Light -emitting diodes, those silicon chips that burn brightly but consume far less energy than regular bulbs, are in their infancy as an industry. Sales of LEDs last year were about $2 billion, or less than 3% of global spending on lights. Yet the world's biggest lighting company is already bracing for the day LED components shrivel in value.rnPhilips is aware that, before long, the cost of LED technology will plunge, as it did for semiconductors 20 years ago. It's a problem the Dutch conglomerate knows well: Its DVD players wentrnthrough the same dizzying cycle.
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