Move to Digital Power Supplies Drives Increased Demand for Components

Feb 9, 2011 1:29 PM

According to a newly published report from IMS Research, the explosive growth projected for power supplies with digital control and management will increase demand for Silicon Carbide (SiC) diodes, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and Microprocessors (MPUs). However, in the long term, this will be at the expense of PFC controller ICs, and analog controllers and regulators.

Ryan Sanderson, a Senior Market Analyst in IMS Research's Power and Energy group commented, "Although supplies with digital control and management are predicted to account for less than 10% of the total merchant market for power supplies in 2015, their components will be worth almost $1 billion. There will be a strong growth in demand for all component types. However, digital controllers/converters are predicted to replace their analog counterparts; and with the use of a DSP or MPU, some functions such as power factor correction (PFC) will be performed without a dedicated IC. This will thus impair the demand for some component types.

Sanderson added, "The impact on some analog component markets is somewhat offset by growth in the markets for components which have previously not been used in power supplies. The market for MPUs and DSPs in merchant power supplies is forecast to increase four-fold from 2010 to 2015, and the use of SiC diodes is increasing rapidly, particularly in the PFC stage.

Further, the report "The World Market for Semiconductors in Merchant Power Supplies" revealed that the total market for semiconductors and components in merchant power supplies is projected to reach over $7 billion in 2015. AC-DC merchant power supplies will account for over 90%; DC-DC merchant power supplies account for less than 10%.

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