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The lithography metrology equipment market is riding on the high wave of the semiconductor industry. The 2x and 1x nodes of memory and logic devices, coupled with the sensor and connected devices required to support the growth in IoT, self-driving cars, and ARs are among the key drivers which will drive the lithography metrology market. Worth $957.9 million in 2016, the market is expected reach revenue of $ 1370.1 million by 2021 at a CAGR of 7.4% although each product segment will vary in growth rate. The overlay and OCD segment will witness high growth driven primarily by the technical capability to measure at required specification and high throughput for the sub-28nm nodes.

The study focuses on both dimensional and placement metrology systems used for the process control in patterning the wafers and reticles in semiconductor fabs and mask shops, particularly after mask and etch processes of the process flow.

The metrology systems covered in the study includes:
• CD-SEM
• OCD
• Overlay

The market size of each product segment is provided for 2016 and forecasted up to 2021. The competitive landscape of each segment and the market share of key competitors such as Hitachi High-Technologies, KLA-Tencor, and ASML are also provided along with their strategic approach towards the market. The market participants are working towards enhancing the current capabilities to stay valid with device miniaturization and growing complexity of the architecture. A comparison of the current technological capability of each product is also provided. Furthermore, an insight into new technologies being developed to meet the future needs of the industry is also provided.

The study highlights and analyzes the factors that will enable market growth and the challenges that the industry will face during 2017 to 2021. In addition, the study covers a geographical analysis of the market with revenue in 2016 and an analysis of forecasted growth until 2021.

Key Questions this Study will Answer
• Which product segment will grow the fastest in the next 5 years and what is the market size in terms of revenue for each of the segments?
• What impact will IoT and industry inflection will have on the market?
• What are the key market and technology trends?
• What are the competitive landscape and dynamics influencing the growth and development of the market?

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p05075852/Analysis-of-Global-Lithography-Metrology-Equipment-Market-Forecast-to.html

Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 310.4 million wearable devices will be sold worldwide in 2017, an increase of 16.7 percent from 2016 (see Table 1). Sales of wearable devices will generate revenue of $30.5 billion in 2017. Of that, $9.3 billion will be from smartwatches.

In 2017, 41.5 million smartwatches will be sold. They are on pace to account for the highest unit sales of all wearable device form factors from 2019 to 2021, aside from Bluetooth headsets. By 2021, sales of smartwatches are estimated to total nearly 81 million units, representing 16 percent of total wearable device sales.

“Smartwatches are on pace to achieve the greatest revenue potential among all wearables through 2021, reaching $17.4 billion,” said Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner. Revenue from smartwatches is bolstered by relatively stable average selling prices (ASPs) of Apple Watch. “The overall ASP of the smartwatch category will drop from $223.25 in 2017 to $214.99 in 2021 as higher volumes lead to slight reductions in manufacturing and component costs, but strong brands such as Apple and Fossil will keep pricing consistent with price bands of traditional watches,” she added.

Table 1: Forecast for Wearable Devices Worldwide 2016-2018 and 2021 (Millions of Units)

Device

2016

2017

2018

2021

Smartwatch

34.80

41.50

48.20

80.96

Head-mounted display

16.09

22.01

28.28

67.17

Body-worn camera

0.17

1.05

1.59

5.62

Bluetooth headset

128.50

150.00

168.00

206.00

Wristband

34.97

44.10

48.84

63.86

Sports watch

21.23

21.43

21.65

22.31

Other fitness monitor

55.46

55.7

56.23

58.73

Total

265.88

310.37

347.53

504.65

Source: Gartner (August 2017)

Smartwatches: A market divided between four types of providers

Apple will continue to have the greatest market share of any smartwatch provider. However, as more providers enter the market, Apple’s market share will decrease from approximately a third in 2016 to a quarter in 2021. The announcement of a new Apple Watch expected in September may enable direct cellular connectivity for interacting with Siri, texting and transferring sensor data when the phone or Wi-Fi is not present. We expect other consumer electronics brands such as Asus, Huawei, LG, Samsung and Sony to sell only 15 percent of smartwatches in 2021, because their brands do not have as strong an appeal as lifestyle brands for personal technologies.

Two sub-categories that Gartner expects to perform well are kids’ smartwatches and traditional watch brands, which will emerge as significant segments for smartwatches. Gartner expects kids’ smartwatches to represent 30 percent of total smartwatch unit shipments in 2021. These devices are targeted at children in the two to 13 year-old range, before parents provide them with a smartphone.

The other sub-category, which will account for 25 percent of smartwatch units by 2021, is fashion and traditional watch brands. “Luxury and fashion watch brands will offer smartwatches in an attempt to attract younger customers,” said Ms. McIntyre. A final sub-category is represented by the startup and while-label brands (e.g., Archos, Cogito, Compal, Martian, Omate or Quanta), which will account for 5 percent of smartwatch unit sales in 2021.

Bluetooth headsets to account for 48 percent of all wearable devices in 2017

In 2017, 150 million Bluetooth headsets will be sold, an increase of 16.7 percent from 2016. Sales will increase to 206 million units in 2021, meaning Bluetooth headsets will remain the most sold wearable device through 2021. The growth in Bluetooth headsets is driven by the elimination of the headphone jack by major smartphone providers. “By 2021, we assume that almost all premium mobile phones will no longer have the 3.5 mm jack,” said Ms. McIntyre.

Head-mounted displays remain in their infancy

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) account for only 7 percent of all wearable devices shipped in 2017, and will not reach mainstream adoption with consumers or industrial customers through 2021. “Current low adoption by mainstream consumers shows that the market is still in its infancy, not that it lacks longer-term potential,” said Ms. McIntyre.

Near-term opportunities for virtual reality HMDs among consumers are with video game players. Workers will also use them for tasks such as equipment repair, inspections and maintenance, but also in warehouses and manufacturing, training, design, customer interactions and more. Theme parks, theaters, museums and sports venues will purchase HMDs to enhance the customers’ experience in interactive attractions or movies, and add information and supplemental images at sporting events.

Gartner clients can learn more in the report: “Forecast: Wearable Electronic Devices, Worldwide, 2017.”

In a depressed visible LED industry, manufacturers are looking at new opportunities to increase their revenues and margins. In this context, the IR LED market is perceived as a potential new ‘blue ocean’ with attractive opportunities for those players.

While LEDs are important, VCSEL technology is the hot topic. “IR LEDs represented around 65% of the IR light source market in 2016, but this figure is likely to decrease to 45% in 2022,” commented Pierrick Boulay, Technology & Market Analyst at Yole Développement (Yole). Development of 3D cameras and autofocus applications, associated with the sensor fusion trend in smartphones and automotive, will strongly drive growth of the IR VCSEL market in the future (1).

All these topics will be discussed during the First Executive Forum on Laser Technologies created by Yole’s analysts, in collaboration with CIOE. Taking place on September 6&7 in Shenzhen, China, the Forum proposes an impressive agenda composed of 4 sessions, 19 presentations, debates and networking. All along the Forum, industrial experts will debate about the latest innovations, market trends and business opportunities. They will make a special focus on laser manufacturing and analyze the emerging applications. The agenda is now available: LASER FORUM AGENDA.

What are the technologies perspectives? What are the latest advances in semiconductor manufacturing? What will be the next applications? Innovation enables the identification of new business opportunities. It has further accelerated the adoption of laser solutions in many areas.

ir light sources

IR VCSEL represents a good compromise between traditional laser diodes, providing coherent and directional light, and IR LEDs, offering lower manufacturing cost and ease of integration. Additionally, IR VCSELs allow new sensing approaches, such as ToF . In this context, the IR VCSEL industry will be at the center of the attention and should experience strong growth in coming years. It is also likely that some players will work on both IR LEDs and lasers to maximize their revenues.

“Opportunities for both technologies will also be dependent on developments to overcome current limitations, towards longer wavelengths, higher performance, multi-spectral functionality and lower cost,” analyzed Yole’s expert, Pierrick Boulay. Typically, most current IR LEDs are in the 850nm or 940nm range. To enable emerging applications such as gas sensors or portable/integrated spectroscopy systems, longer wavelengths will be mandatory. In addition, integration of these light sources into sensors and modules will also be part of the challenge to be handled by the photonics industry.

Pierrick Boulay from Yole is one of the key speaker of the Emerging Applications session in the First Executive Forum on Laser Technologies agenda. Based on his strong expertise on LED lighting (general lighting, automotive lighting…) and OLED lighting, Pierrick proposes a relevant presentation, titled “IR laser: At the heart of the industry in coming years”. He will highlight the status of laser technologies and emerging applications including 3D camera, LIDAR, proximity sensors… This session also welcome other experts of the industry:
•  Rainer Paetzel, Director of Marketing, Coherent
•  Steven Hsieh, Senior Industry Analyst, ITRI
•  Hans van der Tang, Director Sales & Marketing – APAC Region, ElectroniCast Consultants

First Executive Forum’s program is also offering several networking times to discuss with industrial leaders and identify business opportunities… Discover the agenda and register today: LASER FORUM REGISTRATION 

IC Insights has revised its outlook for semiconductor industry capital spending and presented its new findings in the August Update to The McClean Report 2017.  IC Insights’ latest forecast is for semiconductor industry capital spending to climb 20% this year.

Figure 1 shows the steep upward trend of quarterly capital spending in the semiconductor industry since 1Q16. Although there was a slight pause in the upward trajectory in 1Q17, 2Q17 set a new record for quarterly spending outlays.   Moreover, 1H17 semiconductor industry spending was 48% greater than in 1H16.  IC Insights believes that whether industry-wide capital spending in the second half of 2017 can match the first half of the year is greatly dependent upon the level of Samsung’s 2H17 spending outlays.

Not only has Samsung Semiconductor been on a tear with regard to its semiconductor sales, surging into the number one ranking in 2Q17, but the company has also been on a tremendous capital spending spree for its semiconductor division this year.  As depicted in Figure 2, Samsung spent a whopping $11.0 billion in capital outlays for its semiconductor group in 1H17, more than 3x greater than the company spent in 1H16 and only $300 million less than the company spent in all of 2016!   In fact, Samsung’s capital expenditures in 1H17 represented 25% of the total semiconductor industry capital spending and 28% of the outlays in 2Q17.

While the company has publicly reported that it spent $11.0 billion in capital outlays for its semiconductor division in 1H17 (a $22.0 billion annual run-rate), Samsung has been very secretive about revealing its full-year 2017 budget for its semiconductor group (it might be afraid of shocking the industry with such a big number!).  In 2012, the year of Samsung’s previous first half spending surge before 1H17, the company cut its second half capital outlays by more than 50%, from $8.5 billion in 1H12 to $3.7 billion in 2H12.  Will the company follow the same pattern in 2017?  At this point, it is impossible to tell.  IC Insights believes that Samsung’s full-year 2017 capital expenditures could range from $15.0 billion to $22.0 billion!

Figure 1

Figure 1

If Samsung spends $22.0 billion in capital outlays this year, total semiconductor industry capital spending could reach $85.4 billion, which would represent a 27% increase over the $67.3 billion the industry spent in 2016.

It is interesting to note that two of the major spenders, TSMC and Intel, are expected to move in opposite directions with regard to their 2H17 capital spending plans. TSMC spent about $6.8 billion in capital outlays in 1H17. If it sticks to its $10.0 billion budget this year, which it reiterated in its second quarter results, it would only spend about $3.2 billion in 2H17, less than half its outlays in 1H17. In contrast, Intel spent only about $4.7 billion in 1H17, leaving the company to spend about $7.3 billion in 2H17 in order to reach its stated full-year 2017 spending budget of $12.0 billion.

Figure 2

Figure 2

TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry, and Tacoma Technology Ltd and Tacoma (Nanjing) Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd (collectively known as “Tacoma”) announced today that Tower has received a first payment of $18 million net, rendering phase one of the framework agreement with Tacoma binding. This agreement maps the establishment of a new 8-inch semiconductor fabrication facility in Nanjing, China. According to the terms of the framework agreement, TowerJazz will provide technological expertise together with operational and integration consultation, for which the Company shall receive additional payments based on milestones during the next few years, subject to a definitive agreement specifying all terms and conditions.

In addition, from the start of production at the facility, TowerJazz will be entitled to capacity allocation of up to 50% of the targeted 40,000 wafer per month fab capacity, which it may decide to use at its discretion. This capacity will provide TowerJazz with additional manufacturing capability and flexibility to address its growing global demand.

Tacoma will be responsible to source funds for all activities, milestones and deliverables of the entire project, including the construction, commissioning and ramp of this facility, with the project being fully supported by Nanjing Economic and Technology Development Zone through its Administration Committee, Credito Capital as well as through potential funding from other third party investors and entities.

“This agreement with Tacoma is in line with our business strategy to focus on growing markets such as China. The fabless business in China has grown rapidly in the past years. The new 8-inch fabrication facility in Nanjing will provide us with a strategic footprint in China and the opportunity to extend our offerings in advanced specialty process technologies by enabling customers in China to optimize their product performance and time to market,” said Dr. Itzhak Edrei, TowerJazz President.

Russell Ellwanger, TowerJazz Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are exploring multiple opportunities in China, and determined this agreement with Tacoma to be a good fit for TowerJazz, providing a roadmap for a meaningful long-term strategic partnership. China’s focus to develop its domestic semiconductor industry with full infrastructure presents additional opportunities for TowerJazz, as a global analog leader, to expand our served markets and geographic presence. This partnership will enable us to further fulfill our customers’ needs through additional available capacity as well as to be an active player in the growing Chinese market.”

Joseph Lee, Tacoma Chairman, stated: “Deeply engraved in the corporate culture of both Tacoma and TowerJazz is the core belief in working ‘SMART’ with ‘PASSION.’ Our people are committed to contributing to our business partners, the global semiconductor industry and society with the best endeavor and integrity. Tacoma will fully fund this project together with Credito Capital and other entities. This venture will become a dominant player in Asia and will raise the standard in the semiconductor industry to another level.”

A groundbreaking and signing ceremony took place in Nanjing, China, attended by TowerJazz Chairman Mr. Amir Elstein, President Dr. Itzhak Edrei, Business Development Vice President Mr. Erez Imberman, as well as the then Israeli Ambassador to China the Honorable Mr. Matan Vilnai. Pictured, the signing between Tacoma Chairman, Mr. Joseph Lee and TowerJazz CEO Mr. Russell Ellwanger, with among others the above cited attendees.

The “Global Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) Wafers Market 2017-2021” report has been added to Research and Markets’ offering.

The global gallium arsenide wafer market to decline at a CAGR of 11.9% during the period 2017-2021.

The report, Global Gallium Arsenide Wafer Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is shutdown of 2G network. High-speed Internet has now become readily available worldwide. The data speed of a 4G connection is 10 times faster 3G data speed. This high-speed connectivity results in faster browsing, uninterrupted streaming of videos, and improved GPS performance. Thus, countries are now focusing on the adoption of 3G or 4G connectivity and shutting down 2G network spectrums.

According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is the increasing adoption of smartphones. Shipments of smartphones will reach 2.16 billion units by 2021, which is a significant increase from around 1.6 billion units in 2016. The major driving factor responsible for this growth is the rising smartphone penetration in countries with high population density such as China, India, and Brazil. The growth in the shipment volume of smartphones will drive the demand for GaAs wafers used in mobile handsets, particularly for mobile power amplifiers.

Global DRAM revenue reached a new historical high in the second quarter of 2017, reports DRAMeXchange, a division of TrendForce. Compared with the first quarter, the undersupply situation was not as severe, and OEM clients in the downstream were able to gradually extend their inventories. Nevertheless, the global ASPs of PC and server DRAM products rose by more than 10% sequentially in the second quarter, while the global ASP of mobile DRAM products showed a less than 5% gain. The smaller price increase for mobile DRAM was due to Chinese smartphone brands lowering than annual shipment targets.

“The DRAM market benefitted from the upswing in ASPs and continuing progress in suppliers’ technology migrations,” said Avril Wu, research manager of DRAMeXchange. “At the same time, suppliers do not appear to have plans to expand their production capacities in a significant scale between now and the end of the year.” The global DRAM revenue has thus kept growing, registering a 16.9% sequential increase for this second quarter.

In the third quarter, the releases of new flagship devices from first-tier smartphone brands, together with the traditional peak sales season, will trigger another wave of mobile DRAM demand. DRAM prices in general will stay on an upward trend for the remainder of 2017.

DRAMQ22017

The second-quarter revenue ranking shows Samsung firmly in its first place position. Samsung’s revenue for the second quarter came to another historical high, growing by 20.7% sequentially to US$7.6 billion. Second-place SK Hynix also posted an impressive sequential increase of 11.2%, totaling US$4.5 billion. Samsung’s and SK Hynix’s global market shares for the second quarter were 46.2% and 27.3%, respectively. Together, the two South Korean suppliers accounted for 73.5% of the world’s DRAM market. Third-place Micron’s second-quarter revenue totaled US$3.6 billion, an increase of 20.2% versus the first quarter and representing 21.6% of the global market.

In terms of operating margins, Samsung had the highest in the industry for the second quarter at 59%. Samsung benefitted from rising DRAM prices and its lead in manufacturing technology. Likewise, SK Hynix raised its operating margin from 47% in the first quarter to 54% in the second. Micron too increased its operating margin from 32.5% to 44.3% between the quarters. Since DRAM prices will keep rising and the production capacity expansion will be limited in the second half of 2017, suppliers can expect further increases in their operating margins.

In the aspect of technology migration, Samsung remains focused on developing its 18nm process. With the increase and stabilization of the yield rate, Samsung expects the 18nm to represent nearly half of its total DRAM output by the end of 2017. As for SK Hynix, the supplier is raising the yield rate and output share of its 21nm process. However, SK Hynix has also arranged for the mass production its 18nm process at the end of 2017. By the first half of 2018, SK Hynix wants to significant expand the DRAM production based on its 18nm technology.

Micron’s Taiwanese subsidiaries Micron Memory Taiwan and Micron Technology Taiwan (formerly known as Inotera) are respectively on the 17nm and the 20nm technology. Micron Memory Taiwan has steadily increased the yield rate for its 17nm process and expects at least 80% of its total DRAM output by the end of this year will be based on this technology. Micron Technology Taiwan, on the other hand, has no plan to transition to a more cutting edge technology this year. However, this subsidiary has set the target of attaining at least 50% output share for the 17nm process in 2018.

Regarding the Taiwanese DRAM suppliers, Nanya’s second-quarter revenue grew by 5.9% sequentially on the back of rising prices for specialty DRAM products. Nanya has formally begun mass producing DRAM on its 20nm process and is on track to achieve a total DRAM capacity of 30,000 wafer starts per month by the end of 2017.

Powerchip’s DRAM revenue for the second quarter fell by 2.5% compared with the prior quarter because of wafer loss caused by the moving of its 25nm processing equipment.

Winbond’s second-quarter DRAM revenue rose by 3.7% sequentially as the supplier also profited from rising prices for specialty DRAM products. Winbond has no immediate plan to increase DRAM wafer starts as it is focused on meeting the strong NOR Flash demand. However, the supplier has scheduled the mass production of DRAM on its 38nm technology for the second half of 2017. The increase in output due to the ramp-up of the 38nm process will make a positive contribution to Winbond’s future DRAM revenue results.

The next generation of feature-filled and energy-efficient electronics will require computer chips just a few atoms thick. For all its positive attributes, trusty silicon can’t take us to these ultrathin extremes.

Now, electrical engineers at Stanford have identified two semiconductors – hafnium diselenide and zirconium diselenide – that share or even exceed some of silicon’s desirable traits, starting with the fact that all three materials can “rust.”

“It’s a bit like rust, but a very desirable rust,” said Eric Pop, an associate professor of electrical engineering, who co-authored with post-doctoral scholar Michal Mleczko a paper that appears in the journal Science Advances.

The new materials can also be shrunk to functional circuits just three atoms thick and they require less energy than silicon circuits. Although still experimental, the researchers said the materials could be a step toward the kinds of thinner, more energy-efficient chips demanded by devices of the future.

Silicon’s Strengths

Silicon has several qualities that have led it to become the bedrock of electronics, Pop explained. One is that it is blessed with a very good “native” insulator, silicon dioxide or, in plain English, silicon rust. Exposing silicon to oxygen during manufacturing gives chip-makers an easy way to isolate their circuitry. Other semiconductors do not “rust” into good insulators when exposed to oxygen, so they must be layered with additional insulators, a step that introduces engineering challenges. Both of the diselenides the Stanford group tested formed this elusive, yet high-quality insulating rust layer when exposed to oxygen.

Not only do both ultrathin semiconductors rust, they do so in a way that is even more desirable than silicon. They form what are called “high-K” insulators, which enable lower power operation than is possible with silicon and its silicon oxide insulator.

As the Stanford researchers started shrinking the diselenides to atomic thinness, they realized that these ultrathin semiconductors share another of silicon’s secret advantages: the energy needed to switch transistors on – a critical step in computing, called the band gap – is in a just-right range. Too low and the circuits leak and become unreliable. Too high and the chip takes too much energy to operate and becomes inefficient. Both materials were in the same optimal range as silicon.

All this and the diselenides can also be fashioned into circuits just three atoms thick, or about two-thirds of a nanometer, something silicon cannot do.

“Engineers have been unable to make silicon transistors thinner than about five nanometers, before the material properties begin to change in undesirable ways,” Pop said.

The combination of thinner circuits and desirable high-K insulation means that these ultrathin semiconductors could be made into transistors 10 times smaller than anything possible with silicon today.

“Silicon won’t go away. But for consumers this could mean much longer battery life and much more complex functionality if these semiconductors can be integrated with silicon,” Pop said.

More to do

There is much work ahead. First, Mleczko and Pop must refine the electrical contacts between transistors on their ultrathin diselenide circuits. “These connections have always proved a challenge for any new semiconductor, and the difficulty becomes greater as we shrink circuits to the atomic scale,” Mleczko said.

They are also working to better control the oxidized insulators to ensure they remain as thin and stable as possible. Last, but not least, only when these things are in order will they begin to integrate with other materials and then to scale up to working wafers, complex circuits and, eventually, complete systems.

“There’s more research to do, but a new path to thinner, smaller circuits – and more energy-efficient electronics – is within reach,” Pop said.

Additional Stanford contributors to this research include: Chaofan Zhang, Hye Ryoung Lee, Hsueh-Hui Kuo, Blanka Magyari-Köpe, Robert G. Moore, Zhi-Xun Shen, Ian R. Fisher, and Professor Yoshio Nishi.

The work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the National Science Foundation, Stanford Initiative for Novel Materials and Processes (INMP), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Material Sciences, and an NSERC PGS-D fellowship.

Top five product segments driving the first annual double-digit IC market upturn since 2010.

IC Insights has revised its outlook and analysis of the IC industry and presented its new findings in the Mid-Year Update to The McClean Report 2017, which originally was published in January 2017. Among the revisions is a complete update of forecast growth rates of the 33 main product categories classified by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organization (WSTS).

ICInsights1

Figure 1 shows the complete ranking of IC products by forecasted growth rate for 2017. Topping the chart of fastest-growing products is DRAM, which comes as no surprise given the strong rise of average selling prices in this segment throughout the first half of 2017.  IC Insights now expects the DRAM market to increase 55% in 2017 and lay claim as the fastest-growing IC product segment this year. This is not unfamiliar territory for the DRAM market.  It was also the fastest-growing IC segment in 2013 and 2014. Remarkably, DRAM has been at the top and near the bottom of this list over the past five years, demonstrating its extremely volatile nature (Figure 2).

ICInsights2

The Industrial/Other Special Purpose Logic segment is projected to grow 32% and two automotive-related IC categories—Automotive Special Purpose Logic (48%) and Automotive Application Specific Analog (18%)—are also on course for growth that will exceed the 16% expected of the total IC market. There are more IC categories that are forecast to show positive growth in 2017 (29) compared to 2016 (21), but only the top five market segments mentioned above are forecast to exceed the total IC market growth in 2017, indicating top-heavy market growth. Another five segments (two analog categories, two MCU segments, and Computer and Peripherals—Special Purpose Logic) are forecast to show double-digit growth in 2017, though less than the 16% forecast for the total IC market this year.

Additional details and discussion regarding the updated IC forecasts for the 2017-2021 timeperiod are covered in IC Insights’ Mid-Year Update to The McClean Report 2017.

In their recent global memory cards market report, Technavio announced that the market for memory cards will reach $9.025 billion by 2021. That’s up from $8.83 billion in 2016, a CAGR of approximately 0.45%.

Important factors that impede the market growth are enhanced in-built memory capacity in smartphones and proliferation of the cloud. The market deceleration is further enhanced by the decrease in average selling price of memory cards. Technology advances like faster read/write speed, enhanced durability, smaller form factors, and improved cost efficiency, have helped sustain the use of memory cards in smartphones and cameras.

Competitive vendor landscape

The global memory cards market consists of players that are well established in the global memory products and solutions market. Apart from storage capacity, compatibility, and reliability of stored data, vendors in the market are unable to showcase any other major variation in their products.

Top eight memory card market vendors

SanDisk

SanDisk is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of hardware storage products. It offers flash storage card products for a broad range of electronic systems and digital devices. Technologies used for developing flash storage card products include flash memory, controller, and firmware. The company provides its products to the mobile phone, consumer electronics, and computing markets.

Kingston Technology

Kingston Technology is one of the top manufacturers of memory modules, such as printed circuit boards with dynamic RAM, which increases the speed and capacity of computers and printers. The company focuses on capitalizing the potential markets by developing better products following a sustainable growth strategy.

Lexar (Micron Consumer Products Group)

Lexar is a fully owned subsidiary of Micron Consumer Products Group. Micron Consumer Products Group is the largest manufacturer of memory chips in the world. Lexar’s product lineup includes memory cards, USB flash drives, readers, and storage devices for original equipment manufacturers and retailers.

ADATA Technology

ADATA Technology is a Taiwanese storage and memory device manufacturer. Its product portfolio includes USB drives, dynamic RAM modules, and memory cards. It also caters to express cards, solid-state drive (SSD), and digital frame market.

Transcend Information

Transcend Information designs, develops, manufactures, and sells memory modules, flash cards, USB drives, external hard drives, multimedia products, and accessories. The company makes consumer products like memory cards, adapters, portable devices, USB flash drives, external hard drives, SSDs, digital photo frames, memory modules, digital music players, card readers, and wireless and multimedia products.

Samsung Group

Samsung Group is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers and is the leading electronics company in South Korea. Samsung Electronics, a subsidiary of Samsung Group, is a pioneer in electronic products. It manufactures different consumer devices that include DVD players, digital still cameras, digital TVs, color monitors, computers, printers, and LCD panels. It offers semiconductors like static RAM, dynamic RAM, display drivers, and flash memory.

Sony

Sony is a major vendor in the memory cards market. It focuses on consumer and professional electronics in divisions such as entertainment, gaming, and financial service sectors. It is among the top 20 worldwide semiconductor sales leaders. It has segmented itself into three sectors, namely growth drivers, stable profit generators, and laggards.

Toshiba

Toshiba is involved in the R&D, sales, and manufacture of electronic and electric products. It sells storage devices under the electronic devices business domain. The company’s technology leadership, product diversification, and broad customer portfolio enabled it to become one of the leading players in the global memory cards market. One of the major growth strategies of the company is to expand its product portfolio continuously. The company primarily focuses on its R&D and engineering, and continuously invests to leverage its technology for better sales.