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The mainstream status of sapphire in the silicon substrate is unshakable
For a time, silicon was seen as a promising alternative for GaN-based LED substrates, drawing significant interest from investors and industry players. Major international LED manufacturers and domestic companies alike entered the race to develop and commercialize silicon substrate technology. However, despite early enthusiasm, the progress has not met expectations, and the technology remains largely in the experimental phase.
According to recent reports, several epitaxial chip manufacturers, including Purui Optoelectronics, OSRAM, TSMC, and Jingneng Optoelectronics, have been actively working on silicon substrate LED projects. Some companies have claimed to have developed products with performance comparable to those based on sapphire substrates, but none have successfully entered the market yet.
Zeng Haoyan had once aimed for mass production of silicon-based LED chips by 2013, with companies like Purui Optoelectronics, Toshiba, and Osram involved. However, to date, there has been little tangible progress, and the technology appears to be stuck in development.
Why did the once-optimistic silicon substrate technology fail to move beyond the lab? Is its path to industrialization going to end in failure or will it eventually take off?
**Comparison of the Three Major Substrate Technology Routes**
Purui Optoelectronics announced that it is shifting its focus from sapphire-based LEDs to more cost-effective silicon-based manufacturing. The company also laid off nearly 20% of its workforce at its Livermore headquarters. A source from Purui revealed that the technical team working on the silicon substrate project has largely left, and the project is no longer being pursued.
Crystal Energy Photoelectric: Struggling to Move Forward
Although Jiangxi Jingneng Optoelectronics has repeatedly announced improvements in light efficiency and other key parameters of its silicon-based products, the industrialization process has stalled. Industry insiders reported that out of six silicon substrate epitaxial furnaces, three are already offline. The project has faced slow progress and remains far from achieving mass production.
TSMC: Quiet Exit
A senior executive from Taiwan shared that TSMC’s silicon-based chip product has been developed, but its price-to-performance ratio is not compelling. While the light efficiency reaches about 95% of Cree’s products, the price is only around 90%, making it unattractive. Additionally, the yield rate is low. Zhang Hongbiao, director of the High-tech LED Industry Research Institute, confirmed that TSMC is still working on its silicon substrate project, albeit with limited success.
Sanan Optoelectronics: Giving Up on Silicon
When asked whether Sanan Optoelectronics considers silicon or silicon carbide as a substrate, Li Xue, the company’s securities affairs representative, said it is not currently under consideration. The company had conducted extensive experiments on silicon substrates in the past but ultimately decided to abandon the approach. According to Li Xue, silicon substrates lack the hardness and strength of sapphire, while silicon carbide offers advantages for high-power chips, which are not yet the mainstream in the current market.