More than 100 companies now produce high-brightness (HB) LEDs at various levels of the vertical supply chain, according to a recent study by Strategies Unlimited reported in Compound Semiconductor.net.

While the $3.7 billion market for packaged HB-LEDs (the figure for 2004) was dominated by just a handful of key suppliers, there is still room for new companies to fill niches with novel device packaging or structures, says the report.

Bob Steele, the analyst company’s director of optoelectronics programs, says that out of a total of 30 companies selling epitaxial wafers and/or HB-LED chips into the market in 2004, the top three suppliers accounted for over half of the sales of these materials.

In the latest report, Steele adds that the HB-LED industry is yet to become highly integrated. Out of the 74 companies analyzed, only 12 are vertically integrated from epiwafers and chip production through to the packaging stage.

And while 26 of the companies profiled in the report produce only epiwafers or chips, this does not represent the biggest single group, with 36 firms identified to be purchasing chips and producing packaged HB-LEDs.

Asia remains the dominant geographical region in terms of production, accounting for 76% of the packaged HB-LED market and 57% of merchant epiwafer and chip sales in 2004.

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