Samsung Semiconductor Secures Car LED Market... Demand, Efficiency, and Business Viability Increase (Comprehensive)

①Rapid Growth in Global Market... Demand Up
②Semiconductor Process Synergy... Efficiency Up
③Portfolio Diversification... Business Potential Up

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Samsung Electronics DS (semiconductor) division's LED (light-emitting diode) business team is accelerating the development of automotive LED technology. Despite COVID-19, the global market is rapidly growing with high demand, and utilizing semiconductor processes allows for higher contrast ratio implementation and reduced luminous area, thereby improving production efficiency. From a business perspective, the goal is also to expand market position by having a comprehensive semiconductor portfolio for electric and autonomous vehicles.

According to Samsung Electronics on the 22nd, the automotive pixel LED developed by the DS division's LED business team received the Presidential Award at the ‘International Optical Convergence O2O Expo’ held the previous day. Samsung Electronics attributed this award to "reaffirming LED technology leadership." Samsung Electronics' LED business history dates back to 1995 when Samsung Electro-Mechanics' LED division was launched. In 2009, Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics established Samsung LED Co., Ltd. by equally dividing shares, and in 2012 it was merged into Samsung Electronics DS division. The LED business has been steadily producing results, and according to market research firm TrendForce, as of last year, Samsung LED ranks third in global market share, chasing Japanese Nichia and German ams Osram.

Why does Samsung Electronics DS division directly manage the automotive LED business? In short, to enhance technological efficiency and create business synergy. From a technical standpoint, semiconductor technology can reduce the luminous area and simplify design to improve production efficiency. The process steps of semiconductor and LED, such as substrate patterning (photo process → etching → cleaning) and exposure (projecting circuit patterns onto wafers with light), are generally similar, allowing for synergy. The main difference is the use of wafers other than silicon wafers used in semiconductors.

Samsung Electronics possesses the technological capability to implement the principle of gathering segments?the smallest unit of individually driven luminous elements per LED chip?into a single LED chip. Instead of installing individual LED segments on the substrate, about 100 segments are integrated into one LED. This is similar to how battery cell companies increase density to fit as many batteries as possible inside a vehicle. In the case of pixel LEDs, by simplifying the optical system and heat dissipation structure design, the required brightness can be achieved with only about 1/16 of the luminous area compared to other intelligent headlamp LED modules. This allows the headlamp size to be reduced by 30 to 50%. Additionally, by partitioning each of the approximately 100 segments with walls to minimize light interference between segments, a contrast ratio of 300:1?three times higher than conventional LEDs?can be realized.

From a business perspective, this also lays the groundwork for diversifying the portfolio beyond LEDs to include image sensors and system semiconductors. Alongside fierce competition with Taiwan’s TSMC in foundry 3-nanometer process yield (the ratio of good products among finished products), business expansion cannot be neglected. According to market research firm Omdia, the global LED market size last year grew 15.4% year-on-year to $17.65 billion, and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 4.5% from 2021 to 2027. Narrowing down to automotive LEDs, the market is expected to grow to about $2.96 billion by 2026. However, although Samsung Electronics holds a world-class overall LED market share, it is still considered a ‘follower’ in the automotive segment. Conservative analyses suggest that the LED division’s recent Presidential Award mainly recognizes its status as having the highest level of domestic technology.

Maeng Kyung-moo, Executive Director of Samsung Electronics LED Business Team’s Strategic Marketing Team, who received the Presidential Award the previous day, stated, "This award recognizes not only the excellence of Samsung Electronics’ automotive LED technology but also its innovation toward a safe and comfortable life." He emphasized, "We will continue to innovate to provide high-quality light source solutions suitable for future vehicles centered on pixel LEDs and to realize sustainability in all areas of life."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.