Sapphire is a single crystal of alumina. Its lattice structure is unique, wearable and resistant to wind erosion. Its hardness is second only to diamond. It has good transparency, conductivity and electrical insulation. It is an ideal substrate material for LED and SOS. In the early stage, because of its high hardness, wear resistance, gloss, light transmittance and high level of processing, and the scarcity of output, sapphire first appeared as jewelry and watch surface, and it was expensive. Since 90s, LED lighting has gradually penetrated into human life, and sapphire has been widely used in LED substrate materials. After more than 10 years of development, Apple Corp uses sapphire as protective glass for iPhone5 camera and iPhone5s Home protection glass. Sapphire has officially entered the consumer electronics market, and consumer electronics has opened new market space for the sapphire industry.

One, analysis of the sapphire industry structure

Sapphire has many advantages, such as wear resistance, scratch resistance, high transmittance and high hardness. It has been widely applied in aviation, national defense, LED, medical treatment, consumer electronics and other fields. The LED substrate is the main application of the lower sapphire downstream, with a market ratio of more than 50%. Consumer electronics, however, brings a broader space for sapphire materials.

According to the "2016-2021 years China sapphire industry development prospect prediction and investment strategic planning analysis report" released by the prospective industry research institute, LED consumed 77.23% sapphire production in the world in 2015, followed by cell phone glass, camera lens, watch and so on.

Chart 1:2015 global sapphire product structure characteristics (unit:%)

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Sapphire is a single crystal of alumina. Its lattice structure is unique, wearable and resistant to wind erosion. Its hardness is second only to diamond. It has good transparency, conductivity and electrical insulation. It is an ideal substrate material for LED and SOS. In the early stage, because of its high hardness, wear resistance, gloss, light transmittance and high level of processing, and the scarcity of output, sapphire first appeared as jewelry and watch surface, and it was expensive. Since 90s, LED lighting has gradually penetrated into human life, and sapphire has been widely used in LED substrate materials. After more than 10 years of development, Apple Corp uses sapphire as protective glass for iPhone5 camera and iPhone5s Home protection glass. Sapphire has officially entered the consumer electronics market, and consumer electronics has opened new market space for the sapphire industry.

One, analysis of the sapphire industry structure

Sapphire has many advantages, such as wear resistance, scratch resistance, high transmittance and high hardness. It has been widely applied in aviation, national defense, LED, medical treatment, consumer electronics and other fields. The LED substrate is the main application of the lower sapphire downstream, with a market ratio of more than 50%. Consumer electronics, however, brings a broader space for sapphire materials.

According to the "2016-2021 years China sapphire industry development prospect prediction and investment strategic planning analysis report" released by the prospective industry research institute, LED consumed 77.23% sapphire production in the world in 2015, followed by cell phone glass, camera lens, watch and so on.

Chart 1:2015 global sapphire product structure characteristics (unit:%)

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Three. Forecast of industry development prospect

Now, more than 70% sapphires in the market are used for LED substrates. In 2015, the scale of LED sapphire market in China was 1 billion 520 million yuan. Accordingly, the estimated market size of sapphire industry in China is 2 billion 170 million yuan in 2015.

Considering the application of sapphire to protect screen, if Apple can import sapphire protection screen into iPhone 8 in 2017, sapphire optical application needs will take off quickly. Not only has the opportunity to change the excess capacity in the market, but also causes a short supply in the short term for 2017-2018 years. Prospective analysis suggests that in the future the Apple Corp will not introduce sapphire protective screen of iPhone 8, Chinese sapphire industry will maintain a growth rate of about 30%, by 2021 the industry market size of about 10 billion 500 million yuan; if the Apple Corp in 2017 will be introduced in iPhone 8 sapphire screen, the sapphire industry will reach 60% growth rate by 2021, the industry market size will reach 12 billion 900 million yuan.