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LED Demand Increase Spurs Sapphire Production Expansion Trend in 2014, says Trendforce
Increased demands from the LED and backlight application market have spurred sapphire manufacturers to expand sapphire ingot, sapphire wafer, and PSS production, according to the recent 2014 Global Sapphire Substrate Market Report from LEDinside, a division of research organization Trendforce.
Sapphire ingot equipment production capacity (TIE) in 2013 was 145 million millimeters per year. Booming LED market demands starting in the first half of 2014 lead to a supply squeeze in ingot, causing prices to rise slightly. Moreover, several manufacturers restarted expansion plans due to increased demand for sapphire material used in optics application. It is estimated that sapphire ingot equipment production capacity will increase 53 percent YoY to 222 million millimeters per year in 2014.
In terms of sapphire substrate, manufacturers are optimistic about market demand and have been actively expanding cut and polish production. With consideration to market demand and tax rate, Taiwanese manufacturers Crystalwise, Tera Xtal Technology, and Crystal Applied Technology have set their sights on expanding production in China. Global sapphire substrate output value for LED application in 2013 was US $549 million and is anticipated to increase to US $934 by 2016.
PSS manufacturers have benefited from Taiwanese and Chinese LED wafer manufacturers’ introduction of PSS en mass. Manufacturers including Ridgetech, Crystalwise, Zhejiang Crystal-Optech, and Sino Nitride Semiconductor have seen good performance after switching from 2 inch to 4 inch wafer production. PSS market output value has increased 8 percent from US $656 million in 2013. The continued increase in manufacturers introducing PSS and rise in large size wafer production volume will drive up PSS market output value to US $1.1 billion by 2016, said LEDinside.
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