Lately, University of Cambridge spin-out CamGaN is acquired by Plessey for making white power LEDs in Plymouth.

Its critical intellectual property is a way of growing LED-quality GaN on silicon substrates. And white outputs of 150 lm/W are planned for late Q4 2012.

According to CamGaN, "Our solutions harness novel, patent-protected technologies that increase the epiwafer throughput of standard MOCVD reactors by more than 40%. By increasing throughput without compromising quality, this technology offers the ability to decrease costs of LED dies by up to 80%."

In addition, Belgian company EpiGaN and Welsh wafer maker IQE also have GaN-on-Si technology. Despites of that, Plessey pointed out, "We believe this acquisition positions us among the first commercial players to successfully manufacture high-brightness LEDs on 6in. silicon substrates."