Taiwanese LED Chipmakers to Up Output Amid Strong LCD TV Sales

Taiwan`s light-emitting diode (LED) chipmakers are planning to boost output next year to keep up with strong demand for liquid-crystal display televisions (LCD TV) lit with LEDs.

Industry watchers estimate shipments of LED-lit LCD TVs to top 15-20 million systems worldwide next year, likely straining supplies of high-bright blue chips, which are essential for making white-light backlight modules.

Executives of chipmaker Epistar Corp estimate Taiwanese chipmakers will need to add 200 more metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) chambers as a whole next year to relieve excessive demands. They think each machine can put out five to six million chips, bringing the total output of the 200 machines to 1-1.2 billion chips a month and 12-14.4 billion chips a year. They calculate that LED TVs will need an additional number of 12.5 billion high-bright blue chips throughout next year.

However, the company`s executives expect only 150 new chambers will join the production at most.

Epistar is said to add 70 new machines to production lines next year and have booked 30 new machines. Industry watchers estimate the company can afford to buy 100 new machines in consideration of the NT$18 billion in cash it has now.

Formosa Epitaxy Inc plans to add 30 MOCVD chambers next year while Tekcore Corp. is raising capital to increase the number of machines to 34 next year from 24. Huga Optotech Inc. plans to buy 10 new machines this year and increase the number to 58 next year from this year`s 55.

Huga has co-founded a joint venture in Taiwan with Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd to make backlight chips for LCD TVs and notebook computers.

Source: CENS