"Thats the Signal. Go Go Go"

Demand for signal conditioning circuits, amplifiers and comparators, was unseasonably strong in April and to a certain extent in March as well. Demand was driven by Asia and Japan where orders began rolling in again to replenish anemic inventories. Signal conditioning circuits are essential components of any electronic application and they have a significant impact on resolution, range, and other performance characteristics. They are used in all market segments and constitute close to 20 percent of the standard analog IC market.

By the end of 2008, this market reached a high of nearly $3 billion, but the last two quarters were distressing as suppliers watched the overall TAM drop 19 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and another 25 percent in the first quarter of 2009 consecutively. Now into the second quarter, it appears that an inventory replenishment is occurring which has started in Japan and Asia and should gain momentum in Europe and the Americas. Currently we are expecting the second quarter TAM for signal conditioning to be up 16 percent over the first quarter and continue to climb with a 7 percent gain in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the overall year is still expected to be down 26 percent with revenue expected worldwide at $2.2 billion.

There were many lessons learned during the last major chip downturn in 2001 and the industry has made many major improvements in handing the complicated supply channel so companies today are much more responsive to market conditions, pulling back when its needed, but able to respond quickly to incoming orders. The top signal conditioning suppliers include Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, National Semiconductor, Maxim Integrated Products, and Linear Technology.

Databeans new study on the signal conditioning market examines demand for amplifiers and comparators by region and by application and market segment. Each product type is examined and the major players are profiled with market share data included.