Showa Denko gets a passion for bright LEDs
Japanese chemicals company Showa Denko (SDK) has earmarked ultra-bright LEDs as a key part of its new business strategy, which it calls the "Passion Project".
The company is better known in the wider semiconductor community for its high-purity ammonia products, used in etching applications, where it claims to have a 30% market share.
In the past, it has also developed 6-inch InP semi-insulating wafers and manufactured InGaP HBT epiwafers.
But more recently the company has moved into compound semiconductor device production, and earlier this month SDK revealed plans to make high-brightness green and ultraviolet LEDs in volume.
In its latest business plan, SDK has identified "ultra-bright" LEDs as one of five key product areas to be developed at what it calls an accelerated pace.
The company expects to see growth in applications such as LCD backlighting, car headlamps and general lighting. "We aim to sell ¥20 billion ($167 million) ultra-bright LEDs in 2008," SDK predicted.
Across the five businesses identified as growth areas, SDK plans to invest ¥200 billion over the next three years. Assuming that even a small share of this total would be allocated for the development of its LED business, that would still equate to several tens of millions of US dollars in investment in compound semiconductors.
SDK is also planning to grow its semiconductor materials business, aiming to almost double sales to ¥30 billion by 2008.
