Semiconductors

The value of crystal oscillator market is estimated to be $2,033.67 million in 2013 and is expected to reach $2,719.00 million in 2018, at an estimated CAGR of 6.0% from 2013 to 2018. In terms of volume, the total number of crystal oscillators shipped is estimated to be 1544.74 million in 2013 and is expected to reach 2297.16 million by 2018, at an estimated CAGR of 8.3% from 2013 to 2018.

According to a new market research report “Global Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) market (2013-2018) by Application (Consumer electronics, Automotive, Aviation, Military, Optical 3D measurement, Medical), Product (Projectors, HUD & HMD) and Geography (North America, Europe, APAC & ROW)”, the total market is expected to reach $1.75 billion by 2018, at a CAGR of 27.0%.

According to the company's executive vice president and co-operating officer, Chiang Shan-yi, Fab 14 is TSMC's first factory to mass-produce 16-nanometer FinFET transistors and the world's first factory to begin volume production of 20nm system-on-chips.

Throughout 2012, the expectations for global economic growth have consistently deteriorated.  Global GDP growth is now expected to expand by an estimated 2.6% in 2012, very close to the global recession threshold of 2.5% and well below the long-term average growth rate of 3.5%. However, the forecast for worldwide GDP in 2013 is 3.2% growth. Though better than 2012, this would still be 0.3 points below the long-term average growth rate.  With one month remaining in 2012, there are hints that the economies in China and the U.S. are improving, including stronger housing demand and hiring in the U.S., and accelerating factory output and retail sales in China.

TV manufacturers are looking ahead to find the next big technology driver for TVs.  In the near-term, smart TVs represent a solid growth driver.  Just as smartphones brought the Internet and thousands of applications to cellphone users, smart TV is bringing Internet features to television by offering TV broadcasts, videos, movies, photos, and other content via the web and Cloud-based video on demand (VOD) services.  Smart TVs have evolved from simply having the ability to connect to the Internet and provide web browsing, to having the ability to download and run apps, to including sophisticated technologies and multiscreen interaction and using TVs in combination with handheld devices for a more interactive experience.  IC Insights estimates that smart TVs represented 28% of television shipments in 2012 and are forecast to account for 62% of TV shipments in 2016.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design, today announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $24.79 billion for the month of September 2012, a 2 percent increase from the prior month when sales were $24.30 billion. Sales from the third quarter of 2012 totaled $74.4 billion - a 1.8 percent jump compared to the previous quarter - but total 2012 sales were down 4.7 percent compared to the same time last year. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average.  

The top 20 semiconductor suppliers are forecast to register a 1% decline in sales this year (about $3.2 billion), one point better than the rate of decline expected for the total worldwide semiconductor market in 2012. The only expected movement with regard to the top 5 spots in the 2012 ranking is that fabless supplier Qualcomm is forecast to register a 30% surge in sales this year and move up three positions to replace TI as the fourth largest semiconductor supplier.  In contrast, Freescale is forecast to register a 14% decline in semiconductor revenue this year and drop down three positions from 16th in 2011 to 19th in the 2012 ranking.

The semiconductor industry is well known for the rapid pace of technical innovation. Memory companies go through half-pitch shrinks yearly and logic companies go through node changes every two to three years. Looming on the horizon is a wide variety of new devices, materials and equipment: MRAM, PCRAM, RRAM, Multigate, FDSOI, III-V/Ge channels, BST, STO and the list goes on. If you need to understand and plan for these transitions the IC Knowledge Strategic Products are the solutions for you. The Strategic Products present you with easy to use models based on the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) that fully map out the implications of these technology transitions.

According to a new technical market research report, GLOBAL MARKETS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTORS, global sales from compound semiconductor components totaled nearly $25.5 billion in 2011 and should surpass $27 billion in 2012. Total sales are expected to reach nearly $47.5 billion in 2017 after increasing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9%.

The global market for Secure Digital (SD) Memory Cards is forecast to reach US$21.3 billion by the year 2018, driven by urgent requirement for scalability, higher speed and storage capacity, portability and ease of use. The market is primarily sustained by heavy demand from smartphones as well as basic mobile handsets that lack sufficient memory capabilities. In terms of growth, mobile sector with the Micro SD format will witness faster growth vis-à-vis the digital imaging market for SD standard card format, given the different life cycles stages of the devices.