Businessweek

Cree, Inc. provides lighting-class light emitting diode (LED) products, lighting products, and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications. The company’s products are targeted for applications, such as indoor and outdoor lighting, video displays, transportation, electronic signs and signals, power supplies, solar inverters, and wireless systems. It develops and manufactures semiconductor materials and devices primarily based on silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), and related compounds. The company’s lighting products consist of both LED and traditional lighting systems. It designs, manufactures, and sells lighting systems for indoor and outdoor applications, with its primary focus on LED lighting systems for the commercial and industrial markets. The company also uses its LED systems expertise to accelerate LED lighting adoption and expand the market for its LED components. In addition, the company develops, manufactures, and sells power and RF devices. Its power products are made from SiC and provide faster switching speeds than comparable silicon-based power devices for a given power level. Its RF devices are made from GaN and produce higher power densities as compared to silicon or gallium arsenide. Segments The company operates through three segments: LED Products; Lighting Products; and Power and RF Products. LED Products This segment includes LED chips, LED components, and SiC wafers. LED Chips: The company’s LED chip products include blue and green LED chips based on GaN and related materials. LED chips or die are solid state electronic components used in various applications and are available in various brightness levels, wavelengths (color), and sizes. It uses its LED chips in the manufacturing of its LED components. Some of the company’s customers use its blue and green LED chips in various applications, including video screens, function indicator lights, automotive backlights, and gaming displays, such as pachinko. Other customers combine its blue LED chips with phosphors to create white LEDs, which are used in various applications for indoor and outdoor illumination and backlighting, full-color display screens, liquid crystal display backlighting, white keypads, and the camera flash function. LED Components: The company’s LED components include a range of packaged LED products from its XLamp LED components and LED modules for lighting applications to its LED components. Its XLamp LED components and LED modules are lighting-class packaged LED products designed to meet a range of market needs for lighting applications, including general illumination (both indoor and outdoor applications), portable, architectural, signal, and transportation lighting. The company also uses its XLamp LED components in its lighting products. The company’s LED components consist of surface mount (SMD) and through-hole packaged LED products. Its SMD LED component products are available in a range of colors designed to meet a range of market needs, including video, signage, gaming, and specialty lighting. Its through-hole packaged LED component products are available in a range of colors primarily designed for the signage market, and provide users with color and brightness consistency across a viewing area. SiC Wafers: The company’s SiC wafers are targeted for customers who use the wafers to manufacture products for optoelectronics, RF, power switching, and other applications. Corporate, government, and university customers also buy SiC materials for research and development. The company sells its wafers as a bare wafer or with epitaxial films of SiC or GaN materials. Lighting Products This segment consists of both LED and traditional lighting systems. The company’s portfolio of lighting products is designed for use in such settings as office and retail space, restaurants and hospitality, schools and universities, manufacturing, healthcare, airports, municipal, residential, street lighting and parking structures, and other applications. During the year ended June 24, 2012, the company expanded into outdoor lighting through its acquisition of Ruud Lighting, I