Digital power IC market to surge at 19.8% CAGR

Darnell Group said the digital power landscape is undergoing rapid change, noting that adaptive controllers, parameter estimation, and sophisticated control algorithms have become much more economically reasonable to implement in a variety of systems.

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- Electronic News, 8/21/2009

Call it a power surge. The worldwide digital power IC market -- including controller ICs, converter ICs, and system management ICs -- is expected to grow from more than 5 billion units in 2009 to 12.3 billion units in 2014, a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 19.8%, according a report released recently by the Darnell Group.

The research house said the surge of growth will be spread out over a diverse market of power supplies, including external ac-dc and embedded ac-dc power supplies, dc-dc modules, embedded dc-dc converters, telecom rectifiers and external dc-dc, lighting ballasts, and inverters.

“Although digital solutions are still primarily being used in high-performance applications, the pervasive emphasis on energy efficiency is pushing digital from high-end-only into the mainstream,” Linnea Brush, senior analyst at Darnell Group, said in a statement. “Digital control is now implemented in just about all application segments, from catalog power supplies to power supplies used in medical, solid-state lighting, and consumer devices."

Darnell Group said the digital power landscape is undergoing rapid change, noting that adaptive controllers, parameter estimation, and sophisticated control algorithms have become much more economically reasonable to implement in a variety of systems. But there is still a “perceived expense” of going digital, compared to using similar bandwidth analog components, the company said. It added that in certain applications, however, digital penetration is already exceeding 50%.

As for when digital power management and control will become a “mainstream” technology, Darnell Group said projections vary from 2015 to 2018.

The research house also said that major shifts in market share of each IC type have been occurring since 2005, a trend that is expected to continue through 2014. Darnell Group explained that during the 2005 to 2008 “emerging years” of digital, sales were less differentiated between IC types, particularly for ac-dc power supplies and dc-dc modules. Beginning in 2009, however, Darnell Group said it expects changes in the market that will alter the mix more quickly through the remainder of the forecast period. These shifts can be analyzed as part of the traditional product life-cycle curve, with digital power just entering the growth phase, and maturity expected around 2014, according to the research house. (See chart below.)

Darnell Group reported that the market at both the semiconductor and power conversion levels is expected to remain extremely competitive, with large multinational corporations competing with smaller regional companies for market share. In addition, a growing number of partnerships, acquisitions, and alliances among companies are expected to have a significant impact in the growth and development of this industry, Darnell Group concluded.