Power Management IC’s
By Staff -- EDN, September 18, 2008
The voltage regulator market is poised to grow at a compound annual rate of 7.2% from 2006 to 2011, a slightly higher rate than the 6.4% CAGR Gartner projects for the analog IC market in general — but significantly more than the 4.8% CAGR projected for the semiconductor industry as a whole. However, within the three dominant market segments — computer boards, large computer and communications installations, and consumer electronics — there’s quite a bit of variation.
Computer boards: Of the two principal voltage regulator types, linear and switched-mode, Gartner projects revenue for switch-mode regulators to grow faster than linear IC regulators because the computer-board market values switched-mode’s higher efficiency and lower heat dissipation. Non-isolated dc-dc converters, typically used as point-of-load (POL) voltage regulators on computer boards, will show the fastest growth at 13.3% CAGR, and switch-mode controllers and sequencers will have a CAGR of 6.6%. However, linear voltage regulators will still remain popular because of their ease of use and low cost, and price erosion will keep their revenues relatively flat (1.9% CAGR) despite high unit demand.
Large computer and communications installations: Each computer card can use a dozen regulators, with hundreds of regulators per system, so the key demands are low-profile packaging and high energy-transfer efficiency. The higher average selling prices for these regulators will mean an 8.8% CAGR for ICs in computer systems, a 7.0% CAGR in communications routers and switching stations, and an 11.4% CAGR in wireless applications, particularly mobile infrastructure.
Consumer applications: The market here will be relatively flat at 2.5% CAGR, reflecting a reliance on low-cost linear regulator types. But watch out in 2010, when the impact of government and environmental agency recommendations, such as the energy-efficient EnergyStar specifications begin to be felt.
| Top 10 Voltage Regulator Vendors | ||||||
| by Worldwide Revenue, 2007 (Millions of Dollars) | ||||||
|
2006 Rank |
2007 Rank |
Vendor |
2006 revenue |
2007 revenue |
2006-2007 change (%) |
Market share (%) |
| Source: Gartner (June 2008) | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | Texas Instruments | 1020 | 1096 | 7% | 13% |
| 2 | 2 | National Semiconductor | 894 | 899 | 1% | 11% |
| 3 | 3 | Maxim | 631 | 664 | 5% | 8% |
| 4 | 4 | Linear Technology | 577 | 551 | 5% | 7% |
| 6 | 5 | On Semiconductor | 354 | 387 | 9% | 5% |
| 7 | 6 | STMicroelectronics | 348 | 368 | 6% | 4% |
| 5 | 7 | Intersil | 373 | 361 | 3% | 4% |
| 10 | 8 | Sankin | 216 | 304 | 41% | 4% |
| 8 | 9 | Fairchild Semiconductor | 261 | 250 | 4% | 3% |
| 12 | 10 | Fujitsu | 190 | 200 | 5% | 2% |
| Other | 3077 | 3220 | 5% | 39% | ||
| Total Market | 7941 | 8300 | 5% | 100% | ||
