The upstream chip market was only flip LED slow development

According to Yonhap news network reported, when more than a month ago Nichia announced the official launch of its latest flip LED products in October this year (Flip Chip LED), we have a little surprise, there are two reasons.

A: the flip LED first asked the city is PHILPS launched in 2007, it has been nearly 8 years, during which there are many manufacturers involved, including Samsung LED, LG Innotek, CREE, Toyoda Gosei, Taiwan factory in the new century, EPISTAR, Lunda photoelectric electronics, Nichia is only declared to be invested, not afraid in the technology and market competition behind a large portion?

Second: the last one or two years in Taiwan manufacturers actively involved, even the mainland manufacturers (such as HC semitek, Elec-Tech, crystal electronics, optoelectronics and so on) is a hot day in the factory has been planted, are not good at price competition, Nichia to how to retain the price competitive advantage?

In fact, if you look at the development process of flip chip LED, you will find Nichia selected cut into the market in 2015 is a good time, there is no so-called too late to enter the market problem. From many market data show that the first two years of LED applications and the market has just begun to take off, to 2015, the market will enter a period of rapid growth. As shown in Figure 1, the French market research firm Yole Development report shows that in 2013 accounted for all flip LED LED chip shipments only 11%, to 2014 jumped to 15%. Estimated to be able to grow to 32% in 2019 accounted for the proportion of the challenges of traditional vertical LED chip market position. In addition, market analysts predict that the market size of the LED will grow from $1 billion 500 million in 2013 to $5 billion 500 million in 2017. Thus, the market demand for flip LED from the beginning of this year will burn more prosperous.

In Figure 1, the proportion of high power LED LED vs. LED vs. MESA vertical flip LED

A lot of benefits but the market slow flip LED

If compared with the traditional wire type LED dress, flip (or flip) LED has many advantages, including the amount of light output than the traditional type of about 2 times, can be directly through heat dissipation structure by the electrode / bump and package structure in direct contact, greatly enhance the cooling effect, avoid wire and wire rack etc. Cheng, high current drive and so on, to the industry, the price is high.

Since upside down LED a lot of benefits, but as early as 2007, the product has asked the city, why the market and applications have not really "up"? Japan precision processing equipment, precision agency director Zhang Ruiming believes that, most manufacturers will choose to follow the main line, when the 99% manufacturers are using the traditional Face up, do not do to others is not the same thing, unless there is a special application or demand up.

Japan and Japan precision agent DISCO LED cutting equipment for a long time, the development of LED industry has a very in-depth observation. For the past one or two years of rapid development, a large number of flip LED industry investment, Zhang Ruiming think that the market demand dictates: "industry should see the current dress products has come to an end, that is part of the brightness has reached the limit. But the problem is that the entire market for LED requirements are still brighter and cheaper; the requirement is lumen / dollar upgrade; that is, the same price, but the performance is more bright. From the current situation of the industry as a whole, the flip LED should be the only way out. "

Usually, the brightness of the LED can be divided into 2 stages: the first stage is to make a chip, the brightness will be? Another stage is in the package, the brightness will be how much? Zhang Ruiming referred to the brightness has reached the limit refers to the chip phase out of the brightness has been approaching saturation, brightness significantly slowed down the pace of improvement in the past few years a lot of improvement.

However, on the downstream LED packaging plant, the chip factory will require the same price to provide them with a higher brightness of the chip, that is to improve the cost. In this case, the chip factory will begin to examine several existing application packages, the most is MESA, then the next step is to flip vertical package; if from the cost and performance of the entire look, in the other package has come to a bottleneck situation, has become the only way to flip.

Zhang Ruiming pointed out that the flip LED obvious drawback is that the cost is higher than the traditional LED, the main reason is that the upside has not reached the scale of production, the price of natural high. Chip factory customers are downstream LED packaging plant, when the downstream packaging factory does not pay, the production cost is higher than the traditional LED, the chip factory, of course, will not take the initiative to promote. However, manufacturers are also looking for a cost-effective solution, chip factory also know that this is the only way out, so inevitably will have to invest.

In addition to the high volume of production costs, the flip LED process is more complex than the traditional LED, the required mask is also more, which are reflected in the cost of production. However, Zhang Ruiming pointed out that the production equipment basically has 8, 9 can be used with the formal LED process, like the most expensive machine MOCVD, basically can use the same.

LED chip factory competition

The industrial structure of LED industry and the semiconductor industry is not the same, the semiconductor industry is a high threshold (such as wafer manufacturing), but also more money; and LED is a high technical threshold, but do not make money, money is a LED packaging factory. If you take