Travelling On The Silicon Road

Close on the heels of analog chip shortages, comes the LCD driver IC one.
While there is a high demand for LCDs (used in notebooks, desktop PCs and cellular phones), chip makers are reluctant to add capacity – the older, high voltage and older technologies used for making them are considered unprofitable.
Companies are going in for alternate options – Samsung and Toshiba has paired up with Toshiba to start production of a “common-type” driver for 256-color super-twisted nematic LCD drivers and Samsung to produce the complementary “segment-type” driver. NEC, a leading driver supplier, is outsourcing to Sanyo Electric.   

The tight supply of analog ICs seems set to continue. The current demand is growing faster than the capacity ramp ups and quite a few analog vendors are turning away business. 

Analog chip makers are struggling with part shortages and extended lead times. Further investments for capacity ramp-up, optimizing fab outputs etc. are taking place in an uncertain backdrop of a “relatively accurate picture of actual demand”.  TI is expanding its 300mm analog fab – though, after off-loading its wireless products, it has to expand capacity for analog significantly in order to maintain growth momentum. Maxim is taking several actions – optimizing existing production lines and increasing loading to foundry partner, Epson.  The analog IC market in particular looks to be a seller’s market for the entire 2010!