LED makers enjoy bright prospects

LED makers in Taiwan are expanding production as multiple new markets open up for the tiny light sources.

Analysts report that LED backlights for phones and LCD screens are still showing increasing demand, and energy efficient LED arrays as a replacement for traditional light bulbs are on the horizon.

LED backlights are currently the main growth driver for Taiwanese LED makers. LED backlights are placed behind LCD screens in mobile phones and other portable products to illuminate the screen.

They are gradually replacing cold cathode fluorescent lights in this role, as they use significantly less power, and are smaller and lighter and more durable.

Small devices typically use white LEDs, although larger screens often use a combination of red, blue and green to maintain colour consistency, a major challenge for LED backlight makers.

Taiwanese vendors will expand their share of the global market for LEDs used in mobile handsets this year, and are looking ahead to new markets for their products, according to analysts from KGI Securities.

Sales of LED and other non-traditional backlights will more than triple each year, jumping from below one per cent of the backlight market to 3.5 per cent in 2007, and almost nine per cent in 2008, according to US-based research firm DisplaySearch.