This analysis is based on a database of 147 digital power ICs from 17 makers over the period January 2004 to June 2007 which was used as the basis for this first-ever comprehensive analysis of trends in digital power IC pricing and features. Manufacturers included in this study are: Analog Devices, Intersil, iWatt, Freescale, Linear Technology, Microchip Technology, Potential Semiconductor, Maxim, Micrel, Power-One, Primarion, Silicon Laboratories, Summit, Texas Instruments, Tundra, Volterra and Zilker Labs. Data sources used to compile this database included product data sheets, news releases, company web sites, and other primary sources.

This detailed analysis focused on four key areas including: levels of integration, features and functions, target converter applications, and communications buses. Integration analysis considered five components: monitoring capability, power control capability, on-board MOSFET drivers, integrated power transistors, and on-chip memory. Features and functions included four capabilities: parametric monitoring, feature configuration, power conversion configuration, and performance configuration. (Detailed definitions of both the Integration components and Features/Functions capabilities are included in Appendix B.) Target converter applications included eight specific areas: System Monitoring, general dc-dc converters (independent of type), non-isolated dc-dc converters, isolated dc-dc converters, voltage regulators, LDOs, power factor correction, and ac-dc power supplies. The communication bus analysis considered the explicit use of I2C, SMBus, PMBus, and Z-Bus configurations. Finally, there is a summary of the application segments targeted by these devices (Computers, Communications, Consumer, Medical, Industrial, Instrumentation, and Military/Aerospace).

Methodology

In constructing the digital IC product database, a large number of IC products from over 30 companies were considered. However, in an effort to focus on the latest developments in digital power technology, the product inventory was limited to ICs with applications in computers, communications, consumer products, medical, industrial, instrumentation, military/aerospace and related areas. Data collection was limited to the period between January 2004 and the end of June 2007. IC products used exclusively or primarily in motor drives, portable applications and lighting ballasts were explicitly excluded from this analysis. After sorting through the initial list of 30 companies, 17 companies were identified that offered products meeting the criteria of this analysis. The resulting database included 147 digital power IC products introduced over the period January 2004 to June 2007.

Once an IC was determined to meet the selection criteria, it was added to an Excel spreadsheet and categorized into a number of fields including the level of digital integration, features and functions of the product, the target market, the type and number of communications protocols included, the packaging options available, the end-use markets for the product and price. In addition, a good deal of attention was given to determining the specific product announcement/introduction dates. The resulting chronological information was used to identify product development trends in this market. In every case, the product date was derived directly from manufacturer’s data sheets, product announcements, catalogs, web sites and similar primary sources. No products were physically analyzed in the completion of this analysis.
Pricing data was collected from a variety of sources including conversations with IC makers, distributors, and other knowledgeable individuals.

The detailed statistical discussion of the digital IC product database includes extensive correlation analysis. Correlations are defined as the percentage of occurrences for a specific feature/function with a given type of digital power IC. For example, if 10 ac-dc power supply ICs are introduced in a particular period and 4 of them include an on-chip Driver, the correlation for the Driver function with ac-dc power supply ICs would be 40% in that period. The complete month-by-month correlation data is included as background in Appendix A. The resulting 20 charts are too detailed to be analyzed directly. The analysis in the “Digital Power IC Product Introduction Analysis” and subsequent sections of the report provides a statistically meaningful summary of the detailed correlation data.


Executive summary
This report is the first detailed, quantitative analysis of product introduction and market development trends in the rapidly emerging area of digital power ICs. In addition to analyzing product introduction trends in this dynamic market, determination of the current status of digital power ICs in terms of product life cycle analysis was a key achievement of this report. The resulting analysis determines when digital power ICs are expected to transition from the Introduction phase into the Growth phase of their product life cycle and includes an accompanying analysis of the status of digital power in terms of a technology life cycle. It projects the potential profitability of digital power ICs in the next several years. The analysis also pinpoints an anticipated non-linear “discontinuity” in the pricing curve for digital power ICs, at which time price declines will slow significantly.

The life cycle analysis included several “dimensions,” including pricing trends for both digital and analog controller ICs. Now that digital ICs have entered commercial production, unit volumes have reached a level that enables a statistically meaningful analysis of pricing trends based on the concept of a “learning curve.” The resulting learning curve analysis and projection of future prices for digital power ICs agrees with earlier predictions for price “parity” between digital and analog controller ICs, based on “Moore’s Law” for semiconductors. Several trends in digital power IC introductions also confirm the results of the life cycle analysis. The life cycle findings are particularly important and identify an impending “discontinuity” in the market for digital power ICs.

A database of 147 digital power ICs from 17 manufacturers over the period January 2004 to June 2007 was used as one basis for this first-ever comprehensive analysis of trends in digital power IC pricing and features. Manufacturers included in this study are: Analog Devices, Intersil, iWatt, Freescale, Linear Technology, Microchip Technology, Potential Semiconductor, Maxim, Micrel, Power-One, Primarion, Silicon Laboratories, Summit, Texas Instruments, Tundra, Volterra and Zilker Labs. For the pricing analysis only, another 100 analog controller ICs were added from 10 companies including; Alliance Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, International Rectifier, Intersil, Linear Technology, Micrel, National Semiconductor, ON Semiconductor, Sipex and Texas Instruments.

This detailed analysis focused on four key areas including: levels of integration, features and functions, target converter applications, and communications buses. Integration analysis considered five components: monitoring capability, power control capability, on-board MOSFET drivers, integrated power transistors, and on-chip memory. Features and functions included four capabilities: parametric monitoring, feature configuration, power conversion configuration, and performance configuration. (Detailed definitions of both the Integration components and Features/Functions capabilities are included in Appendix B.) Target converter applications included eight specific areas: System Monitoring, general dc-dc converters (independent of type), non-isolated dc-dc converters, isolated dc-dc converters, voltage regulators, LDOs, power factor correction, and ac-dc power supplies. The communication bus analysis considered the explicit use of I2C, SMBus, PMBus™, and Z-Bus® configurations. Finally, there is a summary of the application segments targeted by these devices (Computers, Communications, Consumer, Medical, Industrial, Instrumentation, and Military/Aerospace).

The analysis of product trends provides several interesting “highlights.” The use of digital power appears to be most developed for dc-dc converters, but the combined introductions of ICs for ac-dc power conversion and power factor correction are equal to introductions of devices for dc-dc converters. In the most recent period, there appears to be a slow-down or “pause” in the growing number of digital power ICs introduced. But at the same time, the variety of application segments being targeted reached a high point in the most recent analysis period. Those and other trends clearly identify that the development of digital power products and technology is nearing an important new phase. As the technology transitions from the Introduction phase into the next part of its life cycle, there will be important and far-reaching implications for IC makers.

Introduction...................................................................................................................6
Pricing Background.......................................................................................................7
Price Parity for Digital Power ICs..................................................................................9
IC Introduction Trends.................................................................................................11
Product Life Cycle Analysis.........................................................................................15
Digital Power Technology Life Cycle Analysis.............................................................17
Digital Power IC Product Introduction Analysis...........................................................21
Digital Power IC Introductions by Function..................................................................21
DC-DC Converter ICs..................................................................................................23
Communications Buses...............................................................................................24
Analysis of Digital Power IC Features.........................................................................26
Feature/Function Trends.............................................................................................29
Integration Levels........................................................................................................32
Integration Component Trends....................................................................................33
Targeted Application Segments..................................................................................36
AC-DC and PFC Correlations.....................................................................................40
Executive Summary....................................................................................................41
Appendix A, Month-to-Month Introduction and Correlation Details..............................44
Appendix B, Definition of Digital IC Terms..................................................................55
Appendix C, Methodology...........................................................................................57

Table of exhibits
Figure 1, IC Cost/Function – Analog and Digital...........................................................8
Figure 2, Pricing Comparison for Analog and Digital Controller ICs..............................9
Figure 3, Digital Power IC Price Projections to 2012...................................................11
Figure 4, Digital Power IC Monthly Introductions........................................................13
Figure 5, Digital Power ICs Year-to-Year Introductions...............................................14
Figure 6, Digital Power ICs by “Core” Architecture......................................................14
Figure 7, Product Life Cycle Curve for Digital Power ICs............................................16
Figure 8, July ’06 to June ’07 Product Introductions....................................................17
Figure 9, Digital Control Papers at APEC....................................................................19
Figure 10, Cumulative Introductions Through June 2007............................................22
Figure 11, Year-to-Year Introductions.........................................................................22
Figure 12, DC-DC Converter Introductions.................................................................23
Figure 13, Year-to-Year DC-DC Converter Introductions............................................24
Figure 14, Cumulative Bus Introductions through June 2007......................................25
Figure 15, Year-to-Year Bus Introductions..................................................................25
Figure 16, Month-to-Month I2C Bus Introductions.......................................................26
Figure 17, Cumulative Introductions of Digital Features Through June 2007..............27
Figure 18, Year-to-Year Introductions of Digital Features...........................................27
Figure 19, Year-to-Year Levels of Functionality..........................................................28
Figure 20, Month-to-Month Levels of Functionality.....................................................29
Figure 21, Feature Correlation by Converter Type......................................................30
Figure 22, Year-to-Year AC-DC Feature Correlations.................................................30
Figure 23, Year-to-Year DC-DC Feature Correlations.................................................31
Figure 24, Year-to-Year Levels of Integration.............................................................32
Figure 25, Cumulative Integration Introductions..........................................................33
Figure 26, Year-to-Year Integration Introductions.......................................................34
Figure 27, Month-to-Month Integration Introductions..................................................34
Figure 28, Integration Correlation by Converter Type.................................................35
Figure 29, Year-to-Year AC-DC Integration Correlations............................................35
Figure 30, Year-to-Year DC-DC Integration Correlations............................................36
Figure 31, Cumulative Product Introductions..............................................................37
Figure 32, Year-to-Year Product Introductions............................................................37
Figure 33, Computer, Communications and Consumer Correlation by Converter......38
Figure 34, Year-to-Year 3Cs AC-DC Correlation........................................................39
Figure 35, Year-to-Year 3Cs DC-DC Correlation........................................................39
Figure 36, Year-to-Year PFC Inclusion in AC-DC Correlation.....................................40
Figure A1, Correlation Between AC-DC and PFC.......................................................44
Figure A2, Correlation Between DC-DC and AC-DC...................................................45
Figure A3, Power Converter Configuration versus AC-DC..........................................45
Figure A4, Power Converter Configuration versus DC-DC..........................................46
Figure A5, Performance Configuration versus AC-DC................................................46
Figure A6, Performance Configuration versus DC-DC................................................47
Figure A7, Feature Configuration versus AC-DC........................................................47
Figure A8, Feature Configuration versus DC-DC........................................................48
Figure A9, Parameter Monitoring versus AC-DC........................................................48
Figure A10, Parameter Monitoring versus DC-DC......................................................49
Figure A11, Driver Inclusion versus AC-DC................................................................49
Figure A12, Driver Inclusion versus DC-DC................................................................50
Figure A13, Power Stage Inclusion versus AC-DC.....................................................50
Figure A14, Power Stage Inclusion versus DC-DC.....................................................51
Figure A15, Computers versus AC-DC.......................................................................51
Figure A16, Computers versus DC-DC.......................................................................52
Figure A17, Communications versus AC-DC..............................................................52
Figure A18, Communications versus DC-DC..............................................................53
Figure A19, Consumer versus AC-DC........................................................................53
Figure A20, Consumer versus DC-DC........................................................................54