The answer is yes, of course. From an industrial perspective, LED manufacturing is a sunset industry, but to borrow a famous quote from Nick Holonyak, the father of LED technology: "LED development is still in its infancy!" Why do these two opposing viewpoints exist? In terms of industry, there's no sign of LED manufacturing costs decreasing, but due to overcapacity, LED chip prices are being driven lower and lower. Companies are forced to find ways to reduce labor and time costs, a major reason why many are going bankrupt.
For example, large manufacturers like Sanan Optoelectronics, HC SemiTek, GCL Optoelectronics, MTC Optoelectronics, and Jucan Optoelectronics typically optimize growth structures, reducing MOCVD growth time from 6 hours per furnace to 4 hours. With 100 MOCVD machines, this translates to an extra 200 hours, allowing for over 30 more furnaces. This reduces equipment costs, as a single MOCVD machine can cost hundreds of millions or even tens of millions of yuan.
Small companies, lacking core technologies and the quantity of equipment, are naturally acquired and bankrupt by these larger companies. So why does the father of LED technology say it's still in its infancy? In terms of performance, blue-band LEDs can achieve an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of over 80%, making them the sole product for most LED companies. Blue LEDs excite phosphors for lighting applications.
Besides this huge field, there are two other multi-billion dollar markets: displays and communications, but these place higher demands on LED wavelengths.
For InGaN systems, polarization effects and lattice mismatch lead to low efficiency in the yellow-green long-wavelength band; while AlGaInP materials transition from a direct bandgap to an indirect bandgap in the yellow-green band, resulting in a sharp drop in efficiency. Therefore, from an academic perspective, there is still significant room for improvement in LED efficiency.
Meanwhile, in the LED display field, Micro-LED is hailed as the ultimate display technology, boasting advantages such as high luminous efficacy, long lifespan, high pixel density, and fast response time. It has become a major trend in the semiconductor manufacturing industry in recent years, bringing a massive influx of new talent to the LED industry.
Despite significant investment of human and material resources in research both domestically and internationally, no single institution has achieved absolute dominance. Our country also provides strong support, with ample research funding and corporate assistance. Salary levels have also improved significantly in the past two years, with master's graduates easily securing offers of 15-20k RMB per month.
Therefore, the industry's prospects are still broad. Whether working on LED epitaxial growth or chip manufacturing, it's a process of accumulating experience before making a significant impact. Experience will double your market value. With favorable conditions, you can leverage the expertise gained in micro-LEDs to develop irreplaceable skills, allowing you to thrive in the LED industry!