GaN leds find silicon base
GaN-on-silicon leds will account for 40% of all GaN leds manufactured by 2020, says IHS.
According to a report from the market analyst, 95% of GaN leds made in 2013 will be based on sapphire wafers, but annual growth of 69% will see the proportion of silicon based products – such as the example from Plessey in the photograph – rise from 1% to 40%.
Manufacturing GaN-on-silicon, says IHS, is a relatively easy and inexpensive step for existing silicon-based manufacturing, while making large sapphire ingots is a difficult process.
"There is a large pre-existing industry for silicon based manufacturing that is leveraged to create economies of scale and reduce the cost of an led," said Dkins Cho, senior analyst for lighting and leds at IHS.
Image courtsy of imec.
