Market Research
(SIA), comments: We continue to forecast double digit revenue growth for
2003 and broad-based strength in our industry driven by a recovery in
information technology (IT) spending, a fast-paced global wireless market,
and the emergence of new growth sectors, including Wi-Fi (802.11) and
broadband networks using advanced semiconductor technologies.
US market research firm Communications Industry Researchers (CIR) believes
that most of the future growth for micro-optical -electro-mechanical systems
(MOEMS) use lie outside of the telecom industry. The company is projecting
MOEMS subsystem sales will increase from 2003s 560mn dollars to 1.7bn dollars in 2007.
Among the new applications are general industrial light control, storage and
sensing. Optical sensors will account for a market of 347mn dollars by 2007. In the
same year, optical positioning and alignment applications will earn more
than 100mn dollars.
The medical sector will remain small despite rapid growth, according to CIR.
The company says that PR departments often exaggerate such applications
because it lends an aura of social importance to the MOEMS industry.
IC Insights released its 2002 market share rankings for Flash memory. Intel
came top with a 27 percent slice worth 2.1bn dollars. Samsung came second with 14 percent or
1.1bn dollars. Toshiba made third place with 11 percent (0.9bn dollars). Europes
STMicroelectronics came sixth with 0.6bn dollars, an 8 percent share. Places four and five
went to AMD and Fujitsu, respectively, with 0.8bn dollars (10 percent) and 0.7bn dollars (9 percent).
Nos.7-9 were Mitsubishi, Sharp and Atmel. Sales are strongly dependent on
wireless phone usage both in terms of number of handsets and increasing
Flash content per unit.
iSuppli is expecting a change from overcapacity in the semiconductor
industry in 2003. Semiconductor manufacturing analyst Len Jelinek sees some
healthy growth in factory utilisation during 2003 to about 85 percent - a 10 percent
improvement over Q4 2002.
Foundry utilisation rates will reach 75 percent by the middle of Q4 this year, even
though overall capacity will expand by 34 percent during 2003 thanks to the
continuing build-out of four major fabs in China. Upward price pressures for
the whole industry are not expected until well into 2004.
Jelinek believes that there are now three 300mm fabs operating and qualified
at 0.13microns, with four 300mm fabs due to be qualified at 90nm by the
start of 2004.
