Texas Instruments was again the leading supplier of analog devices in 2014 with $8,1 billion in sales, and increased its analog market share to 18%, according to rankings of top suppliers of major IC product categories found in IC Insights’ April update to The McClean Report 2015.
The top 10 analog IC suppliers accounted for 57% of total analog sales in 2014, up slightly from 56% in 2013. Among the top suppliers, six companies on the list had sales in excess of $2,0 billion and three others exceeded $1,0 billion in analog sales last year (Renesas again fell short of the $1,0 billion mark). Among the top suppliers, Skyworks Solutions (42%), NXP Semiconductors (21%) and Texas Instruments (13%) showed the strongest growth and outperformed the total analog market (9%) by the widest margins.
TI’s analog sales represented 62% of its total corporate revenue in 2014. Since the 1990s, the company has focused on increasing its presence in the analog market. In 2009, it purchased 300 mm manufacturing tools from defunct Qimonda and put them to use to build analog ICs, becoming the first company to manufacture analog devices on 300 mm equipment.
In 2010, TI acquired two wafer fabs operated by Spansion in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, and it acquired a fully equipped 200 mm fab in China from Cension Semiconductor Manufacturing in Chengdu. Both facilities were immediately put to use making analog ICs. In April 2011, TI acquired National Semiconductor – its rival in many analog markets – for $6,5 billion.
TI is boosting its analog position by transferring more manufacturing to 300 mm wafers in its newer RFAB and its older DMOS 6 fab. It says the 300 mm fabs will together help reduce its total production costs by up to 40%, increase its available manufacturing capacity substantially, and give it added flexibility to respond to customer demands.
Texas Instruments’ 2014 analog revenue was nearly three times larger than second place STMicroelectronics, whose sales grew 2% in 2014 to account for 6% market share. ST attributed its lower analog sales to softer equipment sales (computer, consumer, automotive, industrial) among its primary customers.
Third-ranked Infineon Technologies and seventh-ranked NXP were two other European-headquartered companies ranked among the top 10 analog suppliers in 2014. Collectively, these three European suppliers accounted for 16% analog market share last year.
Skyworks enjoyed a stellar year in which its analog sales increased 42%, mostly due to strong worldwide smartphone sales. The company makes analog and mixed-signal semiconductors for Apple, Samsung and other suppliers of mobile devices, with several of its power amplifier components found in Apple’s iPhone 6 models. It has been estimated that Skyworks supplies $4 worth of content from every new iPhone 6 handset.
While Skyworks is heavily focused in mobile, CEO David Aldrich has said the company’s technology is “a conduit into the Internet of Things.” In 2015, the company said it would look to the automotive, home and wearable markets to expand its presence in applications linked to the Internet of Things.
Analog ICs like audio amplifiers, op amps and analog switches are key components and building blocks for creating innovative wearable applications. Skyworks’ wireless technology is used in some General Electric healthcare equipment, and the company recently sealed a deal to supply high-performance filter solutions to Panasonic devices.
Analog Devices purchased smaller rival Hittite Microwave in mid-2014, a company that specialised in devices for RF and signal conversion applications. Analog Devices’ analog sales grew 9% last year, and the company is expected to provide devices that enable the 3D/Force Touch feature – currently available on the Apple Watch – to the iPhone 6s that is due out in the second half of 2015 and new generations of the iPad. The Force Touch feature uses tiny electrodes to distinguish between a light tap and a deep press to trigger contextually specific controls.
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