As a listed company that ranks second in China in terms of production capacity of LED epitaxial chips, HC Semitek, which is entering its tenth year, is making progress in capacity expansion, new product development, cost control and so on.
“HC Semitek insists on its concentration on chips and will not expand the entire industrial chain. Our goal is to become a professional chip supplier for producing high-quality LED epitaxial wafers and chips. Chinese LED packaging and application companies got off to an early start. We hope to harness the professional division of labor in the industrial chain for effective market allocation, maximize the efficiency of the overall industrial chain, produce more products in line with market needs, and endeavor to stabilize its market share in the LED chip industry,” said Bian Difei, Vice President of HC Semitek, at the 2015 GG LED annual conference.
According to the forecast data by the GG Industry Institute (GGII), the total volume of China’s LED sector in 2015 stood at 396.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.1%. The output value of LED chips is expected to reach 13 billion yuan, up by 8% over last year.
GGII data shows that the uptime rate of chip companies in 2015 is very high, at over 85%. Top five chip companies including HC Semitek and Tongfang occupy 65% of the market share, and the industry sees rapid concentration. The chip market structure is gradually becoming clear, with the market share concentrated in the hands of several large companies.
Since last year, as chip producers such as San’an Optoelectronics, HC Semitek, and Aucksun are scaling up production capacity, coupled with a significant slowdown in growth for LED lighting demand and intensifying industry competition, chip companies – as the upstream player in the LED lighting industry chain – can feel this pressure.
Under the unfavorable situation of falling prices in LED chips, HC Semitek copes with new changes in the market through innovative means such as technology R&D and cost control. Flip chips are pivotal in the grand scheme of things for HC Semitek.
Flip-chips have been used for a long time in the international market. The United States and South Korea markets can achieve good harmonization in chips and packaging, and apply them to medium and large backlight displays. However, the packaging market is not yet mature, and the packaging methods and uses by client are diversified. Further exploration and optimization are required.
“Flip-chip technology is relatively mature, with improvements in luminous efficiency. it has entered the phase of large capacity. Flip chip LED shipments can reach 32% in 2019,” said Bian Difei. Flip-chips can be widely applied to market segments such as general Lighting, special photo, high power devices, flash, projection, and medium and large backlight displays.
Speaking of the advantages of flip chips, Bian Difei believes that LED flip chips have lower chip thermal resistance (for super current), and better light extraction (high efficiency), without gold wires (integrated, high density).
It is reported that HC Semitek’s flip chip boasts unique technical advantages. Firstly, it adopts P-type reflective electrode without generating Ag migration, and the chip is more stable and reliable. It boasts good welding spot preparation process. The optimized electrode structure greatly cuts the voltage and boosts luminous efficiency. The luminous efficiency of HC Semitek’s flip chips can reach 180lm/W.
“HC Semitek has mass production capacity of 20,000 pieces of flip chips per month (2 inches), and reach capacity of 100,000 pieces per month (2 inches) in 2016,” said Bian Difei. HC Semitek is working with customers to tap the flip-chip market according to customization needs.
