Tonghui Electronic Co is an LED company in China set up by No 13 research institute of China Electronic Group Corporation and Hebei Information Industry Investment Co. The company produces epitaxial materials, chips, encapsulations and light sources of HB-LED, covering the whole industry chain, and is recommended by the State Ministry of Science. The brightness (photoelectric transformation efficiency) that the LED light produces reaches 130LM/W.

“One of the main research directions in LED technology is to improve light efficiency, which decides the core technology of a company. Accordingly, we are now researching High Light 140LM/W technology, a leading technology in China. It is optimistically estimated to be applied to production by this year and dominate the high-end market,” said Wang Jinghui, the vice manager of the manufacture center. Wang noted that the company applied for five national patents last year including manufacturing vertical-structure GaN LED light and clad metal substrate light for GaN LED.

Centralized in the backward business of encapsulation and application, the LED industry in China lacks self-developed hi-tech core products on account of the incapability to produce hi-tech epitaxial wafers and chips in most factories, which leads to the overdependence on imports. To promote the LED industry in China, Tonghui Electronic Co has set up the “semiconductor blue light epitaxial wafers and cores industrialization project” to lead LED manufacturing, material-testing and LED intellectual service in Hebei, and attained independent intellectual property rights.

Tonghui Electronic has already formed large scale manufacturers of 130LM/W epitaxial wafers and chips, leading to a monthly output of 30,000, and has become a regular supplier of chips to many well-known LED companies in China, such as Jiangsu Wenrun Optoelectronic Co and Foshan Nationstar Optoelectronics Co.

“When the project completes in 2015, we will be able to produce 1.25 million high brightness blue light epitaxial wafers and chips and improve the light efficiency to 150LM/W, which will ensure us a dominant position in the high-end market,” said a senior personnel at the company. The company will introduce advanced international technology, explore new substrate materials and optimize chip manufacture to enter the international market. According to the plan, the company hopes to put 10 per cent of earnings into scientific research every year and will invest in the most advanced machinery and equipment. Studies indicate that the LED application industry, containing lighting, backlight and display, will continue to grow by over 30 per cent. It is also estimated that LED light will have 50 per cent of market penetration in the common lighting field because China has been eliminating fluorescent lamps gradually from Oct 2011 to Oct 2016.

Tonghui Electronic has accelerated research on highly photoelectric transformation efficient materials growth technology and high brightness core industrialization, and has undertaken several national, provincial and municipal projects including the National 863 Plan “Key materials of efficient semiconductor lighting research and development”, “Key technology of LED products with high light efficiency and high reliable research”, “middling-power LED device research and industrialization” and “130LM/W semiconductor lighting industrialization project”.

According to a member of the “middling-power LED device research” project, LEDs will replace traditional light sources sooner than expect. The project produces high cost effective LED light sources with chips produced by the company and efficient encapsulation technology to complete the production line and meet market demand.

Tonghui Electronic has a high-level research group with over 60 talents, including LED experts and other leading international figures. Tonghui Electronic has made great use of talents and formed its core competency by promoting the cooperation between introduced talents and the original research group.