 Wireless IC technology
As more and more wireless technologies become available in the marketplace, the users are demanding gadgets and services that use the best available technology. Consumers want things to be simple to use, economical and easily available. But things are not as easy as they want them to be.
For wireless IC manufacturers, the main impact revolves around a single theme. The need to move large quantities of data at high speeds continues to rise, pressing component manufacturers to update their technology and at the same time, reduce costs. Both communications and digital IC technologies are progressing towards higher frequencies. At higher frequencies, the limiting factor for many wireless components is not the IC. The packaging parasitic factors (physical, distributed and electromagnetic effects) can limit the frequency response or signal integrity of an otherwise robust circuit design, keeping it from reaching its potential speed of operation.
Currently, the cellular market is driving the wireless IC market but broadband technologies will also become an important component of the market, according to a market survey by Allied Business Intelligence (ABI). Chips meant for cellular/PC applications have 97 per cent of the market share and silicon continues to be a dominant technology with 86 per cent of the share, in all. According to ABI, changes are obvious in the silicon component as traditional BiCMOS, CMOS, SiGe, and bipolar processes are vying with one another. The report says that MMDS is now poised for explosive growth. The overwhelming leader in the market today is CMOS, due to its role in the baseband sector. CMOS represents nearly 50 per cent of the overall market and considerable gains are expected in SiGe, particularly in the IF sectors of wireless devices.
It is expected that SiGe will become on the whole attractive as cellular and other OEMs begin to employ Bluetooth and GPS functionality in their devices. At present, the RF/analogue section of GPS chips represents 21 per cent of the GPS IC market, but these functions are expected to survive integration into host systems longer than baseband GPS functions. As trends indicate, innovations will bring much advancement and the wireless IC technology is poised for tremendous growth in the near future. | 
01-05-2006
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