, so that the production of LED along the traditional semiconductor ideas forward, to enhance the attention to detail. In order to achieve the advantages of scale, we need to achieve a higher degree of automation, production management software, statistical engineering management, and "box to box" system as the goal of evolution.