The 2nd Derivative Capex Paradox Update

Jay Liebowitz recently commented on my Second Derivative Paradox where I explain how capital equipment markets can gyrate wildly even though the end-use product grows steadily.  Among other things, he points out that equipment sales can surge even when there is excess capacity because companies need to retool for new products.  This can happen because of the steady progress of technology: smaller via holes or more thin-film solar modules.  It can also happen if certain lines are specially qualified and others aren't. 

I can add that the inefficiencies of capitalism play in the equipment makers' favor: the churn in end-product manufacturers moves the manufacturing from company to company, creating shortage in new places and surplus in others.  So, even though a manufacturer has excess overall capacity, it may have to tool up a new line because that line has different requirements than its other ones.   

I am re-running the earlier posts below if you haven't seen them or can't link to them.  They are here and here.  I didn't update the solar numbers since my point is more conceptual.

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How could equipment sales in an exponentially-growing market be anything but upward? It happens all the time. Welcome to the 2nd-Derivative Paradox. That's my name for the trap that one can fall into when it comes to capital equipment markets. Solar is a great example. It's hard to explain the paradox, though, so bear with me.


Start with installed capacity. If you are a power generator, you think in terms of the cumulative installed generating capacity in the world. This is what the users actually use. The figure shows three scenarios how that might play out, and they all look pretty much the same in this chart. Nice, steep slopes. Note how they all start at the same point and end up at the same point.



Then look at panel shipments. But the solar panel industry isn't interested in what's already out there. It needs to ship new panels every year. The shipments amount to a 1st derivative: the new capacity that's added to the infrastructure every year. Now the differences in the scenarios show through, as shown in the second figure. But the scenarios all show steep upward growth. What's to worry about?

Now look at panel manufacturing equipment. The solar manufacturing equipment industry, and that includes lasers--isn't even interested in solar shipments, but the need for more manufacturing capacity to make the panels. You only need more equipment when you are shipping more panels than before. That amounts to a 2nd derivative of the cumulative generating capacity, and can give wildly different results. New equipment is shipped in all three scenarios, but in the "sustaining" scenario the equipment shipments are flat year after year, while in the "slowing" scenario they start out strong, but then decline. Ouch.

Other traps. Of course we would all like to live in the "growing" scenario. The trouble is, strong positive exponential growth doesn't last indefinitely, no matter what they say. And that's not even considering some ups and downs along the way, like this year. A slight shift in the solar panel shipments wreaks total havoc for equipment shipments.



Other things that juice equipment sales. The same trap exists in other industries, too. But there are other details to consider. First, there is usually some churn in suppliers. Machines also get obsolete. And there is also the early obsolescence forced by things like Moore's Law. These all have to be considered.

Watch that 2nd derivative. Don't get me wrong. I love solar. I had a summer job at TI testing solar cells back in the Jimmy Carter era. We all believe it's going to be a great thing in coming decades. But it's not enough that the cumulative generating capacity will be on a steep upward slope for years to come, because when it comes to manufacturing equipment, it's the 2nd derivative that counts.


Some real numbers.  What happens when we plug in some numbers that may be more or less what we expect the solar market to be?



I’ve done that in this figure. The first thing to notice is that the cumulative generating capacity—the top curve and what the power companies think about—goes up all through the forecast.

The next thing you notice is that the new module shipments—that’s the middle curve—takes a dip in 2009. This isn’t too surprising, given the recession, tight credit, and low oil prices. The dip isn’t too big and it’s in record territory again by 2011.

But what is really interesting is the bottom curve. That’s the new factory capacity that’s needed to make the modules each year. This correlates directly to lasers sold for making cells. That curve actually goes to zero, even negative, for a couple of years. And even in the recovery it only hangs around the 2008 level through 2013. In other words, the laser sales will not rocket upwards like the module sales through 2013.

Of course, there are some problems with this simple chart. The new factory capacity (laser sales) probably don’t go negative. That would mean companies were taking equipment out of commission. While I have heard of this happening in 2009, it’s not widespread. Companies want to be ready for the recovery. And, there are always new suppliers, and old suppliers expanding and upgrading equipment. That raises sales above zero.

On the other hand, there is also inventory in the supply chain and used equipment for sale. That pushes the recovery further into the future.

To a first approximation, the chart is a good model, and a good example of what I call the "second derivative paradox." At least it’s better than looking at the other two curves and assuming something similar.

Mind the export regulations and help LEOMA change them

It may be a flat economy, but export regulations still matter. Rocky Mountain Instrument and BAE Systems both found out the hard way last year. And meanwhile, the trade group LEOMA is pushing the U.S. government toward more relaxed regulations.

First, what happened to RMI--Rocky Mountain Instrument? In 2008 it had over $15 million in revenues and 150 employees (here's a photo for proof). But it was raided in 2007 for ITAR violations, filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and in June of last year, the Colorado-based company was slapped with a $1 million criminal fine. It pleaded guilty to selling ITAR-controlled prisms and data to such places as China, Russia, Turkey, and South Korea without a State Department license.

At the time of the raid, RMI waved off the accusations. Something about a disgruntled employee and that the investigation didn't involve RMI Lasers but rather a supplier. But RMI pleaded guilty in a plea deal in June. It's said that RMI cooperated throughout the investigation, and its web site is now very explicit about export regulations.

RMI certainly isn't alone. A recent violation by none other than BAE Systems led to a $400 million criminal fine. And in fact an article in Military and Aerospace Electronics points out some common mistakes that can get companies into some nasty trouble, such as:

* Misclassifying or changing classifications in the ITAR list
* Improper access to IT files for ITAR products
* Lack of licensing for non-citizens working on ITAR products
* Monitoring only hardware, while not complying on services as well

Entirely apart from this, the trade group LEOMA is working to steer the Commerce Department toward more reasonable restrictions. The administration wants to "build higher fences around fewer items" using a tiered system. The thing is, its proposed tiers include a lot of lasers that are already made and sold outside of the U.S. LEOMA wants to be sure that U.S. companies don't face unnecessary barriers to doing business for run-of-the-mill commercial applications.

It's tedious but important stuff. LEOMA is asking for support in its effort. Please contact Breck Hitz at breck@leoma.com to contribute.

New LED market data for SIL 2011

We have some new market numbers for the LED world: HB-LEDs passed into the double-digit billion dollar territory in 2010, while LED luminaires will reach $8.4 billion by 2014. These numbers will be discussed at the Strategies in Light event in Santa Clara next week.

The LEDs market number is up significantly from last year, due to the stronger than expected growth in LED backlights for LCD displays. And by the way, China is coming on strong in both the demand for and supply of LEDs.

In LED luminaires, the largest segment is in consumer portables: flashlights, worklamps, and so forth. The transition to LEDs in that segment is almost complete, which is very rapid for a new technology. The strongest growth in luminaires is in residential lighting, but starting from a small base.

What’s driving this? Heightened awareness of energy efficiency, phasing out incandescent bulbs, and fiscal stimuli certainly helped.

Oh and yes, China is now both the largest end market and the largest supplier of LED luminaires. Sound familiar?

SIL 2011 is next week and it looks like it will break attendance records once again. It’s going on Tuesday through Thursday at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The conference will feature 66 speakers spanning two main sessions, an investors forum, and workshops and tutorials. There will also be presentations in the Lighting Pavilion each day on the show floor.

How many MOCVD reactors is too many?

We took a look recently at the bubble in sales of MOCVD reactors for LED production. We set out to sort out who wins and who loses. It turned out more complicated than we first thought.

There have never been so many orders in the history of MOCVD. Just to give you an idea of the scale, in January there was a rumor that Golden Concord Holdings in Hong Kong wants to purchase 500 reactors as part of a new $2.5 billion investment in LEDs. Several companies have orders to buy over 100 reactors each. Aixtron and Veeco are working like crazy to deliver them.

But it’s too many. The figure below compares what we think the world needs to meet near-term LED production to what the world seems to be asking for. Since then, Barclays Capital raised its estimate of MOCVD shipments for 2011 to 900, from 800. While we may disagree about what actually may be delivered, much less what is actually brought into production, this much is sure: there is a big mismatch. Our question is: who wins and who loses?



I suggest that you read the full article in LEDs Magazine for the whole story. In the meantime, suffice it to say that there will be a lot of winners: end-users of LEDs, China, and the MOCVD reactor vendors, to name a few. Lower-tier LED suppliers may feel the most pressure. And yes, a few investors may get stuck with expensive paperweights.

Warm weather and a good mood at Photonics West

The mood at Photonics West reminded me of a team when it’s winning its games. The mood was good and no one wanted to spend too much time second guessing what they are doing. Whatever they are doing, it’s working.

This is no surprise, really, given that photonics markets were all up in 2010 over 2009 (see the annual Laser Focus market article--more on the other markets in future posts). Just showing up is an accomplishment, two years after the recession hit.

This is in sharp contrast to this time 2009, when it still wasn’t clear how deep and how long the recession would go. While the recession itself wasn’t the fault of the photonics industry, the stock market was nervous. Company executives had to go over and over their businesses and make corrections. All the while hoping for a few big wins.

If you listen carefully, there were whispers that not everyone is better off than last year. Especially among the smaller, private companies, and among venture financed companies that might be running out of time for a successful exit. And while some said that credit and investment has thawed, others said that the money is going elsewhere. It depends who you are.

But that's for another day. The event broke its record with over 19,000 attendees, split approximately evenly among conference attendees, show attendees, and exhibitors. Even the weather was unseasonably warm.

No one is second guessing the move to San Francisco anymore either. SPIE is happy with the San Francisco location and has no plans to return to San Jose.

The Un-Trends in Photonics Markets

In the last post I ruminated on the best market trends of the decade in photonics. This time we examine that trends that weren't: the Un-Trends.

The decline of optical storage. Remember laser disks that were as big as vinyl records? Remember when CDs were displacing magnetic tapes? Remember CDs? The business of optical storage has been hit by a triple whammy: falling sales as downloads increase and falling prices due to commoditization. The iPad is the next big thing and--surprise!--there's no DVD player there. Not now, not ever. The future for optical storage is now in mass storage. And there's a chance that lasers will be needed to take magnetic storage a little further. Stay tuned.

The long winter of telecom components. The telecom components business never really recovered from the boom of the late 90s. Or shall we say it's back to the business it always was. Components. There are some successes, and stock prices are back to "normal," but overall it's nothing to brag about. Companies struggled through the decade to fill their fabs, move production to China, and just stay open. It's better now, but somehow it feels like there wasn't closure.

The elusive photonic integrated circuit. Twenty years ago it was called the OEIC, the optoelectronic integrated circuit. That was Bell Labs. In the 90s, Japanese companies pushed PLCs, photonic lightwave circuits. Now there are photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and the likes of Infinera and Luxtera. And of course there's the mother-of-all-quests: Intel's search for the silicon laser. (A 2006 article asks: lasers integrated into CMOS by 2010?) It's all nice work, and we're happy for Infinera--it's done a remarkable job. But the classical idea of the uber-circuit that will integrate smoothly with silicon--it's soooo 20th century. Get over it. What works is very piecemeal: some hybrid pick-and-place here, monolithic integration of a modulator there, and even then the economics can be questionable. The problem is that these approaches work best when you have high volumes, but high volume products are already commoditized in Asian factories. The real successes are much less dramatic. Think optical mouse, not 100G.

Optical computing is dead, long live optics in computing! I mean here the type of optical computing where the processor is all-optical. I worked on a project about this in the 1990s, with Japan, and there's still a little funding in it. The closest thing to it nowadays may be the all-optical telecom switch. (The name "switch" doesn't do it justice. They are pretty complex.) The optical processor is a nice idea ("it travels at the speed of light!") but it turns out that electronics is really really good, and really really cheap. Oh, and it's way easy to program. Now if you are talking about "optics in computing", that's another thing. There are optics everywhere inside a computer: the display, the mouse, the camera, the DVD player, maybe even a fiber cable someday (one can hope).

The death of CRTs, photographic film, and fax machines. The triumph of flat displays means the death of CRTs. What a great technology. Tubes are still preferred in various niches in electronics (take apart your microwave oven if you don't believe me). But I'm glad to see them go. Ever tried to carry a big CRT? (You can still buy one. Check Amazon.) Photographic film is still around too, although the last Kodachrome processor closed after Kodak stopped supporting the chemicals needed to develop it (see photos from the last roll here). It's hard to miss film, especially in the dentist's office or the hospital x-ray lab. And fax machines will still be around for faxing legal and medical documents, and for receiving wacky advertisements (does that ever sell anything?).

There's more, but isn't 5 enough?

The Decade's 5 Best Market Trends in Photonics

Well, it'over: the decade-that-could-not-be-named (2001-2010). Time for a list of the Decade's 5 Best Market Trends in Photonics:

The triumph of flat displays. Remember the see-through iMacs? Don't CRTs look soooo 20th century now? And how about the touch screens for smart phones? They don't just make a nicer phone. They transform how we live. This is #1 because of the sheer size of the display industry, and its impact on everything else.

Cellphone cameras relaunch the image sensor market. The first cameraphone showed up in 2000, in Japan. There are now over 1 billion mobile phone handsets shipped every year, and most have cameras. That volume drives lots of other applications. And the quality! Again, transformative, and billions in new photonics revenue.

The Green Revolution: LEDs and solar. High-brightness LEDs are all about taking an old technology and improving the brightness to do some new things--a marketing VP's dream. This decade saw LEDs in mobile phones and TV backlights, but the talk now is about LED lighting taking over the world. And how about that solar market! Many investors have lost money in solar companies, but they keep coming. Somehow, we all want to be part of it. (I was too, back that was back in the 1970s.)

Molecular imaging and all other thing biophotonic. The average person on the street doesn't know it, but photonics is making a huge impact in biomedicine, from diagnostics to therapy. Optical molecular imaging is my favorite because of the promise it brings in finally solving some difficult and costly medical challenges. But there is also mid-IR spectroscopy, ultrafast surgery, OCT, and many more.

IPG and the fiber laser. Several companies had fiber laser products in the 1990s, but IPG Photonics gets credit for making it a big name in materials processing today, and the 5th largest maker of non-diode lasers. Ha! No one is laughing now. The fiber laser is one of the laser types you would design if you could pick only one, and if you had the materials you have today. The diode laser is the other.

There you have it. Next time if I get to it, the Decade's 5 Un-Trends in Photonics.