we expect significant strengthening of the market for sapphire substrates later this year

The near-term demand from the LED market continues to be limited, as inventory adjusts throughout the supply chain, but orders for two-inch and four-inch cores have begun to recover somewhat in the first quarter of 2012, and demand for large-diameter wafers for the Silicon on Sapphire (SoS) RFIC market is growing. As the channel inventory situation improves, and as LED technology further penetrates both the backlighting market and the general lighting market, we expect significant strengthening of the market for sapphire substrates later this year,” he said.

“We remain optimistic on the long-term outlook for the LED market and Rubicon’s positioning to capitalize on the opportunity. To date, Rubicon has shipped more than 230,000 six-inch sapphire wafers to the LED manufacturing and RFIC industries. This has provided us with the experience and scale to drive process and cost efficiencies throughout our system while maintaining our industry leading quality and service. Cost and quality leadership are instrumental to the acceleration of LED adoption in the marketplace and, as such, are strategic priorities for Rubicon,” Mr. Parvez concluded.

With the new price, the company expects that it will bolster both interest and investment in LED lighting. The company says cost has “everything” to do with how quickly energy-efficient technologies get adopted.Earlier, Noribachi launched LED Prix 2.0 an upgrade to its LED customization technology. The upgrade includes advancements in the thermal management of Noribachi’s custom retrofit bulbs and DLC certification for Noribachi’s key products.And in January, Sandia Resort & Casino in Albuquerque announced it expects to consume about a quarter the energy in its parking lots through switching hundreds of gas discharge lamps to Noribachi LED bulbs.