Mavis Hong, Taipei; Steve Shen, DIGITIMES [Thursday 8 May 2014]
LCD driver IC suppliers plan to snap up more capacity at wafer foundry houses due to tight production schedules at most foundries’ 8-inch fabs, according to industry sources.
Capacity utilization rates at the 8-inch fabs of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) have been running at high levels recently, as the IT supply chains in Taiwan and China began replenishing inventories in April, the sources noted.
Sources at foundry houses also pointed out that orders for small-size LCD driver ICs supporting HD720 displays as well as power management (PWM) ICs for smartphone applications increased sharply in the second quarter, jacking up utilization rates at 8-inch fabs.
Novatek Microelectronics, the top LCD driver IC supplier in Taiwan, said that it has felt a tightening of production capacity at local foundry houses and has already placed sufficient wafer start orders in Taiwan and China to maintain its production.
Demand for small-size LCD driver ICs is expected to remain strong in the second half of 2014, driven by the roll-outs of 4G LTE smartphones and expanding exports of handsets by China-based vendors, the sources commented
