Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. has set up a production line for large sapphire substrates at its fully-owned subsidiary Okuchi Electronics Co., Ltd., and has started mass production. Sapphire substrates are used as a substrate for fabricating gallium nitride for use in white and blue LEDs. As the market for white LEDs expands from backlighting for large-size liquid crystal televisions to include general purpose lighting, demand from LED manufacturers for large sapphire substrates which offer an opportunity to improve productivity has also increased. Since the start o...

According to Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM)’s president, Nobumasa Kemori, the company has decided to set up a mass-produce 6-inch diameter sapphire substrates line within its fully-owned subsidiary Okuchi Electronics based in Isa City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. SMM intends to inject the capital investment of ¥1.2 billion (US $120 million) including investment already completed. Through the investment, SMM will construct a continuous production system extending from fabrication of large sapphire crystals to substrate processing. Currently, 2- to 4-inc...