Analysis: LED lighting industry, market cold phenomenon

It is not excessive to describe China's LED lighting industry in full swing, but it is undeniable that China's LED lighting is a hot industry and the market is cold. Why is there such a flaw? This is because, compared with existing high-efficiency light sources, current high-power LED lighting fixtures do not have obvious energy-saving advantages, and initial investment costs are much higher. High currents increase the efficiency of light while also turning into heat energy. If the heat treatment is not good, it will greatly reduce the life of the LED, and increase the cost and volume of the heat sink, so that the advantages of the LED light source disappear. Therefore, all the LED technology that cannot meet the requirements of the lighting market has caused trouble.

LED luminous efficiency is divided into internal and external quantum efficiency, for the internal quantum efficiency of up to 80% or even 90%, while the external quantum efficiency due to the inability to effectively emit photons, LED heat absorption caused by the resulting increase in junction temperature, while reducing the internal The quantum effect, this should be the reason why the overall luminous efficiency of the LED only reaches the general level of traditional lighting. Therefore, finding the balance between the two is an effective way to achieve scientific luminous efficiency. The improvement of LED luminous efficiency will directly reduce the cost of LED particles.

At present, most white LED applications are straight-lined tubes with a size of less than 60mW. Because this packaging process will cause severe heat dissipation, it is only suitable for the application of indicator lights. Nowadays, the 3528 SMD package occupies the main position of the LED lamp, but more than 70% of the cost is used for the cost and processing of the aluminum heat sink, making the high cost of the SMD package hinder the popularity of LED lighting.

At present, the cost of LED packaging accounts for 50%. To reduce the overall cost of LEDs, we must choose a more appropriate package structure. Therefore, changing the existing packaging structure and achieving reasonable packaging costs will be the most effective LED lighting market acceptance. The most direct way. Of course, LED chips with process and shipment volume increase and larger-size wafer fabrication processes are also constantly reducing costs. In recent years, the annual reduction rate is 20%, if we can reduce the current packaging cost from the total cost. The 50% reduction to 20% to 30%, LED lighting applications will reach a new order of magnitude market size.

At present, LED chips account for about 15% of the cost of the entire luminaire. However, only a handful of LED chips that can actually save energy than traditional light sources are available. The thermal design, constant current power supply, voltage regulator design, and overall control technology are also technical issues that must be resolved before LED lighting is popularized and applied. Currently, heat dissipation and reliability are the limiting factors in the life cycle of LED lighting products. The first one is to minimize the path between the LED chip and the heat sink, and the second is to have enough heat dissipation paths to reduce the heat dissipation resistance.

The technical trend of LED lighting, mainstream light source should be the use of CoB (chiponboard) package dedicated white LED module, according to the optical requirements of the CoB package, while also reducing the cost of secondary optical design. CoB packaged LED module on the backplane

The installation of a plurality of LED chips, the use of multiple chips can not only improve the brightness, but also help to achieve the scientific and rational configuration of LED chips, reduce the input current of a single LED chip to ensure high efficiency.

Distributed constant current technology, continuously optimize the "LED constant current drive light source" overall solution, and continuously increase the luminous efficiency of LED modules. At the same time, miniaturized switching power supplies, continuous optimization of heat dissipation design, and improved sealing of LED modules improve heat dissipation capabilities. All these are the necessary technical conditions for the growth of the LED lighting market. It is rude to say that power supply is the weakest link in LED lighting and seriously affects the quality level of LED lamps. The quality of many domestic companies has indeed improved. It's time.

It is not excessive to describe China's LED lighting industry in full swing, but it is undeniable that China's LED lighting is a hot industry and the market is cold. Why is there such a flaw? This is because, compared with existing high-efficiency light sources, current high-power LED lighting fixtures do not have obvious energy-saving advantages, and initial investment costs are much higher. High currents increase the efficiency of light while also turning into heat energy. If the heat treatment is not good, it will greatly reduce the life of the LED, and increase the cost and volume of the heat sink, so that the advantages of the LED light source disappear. Therefore, all the LED technology that cannot meet the requirements of the lighting market has caused trouble.

LED luminous efficiency is divided into internal and external quantum efficiency, for the internal quantum efficiency of up to 80% or even 90%, while the external quantum efficiency due to the inability to effectively emit photons, LED heat absorption caused by the resulting increase in junction temperature, while reducing the internal The quantum effect, this should be the reason why the overall luminous efficiency of the LED only reaches the general level of traditional lighting. Therefore, finding the balance between the two is an effective way to achieve scientific luminous efficiency. The improvement of LED luminous efficiency will directly reduce the cost of LED particles.

At present, most white LED applications are straight-lined tubes with a size of less than 60mW. Because this packaging process will cause severe heat dissipation, it is only suitable for the application of indicator lights. Nowadays, the 3528 SMD package occupies the main position of the LED lamp, but more than 70% of the cost is used for the cost and processing of the aluminum heat sink, making the high cost of the SMD package hinder the popularity of LED lighting.

At present, the cost of LED packaging accounts for 50%. To reduce the overall cost of LEDs, we must choose a more appropriate package structure. Therefore, changing the existing packaging structure and achieving reasonable packaging costs will be the most effective LED lighting market acceptance. The most direct way. Of course, LED chips with process and shipment volume increase and larger-size wafer fabrication processes are also constantly reducing costs. In recent years, the annual reduction rate is 20%, if we can reduce the current packaging cost from the total cost. The 50% reduction to 20% to 30%, LED lighting applications will reach a new order of magnitude market size.

At present, LED chips account for about 15% of the cost of the entire luminaire. However, only a handful of LED chips that can actually save energy than traditional light sources are available. The thermal design, constant current power supply, voltage regulator design, and overall control technology are also technical issues that must be resolved before LED lighting is popularized and applied. Currently, heat dissipation and reliability are the limiting factors in the life cycle of LED lighting products. The first one is to minimize the path between the LED chip and the heat sink, and the second is to have enough heat dissipation paths to reduce the heat dissipation resistance.

The technical trend of LED lighting, mainstream light source should be the use of CoB (chiponboard) package dedicated white LED module, according to the optical requirements of the CoB package, while also reducing the cost of secondary optical design. CoB packaged LED module on the backplane

The installation of a plurality of LED chips, the use of multiple chips can not only improve the brightness, but also help to achieve the scientific and rational configuration of LED chips, reduce the input current of a single LED chip to ensure high efficiency.

Distributed constant current technology, continuously optimize the "LED constant current drive light source" overall solution, and continuously increase the luminous efficiency of LED modules. At the same time, miniaturized switching power supplies, continuous optimization of heat dissipation design, and improved sealing of LED modules improve heat dissipation capabilities. All these are the necessary technical conditions for the growth of the LED lighting market. It is rude to say that power supply is the weakest link in LED lighting and seriously affects the quality level of LED lamps. The quality of many domestic companies has indeed improved. It's time.

Making costs down and making technology mature is a matter of the entire industry chain. The upper, middle and lower reaches of the LED industry chain are epitaxial materials and chip processing, product devices and module packaging, display and lighting applications, respectively.

LED epitaxial wafers and chips account for about 70% of the industry's profits, LED packaging accounts for about 10% to 20%, LED applications account for about 10% to 20%. Statistics show that China's semiconductor lighting production enterprises more than 3,000, of which 70% concentrated in the downstream of the industry, domestic LED epitaxial materials, chip mainly in the middle and low, more than 80% of power-based LED chips, devices rely on imports.

In recent years, the government has used Isaac's pepper noodles to build a number of LED lighting industry bases. However, China's LED industry fever is still at the cost of 70% of Chinese people competing for 10% to 20% of LED's profit share. This means that if a foreign company controlling the LED core technology is not eager to lower the cost of LED, the Chinese LED industry that gathers LED downstream can only make a low price at the expense of their own profits and allow the market to heat up, but there is no downstream technology support. Products, even if the price is cheaper, how many people dare to use it.

In addition, LED lighting development resistance in addition to its own technology, specifications, heat dissipation and price factors, CFL energy-saving lamps, fluorescent lamp technology is also developing, office lighting system, T5 lamp luminous efficiency has reached 100lm / W level , CFL energy-saving lamps also have 3W specifications of ultra-compact products come out, from the current LED and energy-saving lamps in terms of cost, the popularity of LED lighting still has a long way to go.

Due to the relatively low capital and technical requirements for downstream packaging and applications, at present, more than 80% of LED companies in China have only low-end packaging services, while upstream industries such as LED chips and epitaxial wafers have high technical and financial requirements. Less involved companies, development is lagging behind. As equipment accounts for almost 2/3 of the total cost of the entire LED production line, this is also the main reason why LED products are difficult to reduce. On January 8, 2010, China's first self-developed MOCVD equipment was put on the line by Guangdong Zhaoxin Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. After passing the next four months of data testing, it will enter the mass production phase of the equipment.

It is understood that buffered distributed injection reaction chambers, integrated ALD and CVD process technologies and MOCVD electric field-assisted growth are the innovations of the Zhaoxin Semiconductor MOCVD equipment. Using the BDS reaction chamber, the combination of central radiation flow and vertical spray flow absorbs the laminar flow of the planetary reaction chamber, eliminating the need for the complex motion of the planetary reaction chamber. The gas flow pattern used can accurately achieve the instantaneous switching of the reaction gas. It can realize the switching of the reaction gas source from continuous to pulse injection while keeping the flow field of the chamber constant. Heating furnace body adopts multi-zone resistance sheet infrared radiation heating method, each heating area can be controlled independently, which can realize uniform control of large-area temperature and obtain a wider range of heating temperature area. The control system adopts the network architecture to realize the real-time control of sensors and actuators; according to different epitaxial processes, the sensitivity of real-time performance is targeted to ensure the repeatability and stability of production.

Headquartered in Nanchang, GaN-on-SiMOCVD growth technology of crystal energy photoelectric recently developed a 1×1mm chip cold white LED, light output at 350mA current over 100 lumens. The vast majority of LED production today is the deposition of multi-layer GaN films on a sapphire or silicon carbide substrate, and Crystal Energy believes that LEDs based on silicon substrate growth will have greater potential for cost savings and control, and performance in the slightest As much as the LED made by traditional processes, Crystal Energy claims that its high-power InGaN LED based on silicon substrate performance is similar to that of LEDs grown on traditional substrates. It is reported that the company currently uses small-sized die (200micron) for the display area. ) has entered the mass production phase.

With China's governments at all levels seeing LED lighting as a new economic growth point, coupled with China's own technological advancement, overseas LED investors who have entered China mainly with back-end applications and packaging have begun to touch on high-end technology projects. Recently, Xu Rui Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. has invested USD 350 million in LED epitaxial wafer projects to lay the foundation for Nanhai Economic Development Zone in Foshan City. Specializing in the design and production of LED epitaxial, high-brightness and high-power chips. It is expected that after the completion of the third phase of investment in 2013, Xurui Optoelectronics will have more than 100 MOCVD machines, capable of simultaneously producing 4-inch, 6-inch LED epitaxial wafers and high power, High-brightness LED chip, luminous efficiency greater than 135lm / W, fully put into production after the monthly output of 380 million LED chips.

It is reported that Xu Ruiguang's main shareholder, the US-based SemiLED, is the only company in the world that can mass-produce metal base vertical structure chips.

Compared with other LED products, metal base vertical structure LED has better electrical performance and thermal conductivity, can increase brightness and luminous efficiency, and belongs to the next generation of general lighting LED technology.

The government took the lead in applying LED lighting technology to promote industrialization. According to Li Wenbo, deputy director of Putuo District Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai, Shanghai LED semiconductor lighting R&D and application center in Putuo District, Shanghai was established in September 2006 with the principle of “government guidance, social participation, and enterprise-oriented” as its operation management model, focusing on technology research and development. , testing and inspection, demonstration bases and industrial agglomeration work in four areas. At present, the center has successfully established an LED inspection and inspection platform, and actively promoted the establishment and implementation of LED standards; the successful construction of the "Suzhou River landscape lighting application project", "Putuo District government agencies courtyard lighting transformation application project" and "Putuo District The first batch of three LED application demonstration (test) bases, including the Library's New Hall Interior Lighting Application Project. Li Wenbo said that in October 2009, the National Development and Reform Commission jointly with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance and other six ministries released the "semiconductor lighting energy development opinion", for China's semiconductor lighting industry has established a clear direction of development. Shanghai will lead the application of LED technology through the government, through the construction of Shanghai LED Application Center to serve Shanghai, the Yangtze River Delta region and even the country's open, LED public service platform, in order to speed up the process of LED lighting applications.