Capacity shortages won’t stop optical IC sales growth: LightCounting
While semiconductor supply shortages are being discussed even in mainstream news, sales of ICs used in optical transceivers continue to chug along, according to LightCounting. The market research firm states in its new Market for Coherent and PAM4 DSPs report that while supply chain issues may prevent such sales from growing as much as they might otherwise this year, long-term effects on the market should be minimal.
Sales of such devices in 2020 continued a pattern of steady growth (see chart above), LightCounting reports. PAM4 DSPs for Ethernet transceivers, active optical cables (AOCs), AECs, and onboard re-timers proved particularly strong. Meanwhile, the year marked something of an inflection point for optical interface IC chipsets, a product area that should see a 22% CAGR from 2021 to 2025. Overall, increasing sales of PAM4 and coherent DSPs will sustain growth during the market forecast period.
LightCounting notes that manufacturers of optical IC chipsets reaped the benefits of the rising demand for their products. Inphi saw revenues climb 87%, while Maxlinear’s sales jumped 51% (mostly thanks to the acquisition of Ethernet Wi-Fi business from Intel). Other big winners were MACOM (+21%) and Maxim Integrated (+8%).
As for the overall shortage of semiconductors and manufacturing capacity, LightCounting notes that steps are being taken now to remedy the situation, but won’t significantly improve the situation quickly. “The only solution is to increase production capacity across the industry supply chain: from the low-tech organic substrates to the high-tech 5-nm CMOS fabs. This will require 10s if not 100s of billions of dollars and many months, possibly years, of effort,” the market research firm stated via a press release.
LightCounting’s February 2021 Market for Coherent and PAM4 DSPs report analyses the market for semiconductor IC chipsets used in optical transceivers and related products. The chipsets include laser drivers, CDRs, TIAs and in some cases FEC, PAM4 and coherent DSP ICs. The report analyses the global market for IC chipsets by application, breaking the market down into CWDM/DWDM, Ethernet, Fibre Channel, FTTx, wireless front-haul, AOC, AEC and EOM segments.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.