Demand Continues For Discretes, Memory and RF Components

The electronics components market continues to show consistency, at least among product lines that are moving upward in leadtimes, pricing, or both. According to Avnet Electronics Marketing’s Market and Technology Trends report for July, discretes, memory and RF components continue to see leadtimes stretch out and pricing increase.

Leadtimes for discretes are showing a range 4 to 33 weeks, Avnet product experts report. As a result, prices for MSOFETs, transient voltage suppressors, and thyristors are all on the upswing; as are rectifiers and small-signal devices. Avnet EM reports that ON Semi is increasing capacity by 25% in 2014 and expects the majority of lead times to improve in Q3, with the exception of SMA/B, DPAK 2 W, and SOT23 which are expected to improve in Q4. NXP is bringing on additional capacity in Q2 and Q3 and is expecting easing toward the end of Q3 on DPAK, D2PAK, SOT404 and SOT428. It is expected there will be remaining packages easing in Q4 for NXP. Vishay has seen extended lead times on several products, but feels that they have stabilized. Infineon Technologies expands the comprehensive SiC portfolio introducing the 5th generation1200 V thinQ! SiC Schottky diodes.

Leadtimes on memory products range from 6 weeks to allocation, Avnet EM reports. DDR-2 SDRAM, DDR-3 SDRAM and mobile or LP DRAM prices are on the rise. Micron has announced new revisions for 512 Mb and 1 Gb, Avnet product experts report, and recommend customers should migrate. Lead times are extending.

DDR-3 SDRAM allocation is increasing, according to Avnet EM. DDR-3 is the design sweet spot from 1 to 4 Gb. Prevailing support is for the DDR3L / 1.35 V option which retains 1.5 V compatibility. Customers may expect allocation, rising prices, and constrained delivery for 2014.

Two and 4 Gb DDR3 have seen slight increases most recently. Having forecasts and backlog in place is the best way to assure support, Avnet EM recommends. LPDDR and LPDDR2 are in strong demand; so vendors are increasing production on LPDDR2 products. Lead times are increasing, so users can expect seasonal demand to increase in 2H 2014. LPDDR2 parts should be chosen carefully -- not all configurations and packages are well supported. Support for LPDDR2 with industrial temperature range is limited and designers should exercise caution.

Micron is exiting lower density LP-SDRAM devices, so look to ISSI for replacements, according to Avnet EM. NAND Flash IC leadtimes are increasing to 16 weeks; MLC support stable, but Avnet is seeing shortages and price increases on many raw SLC devices.

Managed NAND device leadtimes are increasing to 14-16 weeks Avnet reports; eMMC is rapidly becoming popular and is a multiple sourced, JEDEC standard solution. Micron, Toshiba, Kingston, Greenliant, Sandisk and Samsung all have offerings, but leadtimes are extending rapidly.

Other significant movement in the market in July was in RF devices. The Internet of Things (also known as M2M or machine to machine) is having a significant impact on RF products. IoT refers to an expanding network of interconnected internet-enabled devices. Driven by miniaturization, the affordability of components such as cheap Bluetooth sensors and the growing ubiquity of technologies such as Wi-Fi, it is now possible to connect devices in a way that would never have previously been thought possible. Estimates suggest that by 2020 there will be in the region of 50 billion IoT devices – all talking with one another on a constant basis.

802.11ac sales are rapidly accelerating, according to Avnet EM. Driven by growing levels of IP connectivity in consumer electronics (CE) products and the ubiquity of WLANs in the home as well as public Wi-Fi hotspots, global shipments of Wi-Fi enabled CE devices grew 19% in 2013 reaching 1.9 billion units. The 802.11n Wi-Fi standard has become the industry baseline for Wi-Fi accounting for over 80% of all shipments in 2013. But requirements for improved connectivity technology to more efficiently deliver high-quality content and services on CE devices will push 802.11ac devices to represent 45% of consumer Wi-Fi equipment shipments by end of 2014.