Since most of the silicon device markets are still in a depressed mode, the billion dollar plus, high brightness LED market, led by worldwide growth in most of its segments, continues to be the star performer of the semiconductor industry (see Figure 1). Such was the story presented to over 200 attendees at this year's Strategies in Light Conference, as a full recovery in LED growth from the 2ool stagnation appears to have occurred. This popular annual forum is provided by Strategies Unlimited, research unit of Pennwell Publishing and included exhibitors with many state of the art products. Light Emitting Diodes stars of the show Hea!thy High-Brightness-LED market growth In this bright compound semiconductor market, Bob Steele (fl'om Strategies) repnrted a 2002 average market growth of S0% to $1 .Sbn, up from the stagnant 2001 wdue of $1.2bn. This 50% growth in value occurred in spite of declining unit prices and is an average of the highest growth rate of 114% fi)r the largest segment (mobile appliances such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cameras) and a combined growth rate of 27% lot the remaining market segments. ()ver two thirds of the 2002 high brightness LED (ttBLED) market value were based on gallium nitride technolog B with about 25% on AllnGaE the remainder on AIGaAs or multi-chip devices.This value distribution reflects the higher prices per chip (usually 3x and higher) obtained by galliumnitridc-based blue, green and white LEDs, although at this time, AIInGaP unit w)lumes are highei: The rapid increase in the number of white I,ED manufacturers illustrate the high growth rates in the gallium nitride segment, which grew Dora two producers in 2001 to at least nine in 2002 and arc listed in'lable 1.
Key.applications --mobile appuances
The number of blue and green HBI,ED manufacturers (nitride based) also grew rapidly in 2002, fuelled in particular by a rapid addition of 'laiwanese lII-nitride chip producer capacit~