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October 2011

Semico CTO Tony Massimini to Speak at MEMS Executive Congress

Tony Massimini
Chief of Technology
Semico Research

Phoenix, Arizona October 25, 2011 - Tony Massimini, Chief of Technology for Semico Research, will speak at the MEMS Executive Congress on November 2, 2011. Tony will provide a semiconductor and MEMS market outlook during the MEMS Market Analyst Panel, to be held from 2:10-4:30pm.

Power Management Controls the World

Phoenix, Arizona October 18, 2011 - Power management ICs (PMICs) are your friend. These overlooked, but very necessary devices, help manage and prolong battery life in the indispensable electronics we all rely on: iPhones, iPads, Droid phones, Blackberries, laptops, etc.

45nm and Below Grabs 24% of Wafer Demand in 2011

2011 Wafer Demand by Product by Technology Phoenix, Arizona October 14, 2011 - The economic malaise in Europe and the U.S., along with the natural disasters around the world, have put a damper on 2011 semiconductor sales. Heading into the holiday buying season, consumer confidence is low and inventories are higher than preferred. OEMs are, at best, cautious and in most cases, pessimistic about their markets. Semico expected a shakeout in the tablet market and anticipated slower economic growth; however, conditions in the 3rd quarter prompted a downward adjustment to the forecast.

Remembering Steve Jobs and the Apple II

published by Semico_Admin on Wed, 2011-10-12 17:27

In the last few days, many articles have been written about Steve Job’s contributions.  They tend to focus on recent product introductions, the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone and the iPad.  Those are sensational products; but, in my opinion the authors’ memories are too short.  The articles do not give proper recognition to Steve Job’s first big hit, the Apple II.

In 1978 I was working for EMM Semi, a pioneering 4K SRAM manufacturer.  Yes, 4K!  In June of that year I went to the National Computer Conference in Anaheim, Ca.  It was a big iron show.  The main hall featured exhibits by IBM and the Seven Dwarfs, (Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA and Sperry Rand) as well as minicomputer manufacturers such as Digital Equipment Corp. and Data General.  Microcomputers were only allowed, very grudgingly, in a much smaller, dingier hall across the street.  None of the big iron people thought microcomputers were a real market.

I remember counting something like one-hundred-forty small microcomputer manufacturers at that show.  Because almost every microcomputer manufacturer had a proprietary operating system, there were nearly as many operating systems.  The Wintel partnership was far in the future.

GSA Ecosystem Summit: Supply Chain Links Strengthened

Joanne Itow's picture
published by Joanne Itow on Tue, 2011-10-11 17:11

Although news from Japan regarding the earthquake and tsunami recovery efforts comes less frequently than before, the ripple effects of the disaster can still be felt in the semiconductor industry’s operation strategies.

At the GSA Ecosystem Summit held in Santa Clara last week, Hugh Durdan from eSilicon moderated a panel on the best practices for successful supply chain relationships.  IBM, Intel, Qualcomm and Tensoft, Inc weighed in on some of the changes they’ve implemented since the disaster in Japan.  IBM’s Dale Miller said they’ve made some very subtle changes looking at the whole system.  IBM looks at their needs over a 2-year horizon, not just one year.  They take a longer forecast approach to plan for capacity needs and that involves getting closer to both suppliers and customers.

Intel ‘s Tim Lloyd said they created a hierarchy of suppliers looking at both their upside and downside capabilities.  A blanket increase in capacity, without a corresponding needs assessment, doesn’t always mitigate risk.  The supply chain reaction should be significantly different depending on if the change is due to an overall shift in the industry or limited to one company’s market share.

They all agreed that better communication with customers and suppliers is critical in today’s environment but the question now is how much information do you provide them?

Analog Will Reach $61.9 Billion by 2015

Michell Prunty's picture
published by Michell Prunty on Wed, 2011-10-05 11:07

The semiconductor market may be experiencing a downturn, but that doesn't have to mean all news is bad news. Analog, within the Computing, Consumer, and Communications markets, will see some strong growth over the next few years, growing 13.8%, 8.6%, and 12.8% in 2011, 2012, and 2013 respectively.

These numbers are pulled from our MAP Model database, Semico's way to track semiconductor migration within end-use markets. This method accounts for about 80% of the overall market.

Our overall Analog numbers include the following categories:

  • Standard Linear
  • Amplifiers
  • Interface
  • Voltage Regulators and Reference Circuits
  • Data Conversion Circuits
  • Comparators
  • Application Specific Analog ICs (Small Scale Complexity)
  • Application Specific Analog ICs (Medium Scale Complexity)
  • Application Specific Analog ICs (Large Scale Complexity)

All of these categories combined will reach $61.9 billion, a 7.9% increase over 2010's $42.4 billion.

Breaking this number out farther, we can see that in 2010, the consumer market accounted for 33.3% of the Analog market, but in 2015, it will only account for 23.4%. Where is that Analog migrating?

To smartphones.

Analog to Reach $61.9 Billion by 2015

Phoenix, Arizona October 4, 2011 - The semiconductor market may be experiencing a downturn, but that doesn't have to mean all news is bad news. Analog, within the Computing, Consumer, and Communications markets, will see some strong growth over the next few years, growing 13.8%, 8.6%, and 12.8% in 2011, 2012, and 2013 respectively. These numbers are pulled from our MAP Model database, Semico's way to track semiconductor migration within end-use markets. This method accounts for about 80% of the overall market.

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