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LED Makers Branch Out Into Next-generation LED Markets 2005/05/30 By Joo Sang-don In search of new gold mine, domestic light emitting diode (LED) makers, including Seoul Semiconductor, Lumimicro and Daejin DMP, are branching out into next-generation LED markets such as light sources for automobiles, LCD backlight units and commercial lighting systems. The move of these companies came as prices of blue and white LEDs used for mobile phones fell to the level threatening minimum profit margins due to offensive marketing drive of rivals in Taiwan and China. "Now we can expect little from the market for blue and white LEDs used for mobile handsets. Exploration of new application markets including those for white LEDs with brightness higher than 1W seems to be the only breakthrough," said Jeong Won-yeong, executive director at Lumimicro. Industry observers anticipate that LEDs will be adopted in backlight units of LCD panels earlier than expected, and demand for LEDs used for automotive gauge boards and brake lights will surge by more than 50% annually. Demand for LEDs for commercial systems such as signboards and neon signs also increases fast. Boosted by such growing demand for next-generation products, these LED manufacturers are girding for supply of new high brightness products that can be adopted for a variety of applications. Seoul Semiconductor developed a high power LED, `Z-Power LED` and an LED lamp used for lighting of households by connecting directly to AC power source. The company began supplying `Z-Power LED` to an automobile maker last year, and it plans to commercialize the consumer LED lamp in the near future. Having developed a 1W power LED chip in size of 1mm, Lumimicro is giving a big push into automobile and consumer market. Daejin DMP also recently unveiled a new LED lamp, `XLEDs` that can be used as consumer lighting system without a converter. "Competition is anticipated to be heated in the market for LEDs used for vehicles and commercial lighting systems between home-grown LED manufacturers and multinationals such as Lumilighting, Oslam, Nichia and Agilent Technology," said an industry observer.