According to relevant data display , Mini LED applications will rise in the second half of 2018, LED epitaxial wafers and chip maker Epistar will also begin selling in the third quarter or fourth quarter of 2018 for smartphone backlighting and ultra-fine pixel pitch monitor Mini LED.
Epistar also revealed that it is currently testing LCD TV backlight Mini LED chip The application, but due to the lack of appropriate local dimming driver IC, its development is not yet mature.
It is estimated that between 2017 and 2023, the average annual compound growth rate of the LED industry will reach 8%, mainly due to the growth of Mini LED and MicroLED. The global Mini LED and MicroLED module will also reach US$4 billion in output value, including Mini LED and MicroLED chip The output value will be as high as 400 million U.S. dollars.
Epistar expects the Mini LED to account for 30-40% of its total capacity in 2020 and plans to start producing MicroLEDs by 2020.
As Chinese manufacturers gradually increase their new production capacity since the end of 2017, LED chips have a tendency of oversupply. LED backlight The demand will bottom out in the second quarter of 2018 and then rebound in the next quarter.
Due to the strong demand from local government outdoor LED lighting projects in China, Epistar has fully utilized AlGaInP LED chip production capacity and plans to expand its production capacity by 25%. At present, the income ratio of AlGaInP LED has risen to 40%.
At the same time, Epistar is testing VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) diodes for 3D sensors and may begin small-scale trial production in the fourth quarter.
Epistar expects future business growth will come from filament bulbs, lamps, outdoor and commercial lighting, plant growth lighting, automotive exterior and interior lighting, infrared LED sensing, ultra-fine pixel pitch displays, and Mini LED and MicroLED applications.
