Costs. That is the only thing LED chip manufacturers think about, and who can blame them? LED chip prices are expected to drop to 50 cents for a 1,000 lumen LED lamps in 2015, said Epistar Chairman B.J. Lee at 2015 LED Executive Summit hosted by SEMI at TILS 2015 in TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall, Taipei, Taiwan. Moreover, manufacturers might be facing the challenge of raising LED efficacy to 3,000 lm/$ within two years. Tightening profits are spurring manufacturers to develop new technology to drive down costs.

After releasing Pad Extension Chip (PEC) in 2013, LED chip manufacturer Epistar, has improved the technical and support system for the product, and now the product is applied in direct-type LED TV backlight, lighting and flash lights. Epistar’s PEC chips will be applied in large volumes in direct-type LED TV next year, with target products being 32 inch to 45 inch LED TVs. The company’s orders are mainly from China and South Korea, said Epistar Deputy Director of Marketing Center, Dr. Chiu-Lin Yao while attending LEDforum 2014 held in Taipei, Taiwan on Oct. 24, 2014.