According to LED market research firm Strategies Unlimited (Mountain View, Calif.), the market for HB-LEDs is expected to grow from $11.2 billion in 2010 to $16.2 billion in 2014, driven by applications such as TV backlighting, mobile devices and general lighting. To meet this increased demand, LED manufacturers need to improve lighting efficiency while reducing manufacturing cost.
The system will combine Eulitha's full-field exposure technology with EVG's established mask alignment platform (EVG620) to provide automated fabrication of photonic nanostructures over large areas, and support the production of energy efficient LEDs, solar cells and liquid crystal displays. It combines the low-cost, ease-of-use and non-contact capabilities of proximity lithography with sub-micron resolution — making it ideally suited for use in patterning sapphire substrates in order to enhance the light extraction of LED devices.
"We believe the synergies of our respective technologies have great potential to provide the resolution and volume-production capabilities of lithography steppers at a fraction of the cost — enabling LED, optics and photonics manufacturers with extremely tight cost constraints the opportunity to extend their technology roadmaps to higher levels of performance," stated Harun Solak, CEO of Eulitha.