Frost: Miniaturization Prompts Smaller Device Structures from Surface Acoustic Wave Manufacturers
June 10, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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With smaller, lighter and feature-packed telecommunications being the order of the day, there is severe pressure on surface acoustic wave (SAW) device manufacturers to produce innovative and smaller device structures, according to Frost & Sullivan.
For example, mobile handsets are no longer used solely for simple telephony or navigation but are integrated with a host of functions and features such as camera, TV, MPEG audio layer 3 (MP3), universal serial bus (USB), Bluetooth and wireless local area network (LAN), analysts said.
Recent analysis from Frost & Sullivan of the Southeast Asian SAW devices markets found earned revenues of $29.4 million in 2007, with estimates to reach $34.8 million in 2010.
SAW manufacturers can help gadget manufacturers achieve this integration by creating miniaturized devices, analysts said. They should also offer superior quality and attractive pricing to stay ahead of the competition.
"Conventional ceramic, metal or plastic packages used in SAW devices are often replaced by flip-chip or chip-scale packages to reduce sizes," said Frost & Sullivan research analyst C.P. Liew. "Further size reduction is also achieved by integrating SAW devices with semiconductors and passive components under a single module."
Such innovations are helping the local SAW device manufacturers to hold their own in the market despite the dominance of China and India, analysts said. Their success could also be partly attributed to the significant local presence of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and contract manufacturers (CMs) from Japan, North America and Europe.
Analysts said it is quite likely that the CMs in the SAW market in Southeast Asia will win more outsourcing contracts from OEMs in the U.S. and Europe due to the region's advantage of well-established manufacturing facilities.
"Meanwhile, the growing automotive industry in Southeast Asia and the increased use of electronic components in automobiles are expected to increase the use of SAW devices in the region," said Liew. "Currently, OEMs largely import automotive electronic systems. However, more electronic systems are expected to be localized in the long term, spurring the use of SAW devices in automotive electronic systems in the region."
Source: Frost & Sullivan.