27 October 2011

Rubicon ships 200,000th large-diameter sapphire wafer

Rubicon Technology Inc of Bensenville, IL, USA, which makes monocrystalline sapphire substrates and products for the LED, RFIC, semiconductor and optical industries, says that it has shipped a total of 200,000 six-inch sapphire wafers to the LED manufacturing industry.

Rubicon says that it was instrumental in the development of large-diameter sapphire wafers for use in the RFIC market and further developed the process to serve other markets requiring large-diameter sapphire wafers, such as LED lighting and other semiconductor applications.

“Rubicon has significantly more experience in producing large-diameter sapphire wafers than any of our competitors,” believes president & CEO Raja Parvez. “LED manufacturers understand that migration to a large-diameter sapphire wafer platform offers an opportunity to achieve production and cost efficiencies,” he adds. “This is increasingly important as LED manufacturers seek to reduce costs throughout the LED manufacturing process to help the industry lower prices of LED-based lighting and encourage adoption worldwide.” 

Bringing down the price of LEDs is a key element in supporting the worldwide commercial adoption of solid-state lighting based on LEDs as a light source. Government entities around the world including Australia, Canada and the USA have introduced legislation to require energy-efficient lighting. The transition to larger-diameter wafers in LED production has started, with several key LED chip makers having announced plans to migrate to and/or test large diameter wafers in 2011/2012, notes Rubicon. 

“There is significant large-diameter wafer activity among LED manufacturers, with nearly a half dozen working with six-inch in some way,” comments Dr Philippe Roussel, LED senior project manager at market research firm Yole Developpement. “By 2016, our research projects that large-diameter wafers measuring six inches and greater will capture more than 50% of the market.” 

According to market research firm DisplaySearch, TV applications currently dominate the LED market, but LED lighting will capture the lead by 2014. The LED lighting penetration rate was 1.4% in 2010 and will reach 9.6% in 2014, with growth due to government incentive programs plus commercial applications and consumer adoption worldwide, forecasts the firm.

Tags: Rubicon Sapphire substrates

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