TAIWAN: Inductor technologies are developed independently

The global inductor revenue was $7.15 billion in 2006, according to a report by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (IEK). Taiwan’s inductor market generated $290 million last year, and is estimated to reach $310 million in 2007.



The top inductor vendors are mainly Japanese companies such as TDK, Taiyo Yuden, Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd and MACO. Taiwan manufacturers, on the other hand, still have a long way to catch up on its Asian neighbors like China and Japan in terms of production scale and scope.



Unlike other passive component manufacturers, many inductor vendors in Taiwan develop their technologies independently rather than license from Japanese companies. The local industry is dominated by a few companies such as Chilisin Electronics Corp., ABC Taiwan Electronics Corp., King Core Electronics Inc., ACME Electronics Corp., Tak Technology Co. Ltd, and CynTec Co. Ltd. These vendors focus on the production of SMD, coil, core and customized inductors. Most of the multilayer inductors produced by these local companies are 0603 and 0805.

Chilisin is one of the few local manufacturers that provide a full series of materials and inductors, including Mn-Zn , Ni-Zn soft ferrite core, coil and SMD inductor. The company also manufactures multilayer ferrite and ceramic inductors from 0402 to 1812 sizes, which are suitable for high RF.



COST ISSUES DRIVE MOVE TO CHINA

Due to labor and material cost considerations, many Taiwan inductor manufacturers have moved their manufacturing to China. The magnetic core, a key component of inductors, faces the same market cost pressures. This is another factors why Taiwan vendors are shifting their manufacturing lines to China.



ABC Taiwan Electronics recently announced to shift its wire-wound chip inductor production line to Shanghai. “We believe that the allocation will help us to improve quality, and reduce the cost and time of shipment of wire-wound chip inductors,” said Joseph Hsu, CEO of ABC Taiwan Electronics. “With this effective price structure, we are optimistic on our company’s growth.”



EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES

Reducing cost is not the only way to grow profit. The latest applications in the consumer electronics segment are also augmenting market opportunities for inductor vendors. For example, the increased demand for LCD TVs is driving the demand for CCFL backlight modules, which is a key application of ferrite products.



Local soft ferrite vendors like Ferroxcube provide design support for ferrite core solutions in CCFL backlight modules. “Our core solutions such as KU26, KU30 and UC26 have been adopted in LCD TV displays,” said Chuanchi W. Ou, a marketing support manager at Ferroxcube Asia-Pacific Region. “Our KU26 and KU30 ferrite core solutions feature higher density power conversion capability, superb conductivity, and low profile. These features are suitable for the design of slimmer CCFL-backlight modules for LCD TVs. In addition, our UC26 is able to support prolonged lifespan and larger size applications, such as 32-inch LCD TVs or bigger.”



Ferroxcube’s UC26 ferrite core solution offers better thermal disposition and conversion efficiency than other products available in the market. Its high inductance makes it a cost-effective solution as it does not require an extra high-capacitance SMD capacitor.



MINIATURIZATION, INTEGRATION

Influenced by industry trends such as the miniaturization of electronic devices and increased integration to reduce component count, many inductor manufacturers are aggressively developing processes like low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), embedded passive, and thin-film technologies. Taiwan manufacturers have successfully launched inductors made by LTCC and thin film process.



With focus on miniaturization, CynTec develops micro-powder molding and coil forming, and produces a complete series of high saturation surfacemount-molded inductors. A representative from CynTec said, “The trend in inductor innovation is to come up with thinner, small from factors, and high frequency and multi-function features.”

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