CONNECTING THE COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR COMMUNITY
March 2012 Volume 18 Number 2
Editor-in-Chief David Ridsdale
+44 (0)1923 690200
Consultant Editor Richard Stevenson PhD
richardstevenson@angelbc.co.uk +44 (0)1291 629640
News Editor
Dr.Su Westwater
suwestwater@angelbc.co.uk
Director of SOLAR & IC Publishing Jackie Cannon
+44 (0)1923 690205
Account Managers Robin Halder
+44 (0)2476 718109 Shehzad Munshi
+44 (0)1923 690215
USA Representatives Brun Media Tom Brun
Tel: 724 539-2404 Janice Jenkins
Tel: 724-929-3550
Director of Logistics Sharon Cowley
+44 (0)1923 690200
Design & Production Manager Mitchell Gaynor
+44 (0)1923 690214
Circulation Director Jan Smoothy
+44 (0)1923 690200
Subscriptions Manager Debbie Higham
+44 (0)1923 690220
Chief Operating Officer Stephen Whitehurst
stephen.whitehurst@angelbc.com +44 (0)2476 718970
Directors
Bill Dunlop Uprichard – CEO Stephen Whitehurst – COO Jan Smoothy – CFO Jackie Cannon, Scott Adams, Sharon Cowley, Sukhi Bhadal
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Compound Semiconductor is published eight times a year on a controlled circulation basis. Non-qualifying individuals can subscribe at: £105.00/€158 pa (UK & Europe), £138.00 pa (air mail), $198 pa (USA).Cover price £4.50. All information herein is believed to be correct at time of going to press. The publisher does not accept responsibility for any errors and omissions. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. Every effort has been made to obtain copyright permission for the material contained in this publication. Angel Business Communications Ltd will be happy to acknowledge any copyright oversights in a subsequent issue of the
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US mailing information: Compound Semiconductor (ISSN 1096-598X) is published 8 times a year Jan/Feb, March, April/May, June, July,August/September, October, November/December for a subscription of $198 by Angel Business Communications Ltd, Hannay House, 39 Clarendon Road,Watford, Herts WD17 1JA, UK. Periodicals postage paid at Rahway,NJ. POSTMASTER: send address changes to: Compound Semiconductor, c/o Mercury International Ltd, 365 Blair Road,Avenel, NJ 07001
Printed by: Pensord Press. ISSN 1096-598X (Print) ISSN 2042-7328 (Online) © Copyright 2012.
debbie.higham@angelbc.com
Back in late of 2010 I spent £35 on a 40 W replacement, warm-white LED light bulb made by Philips. It’s great: It emits a good colour, operates instantly at full brightness and is still going strong. But even if I was willing to use 40 W equivalent bulbs throughout my house, I would not be willing to pay the substantial upfront costs.
LED light bulb prices are falling fast and I’ve been keeping my eye out for a bargain. So I was delighted when I spotted 60 W equivalent bulbs made by SimplyLED that sell for £14.99 and draws just 5 W. I snapped one up straight away.
But when I plugged it in, my delight turned to anger. The cool-white bulb that I ordered appears to give out less light than the Philips bulb!
Obviously I’m unable to confirm my suspicions because I have no equipment at home for measuring the lumen output. And I may have been unlucky and had a duff bulb. But after paying out £15, surely I have every right to expect a high-quality product every time?
Despite this unfortunate experience, I am still optimistic for the future of LED lighting. For starters, chipmakers are coming out with ever-more-appealing products, such as the high- voltage warm-white LED chipsets made by Epistar, which combine blue and red LEDs in a manner that ensures low colour temperature, high efficacy, and good colour mixing (read more about this on page 38).
What’s more, efforts at making LEDs-on-silicon are accelerating, with other companies following in the footsteps of the US trailblazer Bridgelux. Osram has started pilot production of this product on 6-inch silicon, and Epistar and LG Siltron are heading in the same direction by placing orders for Veeco MOCVD tools.
So there’s a good chance that LED bulbs can catch on, by combining low cost with high quality. But the road to success could well be a rocky one.
Richard Stevenson PhD Consultant Editor
March 2012
www.compoundsemiconductor.net 3
jan.smoothy@
angelbc.com
In the nascent LED light bulb market, there are fears that attractively priced, poor performing products could put people off this technology. And I have anecdotal evidence to back this up.
mitch.gaynor@
angelbc.com sharon.cowley@
angelbc.com
Later on prices fall. In an ideal world, that’s due to economies of scale. But in some cases its increased competition in the market place, which spurs some firms to cut prices by cutting corners.
robin.halder@angelbc.com shehzad.munshi@
angelbc.com jackie.cannon@
angelbc.com david.ridsdale@angelbc.com
editorialview
LED bulbs: The good, the bad and the ugly NEW technologies always command high prices. That’s partly because a hefty price tag is
E:
tbrun@brunmedia.com E:
jjenkins@brunmedia.com
needed to ensure that the manufacturer claws back some of the money that they invested in bringing their new gizmo to market. But it’s also a sensible move from a profit perspective, because a small band of early adopters are generally willing to pay over the odds to get their hands on exciting new products.
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