CCFL inverters: opportunity or threat

The electronic ballast market is expected to grow at an average annual unit growth rate of 10.8% through 2010. Leading this growth is the market for cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) inverters, which are estimated to contribute a 15.4% average annual unit growth rate through 2010. However, that growth is threatened by the emergence of light emitting diodes (LEDs), and their use in backlighting. Having already displaced CCFLs in many low-wattage applications, LEDs now pose a threat to CCFLs in high-wattage segments, and are looking to capitalize on the high-growth segment of backlighting for liquid crystal display (LCD) applications.