IC manufacturers are ready to conquer the analog arena

fighting

IC manufacturers are ready to conquer the analog arena [Copy link]

　　Stimulated by the applications of 3G, digital TV and audio consumption, the heroes in the field of analog IC are ready to go with their persistent innovation,
complete product range, positioning in line with the times and strong and continuous hunger . In the future, more exciting dramas will be staged in the market competition. 　　Always keep "hunger" 　　What is hunger? For manufacturers, it means to fight tirelessly and win the market. 　　The ranking of the top ten analog IC manufacturers in 2005 has been released. Compared with 2004, the ranking of each company has not changed, but the increase and decrease of each company's sales are very different. According to the preliminary forecast of Databeans , among the top ten manufacturers, TI, the leader, has a strong growth momentum in 2005. Its market share in the analog market has increased from 13.9% in 2004 to 16.5% in 2005, and its sales revenue has increased from 4.35 billion US dollars to 5.26 billion US dollars, with a growth rate of 21%. 　　The fastest growing companies in the analog market are Linear and Freescale , with Linear's sales growth rate reaching 14% and Freescale's 7%. ST ranked second with a weak growth of only 2%. The worst was Infineon, which had a negative growth of 12% . In addition, Philips, ADI, and NS had negative growth of less than 5% but of varying magnitudes. Maxim and Toshiba ranked seventh and tenth, with growth of 1% and 2% respectively. "Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp", such stories are constantly being played out 　　in the gradually developing and mature semiconductor industry . TI, which started out as a digital business, gradually strengthened its advantages in the analog business through multiple acquisitions, especially the acquisition of Burr-Brown, which specializes in high-performance data converters and amplifiers, in 2000 , which further established TI's position in the analog field. TI has held the top spot in this market for three years. 　　In recent years, DSP and simulation have always been the strategic positioning that TI has insisted on. In the fields of communication and entertainment, the strong and continuous "hunger" has made TI persevere in exploring and grasping the opportunities of emerging markets. Communication and entertainment are the two target markets that TI is targeting. TI 's market performance in 2005 is closely related to its frequent launch of innovative products and its large and efficient sales team. 　　At present, it seems that no one can shake TI's dominant position. However, there are reports that Philips and ST have the intention to cooperate. The combined market share of the two companies of 19.7% will exceed TI's 16.5%, and the position of the leader in the analog market will belong to someone else. In addition, Freescale, which has been cooperating with Philips and ST for many years, there is also a certain possibility that the three companies will merge. 　　ADI, which started out as an amplifier and is a master of the analog world, has been more defensive than offensive in recent years. In comparison, its market performance has been mediocre. However, in 2005, we saw that ADI also began to focus on emerging applications in the fields of communication, digital television, and automotive electronics, and continued to develop new products and increase publicity in data converters, sensors, etc. 　　In order to further concentrate on building the advantages of analog business, some other analog manufacturers with their own characteristics made a series of strategic adjustments in 2005. NS sold some non businesses, Fairchild will increase R&D investment in power products and further provide localized services, Linear will open a new semiconductor test factory, and Cirrus Logic announced that it will abandon the digital video product line to focus more on analog business. 　　2006 is a year full of expectations. Stimulated by the application of 3G, digital TV and audio consumption , heroes from all walks of life are confident and ready to go, and the analog world will stage more exciting performances. 　　Get rid of the "Moore's Law" curse 　　Moore's Law has been proposed for 40 years, and the development of the semiconductor industry has basically followed this law. The integration of chips has been doubling, and the cost has been continuously reduced. The development of digital IC has experienced waves of impact, but the analog IC market with higher gross profit margins should still be a bright space. 　　NS is a manufacturer focusing on analog technology. It has been concentrating on developing products with higher gross margins . This is also the company's strategy and goal for risk control and long-term development. In fiscal 2005, most of its gross profit growth came from "newly launched" analog products. According to the profit-oriented operating model, Silicon Labs also focuses on applications with large sales volume, high profits and long product life cycle , designs high-performance mixed-signal devices with rich analog circuits, and will continue to launch unique products in the future. 　　Therefore, as a company focusing on analog technology, NS and many other companies claim to have gotten rid of the tight spell of Moore's Law. Li Qian, general manager of NS China, said: "We are more focused on developing various industry-leading analog products with higher gross margins to meet customer needs." It is not difficult to understand why many manufacturers in the analog field have strengthened their publicity efforts or changed their strategies, and even many emerging small companies and even local manufacturers are extremely active in the industry. 　　The continuous improvement of chip integration means a decrease in prices. As the semiconductor industry becomes increasingly mature, "Moore's Law" will no longer be a law not only in the analog market, but also in the entire semiconductor industry. The development of semiconductors is more restricted by economic factors. Industry veteran Mo Dakang analyzed that as the semiconductor industry matures, its development speed will slow down, and it will be difficult to maintain the double-digit high-speed growth of previous years. Semiconductors are becoming more and . There is no doubt that 　　China must become China's "ADI" 　　. China is a country with great demand in the global analog IC market, and its share of the global market is constantly increasing. At present, in the Chinese mainland market, the main providers of analog ICs come from Europe, the United States, Japan and Taiwan. TI, ST, Infineon, Philips, ADI, NS and others occupy the vast majority of the market share. 　　Although local manufacturers still have a weak voice in China's analog market, we are also pleased to see that a number of Chinese mainland companies are rising, such as Apexon Microelectronics, which focuses on mixed-signal and analog ICs , Zhuhai JieLi, Shenzhen Ankai, and Beijing Zhongli, which focus on mobile multimedia processor chips.










































































　　The company has made breakthroughs in eight core technologies: crystal-free USB full integration
technology , high-performance digital audio drive technology , high-definition rear-projection TV focus technology, broadband communication core chip technology, broadband communication system application technology, 3G communication digital-analog hybrid technology, and contactless sensing application technology. Its main product lines are concentrated in four series: audio, video, USB , and data converters. 　　Looking ahead to 2006, Gao Yong, CEO of Apexon Microelectronics, said that Apexon will continue to innovate and meet market demand, hoping to maintain high-speed and sustained growth. The company's goal is to become the leading analog supplier in the region and become China's "ADI". 　　How to become China's "ADI"? Gao Yong responded to our reporter: "If Chinese manufacturers can make breakthroughs in technology and give full play to their local advantages, they should have great potential to occupy the market share of analog IC in China." At present, China's analog semiconductor market has rapidly developed from a relatively closed state to one of the most competitive markets in the world. The challenge faced by local analog circuit design companies is that they have to face competition from international manufacturers in both high-end and low-end markets. In addition, analog IC technology itself has gradually migrated to the high-end, and the previous low-end market has shrunk rapidly. Gao Yong said that Apexon must increase its R&D efforts, be technology-oriented, and face global competition. 　　Can it become or several companies can become China's "ADI"? The active domestic IC manufacturers in the market have given us a lot of expectations. Then, manufacturers need to overcome several hurdles: first, technology , which must have technology with independent intellectual property rights; second, talent, the analog field especially needs experienced high-end design talents; third, eternal innovation, innovation is the magic weapon for enterprises to win in the market , and it is also the reason for small companies to survive and develop.