Top Japanese firms to begin blue diode laser production soon

September 12, 2004

According to an article found in Tokyo-based Nihon Keizai Shimbun business newspaper, some well known Japanese firms will set up mass production blue diode laser lines next year. They list the following manufacturers in the report- NEC, Toshiba, Matsushita, Sony, Sharp and Sanyo.

Until now, fellow Japanese company Nichia, which has a licensing agreement with Sony, has had a stranglehold on the blue laser market. Nichia itself has a new building already primed to meet the expected increase in demand for the devices in next-generation data storage applications.

The report says that NEC Compound Semiconductor Devices will begin sample shipments in the first half of 2005, with lasers manufactured by NEC Kansai Ltd. and assembly outsourced to another company in Japan.

Meanwhile, Toshiba is reported to have developed production technology to bring the cost of a laser to about $ 46 per unit. It is also believed to be starting mass production of lasers in the first half of next year, as well as releasing a DVD recorder.