Electronics.ca Research Network

Solid nanoparticles and nanostructured monolithics are expected to gain significant market share over the next five years, reaching 7.4% and 2.1%, respectively, by 2017. Nanosensors’ market share is expected to increase slightly by 2017, and hollow nanoparticles should achieve their first commercial sales (other than nanoparticles used in nanocomposites). Applications in energy production, refining, storage, distribution, and transmission collectively accounted for 37% of the market in 2011 vs. 63% for applications in increasing energy efficiency. By 2017, production, refining, storage, distribution, and transmission applications are projected to have a combined market share of 33% vs. 67% for energy efficiency. Industrial processing was the largest user of nanotechnologies in 2011 with 46.1% of the total market.  Refining was the second-largest application segment in 2011 with 17.6% of the market. Other major application segments in 2011 were ethanol production with 16.4% of the market and energy-saving consumer products (mainly detergents) with 11.8%.

Photonic crystals are integrated at various levels in device-manufacturing life cycles. The predominant mode of integration is that the component or module level serves as a substitute for enhancement for existing conventional materials. It is therefore suitable to consider components and modules as the primary classification criteria for determining the market dynamics of photonic crystals.  It is indisputable that all of the components and modules have independent dynamics when it comes to their applications and regional implementations.  A breakdown along these lines provides insight into these dynamics. Solar and PV cells show extraordinary growth at a 61.1% CAGR and a forecast value of $4.1 billion in 2017. The LEDs segment is expected to have the largest market share with an expected value of $7.5 billion in 2017 after increasing at a five-year CAGR of 39%.

The applications of Gallium nitride (GaN) are expanding aggressively across various segments, especially in the Automobile segment. The evolution of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles is primarily driving the demand for GaN power semiconductors in the Automobile segment. In addition, the increase in infotainment applications in the Automobile segment is driving the demand for GaN opto-semiconductor devices in the global market. Furthermore, the increase in applications in the Defense segment is gaining traction in this market.

New automotive technologies that go beyond touchscreens, satellite radio, and voice-activated GPS commands are being tested and improved, and will soon begin to appear in many more new car models, resulting in solid growth for the automotive IC market through 2016, according to the 2013 edition of  IC Market Drivers—A Study of Emerging and Major End-Use Applications Fueling Demand for Integrated Circuits. Military-like night-vision systems that quickly identify pedestrians, animals or road hazards in low-light conditions; airbags stowed in shoulder harnesses of seatbelts; and the ability for drivers to customize the look of their dashboard instrument panels are examples of systems that are available in a select number of cars now, but will soon become available in many more vehicles. Along with backup cameras, electronic stability control, active-cruise control, and several other systems covered in the IC Market Drivers report, emerging electronic systems are forecast to help the automotive IC market grow 52% from $18.2 billion in 2012 to $27.7 billion in 2016.  This growth translates to an average annual increase of 11% for the automotive IC market.

The launch of the iPad mini in late 2012 has been seen as an acknowledgement by Apple that smaller size (7-9") tablet PCs would become a larger part of the market than larger sizes (9.7" or 10.1").  Key aspects are more attractive prices and the ability to hold the device in one hand rather than two. Data published in the latest Monthly TFT LCD Shipment Database indicate that in the first month of 2013, tablet PC panel shipments shifted dramatically toward smaller screen sizes.

Microfluidic/lab on chip (LOC) is considered a revolutionary technology for the life sciences and healthcare industry. This technology enables the integration of assay operations, such as sample pretreatment and sample preparation, on a single chip. This is radically changing the pharmaceutical and life-sciences research sector by changing the way procedures, such as DNA analysis and proteomics, are conducted. It has a wide range of applications, such as drug delivery and in vitro diagnostics, in addition to research. This is a key reason for the surge in disease diagnosis at point-of-care and other in vitro diagnostic applications, which have distinct advantages of significant time and cost reduction in testing.

Portable computer, tablet, and smartphone batteries make up one of the fastest-growing segments within the electronics market segment. This market study has identified a $2.4 billion global market for 2001. After slowly falling, sales in the market exploded due to the introduction of tablet computers and multifunctional smartphones. The $7.3 billion market in 2012 is projected to grow to $9.5 billion by 2017. The report also discusses the market potential of stationary applications. The overall stationary market was expected to reach nearly $2.8 billion in 2012. The largest increase will be for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and smaller remote stationary applications in view of protecting telecommunications facilities and preventing data lost during power outages. For instance, the global UPS large-and-advanced battery market is expected to grow from $2.3 billion in 2012 to about $2.8 billion by 2017.

The global economy has been volatile through the past 12 months, and this sense of uncertainty persisted into the first quarter of 2013. IDC expects the U.S. economy to stabilize in the second half of the year, driving IT spending growth of 5.5 percent. 2013 will be another tough year for Europe, however, where tech spending is expected to increase by just 2 percent as the Eurozone and UK struggle to shrug off the lingering debt crisis. Excluding mobile devices, growth in Europe will be less than 1 percent. Japan has meanwhile lost most of the post-reconstruction momentum that drove IT spending to increase by 4 percent in 2012, and will record IT growth of 0 percent this year.

The Touch Panel Transparent Conductive Film TCF market is $956 million in 2012. Markets are anticipated to reach $4.8 billion by 2019. ITO is an entrenched technology for displays manufacturing. Indium tin oxide (ITO) has been the transparent conductive film technology for touch screens. Newer technology will erode ITO and provide improved functionality as lower prices. Transparent conductive film supports electronic device usability. The advantage of transparent conductive film is that a very thin layer of material as a coating on a surface can provide touch screen capability. Transparent conductive film supports electronic device usability. Factors that influence commercial success in the wireless device and services market relate to usability above all: The designs of the iPhone are genius designs because of the usability they bring. Development of an integrated hardware, software and service platform to support multiple wireless network standards is an essential aspect of market participation.

There is significant growth in the inverter market, which reached $45 billion in 2012 for motion and conversion. Energy related topics have become more and more important in 2012 – vehicle electrification, renewable energies, electricity transportation, – and as a direct result, the  power electronics market has increased.  This growth is driven by high volume and cost pressure applications such as EV/HEV,  and by high added-value markets like renewable energies and rail traction.