LYON, FRANCE – More than $2B will be invested between 2011 and 2016 on new LLO, permanent bonding, singulation and testing equipment for LED packaging,but the rising tide won't lift all ships.

That's according to a new report by research firm Yole Développement.

Most LED manufacturers rely on retrofitted equipment from the IC industry, says Yole's Dr. Eric Virey, but that's about to change. Many dedicated solutions are emerging from existing and new players that will permit significant reduction in LED manufacturing cost through improved yields, throughputs and material efficiency, he says.

The general lighting market is forecast to reach $20 billion by 2020. New investment will cause a spike in worldwide overcapacity that will briefly exceed 50% for some tools by mid 2012, Yole says. The result will be a 12 to 18 month recession for most equipment makers and some consolidations.

Material and component suppliers, however, will enjoy a smoother ride, with CAGR growth of 27.6% between 2011 and 2016. Package substrate makers will grow 45% CAGR through the period. Substrate material options as well as assembly and interconnection techniques abound as many workarounds to the limiting patents of the established players.

New players from the general semiconductor markets propose new solutions based on their respective capabilities. Similarly to IC packaging, new technologies for LED packaging add up to the existing ones without completely phasing them out. And there’s still a lot of room for innovation that could allow capturing more added value. For such products however, it remains paramount that the solution offers an overall reduction in cost of ownership ($/lumen) to LED manufacturers.

• Prev
• Next