Showa Denko unveils high-power blue LED chips
The new 12 mW LED is designed for flip-chip mounting, which together with the inclusion of a reflector layer enhances light extraction through the transparent substrate. The company says that compared with existing products on the market, the newly developed LED has additional advantages of low forward voltage and low electricity consumption.
The new product is expected to be used in backlighting of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and in photoflash units of mobile phones. Furthermore, as the flip-chip structure provides better heat dissipation and higher reliability, the new product will find applications in automotive devices and general illumination.
SDK is now constructing a plant in Chiba, Japan to produce 30 million units a month of GaN-based blue LED chips. Sample shipment will begin in November this year, with commercial production commencing next year. The company plans to sell 30 million units per month by year-end.
SDK is planning to expand the production capacity to meet a growing demand and to increase the annual sales to Y20 billion in 2008.
SDK claims that, except for GaN, it has the largest share in the world market of compound semiconductors for optoelectronic devices.
SDK currently manufactures other LED chips and epitaxial wafers in a range of materials, namely GaP (yellow-green), GaAs (infrared), AlGaAs (red, infrared) and AlInGaP (red to yellow-green). The company also manufactures AlInGaP and AlGaAs epitaxial wafers for optical pickups for CD and DVD applications, respectively, as well as InP-based substrates and epiwafers for fiber-optic communications.
SDK classifies the compound semiconductor operation as one of the "strategic growth businesses," allocating a substantial portion of its resources into the operation.