Electronic Components Industry:Sustained Attention LED And Sapphire

Recent Industry

MWC quiet ending, the recent focus of the consumer electronics industry focused on sapphire with LED, smart phone supply chain is relatively weak.

Comment

LED lamp prices have reached the beginning of indoor lighting can significantly enhance penetration : We research found that the domestic market packaged LED lamp beads price , can already do price of 0.8 yuan a watt , LED chips are used abroad about a tile one yuan .

Basically, bulb manufacturers have reached the expected price band, now the main terminal is waiting for the second half of the subsidy policy ground, then the time point to the heavy volume of domestic LED lighting market will come. In the first half of the whole industry with high certainty , is to look at the second half of June, overseas and domestic terminal inventory LED bulb subsidies. Upstream chip plant and downstream channels share price after the early rise more recent pullback , recommendations concern: Sanan Optoelectronics ( market share it traded points ) , BDO Runda ( market share it traded points ) , the sun lighting ( market share it traded points ) , Foshan Lighting ( market share it traded points ) , Hongli Opto-electronic ( market share it traded points ) .

Sapphire Price succession price : LED lighting demand poised to take off , and Apple will expand the use of the new bullish on the second half , the market is particularly concerned about the sapphire industry . Sapphire substrate plant in the first quarter of the price hike after successfully patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) prices will also begin in the second quarter to PSS substrate , the supply and demand gap is quite large, has a major plant orders 2 times capacity The actual gap of 2 to 3 percent. Recent market for sapphire cover on iPhone6 ​​expected more pragmatic, but favorable results related to ethnic visibility for next year. Sapphire stocks include : Tiantonggufen ( market share it traded points ) , East Crystal Electronic ( market share it traded points ) , Han's Laser ( market share it traded points ) , Jing Sheng Electrical ( market share it traded points ) , Crystal Optical ( market share it traded points ) .

Valuation And Recommendation

This week the market adjustment of 2.72% ~ 3.77% , the electronic sector fell by only 1.12% , outperforming the broader market .

As of February 28, 2014 , electronic plate overall earnings (TTM_ whole law excluding negative ) dropped to 45.87x. Sub-sectors , the touch screen is more resilient , down 1.40 percent , security , LED, sapphire fell 8.49 percent , respectively , 7.06% , 5.51 %. The MWC smartphones and wearable devices new one after another , the scarcity of spare parts ( metal chassis, fingerprint recognition ) will continue to benefit from industry leading manufacturers . New energy vehicles ( market area ) outbreak driven by concern automotive electronics stocks , short-term memory at up space. March is about to enter intensive release of the annual report , we recommend investors growing selection of high uncertainty stocks possessed margin of safety , such as security leading manufacturers .

Risk

Downside risk in the first quarter : 1 ) prepare shipments of apples and apple terminal industry chain does not match the actual shipments ; 2) LED decline in value too quickly. Upside risks: iPhone went on sale after the move , the demand is higher than expected.

Quhuan Shen: Sapphire Material Promising

LED optoelectronic

November 25, 2013 Engineering and LED Lighting Fair 2013 held in conjunction with LED Engineering Conference-CTO concert in Guangzhou Poly World Trade Museum, the 5th Conference Room D opened the curtain, electronic Directors and Dr. Xiao Guowei chaired the General Manager meeting.

Council under the LED industry chain , the lower four special, which has two special midstream . Conference invited well-known in the LED industry chain enterprises CTO and industry executives to share the latest cutting-edge technology and to be guests on to discuss technology trends , and downstream .

November 25 afternoon, CTO Conference first day through special focus on high-tech group title "Chip and equipment and materials" were discussed. Product Director Shen Qu Huan first to "Sapphire Material promising" as the theme of a speech he believes will be the trend of large-size substrate.

Quhuan Shen noted that the large size of the substrate can produce more chips in each MOCVD , so the use of large-size sapphire substrate is one of the primary means to reduce the cost of LED chips . Due to the presence of LED chip edge invalid area, so the larger the diameter , the more apparent than with the number of chips in diameter than the advantages. " To six inches of the substrate , for example, 9 times the surface area of ​​the substrate is 2 inches , the number of chips is 10.9 x 2 inches of the substrate ."

LED Sapphire Substrate

Sapphire (Al2O3, the English called Sapphire) is made of gallium nitride (GaN) epitaxial main substrate material

sapphire substrate

emitting layer, GaN can be used to produce ultra-high brightness blue, green, blue-green, white LED. 1993 Nichia (Nichia) developed a gallium nitride (GaN) as a material for blue LED, with MOVPE (metal organic vapor phase epitaxy) epitaxial technology, can produce high-brightness blue LED. 

Alumina composition sapphire (A12O3) is composed of three aluminum atoms and two oxygen atoms covalently binding type crystal structure of hexagonal crystal structure with the sapphire optical penetrate a wide range from the near UV (190nm ) to have a very good mid-infrared transmittance, and have loud-speed, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, high hardness, high melting point (20,452 degrees C), etc., often as optoelectronic component materials. On the ultra-high brightness white / blue LED GaN epitaxial quality depends (GaN) material quality, so the quality of the sapphire substrate surface finish used on sapphire (single crystal A12O3) C plane and III-V and II- VI of the lattice constant mismatch between the film deposition rate is small, consistent with GaN epitaxial process temperature requirements, so the production of the sapphire substrate becomes white / blue / green LED of the key material. 

Sapphire blue LED crystal grains of the material long cut from sapphire crystal rod is made of sapphire crystal rod is aluminum oxide (Al2O3) single crystal as a basis for long crystal, crystal pulling method adopted foster growth, nurturing approach because each Different manufacturers have different purity parameters. 

Sapphire Dan Changjing technology is not yet unified, multi-key technology from the United States, Japan, Russia and vendor master, which the United States and Japan have reservations for crystal growth technology that is difficult to obtain key technologies from other countries, so the Taiwanese manufacturers technology mainly from Russia. Is to Chaishi pulling method (CZ) crystal growth and the Kjeldahl method (KY) as a mainstream technology, one of the most mature and most mainstream KY method, the drill rate of 40-42%, the 28 kg boules terms long grain it takes about 10 days time, and 65 kg of need 12-14 days, large kg of boules is not required to spend time much higher, but there is yield intractable problems. 

Sapphire Substrate Subdivision

1.C-Plane sapphire substrate:The most widely used, mainly for sapphire crystal

sapphire crystal

growth along the C axis mature technology, low cost, stable physical and chemical properties, so the C plane carried epitaxy technology is more mature and stable.

2.R-Plane or M-Plane of the sapphire substrate:Mainly used for growing nonpolar/semipolar GaN epitaxial film surface, in order to improve the luminous efficiency. Usually the sapphire substrate, an epitaxial film is grown along the C-axis, C-axis polar axis of GaN, GaN will occur in the quantum well active layer, a strong built-in electric field, resulting in lower emission efficiency, a nonpolar plane GaN epitaxial film may overcome this problem.

3.Patterned sapphire substrate (referred to as PSS):To grow or etching on the sapphire substrate designed to produce nano-scale microstructure pattern specific rules in order to control the output of the LED light in the form, and can also reduce the growth on sapphire substrates dislocations between GaN and improve the epitaxial quality and enhance the quality of LED internal efficiency, increase the light extraction efficiency.

LED Substrate Material Selection

Blue LED crystal growth can be sapphire and silicon carbide (SiC) as a substrate material, because the high price of

 sapphire substrate

silicon carbide substrate, so the production of GaN-based light emitting diodes, more commonly applied to the sapphire substrate. Sapphire substrate with cheap, high hardness, high temperature resistance, chemical corrosion properties, but low thermal and electrical properties, the LED poor performance, but because of the low-power LED thermal limited, so sapphire substrate at low power market advantage. 

Since the sapphire substrate itself is not electrically conductive, thus InGaN grown on the sapphire substrate above the element electrodes are fabricated using the element must be on the same side, and the SiC substrate may be electrically conductive, so do the two electrodes of the LED edge, the grains size can be reduced, thus reducing the cost of grain, making it easier to package. 

LED substrate material selection, the main consideration is that the degree of similarity of the epitaxial layer material on the substrate lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficient with the substrate, defects in the epitaxial layer as long as the lattice parameter of the substrate material and the matching degree is higher, the epitaxial layer is produced fewer. A high degree of lattice constant matching SiC substrates, more suitable for the production of GaN epitaxy, and SiC substrates in addition to the degree of lattice matching sapphire substrate is better than the outside, because the SiC semiconductor material itself, suitable for use in semiconductor processing technology processing, thus using semiconductor fabrication processes, the geometry of the silicon carbide substrate is treated to reduce the phenomenon of total internal reflection of light in the grains, the grains that the extraction efficiency can be greatly improved. 

Status of The Sapphire Substrate

In 2008 the amount of global sapphire substrate 2 one million, to October 2009

sapphire substrate

monthly amount reached 1.5 million.

Global sapphire substrate size to 2 inches highest proportion of Taiwanese manufacturers are thus based, while Japanese companies are mostly 3-inch, Korean firms are a considerable proportion of 4 inches, due to the fourth quarter of 2010 a considerable proportion of the 4-inch MOCVD machine to be delivered, will result in 4-inch board stock.

4-inch MOCVD crystal growth process has led to fragmentation rate tends to curl problem, but has been gradually overcome, expected in 2010 will be four-inch increase in the proportion of products phenomenon.

TRI statistics, 2010 LED TV market penetration rate of 20.3%, to 2014 is expected to reach 100 percent penetration, and LED-backlit LCD TV shipments increased to 260 million units in 2014. In terms of an LED-backlit LCD TV sets need 300-500 pcs LED projections, by 2014, the global TV backlight will need to use about 78 billion -1300 one hundred million LED, which is needed 710-1180 MOCVD machine has sufficient . 2010 global new MOCVD machine number of 720 units, an increase of 232% compared to 2009, while in 2010 the global number of new units MOCVD machine will eat more than the global demand for LED-backlit TV nearly 70 percent, with South Korea, Taiwan and China add up to machines, accounting for 36% of the total added respectively, 32% and 26%.

Taiwan's top five LED grain plants, Pan Jing Power Group to expand production capacity by integrating, in 2010 the number of MOCVD machine pan Epistar Group of 291 units, a leading, global Epistar 2011 new machine will then continued to increase, is expected to drive the upstream sapphire substrates and other materials ingot tight supply and demand. South Korea's Samsung and Taiwan LED makers Epistar, Formosa Epitaxy, Canton Ga, Thai Valley, etc., and China LED factory has expansion plans. Lu plant also includes Xiamen Sanan, Shanghai Sapphire, emblem of Swaziland, crystal energy, BYD, BDO Runda. According to research firm estimates that the continent in 2009 to purchase more than 200 sets of MOCVD machine, switchboard number of units to grow 1.5 times more than in 2008, the new machine is expected to come on stream in late 2010 to 2011.

2009 global LED sapphire substrate was $ 150 million value, estimated 2013 value of up to $ 392 million, 2005-2013 compound annual growth rate of 19%, mainly used in Asia as the region of the sapphire substrate, Taiwan's largest Youyi accounting for 46% of demand weighed, Korea accounted for 28%, Japan 17%.

2010 first quarter, the sapphire substrate proportion accounted for epitaxial plant costs about 10% growth in the second quarter to 14 percent, rose sharply Q3, making the sapphire substrate accounts for 15% to 20% of the adjusted cost ratio, 4Q continued price hikes, Cost proportion of about 20% to 30%.

Taiwan LED market size, 2-inch sapphire substrate specifications to estimate, in 2010 sapphire substrate with about 9 1000000-1 thousand ten thousand. Estimated in 2011 the world will have more than 1,400 sets of MOCVD, sapphire crystal rod demand is about 2300 ~ 24000000 mm demand.

LED Sapphire Substrate Areas

Market has gradually out of the past two years prices have continued to fall oversupply situation, especially by the

sapphire substrate

downstream extension of the chip industry's capacity utilization improved rapidly, sapphire substrate price is picking up in the first three quarters of this year. 

Meanwhile, based on the high-end PSS substrate process equipment and technology requirements are very high, and the majority of domestic enterprises with limited hardware processing conditions, next year will be even more obvious sapphire market polarization. In addition, with LED epitaxial chip companies gradually shift from the past 2 inches to 4 inches and other craft larger, the sapphire substrate market will be affected by this drive, market opportunities and competitive focus will gradually shift to large-sized field. 

Market volatility sapphire industry is still in the stage of many factors, the sapphire substrate enterprises should be cautious expansion, stable performance and quality of their products, a good grasp of the market rhythm.

Sapphire Substrate In Microelectronics Substrate

sapphire substrate body

GaN Epitaxial Semiconductor Substrate Body

Conventional silicon and gallium arsenide semiconductor materials were first-generation and second -generation representatives to promote the development of their microelectronics, photonics technology development , as a basis of the information technology has brought tremendous change people's lives.However, the performance limitations of the material itself , the first and second generations of semiconductor material can only work in an environment below 200 ℃ , and anti-radiation, high voltage breakdown performance and so can not meet the development of modern electronic technology for high-temperature , high-power , high-frequency , high-pressure and anti-radiation, capable of emitting blue new requirements. In this case , the choice of materials, new electronic devices launched the third generation of semiconductors, GaN and SiC wide bandgap semiconductor materials become the representative of the third generation.In the third -generation semiconductors,GaN materials, more and more people 's attention. GaN has many advantages: the band gap , high electron saturation velocity , good thermal conductivity, high breakdown electric field , low dielectric constant , good thermal stability , chemical stability . Thus, the third -generation semiconductor material properties will eventually cause them to be in the aerospace, exploration , nuclear energy development , satellite, communications, automotive engines, displays, new light source , laser printing, memory, and other fields have broad application prospects . As early as the 1970s, people began to explore the GaN growth process , but due to technical limitations material growth can not get high-quality GaN crystal. With the growth of technology development , has appeared in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and other new methods, which greatly promoted the research on GaN . Sapphire crystal as a substrate material, the GaN crystal has the same structure, with a high temperature chemical stability , thermal properties, and is easy to obtain large size and relatively cheap, etc. , although there is a big GaN lattice mismatch . With the growth of technology continues to improve , has been able to produce a quality epitaxy on sapphire
GaN crystal,( 0001 ) plane of the sapphire wafer has a practical application of the most desirable substrate material .

SOS Microelectronic Circuits

SOS (Silicon on Sapphire) microelectronic circuits , refers to the sapphire wafer ( 1-102 ) plane of a layer of a silicon single crystal grown by heteroepitaxial film , and then the silicon single crystal film technology for fabricating a semiconductor device . SOS microelectronic circuits due to having high speed, low power consumption and anti- radiation,etc.,so the watch type mobile phone , desktop or laptop computers, high-speed, high-frequency radio communications, small satellites , spacecraft , and the development of the space shuttle have a particularly important application . Sapphire and silicon have similar thermal expansion coefficient. In the ( 1-102 ) plane of the sapphire wafer and, using hetero-epitaxially grown layer method
( 100 ) plane of the silicon single crystal film , and then the silicon single crystal film fabricating a semiconductor device . Sapphire crystal structural integrity of the substrate is to guarantee access to the structural integrity of the main conditions for silicon single crystal film .

ZnO,InN,And Other Epitaxial Film Substrate Body

Temperature band gap of ZnO 3.37eV, corresponding to ultraviolet light for direct bandgap wurtzite structure Ⅱ - Ⅵ semiconductor crystals with similar semiconductor GaN, ZnS , compared , ZnO has higher exciton binding energy , and its value of 60meV, can greatly reduce the low temperature lasing threshold. Thus ZnO at room temperature or higher temperatures are expected to achieve the exciton gain, thus the low threshold to obtain short-wavelength lasers applications . Since the implementation of ZnO UV optically pumped lasing at room temperature after.

The growth of ZnO single crystal thin film , p-type doping research worldwide attracted the attention of many research groups . Sapphire by low cost and high crystal ZnO has been widely used as a substrate epitaxial layer .
In Ⅲ - Ⅴ nitride in , InN is attracting more and more attention . And GaN, AlN , compared , InN Has the smallest effective mass , in theory, has the highest carrier mobility , so that it is in high-speed micro Electronic devices has a broad application prospects. While Ⅲ - Ⅴ nitride , it also has the smallest
Direct band gap , and its value is about 0.8eV , which makes Ⅲ - Ⅴ nitride AlN emission wavelength from the ultraviolet (6.2eV) extending into the infrared region of InN (0.8eV), a light emitting device prepared in a suitable materials . However, preparation of InN single crystal is very difficult , so far people InN research is still in the initial stage , in foreign countries , Masuoka and others with MOVPE method on sapphire substrates have been the first successful single-crystal InN epitaxial film . In China, Xiao Hongling , who use radio frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (RF-MBE) method on sapphire substrate obtained crystals of good quality single crystal InN epitaxial film . Superconducting thin films such as YBa2Cu3O7 - δ (YBCO) of the microwave surface resistance Rs than conventional metal materials several orders of magnitude , can be used to design high-performance passive microwave devices, such as filters , resonators , delay lines . Sapphire crystal dielectric constant , low dielectric loss , microwave performance, mechanical strength, and thermal conductivity is high , the substrate is LaAlO3.

More than 20 times . Large areas of industrial production of sapphire single crystal materials have been relatively inexpensive price , and therefore is a good substrate material . As the ferroelectric substrate material : used ferroelectric memory , spatial light modulators, optical switches, etc. ferroelectric random access memory , infrared detectors , drive, optical modulators, displays , etc., with excellent performance compelling and use value.

Sapphire crystal as a substrate material , the demand on the international market is getting bigger, while the crystal quality and size requirements are also rising .