Nov 18 2013
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "UV LED Technology & Application Trends Report 2013: UV LEDs Should Become a $270M Business By 2017" report to their offering.
THANKS TO UV CURING, UV LEDs SHOULD BECOME A $270M BUSINESS BY 2017 - AND COULD HIT $300M IF NEW APPLICATIONS BOOM
Concerning UVC applications, they are still in their infancy and their sales are mainly for R&D purposes and analytic instruments like spectrophotometers. But given some newly published results (increase of EQE over 10%, etc.) and the recent commercialization of the world's first UVC LED-based disinfection system (2012), the market should kick into gear within the next two years.
In addition to traditional applications (UV lamps replacement), and due to their unique properties (compactness, higher lifetime, robustness, etc.), UV LEDs are also creating new applications that aren't accessible to traditional UV lamps, i.e. apps that are miniaturized and portable. In 2012, several new UV LED-based products were launched, including cell phone disinfection systems, nail gel curing systems and miniaturized counterfeit money detectors - and this is likely to continue! We estimate that if new UV LED applications continue emerging, the associated business could represent nearly $30M by 2017, which would increase the overall UV LED market size to nearly $300M.
2012 to 2017 UV LED market size
The report also presents an analysis of emerging UV LED applications, detailing: short-term applications that have already begun emerging, UV LED Concept Knowledge theory, and more.
ONCE UVC LED PERFORMANCE IS SUFFICIENT, THE SUPPLY CHAIN BATTLE WILL INTENSIFY
In the end, every UV LED device/system manufacturer faces the same technical issues when it comes to integrating UV LEDs into a system (thermal management, optics, etc.), but experience is gained with each passing year. Once UVC LEDs achieve sufficient performance, there's no way a manufacturer will allow the opportunity to pass them by. When that moment comes, the whole supply chain will become a mess due to an increasingly competitive environment, and consolidation will be necessary.
BULK AlN VS. AlN ON SAPPHIRE TEMPLATE: NO CURRENT WINNER
Correlation between wavelength and Al content in active layer
Right now, the debate is still on! And even if bulk AlN's superior performance has been demonstrated by companies such as Crystal-IS and HexaTech, the associated cost (2.5x to 4x more compared to AlN on Sapphire template) still remains an obstacle to developing UVC LEDs at a reasonable price.
Indeed, such a situation has already occurred with GaN substrate for visible LEDs. Bulk GaN was the ideal technical candidate, but cost was too high and sapphire was widely adopted instead. Will UV LEDs meet the same fate?
In addition to substrate issues for UVC LED development, epitaxy represents another challenge for increasing device performance. Such barriers will have to be surpassed before we see commercialized UV LED-based disinfection/purification systems.
Key Topics Covered:
1. Traditional UV lamp business
2. UV Lamp vs. UV LED
3. UVA / UVB Applications
4. UVC applications
5. UV LED market
6. UV LED industry
7. UV LED Performance Roadmap
8. UV LED substrates
9. New Applications of UV LEDs
10. General Conclusion
11. UV Industry - Company Profiles of Major Players
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/pvkz87/uv_led_technology
Source: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/