LED固態照明產業發展與經營策略研究

Abstract

本論文所探討的主題，為目前在照明應用界最被看好的發光二極體(後簡稱LED， Light Emitting Diode)固態照明之相關技術，以及自LED發展以來的技術演進，乃至於目前國內外各主要廠商，在發展LED固態照明的策略以及未來可能的發展之相關探討。照明，自從鎢絲燈泡的發明開始，雖然應用深入了每個人的生活，但是或許是因為使用太過普及，也沒有太多創新技術的應用，以致於一般民眾很難去注意到，每天都需要的照明到底有何奧妙之處?其背後又牽連到甚麼樣的產業發展?目前的照明，以氣體放電型式為大宗，從低壓的日光燈，簡明日光燈(省電燈泡)，一直到使用為道路照明的高壓型式水銀燈(汞燈)，複金屬燈(金屬鹵化物燈)，鈉蒸氣燈等，幾乎占據了我們的日常生活。然而，從歐盟國家起始的環保觀念，以及京都議定書所訂定的防止全球暖化碳排放量標準，使得許多被視為理所當然的事都被重新檢討，照明技術也不例外，譬如水銀使用的減少，更低的耗電量減低火力發電廠(目前仍為電力來源的大宗)的碳排放等等。LED照明在這些方面恰巧迎合了當前的趨勢，使得七零年代就已經被開發出來的LED技術，在進入了二十一世紀後，有了如同神速的發展。LED發光二極體實為一種電子元件，使用固態的基板，施以III-V族半導體元素之鍍膜，利用P-N介面電子電洞的結合產生之能量所轉換而成的光，產生照明的作用。不論是電子元件或是半導體，台灣廠商均擁有相當的基礎以及技術，這也使得在以往從未涉入照明產業的台灣廠商，意外的獲得了一個進入的大好機會。但是，這樣的機會究竟是危機還是轉機，並不能一概而論。本論文也將針對國內外各主要廠商，以及後學所服務的台灣積體電路公司跨入LED固態照明領域一事，探討究竟在LED固態照明產業中，應該採取如何的經營策略，才能在眾多競爭廠商中勝出，不致被打入價格戰的洪流當中。

A Light Emitting Diode or LED is a solid-state electronic device which consists of a chip of III-V semiconducting material doped with impurities to create a p-n junction where electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the chip, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light emitted corresponds to the energy of the photon and is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor material. Its development can be traced back to the 60's when red LEDs hit the market for the first time, however, white LEDs are not possible with the lack of green and blue back then until the 90's, Dr. Shuji Sakamura of Nichia corporation(Japan) made a breakthrough in the growth of GaN on sapphire substrate. With the combination of yellow phosphor and high brightness blue GaN LEDs, white light can be obtained such that LED would finally become competitive with other illumination such as incandescent lamps, compact fluorescent, fluorescent lamps, and H.I.D(High Intensity Discharge) lamps. LEDs present many advantages over traditional lamps including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, and faster switching(to meet certain requirement), and the applications are as diverse as aviation lighting, automobile lighting, street lighting, and traffic signals. LED solid-state lighting is truly an emerging technology that has become more and more popular and well-known throughout the world due to high anticipation on its energy-saving attribute compared to traditional lighting which could contribute to the alleviation of global warming. In this thesis, with the in-depth introduction of LED technology and through the analysis of the operation strategies and competitive advantages among major international and local companies, we can get a clearer picture of how LED lighting works and the way companies compete within LED lighting industry.Besides, we will also look into the development trends of LED solid-state lighting and the possible effect of the involvement of local semiconductor manufacturer like TSMC to see what changes may occur and to give suggestions to what should the government and industry do to bring a brighter future for LED solid state lighting.