NEWS ANALYSIS
watt with GaN-on-sapphire devices coming in at between 150 to 180 lumens per watt. Meanwhile, at 80 to 90 lumens per watt, Madakasira asserts GaN-on-silicon LEDs are ‘way behind’. “They have not yet achieved the luminous efficacy standards that GaN-on-sapphire devices had three years ago,” she asserts. “So there might be a substrate cost benefit, but manufacturers will still need to grow complex buffer solutions and, even then, not achieve a performance that matches that of sapphire LEDs.”
“And while early stage innovators [of GaN-on-silicon] LEDs argue they will be able to catch up, you have to remember they are catching up on a moving target. GaN-on-sapphire performances will keep improving and the costs are going to keep coming down,” she adds.
Indeed, 6-inch silicon substrates may only cost $25, but the 2-inch sapphire alternative is hardly expensive at between $8 to $10. And as Madakasira points out: “We now have so many Chinese players getting into the space and making LED dies. GaN-on-sapphire is something everyone is able to make.”
So as sapphire-based LED manufacturers settle in for
a relatively secure future, where does this leave the manufacturers of GaN-on-SiC and, of course, GaN-on- silicon LEDs?
Cree, the dominant player in the GaN-on-SiC market is safe, reckons Madakasira.“This technology is very unlikely to lose out to silicon. Cree has successfully made the transition from 4-inch to 6-inch diameter wafers and is continually improving performance and bringing costs down,” she says.
Meanwhile, the analyst believes it’s time GaN-on-silicon developers started forging strategic partnerships with industry heavyweights. Azzurro recently announced its intention to licence out its GaN-on-silicon strain engineering intellectual property to LED manufacturers, while Bridgelux forged such a relationship with Toshiba some months ago now.
“Azzurro has made a smart move... and I think the way Bridgelux has formed its partnership is the way to go,” she says. “For start-ups in this space, you need to have these critical, strategic partnerships or you really are going to go nowhere.”
August / September 2013
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