Chinese firm to double red laser production
Huaguang Optoelectronics, mainland China's largest domestic producer of 650 nm laser diode chips, is planning to double production capacity this year.
Currently manufacturing around 10 million chips per month, the company says that it will invest in processing equipment to increase output of the red lasers, which are used in DVD applications, laser pointers and barcode scanners.
Huaguang, which also makes a range of yellow and red LEDs, started red laser production two years ago and chief technology officer Xiangang Xu believes that the company has a market share of 50-60% in mainland China.
Xu says that products are based on proprietary technology developed at Shandong University.
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Electric from Japan is expected to double its production capacity for laser chips used to write data in DVD recorders.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, the company, which is believed to have a 70% share of the global market for such devices, will invest $20-$30 million at its Hyogo manufacturing base in a bid to raise production volume to 10 million units per month by September.
Mitsubishi previously ramped production from 1.5 million to 3.5 million units per month in December 2003, and then to 5 million units per month last spring.
