Nichia Corporation
Encyclopedia
The is a Japanese chemical engineering and manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokushima, Japan with global subsidiaries, that specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of phosphors, including light-emitting diode
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...

s (LEDs), laser diodes, battery materials
Lithium ion battery
A lithium-ion battery is a family of rechargeable battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging. Chemistry, performance, cost, and safety characteristics vary across LIB types...

, and calcium chloride
Calcium chloride
Calcium chloride, CaCl2, is a salt of calcium and chlorine. It behaves as a typical ionic halide, and is solid at room temperature. Common applications include brine for refrigeration plants, ice and dust control on roads, and desiccation...

. The Nichia Corporation comprises two divisions-Division 1, responsible for phosphors and other chemicals, and Division 2, responsible for LEDs.

With 6,600 employees and multiple subsidiaries worldwide, Nichia achieved sales of approximately US$2.3 billion in 2007 .

History

The Nichia Corporation was founded in 1956 by Nobuo Ogawa (小川 信雄, 1912-2002) at Aratano-cho, Anan, Tokushima
Anan, Tokushima
is a city located in Tokushima, Japan. The city was founded on May 1, 1958.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 76,723 and the density of 275 persons per km²...

, and majority ownership is still held by the Ogawa family today. The current President is his son-in-law, ..

In 1966, Nichia began production of phosphors for fluorescent lamps. In 1971, Nichia began production of phosphors for color TVs. In 1977, Nichia began the production of tri-color phosphors for fluorescent lamps.

One of Nobuo Ogawa's more well-known decisions was to support Shuji Nakamura
Shuji Nakamura
is a professor at the Materials Department of the College of Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara .- Career :Nakamura graduated from the University of Tokushima in 1977 with a degree in electronic engineering, and obtained a master's degree in the same subject two years later, after...

 to do research on gallium nitride light-emitting diodes, when it was generally considered a very risky business. The research turned out to be a great success; however, the company received scrutiny for awarding a bonus of ¥20,000 (US$180) to Nakamura for his 1993 invention of the first high brightness blue-light LED, which was based on gallium nitride. Nichia later settled out of court with Nakamura for ¥840 million (US$7 million), in what was then the highest bonus ever awarded by a Japanese company.

Nichia supports financially a Polish company Ammono, which is the current (as of 2011) world leader in bulk Gallium Nitride (GaN) manufacturing of 2-inch diameter high quality bulk c-plane GaN substrates as well as non-polar M-plane, A-plane and semi-polar GaN wafer. Nichia funds a joint research project with Ammono to develop ammonothermal gallium nitride growth, and in return Nichia took a stake in Ammono’s intellectual property, as well as access to the crystals that were made.

Several of Nichia's innovations have won awards, such as the Nikkei Best Products Award..

Competition

Nichia Corporation's competitors include Seoul Semiconductor
Seoul Semiconductor
Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd is a Korean company manufacturing LED devices. The company is listed on KOSDAQ.In November 2006 Seoul Semiconductors announced it would be the first company to start selling in quantities LED light sources that can be plugged directly into 110 V or 230 V AC...

, Cree
Cree Inc.
Cree Inc. is a multinational manufacturer of semiconductor materials and devices, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. Cree is noted for their improvements in light emitting diode technologies. Those improvements in lumens per watt suggest a time when LEDs will displace other lighting...

, Lumileds
Philips Lumileds Lighting Company
Philips Lumileds Lighting Company is the manufacturer of a wide range of high-power/high-efficiency light-emitting diodes . It is a now a fully owned division of Philips Lighting.-History:...

, Epistar
Epistar
Epistar Corp. is the largest manufacturer of light-emitting diodes in Taiwan. The company was established in 1996, and its headquarters are in the Northern Taiwanese city of Hsinchu, In 2009 it had an annual turnover of NT$10 billion....

 and Osram
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH
OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH of Regensburg, Germany, a wholly owned subsidiary of Osram GmbH, is the world's second largest manufacturer of optoelectronic semiconductors after LiteOn and followed third place by CREE Inc . One of the main products of the company are light emitting diodes ,...

.

In January, 2006, Nichia launched a lawsuit against rival LED manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor
Seoul Semiconductor
Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd is a Korean company manufacturing LED devices. The company is listed on KOSDAQ.In November 2006 Seoul Semiconductors announced it would be the first company to start selling in quantities LED light sources that can be plugged directly into 110 V or 230 V AC...

 Co., Ltd., alleging design patent
Design patent
In the United States, a design patent is a patent granted on the ornamental design of a functional item. Design patents are a type of industrial design right. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers and computer icons are examples of objects that are covered by design...

infringement. Nichia and Seoul Semiconductor announced that they have settled all litigation on patent and other issues as well as other legal disputes currently pending between them in the United States, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and Korea. The settlement includes a cross license agreement covering LED and laser diode technologies, which will permit the companies to access all of each other's patented technologies. In accordance with the settlement terms, all litigations are to be terminated by mutual withdrawal, with the exception of litigation in Germany involving patent DE 691-07-630 T2 of EP 0-437-385 B1, which was to be resolved following a February 2009 hearing.
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