LED Driver ICs: Application Drivers, Technology Developments & Product Introduction Trends

LED Driver ICs: Application Drivers, Technology Developments & Product Introduction Trends

This report provides a detailed analysis of the application drivers, technology developments and product introduction trends that are propelling the LED Driver IC market into the future. It also reviews relevant government regulations and surveys potential competitive threats to LEDs in important application sub-segments.

Driven in the short-run primarily by mobile phone handsets, the worldwide white light-emitting diode (LED) market is projected to exceed 20 billion units in 2008. Using higher light-emitting efficiency and lower pricing, an increasing number of white LEDs are being used as backlight for notebook PCs, medium and large LCD TVs, and single-color and full-color outdoor signs. Further growth is expected to come from automotive applications, which are expected to see increased penetration in LED headlamps, as well as LEDs in interior lighting. Toward the end of the forecast period, around 2013 or 2014, general illumination applications are expected to experience rapidly accelerating growth. This report focuses on five primary application segments:

* Handheld Applications – mobile phone handsets, digital still cameras, small flashlights, personal media players, GPS navigation systems, organizers, and so on.

* Medium-size Applications – ultra-mobile PCs, small digital photo frames, (typically LCDs below 10-inches), instrumentation, large flashlights, medical lighting, specialty lighting, industrial lighting, and so on.

* Large-size Applications – billboards, marquees, LCD televisions, LCD monitors, laptop computers, large LCD photo frames, traffic signals, and so on.

* Automotive Applications – indicator and illumination lighting applications, turn signals, brake lights, map reading lights, head lights, and so on.

* General Illumination – general indoor and outdoor lighting, architectural lighting, street lights, and so on.

While handheld (primarily mobile phone handsets) applications are still the most-often targeted application segment, the dominance of the segment has declined significantly in the past three years. At the beginning of 2005, about 35% of all LED driver IC introductions were targeted at the handheld segment. By the end of 2007, the percentage had dropped to about 25%. While the actual number of driver ICs targeted at handheld applications has not dropped significantly, the overall market for LED driver ICs has grown.

That market growth is visible in the Medium- and Large-sized application segments which have maintained their relative market shares over the past 3 years. Overall, these segments have been growing at about the same rate as the market. Medium- and Large-sized applications for LEDs are becoming the new growth driver for the industry. While handheld applications such as mobile phone handsets will continue to be important, they will be eclipsed in importance by new application segments.

White LEDs are targeted at a broad range of applications, from backlighting for LCD panels for PCs; headlights and other automotive devices; and lighting products for outdoors, offices and homes. In the near future, the main driver of the white LED market is expected to shift from mobile phone handsets to large LCD panels for notebook PCs featuring 10-inch or larger displays. To remain competitive, LED manufacturers will focus on developing a low-priced product that achieves a luminous efficiency of 100lm/W and a unit price of ¥1/lm, equivalent to current LEDs for mobile phones.

Mobile phone handsets are currently the largest market for LEDs (and LED Driver ICs). It is anticipated that the mobile phone handset and notebook PC markets will swap positions in terms of market size around 2010. At that time, notebooks will become (temporarily) the largest market. Mobile phones will continue to grow, however, driven primarily by unit sales in Brazil, Russia, India and China. Price declines will affect revenue sales, with mobile phones shrinking in 2010 to about 60% of the market’s size in 2005.

Backlighting for flat panel displays in laptop computers and LCD TVs will be the major application driver for LEDs and LED Driver ICs. In the case of LCD TVs, growth has been “slowing.” In 2006, the market grew 95%. In 2007 it “only” grew 57%. As growth “slows,” LCD backlighting will become an increasingly important product differentiator. The annualized growth for LCD TVs is expected to be over 25% between now and 2011. At that time, LCD TV sales will near 200 million units and will account for about two-thirds of TV unit shipments. The growing unit shipments combined with the increasing average screen size will result in an even faster growth rate for LED backlights in LCD TVs.

LED backlights in laptop computers will also enjoy the dual growth drivers of increasing penetration (usage) rates and a rapidly growing application segment. Current predictions are that laptop computers will surge 25% in 2008. By 2009, laptop computers will out-sell desktop PCs for the first time. At the same time that the laptop market continues to surge, laptops will be adopting LCD backlighting.

As a result of the high growth rates for both LCD TVs and laptop computers and the increasing penetration rates for LCD backlights in both applications, these applications will supplant mobile phone handsets as the dominant driver for LED Driver IC sales in the near future.

In the longer-term, the LED Driver market is expected to go “full circle” from driving a small number of LEDs in handsets today, to larger numbers of LEDs as backlights in various LCD applications in the next stage of its evolution, to even larger numbers of LEDs in the next stage in platforms such as automobiles and larger video displays. As a result of the growing number of LEDs in the dominant applications, the cost of LEDs will continue to drop dramatically until they finally become cost-effective for general illumination. At that time, the number of LEDs in a typical application will drop back to where it is today, but for use in very-high-volume general illumination applications.

Currently, LED lamps “are at least two orders of magnitude more expensive than traditional light sources,” making them several years away from significant market penetration for general illumination. Combined with this is a temporary slowdown in the growth of the high-efficiency lighting market (including CFLs and other technologies). Aggressive price erosion is occurring in the HB-LED market, which is expected to continue.

Looking to the future, however, the LED roadmap gets more complicated. Ultra-high-brightness LEDs (UHB-LEDs) have appeared on the commercial horizon. They have an output greater than 250 lumens and are considered a “practical solution” for many lighting, photographic, retail and medical applications.

UHB-LEDs have a very long operating life and the ability to direct light for increased system efficiency. A significant portion of the growth in the overall LED market is expected to be driven by UHB-LEDs. They could account for one-third, or more, of LED Driver IC sales within the next few years.

The worldwide LED Driver IC market will continue to grow rapidly for many years. But the market will also evolve at a rapid rate. New application segments will emerge as HB- and UHB-LEDs continue to offer improvements in cost and performance. This report will quantify specific sub-segment market trends and identify specific value-added opportunities for LED Driver ICs.

ABM Industries, Acer, Advanced Analogic Technology, Advanced Lighting Technologies, Advanced Power, Aigo, Agilent, AgiLight, Allegro Microelectronics, Alliance to Save Energy, American National Standards Institute, Ampco System, Apple, Arques, Auer Lighting, austriamicrosystems, AU Optronics, Barco Media and Entertainment, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio and Television, Beijing Summer Olympic Games, BMW, BridgeLux, Cadillac, California Energy Commission, California Micro Devices, Canadian Electrical Code, Catalyst Semiconductor, Chiplus, Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, Citroen, Clare Micronix, CNNMoney, Color Kinetics, Competitive Technologies, Cree, Crosslink Capital, Cypress, DCM, Delta Electronics, Department of the Environment (Ireland), Detroit Edison, Dialight Lumidrives, Dialog Semiconductor, Digital Foci, Dongfeng Motors, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, East Gate Capital, Eastman Kodak, Edison Opto, E Ink, EMZ Lighting, El Dorado Ventures, Epistar, E-Street, European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, European Committee for Standardization, Everlight Electronics, Exar, Fairchild Semiconductor, Ford, Forward Electronics, Foxconn Technology, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Frontech, General Electric, General Motors, Haitec, Harris and Harris, Hella KgaA Hueck & Company, Home Lighting Control Alliance, HTC, Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center, iLED Photolectronics, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, Illumitex, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Intel, Intematix, Ixys, Kent Displays, Kyoto Protocol, Leadis Technology, LEDtronics, LEDWaves, Lexus, Lighting Science Group, LG Electronics, Linear Technology, Lumileds, Luminus, Magneti Marelli, Matsushita Electric Works, Maxim Integrated Products, Mercedes Benz, Microsemi, Microsoft, Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry, mSilica, National Electrical Code (U.S.), National Resources Defense Council, National Semiconductor, Nemoptic, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Nitride Semiconductors, Novaled, NXP Semiconductors, ON Semiconductor, OQO, Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Pacifica Fund, Perkin Elmer, Philips, Polybrite International, Power Analog Microelectronics, Power Integrations, PREMA, Presidio STX, Qualcomm, Relume Technologies, Saint-Gobain Recherche, Samsung, Samsung Ventures, Schott, Semtech, Seoul Semiconductor, Sharp Microelectronics, Siemens, SiPix Imaging, Society of Automotive Engineers, Solomon Systech Limited, Sony, Sony-Ericsson, ST Microelectronics, Strategies in Light, Sumitomo, Supertex, Sylvania, Telos, Texas Instruments, TIR Systems, Toko, Toshiba, Toyoda Gosei, TPO Displays, Transport for London, TRUMPF Medical Systems, TSMC, Tyntek, Underwriters Laboratories, USA Signal Technology, US Amtech Lighting, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, VantagePoint Varitronix, Venture Partners, Vishay, Volkswagen, Wal-Mart, Westinghouse, XLamp, Yulon Group, ZBD Displays, Zetex Semiconductors, Zylight

LED Driver Product Introduction Trends 3
Sub-Markets Shaping Opportunities 5
Digital Still Cameras and Video Lighting 7
Handsets, Media Players and Organizers 9
Digital Picture Frames 10
Ultramobile Personal Computers 11
Projectors 12
Obstruction Lighting 13
Channel Letters and Small Marquees 13
LCD Backlight Units 14
Traffic Signals 17
Outdoor Advertising, Signs and Digital Billboards 19
Automotive Lighting 21
Approval Situation for LEDs in Headlamps 25
General Illumination Market Size and Characteristics 26
CFLs Move Ahead of LEDs in General Illumination 28
Medical Lighting 31
Street Lights 32
Architectural and Landscape Lighting 34
Lighting in Hazardous Environments 36
Performance and Pricing Factors for LEDs in General Illumination 37
LED Driver Feature Trends 40
AC Mains LEDs and Drivers 45
LED Dimming Challenges 48
OLED Driver Trends 50
Creating White Light with LEDs 52
Advances in HB-LEDs 56
Regulations and Incentives 59
US Energy Independence and Security Act 61
Safety Standards for LEDs 62
Threats to Continued HB-LED Growth 64
The Continued Evolution of Emissive Displays 65
Large OLED Developments 66
Flash and Illumination Application Threats 67
Alternative Approaches to Improved Illumination Efficiencies 67
Appendix A – LEDs at the Beijing Olympics 69
Appendix B – Glossary of Lighting Terms 71
Appendix C – Companies Included in “LED Driver Product Introduction Trends” 76


Figure 1 – Application Targets by Percentage vs Number of LED Driver Introduced 4
Figure 2 – Changing Application Drivers of LED Market Growth 6
Figure 3 – Zylight Z90 Adjustable Color Temperature Video Lighting Source 9
Figure 4 – 8-inch LED Backlight Digital Picture Frame from Digital Foci 10
Figure 5 – OQO Model 02 UMPC 12
Figure 6 – Sony’s LED Projector Employs 14 LEDs 13
Figure 7 – 38-inch Long “Rope” of 96 HB-LEDs for Channel Lighting 14
Figure 8 – Samsung 40-inch LCD TV with LED Backlighting 15
Figure 9 – LEDtronics’ Traffic Signals 18
Figure 10 – LED “Fish Tank” in Beijing Mall 20
Figure 11 – LED Terminal Sign from AgiLight 21
Figure 12 – LEDtronics LED Automotive Bulbs Include 24 5mm LEDs 22
Figure 13 – LED headlamps in Cadillac Escalade Feature LEDs from OSRAM 23
Figure 14 – Citroen C4 Picasso with LED Tail Lights 24
Figure 15 – Color Temperature Scale 27
Figure 16 – Color Rendering Index 27
Figure 17 – Cree Luminaire for Parking Garages 28
Figure 18 – Lexel Lighting System from the TIR Division of Philips 30
Figure 19 – iLED 5 Surgical Light from TRUMPF Includes 184 HB-LEDs 31
Figure 20 – Medical Applications for LEDs 32
Figure 21 – LED Street Light in Taipei Consumes 100W per “Lamp” for a total of 600W 33
Figure 22 – General Illumination Technologies 35
Figure 23 – Critical Performance Level 100 lm/W 36
Figure 24 – Luminaire Pricing, General Illumination 38
Figure 25 – Relative Pricing and Performance 38
Figure 26 – TIR LED Light Pipes in Callahan Tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts 39
Figure 27 – Full Moon Tower, Galaxy Park in Tianjin, China 39
Figure 28 – Acriche AC-Powered White HB-LED from Seoul Semiconductor 47
Figure 29 – LED Elevator Light Prototypes from Westinghouse Lighting 53
Figure 30 – Recessed LED Light from LEDWaves Uses Three 3W LEDs to Provide White Light with a CCT Between 3,000K (warm) and 6,000K (cool) 54
Figure 31 – Diamond DRAGON LED from OSRAM Opto Semconductor 56
Figure 32 – Lumileds K2 Power LED 58
Figure 33 – IEC 60529 Ingress Protection Ratings 63
Figure 34 – ebook Prototype from LG 65
Figure 35 – Beijing Olympics Water Cube 69