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Business
12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2013
Business  
Business
Business

Cree, Inc. (the Company) is a leading innovator of lighting-class light emitting diode (LED) products, lighting products and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications. The Company's products are targeted for applications such as indoor and outdoor lighting, video displays, transportation, electronic signs and signals, power supplies, inverters and wireless systems.
The Company develops and manufactures semiconductor materials and devices primarily based on silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN) and related compounds. In many cases, the properties of SiC and GaN offer technical advantages over traditional silicon, gallium arsenide (GaAs) and other materials used for electronic applications.
The Company's LED products consist of LED components, LED chips, and SiC materials. As LED technology improves, the Company believes the potential market for LED lighting will continue to expand. The Company's success in selling LED products depends upon the ability to offer innovative products and its ability to enable its customers to develop and market LED-based products that successfully compete and drive LED adoption against traditional lighting products.
The Company's lighting products consist of both LED and traditional lighting systems. The Company designs, manufactures and sells lighting fixtures and lamps for the commercial, industrial and consumer markets.
In addition, the Company develops, manufactures and sells power and RF devices. The Company's power products are made from SiC and provide increased efficiency, faster switching speeds and reduced system size and weight over comparable silicon-based power devices. The Company's RF devices are made from GaN and provide improved efficiency, bandwidth and frequency of operation as compared to silicon or gallium arsenide.
The majority of the Company's products are manufactured at its production facilities located in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and China. The Company also uses contract manufacturers for certain aspects of product fabrication, assembly and packaging. The Company operates research and development facilities in North Carolina, California, Wisconsin, India, and China.
Cree, Inc. is a North Carolina corporation established in 1987 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.
As of June 30, 2013, the Company has three reportable segments:
LED Products
Lighting Products
Power and RF Products

For financial results by reportable segment, please refer to Note 13, "Reportable Segments."