Samsung Electronics will be scaling up investments in LED chip business this year, specifically in silicon substrate based LED technology, according to a Money DJ report.

Samsung plans to integrate two LED production lines, Line 3 and SR Line into its Line 5 semiconductor production site located in Giheung, South Korea, the report cited Korean media ETNews. The company proposes to convert Line 5 into a LED chip production complex that will mostly be manufacturing 4” and 8” LED products.

Samsung has the most number of MOCVD equipment in South Korea, with a total of 150 MOCVDs that are mainly used for LED chip production, reported ETNews. Industry experts estimate it will take more than one year to complete moving the production lines.

According to market rumors, Samsung will be developing silicon-based and sapphire-based LED chips at Line 5. The company has successfully manufactured silicon-based LED chip prototypes at Line 3.

Most LED chips are still sapphire-based, but if silicon can replace sapphire it can greatly lower LED chip production costs, and shorten the mass production phase. Samsung is currently developing 8-inch silicon-based LEDs.

Although, Toshiba has mass produced GaN-on-Si LED, the market has shown little interest because of the chip’s lower energy efficacy compared to sapphire-based LED chips.

Last year, Korean media Dong-A Ilbo reported Samsung had exited from the LED lighting market. Samsung has terminated its oversea LED lighting luminaire business, but will continue operations in the domestic market.