Silicon Nitride Market Size

Silicon Nitride Market Growth Projections and Opportunities

The materials utilized in manufacturing LED lights can be classified into substrates, wafers, phosphors, and other components. These LED materials find application across various sectors, including general lighting, automotive lighting, displays, billboards, consumer electronics, and specialty lighting, among others. The global LED materials market is primarily steered by the escalating demand for energy-efficient lighting solutions within both residential and commercial construction ventures.

Segmented by type, the market encompasses wafers, substrates, phosphors, and other distinctive elements. In 2017, the wafers segment held 40% of the market share, valued at approximately USD 4184.7 million, and is projected to manifest a CAGR of roughly 11.77% throughout the forecast period. This surge is attributed to the amplified need for cost-effective and energy-efficient lighting solutions across numerous sectors such as construction, automotive, and electrical and electronics. Expected to follow suit, the substrates segment is anticipated to reach a valuation of USD 5387 million by 2024.

The wafers segment further subdivides into sapphire, silicon, silicon carbide, and other materials. While the sapphire sub-segment occupies the largest market share, the silicon sub-segment is poised for rapid growth due to its increased application as wafer layers. In parallel, the substrates segment is categorized into gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, gallium phosphide, indium gallium nitride, aluminum gallium arsenide, and other materials. Although the gallium arsenide sub-segment dominated the market share in 2017, the gallium nitride sub-segment is projected to showcase the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to its attributes like high mobility, energy efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

In terms of application, the market is segmented into general lighting, automotive exterior and interior lighting, consumer electronics, specialty lighting, displays, billboards, healthcare, and other sectors. Notably, the general lighting sub-segment accounted for the largest market share, valued at approximately USD 4393.9 million in 2017 and is estimated to reach about USD 9650.6 million by 2024. The surge in residential and commercial construction activities worldwide is expected to underpin this upward trend. Simultaneously, the consumer electronics sub-segment captured the second-largest market share and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of about 9.48% during the review period.

Recent market observations highlight a burgeoning trend among market players involving product innovations leveraging new LED materials to meet the escalating demand for LED lights across diverse industries. For instance, in 2015, CrayoNano AS, a research leader in ultraviolet short wavelength light emitting diodes (UV-C LEDs), introduced a groundbreaking technology that grows aluminum gallium nitride nanowires on graphene using Veeco Instruments Inc.'s metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. This innovative approach is expected to facilitate the cost-effective manufacturing of UV LEDs with heightened efficiency. Moreover, the emergence of 5G wireless communication networks and the escalating impact of digitalization are anticipated to augment product demand in the forthcoming years. Nevertheless, the use of LED materials is subject to environmental regulations that could potentially restrain market growth to some extent.