Global outlook of the sapphire semiconductor market

Technavio’s market research analyst predicts the global sapphire semiconductor market to grow at a CAGR of more than 11% during the projected period.  Sapphire is the major substrate material used to manufacture blue, green, white, and UV light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The increasing demand for LEDs in the high-volume consumer electronics and general lighting industries for products such as light bulbs, large displays, traffic lights, HDTVs, mobile phones, computer monitors, tablets, netbooks, and gaming systems, will accelerate the applications for LEDs in the coming years. The latest development in the LED segment is the introduction of large-diameter sapphire. It will allow manufacturers to achieve a higher throughput with the more useable surface area on larger substrates, leading to operational efficiencies. The increasing demand for LEDs across several applications will boost the sapphire semiconductor market during the forecast period.

Sapphire semiconductors are used in several areas including sensors, lenses, and power devices due to their high performance and cost-effectiveness. In the optical segment, the transparency of sapphire semiconductors acts as a huge advantage. They can also be enhanced for the transmission in the infrared and ultraviolet regions as well as the visible spectrum. Also, the sapphire technology provides robustness and resistance to damage from chemicals, heat, or physical abrasion.

Competitive landscape and key vendors

The global sapphire semiconductor market is highly fragmented and characterized by the presence of a large number of established manufacturers and several small and medium-sized enterprises. The market is extremely competitive where the international players dominate it. As the key players continue to extend their footprint across the globe, regional vendors face a serious threat from them in terms of quality, performance, and price. Competition in this market is expected to intensify in the coming years with the increase in utilization of sapphire substrates due to increasing government initiatives and funding to promote LED adoption in various countries across the globe.

Leading vendors in the market are -

• Monocrystal
• Namiki
• Rigidtech
• Aurora Opto
• Crystalwise
• Kyocera
• Crystal Applied
• Rubicon
• Sapphire
• Hansol

Other prominent vendors in the sapphire semiconductor market include DK Aztec, Guangdong Saifei Sapphire Technology, Guizhou Haotian Optoelectronics Technology, Jiangsu Jeshine New Material, and Precision Micro-Optics.

Segmentation by application and analysis of the sapphire semiconductor market

• Consumer electronics
• Optical
• LED

The consumer electronics segment will be the fastest-growing segment in the sapphire semiconductor market during the predicted period and is likely to grow at a CAGR of more than 19%. Sapphire is being used as a high performance, scratch-resistant material for the exterior of smartwatches, smartphones, and other consumer electronic devices. Owing to its excellent display clarity and touch pressure sensitivity features, sapphire semiconductors are extensively used in smartphones and smartwatch cover screens, camera lens, and fingerprint sensor-based home buttons in smartphones. With the growing applications in other consumer electronic devices such as tablet screens, the market for sapphire semiconductors will grow considerably over the projected period.

Geographical segmentation and analysis of the sapphire semiconductor market

• APAC
• Europe
• North America
• ROW

APAC dominates the market and occupied around 81% of the total market revenue during 2015. Much of the region’s growth is due to the presence of a number of semiconductor foundries such as TSMC, Samsung, and SMIC. These manufacturers are building new fabs to expand their production lines, which will further boost the growth of this market. Being the largest consumer of semiconductor devices, massive investments are expected by large corporations in the manufacturing and semiconductor sectors of the region, which will augment the demand for sapphire semiconductors during the forecast period.

 Key questions answered in the report include

• What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2020?
• What are the key factors driving the global sapphire semiconductor market?
• What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the global sapphire semiconductor market?
• What are the challenges to market growth?
• Who are the key vendors in the global sapphire semiconductor market?
• What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global sapphire semiconductor market?
• Trending factors influencing the market shares of APAC, Europe, North America, and ROW.
• What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global sapphire semiconductor market?

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• Global Sapphire Glass Market 2015-2019