The automotive semiconductor market’s long design-in cycles are really starting to pay off, now that more technological advancements are in the hands of real drivers.
Semiconductor suppliers such as Freescale Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors, Robert Bosch, and others are now realising a volume payoff for high-end products used in collision avoidance, driver assistance, and drive-by-wire powertrain applications. Significant factors include new standards in how subsystems communicate with each other, how power is delivered and controlled, and how information is delivered to the driver and passengers. One exciting development in this market is that the new technologies can supplement existing designs, which spells increasing content or chip count, an outlook that automotive semiconductor suppliers can truly appreciate.
In communications, for example, supplemental interface standards are enhancing existing CAN and LIN networks that have been in use in cars and trucks since the 1980s. The ever-increasing use of sensors in automotive control has led to a need for faster data transmission rates. This is a requirement that could be met by the new FlexRay standard. A mass transition to FlexRay would be significant, not only in terms of the demand for signal chain ICs, but also because of the controllers used to run these drive-by-wire applications, which must be FlexRay-compatible.
With this increasing use of sensors and new microcontrollers, power IC manufacturers are also seeing increased demand for their regulators, which are used to deliver the right amount of power to these circuits. Again, not replacing older technology, per se, but charging up existing systems with a new layer of control, driving advancing unit demand for power ICs in automotive. Much of this vehicle technology is behind the scenes, yet the expansion of silicon content has become quite visible to the consumer. Everything from in-cabin LED lighting to flat panel display instrumentation is working its way from high-end luxury autos down to midrange cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Instrumental factors in the automotive semiconductor forecast include exponentially-increasing silicon content, and the increasing volume of the types of vehicles incorporating chips. Most notably, the forecast includes sensors, optoelectronics (mostly LEDs), and microcontrollers, all adding to the overall compound annual growth rate of 9% over the forecast period. At 9%, the automotive market is catching up to some of the other major market segments in terms of growth.
Databeans forecasts the following worldwide automotive semiconductor revenue by product over 2006 to 2011: discretes, 2%; optoelectronics, 14%; sensors, 19%; analog, 8%; MPU, 4%; MCU, 10%; DSP, 8%; logic, 9%; memory, 8%.
For more information contact Susie Inouye, Databeans, sinouye@databeans.net
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