April 2016

Increasing numbers of IoT solutions, adds to the growth in new design starts.  Certain applications, such as those associated with automotive, are expected to follow a higher growth curve over the next few years.  In addition to all the infotainment accessories and electric vehicle demands that have already been added to vehicles, the vision of autonomous driving brings a need for safety, connectivity and more accurate sensing capabilities.

The Wafer Demand Summary and Assumptions is a quarterly publication. It includes an excel spreadsheet with annual wafer demand by product by technology from 2010-2020. Product categories include DRAM, SRAM, NAND, NOR, Other Non-volatile, MPU, MCU, DSP, Computing Micro Logic, Communications, Other Micro Logic, Programmable Logic, Standard Cell, Gate Array, Analog, Discrete, Optoelectronics, Digital Bipolar. In addition, there is a summary write-up providing the major assumptions behind the forecast and changes from the previous quarter.

Whether it’s the Internet of Things (IoT), wearables, or industrial automation, new devices and applications are portable, battery-operated and require continuous power.  Wireless connectivity is required for connecting to the Internet.  Today’s devices collect and transmit data from sensors, are always or almost always on and require power.  The semiconductor industry has met the challenge to design devices for low power operation.  But eventually batteries still run out of energy and have to be replaced or recharged.