Reportedly, 2018 could be the year when the uncooled infrared imager and detector market reaches a tipping point with the involvement of big companies. As a consequence, the industry is showing impressive volumes and CAGR. They announced an annual growth of seven percent in value over the 2018-2024 period. 

“The way consumers charge their smart devices is about to drastically change,” asserted Antoine Bonnabel, Technology and Market Analyst and part of the Yole Développement’s Power and Wireless team. According to the ‘Wireless Charging Technologies and Markets 2018’ report, the wireless smartphone charging systems market is expected to surpass one billion units per year by 2024. 

  Over a long period, industrial companies followed up at a distance the development of GaN-based solutions mainly managed by R&D institutes and laboratories. Today the context has changed.

The excitement about microLEDs has grown since Apple acquired technology startup Luxvue in 2014. All major display makers have now invested in the technology and other semiconductor or hardware companies such as Intel, Facebook Oculus and Google have joined the pool. Amidst this flurry of news and activity, a new term emerged in early 2017: miniLED. 

On November 12th, it was announced by Infineon it will acquire Siltectra. Infineon is a well-known semiconductor player and according to Yole Développement (Yole), it is the current leading power electronic device company. But Siltectra is much less well known. Here, Yole explains this acquisition.

Whereas SSL technologies represented 57% of automotive lighting value in 2017, this share is likely to reach an impressive 85% by 2023. According to the market research and strategy consulting company, Yole, the automotive lighting market totalled $27.4bn in 2017 and is expected to reach $37.3bn in 2023 at a 5.3% CAGR during this period. 

The air quality monitoring in cars, homes and other buildings is driving the gas and particle sensor market, according to an analysis by Yole Group of Companies including System Plus Consulting and Yole Développement (Yole). The market was analysed with two dedicated analysis: Gas and Particle Sensors technology & market analysis and Miniaturised Gas Sensor Comparison. 

Enabling megatrends, the power electronics market has grown tremendously last year. Yole Développement (Yole) has discovered a $32.7bn power electronics market in 2017 in its report, ‘Status of the Power Electronics Industry’ published last summer.

“2017 was an unprecedented year for semiconductor industry”, stated Santosh Kumar, Director of Packaging, Assembly and Substrates at Yole Korea, part of Yole Développement (Yole). “The market grow by 21.6% year-to-year to reach record of almost $412bn”. Under this dynamic context, the advanced packaging industry is playing a key role, offering huge opportunities of innovation for the companies involved. 

  The development of new and smart functionalities in smartphone, medical and automotive applications as well as the development of breakthrough devices and functions such as wearables and virtual reality are pushing the growth of the IR LEDs and laser diodes industry. 

Technical innovations in power module packaging are mainly driven by the challenging system requirements of the booming EV/HEV industry and the entrance of WBG materials. The companies Yole Développement (Yole) and System Plus consulting, both part of Yole Group of Companies, have proposed, two dedicated analysis'.

The Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSEL) industry took a strategic turn last year when Apple revealed its smartphone with innovative 3D sensing function based on VCSEL technology. Apple’s technical choice directly impacted the VCSEL industry and Yole Développement (Yole) has announced impressive market figures in its new technology and market report, VCSEL - Technology, Industry and Market Trends.

Ultrasound has a very old history. The ecosystem is mature and there are numerous applications and technologies. As part of this ultrasound industry, the semiconductor technologies supporting micromachined ultrasonic transducers were developed a long while ago, but the market never responded.

The telecom revolution taking place in the early 21st century has led to impressive innovations, especially at the devices level, and according to Yole Développement (Yole), the RF FE modules market will be so highly impacted by new 5G standard it is expected to reach $35.2bn in 2023.

The SiC power market is now on the road, according to Yole Développement (Yole). Since 2017, the market research and strategy consulting company identified more than 20 strategic announcements, showing the dynamism of this market and attractiveness of the technology.

The Chinese government has created a strategic plan to comprehensively upgrade the country’s industrial sector and make China a major player that is independent from other countries. This plan, Made in China 2025, includes a focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

A technology and market report proposed by Yole Développement (Yole), focused on displays and optics for VR, AR and MR headsets, titled Displays & Optical Vision Systems for VR, AR & MR, reveals the technology, its evolution and details the structure of the industry.

With the introduction of the iPhone X in September 2017, Apple set the standard for technology and use-case for 3D sensing in consumer. Apple contrived a complex assembly of camera modules and light sources using structured light principles, along with an innovative NIR global shutter image sensor.

Driven by the adoption of evermore electronic components in end products, the semiconductor industry is facing a new era in which device scaling and cost reduction will no longer continue on the path followed for the past few decades. Semiconductor companies are now looking for technology solutions to bridge the gap and improve cost-performance while at the same time adding more functionality through integration.

The semiconductor industry posted record results in 2017, with revenue exceeding $400bn. Overall demand for semiconductor devices was robust throughout the year, driven by the growing adoption of electronics components across all applications, with particular strength in the mobile and data centre markets.