Singer stefanie sun there is a song of "green", originated in Europe an ancient legend: if a man can see a green light, then he will be a lifetime of happiness. In humans, perhaps green environmental protection and efficient LED lighting, is the way that can bring a better future "green light".

With high energy conversion efficiency, low unit power consumption, long life and other advantages, LED lighting is to blow a "green whirlwind", not only in the world alternatives to traditional incandescent lighting revolution ", and become one of the world's most has the development prospect of technical field. Published by the state intellectual property office of the LED lighting industry patent analysis report (hereinafter referred to as the "report"), by trying to patent analysis, reveals the LED lighting industry present situation and development trend, patented technology, the overall situation, etc.

Technology: "Guerrillas" PK "Army"

Father of "blu-ray "nakamura repair the second in a series of important invention pave the way for the industrialization in the LED lighting, LED, from laboratory to market. In such a rapidly developing emerging industries, and so an important core patent rewrite the history of the whole industry. The report also doubt, although LED lighting patent technology as early as 1955, but its" blowout "type of development started in 2001, before 1991 annual patent has not more than 1000, since then more than 10 years of rising trend for the development of faster and faster, 2011 annual filings even reached 31000, and at present, the world's application for a patent for LED lighting has more than 206000.

Because of this, so the manufacturer will so spare no effort on technology research and development. ", the chemical, sharp, philips, samsung and other companies have hundreds of large research and development team, and very pay attention to the systematic, holistic patent." State intellectual property office of the electrical semiconductor at long Tang Yuejiang said invention examination department.

If, holding the whole industrial chain of a complete set of patent international giants as well-equipped "army", the domestic enterprise is more like a blossoming "guerrillas". "Application in our country although is bigger, but the numerous, diverse and individual domestic enterprises to the number of applicants is not large, unable to form the overall competitiveness, it is hard to and foreign giants such as daily chemical, sharp, philips, samsung, etc." State intellectual property office of patent examination applied optics photoelectric department two collaboration of central Beijing, director Alice said, "the result is difficult to its results form the patent layout, form a hierarchy, a variety of protection, patent disputes in foreign enterprises, often attend, it is difficult to form the protection of their own."

Compared with the "army", we is not only a "small, scattered, scale and technical level is relatively weak. Alice further pointed out that although LED patent applications in China ranked first, but the domestic enterprise on a smaller number of the higher gold content an application for a patent for invention. "To the LED lighting industry big province of guangdong, for example, less than thirty percent for a patent for invention, the patent for utility model more than seventy percent, compared with the foreign patent applications more concentrated in a stark contrast to a patent for invention. In blue light, white light, MOCVD, substrate, extension, and other areas of the foundation, our application is less, and concentrated in the peripheral areas, lack of core patent."

Industry: "meat" downstream "soup"

Again from the industry point of view, can be found that the vigorous development of LED lighting industry in recent 10 years, with the integrated circuit industry are similar. The integrated circuit industry there is a famous "Moore's law" : the performance of the microprocessor to double every 18 months, but the price remains the same. Leds in brightness also doubled every 18 ~ 24 months every 10 years, the price is reduced by 90% "Haitz's law" rapid development.

At the same time, the LED lighting industry chain is very long, very high degree of market segmentation, different manufacturers in the industry chain's position is different, a clear division of responsibilities. The report revealed: "upstream of the epitaxial growth and chip manufacturing is the most can represent enterprise or part of the national technology and industrial level, the most competitive is also the highest technical content and patent management risk of the largest in the field, the strongest link is also a patent barriers. According to statistics, 70% of the profits in the LED industry is concentrated in this link, middle reaches of the devices and module encapsulation and downstream of the display and lighting applications, belongs to the technology and the labor-intensive industry."

Hierarchical companies relying on patent barriers in the field of LED lighting, enjoy the "dividend" technology. Such as nakamura to fix two blue LED technology route of invention is a complete, can make the LED commercial solutions, belongs to the upstream of the core technology. Rely on nakamura two studies, nichia from a small company is less than 200 people, grow up to be a world famous LED leading enterprise, holding a blue LED a large number of core and foundation of the patent, to the industry giant lawsuits, get big patent licensing fees.

Due to the upstream technology tends to be the core patents, domestic enterprises are difficult to overstep the technology gap, can only buy the device and buy chips, epitaxial wafer processing, more like a "assembly plant. Domestic patent applications are more concentrated in the downstream industry chain lighting components and integration of the lamps and lanterns, such as lamps and lanterns assembly, heat treatment etc

Study the report points out, "core patent industry long-term development of blue light and white light patent lack, will lead to the long-term development of the domestic industry to." Although our country has packaging companies, 1200-1500, but there is no Chinese company to enter the LED packaging technology patent filings ranking of the top ten, "a homegrown superior enterprises become a problem to be solved in our country." In addition, the related patent application of the LED packaging industry in China are mainly concentrated in the pearl river delta and Yangtze river delta area, regional development is very uneven.

Outlook: catch up with the core technology

However, due to the LED technology is still in the process of constant progress, LED industry is far from mature, technology route in the future development, substrate, extension, chips, packaging technology are constantly updated, the LED industry in China has a lot of breakthrough opportunities. So, if we find time to break through the patent barriers, "clean" still not clear.

In terms of key technologies, the report suggested that domestic enterprises attaches great importance to the graphene, half polar substrate, nonpolar substrates such as new materials research and development, these techniques in high power, flexible leds in a very important role. Graphene, for example, has the world the most hard, thin features, but also has a strong toughness, conductivity and thermal conductivity, is worth focusing on.

At the same time, introduces Tang Yuejiang, MOCVD equipment is the key to the LED manufacturing equipment, accounting for 40% of the product cost; And the heater in the MOCVD equipment technology belongs to the core technology, but because of confidentiality, the global patent filings is less, not easy tort consequences. Suggested that domestic enterprises increase investment in research and development in the core technology, at the same time to strengthen the related investment and the development of precision instrument processing equipment.

The report warned, due to nakamura fix two blue leds core patent expired, Chinese enterprises should actively take advantage of these known techniques, standing on the day the "shoulder" of chemical, secondary develop more practical and forward-looking patent, make up for our country in the field of LED upstream, the lack of core technologies and patents. But at the same time also pay attention to the foreign giants around the periphery of this technology patent layout the potential risk.

At the application level, due to the current domestic each manufacturer standards and interfaces is different, and foreign manufacturers in the field of packaging component interface components patent nearly 75% focused on technical standards and interfaces, the report suggested that the manufacturers should strengthen the cooperation between the optical components and layout to standardization. Rise trend at the same time, global network, intelligent lighting, philips and other foreign companies have begun to layout, domestic enterprises street lighting shall be combined with intelligent network drive control, to strengthen its core technology research and development and reserves.

The collaboration of the state intellectual property office of patent examination, deputy director of Beijing center applied optics photoelectric department one room yun-feng Yang suggested that our country enterprise might as well play its at the downstream of the industry, closely related customers, familiar with the development of the domestic LED lighting market advantage, through the market leading technology research and development, constantly open up a new application field of LED lighting technology, and quickly occupied the application field.