Power ICs: Stable prices, more functionality
By James Carbone -- Purchasing, 3/26/1998
Power ICs represent a small part of the semiconductor market, but demand for the chips is growing as they are used in more electronic equipment including laptop computers, disk drives, personal digital assistants, and printers.The good news for buyers is that while prices are stable for power ICs, the functionality continues to increase as manufacturers integrate more discrete functions into the chips.
Overall, the North American power IC market is forecast to grow from about $1.47 billion in 1997 to $2.49 billion in 2000, according to market researcher Frost and Sullivan. Power ICs are growing at a rate higher than the overall power semiconductor market. Consider: In 1997 power ICs represented about 44% of the $3.29-billion power semiconductor revenue. By 2000, power IC revenue will account for 51% of the market. In addition to power ICs, the power semiconductor market includes power transistors, thyristors, and rectifiers.
"We see substantial growth because technology is allowing for very high-density surface-mount packages," says Ed Friedman, product marketing manager for SGS Thomson. This reduces board space and allows manufacturers to make equipment smaller, more efficient, and at a lower cost. Friedman says that about 20% of Power ICs are surface-mount, but that percentage will grow to about 30% in the next three years.
He says the enabling technology is a BCD MOS process that combines bipolar analog processing, cmos logic, and dmos power structures on one die. "It enables power ICs to be used in more types of equipment."
Friedman says a key trend is more integration and greater functionality in power ICs.
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