US-based sapphire ingot producer GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) has applied for bankruptcy protection possibly because its HEM technology-based ingot growing process has seen much lower than expected yield rates at only about 40%, according to sources with Taiwan-based sapphire suppliers.
And processing sapphire ingots into display covers smartphones is also unlikely to have reached a high enough yield rate, the sources said. Possibly because of insufficient output and high cost arising from low yield rates, Apple has finally given up using sapphire covers for its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which has plunged GTAT into financial troubles, the sources speculated.
However, GTAT's bankruptcy will not deter Apple from using sapphire covers on its Watch, because besides GTAT, there are two other suppliers, South Korea-based Hansol Technics and China-based Harbin Aurora Optoelectronics Technology, the sources said.
