Analog ASICs show flattish CAGR, says Gartner
Peter Clarke
EE Times

01/11/2010 9:42 AM EST
URL: http://www.eetimessupplynetwork.com/222300275

LONDON — Revenue for application-specific analog integrated circuits (ICs) totaled $28.1 billion in 2008 and will reach $32.2 billion in 2013, according to a new report from Gartner. This corresponds to a CAGR of about 2.75 percent.

However, the market is likely to have fallen in 2009 and that would call for stronger CAGR from 2009 through 2013.

In 2008 communications accounted for $13.8 billion; almost 50 percent of all application-specific analog ICs. Communications will continue to be the biggest user of application-specific analog ICs although PC peripherals and consumer ICs will show the fastest growth rates, Gartner said.

While the markets for storage and special interface ICs will decline slightly, PC peripherals will grow from $1.7 billion in 2008 to $2.5 billion in 2013 — a 7.7 percent CAGR.

These application-specific standard products (ASSPs) include Northbridge controllers with graphics data converters and Southbridge controllers, which provide computer-specific audio and network interfaces.

Among consumer circuits, specialized cable drivers (such as those for the high-definition media interface [HDMI]) will show the fastest growth (a 5.1 percent CAGR), followed by tuner chips (4.5%), and audio amplifiers and filters (4.3 percent).

Mobile handsets accounted for 72.6 percent of application-specific analog circuits in communications in 2008 and 35.5 percent of all application-specific analog circuits in all applications. These include custom power management ICs, radio frequency transmitter-receivers, audio codecs and Bluetooth transceivers.

As a general rule, standard analog ICs represent roughly 40 percent of the total analog market; application-specific devices are roughly 60 percent. Standard analog ICs represented $17.8 billion or 38.8 percent of the total in 2008, Gartner said.