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Editorial:
White LED Manufacturing Business Maturing on Schedule
... When "time" is of the essence... and when isn't it if you're in the business of producing white LEDs... LED manufacturers seem to be turning to true merchant providers of what they can't make themselves. They don't have time to spend hassling with holders of IP that create difficult...
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2012
SSL Summit Series keeps its focus to Smarter, Better Lighting
Launched in 2008, the SSL
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Permlight Files Patent Infringement Suit Against Gelcore; Settles Infringement Suit Against ElectraledMarch 30, 2005...In what many industry insiders consider a gutsy move Permlight Products Inc., based in Tustin, California USA, announced a new patent infringement suit against Gelcore LLC. for infringing on their thermal management patents 6,712,486; 6,786,093; and 6,578,986. In related news Permlight settled their patent infringement suit against Electraled of Largo, Florida under undisclosed terms. The patent infringement suit alleged that Electraled used Permlight patents in their LED systems. In one of the apparent terms of the settlement, Electraled has received a license to use Permlight’s patented LED thermal management technology.
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Cree Signs Second Key European Distributor For XLamp LEDs This Month, Forge EuropaMarch 30, 2005...Cree Lighting with headquarters in Durham, North Carolina USA, signed an agreement with Forge Europa of Ulverston, UK, to distribute XLamp LEDs in the United Kingdom, other European countries, and Russia. In an obvious effort to penetrate the European market, Cree has signed its second major European distribution partner this month. “Forge Europa has been at the heart of LED revolution, developing, designing, manufacturing and supplying innovative LED lamps, displays and assemblies since 1993. Their technical knowledge coupled with a pragmatic approach make them an ideal distribution partner for Cree Lighting as we roll out XLamp LEDs in the U.K.,” Chris James, Cree Lighting marketing manager, commented. Vossloh-Schwabe Optoelectronic, a European Union distributor of optoelectronic components with headquarters in Kamp-Lintfort, Germany also signed an agreement with Cree earlier this month to distribute its XLamp LEDs in several countries of the European Union including: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, and the Benelux Countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg).
Color Kenetics Licenses Their Chromacore Technology to James Thomas Engineering
LIGHTimes News StaffMarch 29, 2005...In a sign of perhaps a new spirit of cooperation in the industry, Color Kenetics of Boston, Massachusetts and James Thomas Engineering of Pershore, England announced a new licensing agreement. In the agreement Color Kenetics will license their patented Chromacore technology to James Thomas Engineering in connection with James Thomas’ Pixel Range line of LED products in North America.
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Nichia to Sell Larger LED Panels for PCs and Car Navigation SystemsMarch 29, 2005...According to a Nikkeinet Interactive, Nichia Corp. of Tokyo, Japan, will begin selling LEDs for use in personal computers and car navigation systems by the end of this month, company sources said. The company hopes to boost earnings by selling LEDs for PC and automotive use, demand for which is projected at 150 billion yen and 600 billion yen, respectively.
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Strategies Unlimited Predicts Long-Term Growth in Gallium Nitride MarketMarch 28, 2005...Strategies Unlimited, a Silicon Valley-based market research firm, projects
more than double gallium nitride production to $7.6 billion by 2009. The company
estimates that Gallium Nitride production for 2004 was at $3.2 billion. While
high brightness LEDs currently dominate the gallium nitride market, laser diodes
and other electronic devices are in the early stages of growth and will attain
substantial volumes over the next five
years. Bob Steel of Strategies Unlimited predicted that the market for HB-LEDs
would nearly double by 2009 to about $7 billion at the recent Strategies in Light
Conference. (See
Related Story...)
The company reports that as of early 2005, 232 companies were participating
in gallium nitride production, an increase of 26% over the 2003 number. The
report also states that 394 universities and research centers were involved
in gallium nitride R&D. This figure represents an increase of 35%, since
the publication of Strategies Unlimited’s previous gallium nitride report
in June 2003.
The company looked at 725 companies, universities, research centers and government
agencies, and profiled 32 such organizations involved in gallium nitride production,
development, R&D. The report titled, “Gallium Nitride 2005 –
Technology Status, Applications and Market Forecasts” is available for
immediate delivery from Strategies Unlimited for $3,950. More information on
the report is available from Tim Carli, Sales Manager, telephone +1 650-941-3438
ext. 23, or e-mail tcarli@strategies-u.com. Company
News Release
Agilent Update on China Development Forum and Product Releases
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 28, 2005...At the China Development Forum, Bill Sullivan, President and CEO of Agilent Technologies Inc. of Palo Alto, California USA, recently announced that they would increase the number of employees in Agilent’s China locations by 36% (from 1,100 to 1,500) by the end of 2005. The company has facilities in 16 cities in China and is currently investing in operations in Bejing and Shanghai. “China is Agilent’s second-largest market, right behind the United States and ahead of Japan,” Mr. Sullivan commented. He explained that the company would contribute to the communities in which it operates by providing support for education and environmental programs, and the company would establish strong partnerships with the government, customers and research centers at universities in China.
Agilent also announced its family of 4 mm by 4 mm power amplifier (PA) modules with CoolPAM technology, which reduces battery power consumption and allows mobile handsets to run cooler. The technology was acquired in January with the company’s purchase of the Korean company, Wavics. Agilent's CoolPAM technology utilizes InGaP (indium gallium arsenide) HBT (heterojunction bipolar transistor) MMIC (microwave monolithic integrated circuit) technology to provide temperature stability, cool operation and ruggedness and reduced power consumption. Agilent points out that CoolPAM power amplifiers are already proven in handsets from leading manufacturers in Korea.
In other Agilent news, the company announced improvements in its core electronic design automation (EDA) frequency-domain simulation technologies for fast and accurate RFIC, MMIC, and RF system-in-package (SiP) design. Users have reported simulation speed improvements of up to 50 times for large and complex circuits used in wireless products, aerospace, and defense applications. The company says that designers will be able to accurately predict the performance of RFIC’s, MMIC’s, and RF SiP’s prior to production with the new simulation breakthroughs, eliminating costly iterations. "Our customers' designs are continually becoming larger and more complex, so we have been investing heavily in our core RF simulation technology," said Larry Lerner, research and development manager of Agilent's EEsof EDA Division. "Based on early reactions from customers, these investments are paying off substantially."
IEK Predicts 16% Increase in LED Production From Taiwan in 2005
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 28, 2005...According to a recent report by the Industrial and Economics Knowledge Center (IEK) of Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) located in Hsin Chu, Taiwan, Taiwan’s LED production value will likely grow by 16% in 2005 despite patent infringement lawsuits for white LED technology and some signs of blue LED oversupply.
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Intematix Adds Fuel to the Fire of SSL Growth With Merchant Supply of Patent-Backed Phosphors; Announces AOT Win
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2005...Intematix Inc. of Moraga California
USA, completed a royalty-bearing Agreement related to white LED technology with
Advanced Optoelectronic Technology (AOT),
a dominant manufacturer of blue spectrum LEDs, of Hsinchu, Taiwan. According
to the licensing agreement, AOT can manufacture white LEDs based on Intematix-patented
technology that utilizes a blue InGaN (indium gallium nitride) LED combined with
a suitable fluorescent converter. The agreement was reached shortly after Intematix
created a family of patent-backed Phosphors in a 14 month development effort
using their Bulk, Thin Film and Nano Discovery Engines.
The White Lightning Y450 (operating at 450 nm wavelength and below) and the
White Lightning Y460 (operating at 460 nm wavelength) reportedly deliver YAG-equivalent
performance and color for bright light applications such as: LCD and keypad
backlighting, camera flash, automotive lighting, and large area signage and
architectural lighting. The production ready, patented Phosphor family will
be made available beginning March 24th for high volume use for designers and
manufacturers of white LED products and solutions.
“The availability of Intematix Phosphors and their acceptance by leaders
such as Advanced Optoelectronic Technology Inc. will begin a market transformation
leading to truly cost effective High Brightness White LED production,” said
Ruediger Stroh, Intematix Chief Executive Officer. Intematix VP of Sales & Marketing,
Nik Bahram said, “Our Discovery Engines allow us to develop unique material
compositions that can then be rapidly customized for our customer’s unique manufacturing
processes, and Bills of Materials including a choice of chips at various wavelengths
and support for a variety of resins.” Dr. S. H. Chan, Chief Executive Officer
of AOT said, “We will provide non-infringing white-lighting solutions to
all of our customers, and we believe Intematix will be one of our key partners.”
According to Intematix, the WL-Y450 and the WL-Y460 are available in production
quantities now. Company
News Release
Interesting LED Technology Development Patent
CompoundSemi News StaffMarch 24, 2005...We occasionally come accross stories about individuals
or companies with interesting patents that are looking to license their ideas
to manufacturers. Paddy Salam of London, England, the Technical Director of Unisplay
of Geneva, Switzerland, has a group of pre-prototype development patents that
our readers might find intriguing. According to Mr. Salam, the object of his patent
is to avoid the high cost of clustering and at the same time improve the electrical
efficiency of light-production by alleviating problems of light trapped or lost
in an LED chip. Mr. Salam said that there is theoretically no limit to the
size of the LED chip you could create with his design as long as the heat is dissipated.
The group of patents address high power monochrome GaN LEDs, high power monochrome
AlGaInP/AlGaAS LEDs, high power white LEDs, red/amber/cyan 2-chip traffic-lights,
and 2-chip RGB lamps. US patent #’s: 6,346,771;
6,663,120;
6,720,730; Contact Paddy Salam at Unisplay for more details and possible licensing arrangements: Unisplay S. A., 63 Lowther Road, London SW13 9NT, psalam@advanceled.com, Tel: 44 20 8741 3285.
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Commentary & Perspective...
April 2, 2005...When "time" is of the essence... and when isn't it if you're in the business of producing white LEDs... LED manufacturers seem to be turning to true merchant providers of what they can't make themselves. They don't have time to spend hassling with holders of IP that create difficult barriers of entry. They don't have time nor money to spend in court defending their designs, especially when those designs are so fleeting in the marketplace. And most importantly, their customers don't have time to wait for product. They want it now. They want it clean and fast.
Intematix, a venture-backed California USA company that was established in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2000, appears to be ramping remarkably quickly in their production of a truly new genre of phosphors. The fact that they're selling their innovative phosphors to whomever wants them is refreshing. LED manufacturers who have been having to literally battle to get their product to market because of phosphor-related IP barriers created by the pioneering major producers, are evidently looking for this kind of solution. Why? Because the strategy is simple. Create a phosphor technology that does not impinge on the giants and Intematix' technology appears to be able to shave significant time off one's normal product development cycle.
You may have read about Intematix' entry on the scene in ours and other advanced LED-related news sources. (Ref: our March 24 headline news and DigiTimes' March 25 coverage) The company made a splash last week and the resulting waves are being felt throughout Asia especially, where a dramatic ramp in the production of white LEDs is occurring these days.
What I found especially interesting in the DigiTimes coverage was the analysis by journalist Jessie Shen that there appears to be a shift underway regarding white LED IP issues. According to Jessie's report, once the white LED barriers started the painful process of tumbling down for Taiwan producers, the production value of Taiwan’s overall LED industry leaped ahead dramatically from 2001-2003. They evidently hit a bit of a wall last year, however, when leaders such as Nichia, Osram Opto and Seoul Semiconductor started putting up fresh IP barriers as related to phosphor technology.
So what do you do when you come against a barrier? You either work through the gatekeeper, which generally means a combination of legal maneuvers and licensing, or you figure out a way around the barriers. Going the Intematix route appears to be a way of leaping over the barrier and potentially leaving the old gatekeepers looking aghast as you leave them in the dust! OK, that may be an exaggeration when it comes to a metaphor, but you get my drift. But after so many years of legal tangles, I get pretty tired of reading about lawsuits. I like the idea of a refreshing, truly innovative way around the "snags" as Jessie called them.
The world is crying for good white LEDs. Note that I emphasize the word "good" because systems integrators and end users are getting smarter and can recognize quality product. There may appear to be an oversupply of blue spectrum LEDs to some, but I'm not buying it. I think there may be an oversupply of mediocre or crude blue spectrum LEDs because the markets have been pretty well willy nilly (toys, kids shoes, fairy lights, tiny reading lamps, other novelty items, etc... most of which dim or die fairly quickly), but I'm skeptical that there's an oversupply of truly top grade product.
All white LED manufactures are trying hard to improve their yields, product lifetimes and brightness levels. At least they should be. One rightfully frowns on those that are designing for planned obsolence like the old fashioned lightbulbs, which is a bit counter productive to the main selling point of switching to solid state lighting. Exempliary manufacturers are doing whatever they have to to get quality product out rapidly to an increasingly demanding market. To do so, traditional barriers must be removed, one way or the other. Simply ignoring the barriers doesn't work anymore. You can't just rip off someone's LED growth or packaging formula and get away with it for long. The most successful way to be a world class player in the production of white LEDs is to innovate.... really innovate! Working with open minded, truly innovative relative newcomers the field, as Intematix appears to be, suggests a fresh, sensible way to get around the tired old problems. For sure, it relieves the traditional pain.
Phosphor technology is not rocket science, but it's critically important to those choosing that route to produce white LEDs. As our own "Dr. Bob" explained in a classic white LED primer in this editorial slot last October, "Most white LEDs today are made from blue InGaN LED chips coated with a precise quantity of a phosphor material that can convert a portion of the blue light from the LED chip into yellow light. The resulting blend of blue and yellow light is perceived as white." Our Dr. Bobs went on to explain, "While there are many phosphors used in lighting that absorb UV light (such as those used in fluorescent tubes), there are fewer phosphors that can convert the blue LED light to longer visible wavelengths with high efficacy and have the chemical stability to be useable in LED package manufacturing processes. A lot of research is currently devoted to finding new phosphors with absorption properties that allow them to efficiently convert light from InGaN LEDs to visible light."
Obviously, Intematix has invested in their research. Intematix' technical founders, Xiao-Dong Xiang and Yi-Qun Li, have excellent credentials and are extremely well-connected in the field. They learned from experience that what the market wants and needs, at this stage, is a true phosphor merchant supply of carefully tailored product to spec, that is outside the traditional "Club". Their thesis is simple: extremely rapid material discovery and characterization that shrinks the time to market to months instead of years. You give Intematix a spec and they deliver a sample. Once the sample is approved and the volume order set, your high volume supply begins shipping within three to five months. Most importantly, with solid IP, a merchant phosphor technology avoids the barriers that have limited entry for companies that may not have had a unique "piece of the puzzle." If you have questions about
the solid state lighting and compound semiconductor industries or
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