30 December 2010

Taiwan’s Lextar produces 6-inch LED epiwafers

Lextar Electronics Corp of Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan, a subsidiary of display panel maker AU Optronics (AUO) that manufactures high-brightness LED epiwafers, chips and packages, has produced its first 6-inch LED epitaxial wafer, while LED epiwafer & chipmaker Epistar Corp is expected to adopt 6-inch wafers in its production process in mid-2011, reports Digitimes.

Some industry players note that costs for 6-inch wafer production remains high, and mass production may not yet be economical. However, Lextar says that, by using new-generation equipment with special focus exposure and grinding technologies, it has been able to overcome problems such as warping or cracking in the 6-inch production process. Nevertheless, the firm expects to start mass production on 6-inch wafers only in second-half 2011.

Chairman David Su noted previously that Lextar will set up a 6-inch production plant at the end of 2011, as most LED players in Europe and Japan have already started to adopt 6-inch production equipment, while Korea-based LED makers are also focusing on expanding 6-inch equipment, and only Taiwan still remains at 2-inch production.

The number of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors at Lextar reached 50 at the end of third-quarter 2010, and was expected to rise to 70–80 at the end of the year (mainly 4-inch models), as the firm aims to become the largest production base for 4-inch wafers in Taiwan.

Epistar says that currently 50% of its capacity is from 4-inch equipment, but it is scheduled to start small-volume production on 6-inch equipment in mid-2011. However, the time-frame for mass production on 6-inch wafers remains unclear due to issues such as yields and the high cost of 6-inch sapphire substrates, says Digitimes.

See related items:

Lextar’s revenue grows 82% in Q2, driven by LED backlighting

Tags: Lextar Epistar LEDs MOCVD

Visit: www.lextar.com

Visit: www.epistar.com.tw

Visit: www.digitimes.com/print/a20101223PD220.html