Dc-dc switching regulators shipment surpasses $350 million

Shipment of dc/dc switching regulators in the American market reached $350.8 million last year, according to market research firm Venture Development Corp. (VDC).

VDC says demand mostly came from PC and office automation, which soaked up 30.2 percent of the shipment; consumer electronics, 28.2 percent; and telecom products, 22.6 percent.

In the PC and office automation sector, demand for dc/dc regulators grew as sales of notebook PCs increased.

Mobile phones and other mobile gadgets, meanwhile, drove the demand from consumer electronics sector. Sales of mobile handsets grew by 7 percent in the region, with a larger rate in developing countries. The number of global wireless subscribers is projected to reach 1.6 billion by the end of the year.

In the telecom sector, the growth is a result of the upgrading of telecommunication infrastructures over the past years. Mainland China and India are among those countries stepping up their upgrades on wireless infrastructures.

"The increasing popularity of battery-operated mobile devices such as notebook PCs and cellular phones is driving the growth of IC dc/dc switching regulators," said Peter Walsh, senior analyst at VDC. "Users of mobile devices are demanding more functions, but with lower power consumption. Therefore, the development of more efficient regulators is the most important advance in dc/dc switching regulators."

Walsh adds that dc/dc manufacturers are addressing the need for higher efficiency by raising the switching frequency, powering only to meet the load requirements, and integrating the FETs more closely.