As the world continues to rapidly embrace energy efficiency and the need to source alternative resources, a quiet revolution has been taking place in the electronics industry.
It’s been happening all around us for many years, but some people may not have noticed. Our lighting is changing. Traditional bulbs and filaments are dying out and light emitting diodes (LEDs) are taking over. They can offer energy savings of up to 90 percent compared with conventional bulbs. The LED market is growing at more than 25 percent a year and the technology behind it relies heavily on several products supplied by AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals.
The products in question are produced by our High Purity Metalorganics (HPMO) business and are needed to manufacture the LEDs themselves (our products are used to coat a very thin layer of semiconductor material on a wafer and this is the active layer which emits the light). As well as being used for general lighting, LEDs are used in many other applications, such as car lights, traffic lights, TV backlighting and computer monitors.
Our manufacturing strengths mean we can help customers ramp up their production to meet the continuously growing demand for LEDs, while our unique packaging helps customers to maximize their output and improve the consistency of their production. With LEDs rapidly finding new applications, the future is bright.