Nicolas Mokhoff EE Times (06/22/2009 9:57 AM EST)

MANHASSET, NY — With the fast growth in LED outdoor displays and backlights, DisplaySearch forecasts that display LEDs, including 24 billion for active outdoor display and 34 billion for LCD backlights, will have a 34.7 percent share of the global 167 billion unit LED market in 2012.

A new DsiplaySearch report classifies the total number of 70.8 billion LEDs shipped in 2008 in two display application categories: active outdoor displays, which used 11 billion LEDs or 15 percent of the total in 2008, and LCD backlights, which consumed 8 billion or 11 percent of the total.

DisplaySearch predicts 34 billion LEDs will be used in TFT LCD backlights in 2012, in sizes ranging from 1in. to more than 70in., up more from 8 billion in 2008.

DisplaySearch analysis indicates that Nichia and Toyota Gosei will continue to dominate the market for blue and white LEDs for LCD backlights over the next three years, due to their strong patent portfolios and customer relationships.

However, Samsung LED, Stanley, Citizen, Showa Denko, Seoul Semiconductor and OSRAM are targeting growth in LED backlights for LCD TVs. Finally, Taiwanese makers like Lite-On, Chi-Mei Lighting, Lighthouse and Everlight are entering the backlight market with low cost structures.

The report also reveals that LED revenues for outdoor displays will reach $1 billion in 2009 and are expected to grow to $1.5 billion in 2012. The use of LED outdoor displays in the 2008 Beijing Olympics provided international visibility, and such events will be a driving force for growth in LED outdoor displays in the coming years.

"LEDs will create new growth for the TFT LCD industry due to characteristics such as lowering power consumption, meeting green requirements, adding dimming capability, improving color performance and enabling slim and light form factors for LCD panels and applications," noted Yoshio Tamura, Vice President of DisplaySearch and the component research team leader, in a statement.

"On the other hand, TFT LCDs also provide new vigor to the LED industry, as they open up broader applications requiring higher quality and more advanced technology." Tamura concluded, "The interaction between the LCD and LED industries can be viewed as a key development in electronics in the coming decades."