“The LED front-end equipment market will experience turbulent investment cycles in the coming years,” wrote Yole Développement of Lyon, France, and EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium) in a recent report. The market presents significant opportunities for growth in the next five years but is expected to saturate in value by the end of the decade. Revenue experienced particularly strong growth in 2010 and 2011, driven by metallorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors. The next cycle, expected to start in 2013 and to be driven by lighting applications, will likely be more limited in value.

Published in July, the report, titled LED Front-End Manufacturing, focuses on the LED manufacturing technology and equipment market, including MOCVD, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, lithography, dry etching and physical vapor deposition tools.