The LED industry after entering into the lighting era still continues to face pressure to lower prices. LED manufacturers have thus begun competitively pushing their way into package free chip development. Manufacturers like Philips Lumileds, Toshiba, TSMS Solid State Lighting, Epistar, and Formosa Epitaxy have already begun promoting package free chip products. After the emergence of ELC (Embedded LED Chip) technology and PFC (Package Free Chip) in the market and flip chip usage in high powered LED packaging component LUXEON Q, package free chip technology is unsurprisingly the focal point of the industry in 2013.
The production process for LED lighting products is separated into levels from 0 to 5. Level 0 is epitaxial and chip production, level 1 is LED chip packaging, level 2 is welding the LED on to PCB, level 3 is the LED mold, level 4 lighting source, and lastly level 5 is the lighting system. Package free chip production will eliminate level 1.
Philips Lumileds has expanded its production line in 2013. Aside from medium and low powered products, the company has also recently launched high powered LED packaging component LUXEON Q. This is Philips Lumileds first time using flip-chip technology to develop high powered LEDs as well as use Philips Chip Scale Package technology.
The newly launched LUXEON Q by Philips Lumileds uses CSP and flip chip technology to reach high powered and high luminosity performance. Philips Lumileds older generation thin-film flip-chip technology needs sapphire substrate to be removed during the final stage of production. However the new generation flip-chip used in LEXEON Q does not require the substrate to be removed at all. LUXEON Q directly replaced 3535 series packaging products on the market. Its field of application includes high bay lights, recessed lighting, wall lighting, replacement bulbs, and specialty lighting.
Taiwanese LED chip manufacturers are equally as aggressive in package free chip product development. New ELC products by Epistar use semi conductor manufacturing and have eliminated level 1 from the production process. Elimination of level 1 includes getting rid of lead frames and bonding wire only leaving behind the use of phosphor and packaging resin for chips which can be applied directly on SMT. Epistar ELC products have already entered into the backlight supply chain and will also become part of the lighting market in the future.
Formosa Epitaxy has also already developed PFC package free products where chips that use flip chips do not require the use of bonding wire. PFC package free chip products have an increased luminosity rate of 200ml/W and beam angle of 300 degrees. Also, because it does not require the use of secondary optics, consumption and costs are reduced.
