Analog
integrated circuit (IC) also known as linear integrated circuit
is a solid-state analog device defined by a countless number of
possible operating states. The analog IC works over a continuous
range of input levels as against digital IC’s having only two
levels of input and output voltages – low and high i.e. binary. The
circuit is used to process, receive and generate a various levels of
energy as the device operates. Devices that require oscillators, DC
amplifiers, audio amplifiers, and multi-vibrators always make use of
analog IC, which is characterized by equal output and input signal
levels. Linear IC’s are used for different functions that require
variable output signal for radio-frequency and audio-frequency
amplifiers. The mostly used linear IC is an operational amplifier
(op-amp), which is made up of conventional analog circuit consisting
of resistors, transistors and diodes. Analog IC’s are gradually
being utilized in various LED lightning applications such as traffic
light indicators, stadium displays, and data communication for
managing power efficiency.
The
global analog IC market can be segmented on the basis of its types,
market environment, different industry verticals and geographical
presence worldwide. On the basis of its types, the global analog IC
market is divided into general purpose and application-specific IC’s.
General purpose analog IC’s are utilized for multiple applications
such as data converters, comparators, and amplifiers, among others.
On the other hand, application specific analog IC’s are used to
perform specific functions such as radio frequency (RF) transceivers,
display drivers, touch sensors, timing control,
Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) , and LED drivers, among others. By
market environment, the market is segregated into merchant IC and
small-scale IC fabrication companies.
Merchant vendors implement a defined set of strategies to retain
their legacy in the analog IC market such as competitive price,
special product design skills and extensive range of product sets,
worldwide distribution and extensive range of support network. The
new entrants are small-scale IC fabrication organizations, focused on
a particular product category they deal with. For example, Taiwan
Semiconductor deals with discrete voltage regulators, semiconductors,
and op-amps. Richtek Technology Corporation (power management and LED
drivers) and Global Mixed-mode Technology Inc. (power management,
audio and switches) are some of the major players concentrating on
explicit domains. By different industry verticals, the market is
classified into automotive, IT & telecommunications, consumer
electronics and healthcare. Geographically, the analog IC market in
North America is currently driven by the rising avionic,
infrastructural, and various industrial applications. The analog IC
market in Europe is anticipated to be accelerated by the different
automobile manufacturers with their product units in Europe.
The
global analog IC market is expected to continue its prominence with
its advantages such as diverse functionality and small size. The
market growth is fuelled by the use of analog IC’s in dynamic
application areas such as healthcare monitoring, LED lighting,
collision prevention, and utility in automotive applications.
Automotive leaders such as Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW and Renault
are encouraging the use of analog IC’s to bring better automation
in their electronic circuitry. A huge range of opportunities for the
analog IC market can be seen in Asia Pacific due to growing consumer
electronics adoption by the tech-savvy customers. Moreover, the
rising penetration of application-specific analog IC’s can be seen
in IC content of mobile devices and DVDs, among other consumer
electronics products. Application-specific analog IC’s are
anticipated to be one of the attractive segments for different
start-up companies in future.
Some
of the major players in the market include Qualcomm Inc., Analog
Devices Inc., Maxim Integrated Products Inc., Texas Instruments Inc.,
STMicroelectronics NV, Infineon Technologies AG, Richtek Technology
Corporation, Global Mixed-mode Technology Inc., and Taiwan
Semiconductor, among others.
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