Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, Germany, was a wholly owned subsidiary of

Osram Osram Licht AG is a German company that makes electric lights, headquartered in Munich and Premstätten (Austria). Osram positions itself as a high-tech photonics company that is increasingly focusing on sensor technology, visualization and tre ...

GmbH, which was the world's second largest manufacturer of optoelectronic

semiconductors A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...

after

Nichia is a Japanese chemical engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Anan, Japan with global subsidiaries. It specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of phosphors, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes, batter ...

and followed in third place by

Cree Inc. Wolfspeed, Inc. is an American developer and manufacturer of wide bandgap semiconductors, focused on silicon carbide and gallium nitride materials and devices for power and radio frequency applications such as transportation, power supplies, powe ...

The company was founded in 1999 as a joint venture between Osram and

Infineon Technologies Infineon Technologies AG is a German semiconductor manufacturer founded in 1999, when the semiconductor operations of the former parent company Siemens AG were spun off. Infineon has about 50,280 employees and is one of the ten largest semicond ...

. In 2021 Osram Opto Semiconductors was integrated to AMS-Osram International GmbH and is now part of the AMS Osram Group. The main products of the company are

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

s (LEDs) as well as high power laser diodes, infrared components and optical sensors.

History

When

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

split off the

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical resistivity and conductivity, electrical conductivity value falling between that of a electrical conductor, conductor, such as copper, and an insulator (electricity), insulator, such as glas ...

operations to form a separate legal entity,

had an opportunity to take over the

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

division. On January 1, 1999 the takeover was completed with a 51% majority share. The Siemens subsidiary,

Infineon Infineon Technologies AG is a German semiconductor manufacturer founded in 1999, when the semiconductor operations of the former parent company Siemens AG were spun off. Infineon has about 50,280 employees and is one of the ten largest semicond ...

, initially retained a 49% share. In the summer of 2001, Osram acquired all Infineon shares in the sale of opto-semiconductors. In 2003, the company opened an opto-chip factory in Regensburg, Germany. After a construction period of 21 months, the first phase of the factory opened, covering an area of 36,000 m². Total investment was around €120 million. The second phase was officially opened in 2008.

Profile

Osram Opto Semiconductors claims to be the world’s second largest manufacturer of

optoelectronic Optoelectronics (or optronics) is the study and application of electronic devices and systems that find, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, ''light'' often includes invisible forms of radiatio ...

s for the illumination; sensing, and visualization sectors. At its headquarters in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, further production sites in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

and

Kulim The Kulim District is a district and town in the state of Kedah, Malaysia. It is located on the southeast of Kedah, bordering Penang. The town of Kulim, a mere east of Penang's capital city, George Town, also forms part of Greater Penang, Ma ...

(

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

), and

Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...

(

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

), and a global network of sales and marketing centers, the company employs more than 6,000 people. In the fiscal year 2010, the optoelectronic semiconductor business activity accounts for twenty percent of overall Osram GmbH sales. The semiconductor products of Osram Opto Semiconductors include visible-light

LEDs A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

; high-performance infrared LEDs; optoelectronic detectors, and semiconductor

lasers A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

. All the components are sold in various output categories with different brightness levels; sizes, and package formats. In 2009, the company presented "Orbeos", which they described as the first

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...

light source for premium quality functional lighting.

Products

• Illumination LEDs from OSRAM have been used in the automotive sector for a number of years. In this sector the company sells light sources for everything from dashboard lighting through

headlights A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for ...

. The OSTAR platform, Osram's most powerful LED solution so far, includes high-power LEDs for numerous applications including lighting; projection; rear projection television (RPTV), and as IR light sources for the security sector. • Visualization Monochrome LEDs are used as points of light on information panels. Multicolor LEDs such as MultiLED cover the entire color triangle and are used in large-format displays at rock concerts, sports stadiums and trade fairs. The range of applications for LEDs includes screens of all sizes from small (for example for satnav systems,

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...

monitors, mobile phones and other mobile terminals) to very large (102“ diagonal and higher). Small

displays A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or Touch, tactile form (the latter used for example in Refreshable Braille display, tactile electronic displays for blind people). When the input information that is su ...

are also available with

backlighting. For projection applications the company will be using laser technology in addition to LEDs. In December 2010, scientists at Osram Opto Semiconductors received the "Beckurts Prize" for their work on direct green semiconductor laser, one use for which is ultra-compact mobile RGB laser projectors. Osram Opto Semiconductors provides support for their products, including customer-specific LED colors ("Color on Demand"); intelligent sensor modules, and brand-specific headlight designs. • LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) SMD and through-hole packages in all visible colors • Silicon Photodetectors Phototransistors, PIN Photodiodes, Photo IC • Optical Sensors SMT Reflective Sensors and Slotted Interrupters • Infrared Emitters 850 nm, 880 nm, 940 nm and 950 nm wavelength • High-Power Laser Diodes Single emitters, laser bars and laser stacks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osram Opto Semiconductors Gmbh Companies based in Regensburg Light-emitting diode manufacturers German brands Sensor manufacturers