微控制器(MCU)供應(yīng)鏈中的廠商們正在承受著巨大壓力，預(yù)計(jì)該領(lǐng)域?qū)⒊霈F(xiàn)更多的供給中斷及短缺狀況。 在歡度豐收的2010年后，愛特梅爾(Atmel)、飛思卡爾(Freescale)、Microchip、瑞薩(Renesas)和其它的微控制器供貨商，在2011年第一季的業(yè)務(wù)都回歸到正常的季節(jié)循環(huán)。 然而，這一切在三月日本大地震后都改變了。數(shù)家芯片制造商受到波及，其中包括全球最大的MCU供貨商瑞薩電子。此外，富士通(Fujitsu)和其它工廠位于當(dāng)?shù)氐奈⒖刂破鞴┴浬桃彩艿搅擞绊憽? 日本的汽車和消費(fèi)電子巨頭也受到?jīng)_擊。事實(shí)上，豐田(Toyota)和其它業(yè)者也受到微控制器和其它組件短缺影響，造成工廠停產(chǎn)，并延長(zhǎng)部份車型的交貨周期。 在MCU領(lǐng)域，瑞薩基本上已經(jīng)從地震中恢復(fù)，除了位于日本那珂(Naka)的晶圓廠，該廠占瑞薩20%的MCU產(chǎn)能。截至目前，那珂廠尚未恢復(fù)生產(chǎn)。 鑒于瑞薩的現(xiàn)況，再加上通路不斷消耗庫(kù)存，很可能造成第二季MCU的輕微短缺?！拔也⒉活A(yù)期在未來數(shù)個(gè)月內(nèi)平均銷售價(jià)格(ASP)會(huì)上升，”Microchip Technology總裁兼CEO Steve Sanghi日前在嵌入式系統(tǒng)大會(huì)(ESC)中表示，但就MCU的供給而言“第三季情況可能更糟”。 事實(shí)上，Microchip和其它業(yè)者顯然正在接收一些原先瑞薩的OEM客戶。“Microchip可能看到更多由于供應(yīng)鏈中斷而出現(xiàn)的業(yè)務(wù)機(jī)會(huì)，而且可能從客戶的更換組件和重新設(shè)計(jì)中獲益，”Gleacher & Co.分析師Doug Freedman在一份報(bào)告中指出。 我們認(rèn)為，瑞薩的斷貨可能會(huì)讓Microchip在拓展全球MCU市場(chǎng)版圖時(shí)獲得新的機(jī)遇，F(xiàn)reedman說?！拔覀兿嘈庞绊憣⒊掷m(xù)到未來的兩到三季?！? 不過，要從一家MCU供貨商換到另一家，說要比做容易得多。“我確實(shí)聽到(MCU)的短缺消息，的確，其中一些消息來自瑞薩，”O(jiān)bjective-Analysis分析師Tom Starnes說?！安恍业氖?，要為來自不同設(shè)備和廠房的產(chǎn)品重新認(rèn)證，需要供貨商和OEM業(yè)者花更多時(shí)間來進(jìn)行。這類工作通常需要仔細(xì)安排，以免破壞生產(chǎn)流程?！? Gartner 表示，2009年，MCU市場(chǎng)如垂直落體般下跌。2010年，市場(chǎng)反彈，達(dá)到了151億美元規(guī)模。而Databeans Inc,則預(yù)估， MCU 市場(chǎng)規(guī)?？赏?011年突破 160億美元，比2010年成長(zhǎng)9%。 ［轉(zhuǎn)下一頁(yè)：瑞薩的策略］ 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載

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{pagination} 瑞薩的策略 據(jù) Gartner統(tǒng)計(jì)，在2010年的排名中，瑞薩是微控制器領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，銷售額44億4,700萬美元；其次依序是飛思卡爾(15億2,500萬美元)、三星(9.82億美元)、Microchip(9.68億美元)、愛特梅爾(9.58億美元)、德州儀器(TI, 9.46億美元)’英飛凌(Infineon, 9.3億美元)，意法半導(dǎo)體(ST, 9.15億美元)和富士通(6.84億美元)。 這并不奇怪，瑞薩正全速擺脫地震的影響。在MCU領(lǐng)域“我們奮起直追，”Renesas US總裁兼CEO Daniel Mahoney稍早前在ESC上表示。在2011下半年“我們可望縮小差距”。 地震后，瑞薩在日本的10座工廠中，有五座暫時(shí)關(guān)閉。但最近“五分之四已恢復(fù)生產(chǎn)”，Mahoney說。 問題是，這并不包含瑞薩的那珂晶圓廠。該廠有兩條生產(chǎn)線，分別為200mm和300mm生產(chǎn)線?？傆?jì)那珂廠占瑞薩品牌MCU 20%的產(chǎn)能。瑞薩并未詳細(xì)說明哪條生產(chǎn)線路受到影響，但該公司表示地震并未對(duì) NEC 品牌的MCU組件供貨造成影響。 為迎頭趕上，瑞薩宣布了全新策略。首先，該公司正在重新激活那珂廠。其200mm生產(chǎn)線稱為N2，將在6月15日重啟，而稱為N3的300mm生產(chǎn)線將在7月重新激活，他表示。 其次，瑞薩也將部份生產(chǎn)轉(zhuǎn)移到其它廠。第三，該公司也將部分生產(chǎn)轉(zhuǎn)移到代工廠。該公司已經(jīng)“將一些那珂的生產(chǎn)轉(zhuǎn)移到臺(tái)積電(TSMC)”，他說。該公司還將某些產(chǎn)品轉(zhuǎn)移到新加坡Globalfoundries的200mm晶圓廠，該廠原為特許半導(dǎo)體(Chartered)所有，后被 Globalfoundries收購(gòu)。 不過，供應(yīng)鏈仍有可能中斷。地震前，供應(yīng)鏈約有兩個(gè)月的庫(kù)存，但現(xiàn)已接近枯竭，Microchip的Sanghi說。 庫(kù)存問題再加上瑞薩的困境，預(yù)計(jì)將造成部份短缺。許多OEM正在尋求更換到Microchip的組件。據(jù)報(bào)導(dǎo)，Microchip已規(guī)劃出一個(gè)替代方案，并正擴(kuò)大其位于奧勒岡州Gresham的晶圓廠產(chǎn)能。 本周，Microchip公布了亮眼的成績(jī)，該公司還買下了一座IC組裝廠。 ［轉(zhuǎn)下一頁(yè)：愛特梅爾成績(jī)亮眼］ 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載

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{pagination} 愛特梅爾成績(jī)亮眼 Atmel──另一家 MCU供貨商，則看到了旺盛的需求。事實(shí)上，該公司看到了其maXTouch觸摸控制器業(yè)務(wù)的強(qiáng)勁增長(zhǎng)態(tài)勢(shì)。 “我們認(rèn)為，Atmel已看到其AVR架構(gòu)多年來的市占率成長(zhǎng)情況，類似Microchip的PIC架構(gòu)在1990年代的成長(zhǎng)，”Raymond James & Associates Inc.分析師Hans Mosesmann說。 “愛特梅爾的maXTouch技術(shù)現(xiàn)已被用在前10名智能手機(jī)中的8款之中，我們認(rèn)為這些‘勝利’將再延續(xù)，特別是由于競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者無法很快趕上整體AVR架構(gòu)的性能，”他說。 “隨著持續(xù)在智能手機(jī)和平板應(yīng)用中獲得更多采用，預(yù)計(jì)觸控MCU在2011年的銷售額將超過3億美元，”他說?！癆tmel占據(jù)了大部份的非蘋果智能手機(jī)平臺(tái)市場(chǎng)，包括宏達(dá)電(HTC, Thunderbolt, 7 Pro, Evo, EvoShift 4G, Incredible)、Kyocera Echo、Motorola Atrix，以及Samsung Galaxy 4G。 愛特梅爾本周公布截至到2011年3月31日的第一季財(cái)報(bào)，營(yíng)收4.614億美元，比上一季的4.578億美元微幅成長(zhǎng)1%；同時(shí)也較2010年第一季的3.485億美元大幅成長(zhǎng)32%。在GAAP基礎(chǔ)上計(jì)算2011年第一季凈利為7,460萬美元，或稀釋后每股0.16美元。 “在季節(jié)性疲軟中，我們的第一季業(yè)績(jī)亮眼，這主要來自于我們不斷獲得成功的微控制器業(yè)務(wù)，”Atmel總裁兼CEO Steve Laub在一份聲明中表示。 在稍早前的一次電話會(huì)議中，Laub表示 Atmel 的晶圓廠均已滿載。該公司正以自己的廠房加上中芯(SMIC)和聯(lián)電(UMC)兩家代工伙伴制造微控制器。為了擴(kuò)大產(chǎn)能，愛特梅爾還與MagnaChip公司簽署代工協(xié)議。 截至六月，其季成長(zhǎng)預(yù)期為1~4%。Atmel最大的挑戰(zhàn)是必須跟上需求，并破除一些迷思?！霸摴镜娜蝿?wù)是嘗試破除流行的街頭文化，即非蘋果的平板設(shè)備不買，因?yàn)檫@可能導(dǎo)致整個(gè)市場(chǎng)出現(xiàn)龐大庫(kù)存。事實(shí)上，Atmel看到其用于平板之maXTouch的訂單穩(wěn)定成長(zhǎng)。智能手機(jī)平臺(tái)將在2011年再推動(dòng) Atmel的觸摸業(yè)務(wù)，目前其觸摸產(chǎn)品約有80%用于智能手機(jī)(20%用于平板)，”Mosesmann說。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 參考英文原文： Microcontroller supply chain is out of control，by Mark LaPedus Microcontroller supply chain is out of control

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{pagination} Mark LaPedus 5/6/2011 8:30 PM EDT SAN JOSE, Calif. – Already under severe pressure in the supply chain, suppliers of microcontroller (MCU) products are expected to see more disruptions-and shortages-on the horizon. Coming off a banner year in 2010, Atmel, Freescale, Microchip, Renesas and other MCU suppliers saw their respective businesses return to normal seasonal patterns in the first quarter of 2011. But that all changed in March, when the great earthquake hit Japan. Several chip makers were impacted, including Renesas Electronics Corp., the world’s largest MCU supplier. Fujitsu Ltd. and other MCU suppliers with fabs in the region were also impacted. Japan’s automotive and consumer electronics giants were also affected. In fact, Toyota and others have been hit hard by shortages of MCUs and other components, causing plant shutdowns and extended lead times for some car models. In MCUs, Renesas has largely recovered from the quake except for its Naka fab in Japan, which represents 20 percent of the company’s MCU capacity. To date, the Naka fab has not resumed production. Renesas’ situation, coupled with depleting inventories in the channels, could cause relatively minor shortages of MCUs in the second quarter. ''I don’t expect ASPs to be up’’ in the coming months, said Steve Sanghi, Microchip Technology Inc.'s president and CEO, at the Embedded Systems Conference, but ''the September quarter could be worse’’ in terms of obtaining MCU supply. Indeed, Microchip and others are apparently picking up some MCU business from various OEMs-at the expense of Renesas and its misfortunes. ''Microchip, as suspected, is beginning to see increased business as a result of supply disruptions as management will likely benefit from substitutions and re-designs,’’ said analyst Doug Freedman of Gleacher & Co., in a report. ''Our view remains that visible Renesas disruptions will likely result in new opportunities and/or deepening relationships as Microchip benefits from becoming a larger supply source for MCUs globally,’’ Freedman said. ''We believe the impact will ripple through over the course of the next two to three quarters.’’ Simply replacing MCU parts from one supplier to another is easier said than done. ''I have heard of (MCU) shortages, indeed some from Renesas,’’ said Tom Starnes, an analyst with Objective-Analysis. ‘’Unfortunately re-qualifying products through different equipment and facilities takes time and effort by both vendor and OEM. Such things are normally scheduled carefully so as to not disrupt product flow.’’ The microcontroller market dropped like a rock in 2009. In 2010, the market rebounded and hit $15.1 billion, according to Gartner Inc. The microcontroller market will likely exceed a value of $16 billion for 2011, up 9 percent over 2010, according to Databeans Inc. Renesas strategy In the rankings for 2010, Renesas was the MCU leader with $4.447 billion in sales, followed by Freescale ($1.525 billion), Samsung ($982 million), Microchip ($968 million), Atmel ($958 million), TI ($946 million), Infineon ($930 million), ST ($915 million) and Fujitsu ($684 million), according to Gartner. Not surprisingly, Renesas is moving full speed to recover from the quake. In MCUs, ''we’re still catching up,’’ said Daniel Mahoney, president and CEO of Renesas' U.S. subsidiary, Renesas Electronics America Inc., at ESC. ''We think we will close the gap’’ in the second half of 2011. Following the quake, five out of Renesas’ 10 fabs in Japan were temporarily shut down. ''Four of five have resumed production’’ in more recent times, Mahoney said. The problem is that Renesas’ Naka fab is still out. The plant consists of two lines, including separate 200- and 300-mm lines. In total, Naka represents 20 percent of the Renesas-branded MCU capacity. Renesas did not elaborate which lines were impacted, but it did say that the quake did not disrupt the supply of NEC-branded MCU devices. Seeking to play catch-up, Renesas outlined its strategy. First, the company is moving to re-open the Naka fab. The 200-mm line, dubbed N2, will restart on June 15; the 300-mm line, dubbed N3, will restart in July, he said. Second, Renesas has shifted some production to other fabs. Third, it has moved some production to the foundries. The company has transferred some of the ''Naka production to TSMC,’’ he said. The company is also moving some MCU production to a 200-mm fab in Singapore, now owned by Globalfoundries Inc. That fab was once owned by Chartered, which was acquired by Globalfoundries. Still, there could be disruptions in the supply chain. There were ''two months of inventory’’ in the supply chain before the quake, but that stock is nearly depleted, said Microchip’s Sanghi. The inventory issue, coupled with Renesas’ woes, is expected to cause some shortages. Many OEMs are seeking replacement parts from Microchip. As reported, Microchip has outlined a replacement program and is expanding production within its fab in Gresham, Ore. This week, Microchip posted stellar results and bought an IC-assembly house to expand its backend requirements. Atmel shines Another MCU supplier, Atmel Corp., is seeing booming demand for this and other reasons. In fact, it is seeing sizzling growth in its touch controller business, dubbed maXTouch. ''In our view, Atmel is seeing a multi-year market share gaining dynamic (AVR architecture) similar to what Microchip saw in the 1990s (PIC architecture) – one that could end up taking the better part of a decade to play itself out,’’ said Hans Mosesmann, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates Inc.. ''Atmel’s maXTouch technology is now in 8 of the top 10 smartphones and we continue to believe these ‘wins’ are sticky in nature, in particular due to the overall performance of the AVR architecture that the competition is likely not able to meet any time soon,’’ he said. ''Management now expects touch microcontrollers to exceed $300 million in sales for 2011 as the design-win pipeline continues to fill in both smartphone and tablet applications,’’ he said. ''Atmel is in the majority of the non-Apple smartphone platforms today including HTC (Thunderbolt, 7 Pro, Evo, EvoShift 4G, Incredible), Kyocera Echo, Motorola Atrix, and Samsung Galaxy 4G.’’ This week, Atmel announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2011. Revenues for the first quarter of 2011 were $461.4 million, a 1 percent increase compared to $457.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, and a 32 percent increase compared to $348.5 million for the first quarter of 2010. Net income, on a GAAP basis, totaled $74.6 million, or $0.16 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2011. Included in first quarter 2011 results were restructuring charges of $21.2 million or $0.05 per diluted share, related to personnel reductions at Rousset, France following the sale of a wafer fabrication and smart card businesses. The first quarter 2011 net income compares to net income of $223.1 million or $0.47 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2010, which included $118.1 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, primarily from releasing reserves for certain deferred tax assets. Net income, on a GAAP basis, was $16.6 million or $0.04 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2010. "Our outstanding first quarter results, in a seasonally softer quarter, were driven by the continued success of our microcontroller business," said Steve Laub, Atmel's president and CEO, in a statement. During a conference call, Laub said Atmel’s fabs are running at ''full capacity.’’ The company is making MCUs within its own fabs as well as at two foundry partners, SMIC and UMC. To expand its capacity, Atmel has also signed a foundry deal with MagnaChip. June quarter guidance is for sequential sales growth of 1-4 percent. The big challenge for Atmel is to keep up with demand and dispel a myth. ''Management attempted to dispel the popular Street notion that non-Apple tablets are not selling and that huge inventories are building. Actually, Atmel is seeing orderly growth in maXTouch orders for tablets. Smartphone platforms are set to drive Atmel’s Touch business in 2011, with 80 percent of the mix to go to smartphones (20 percent to tablets) given that Atmel is in the majority of smartphones in the market today,’’ Mosesmann said.