The outbreak of the new crown epidemic in 2020 led to a recession in the global economy that year, and the subsequent economic complexion in 2021 brought a strong 30% growth in analog chip sales.

According to a report by market research firm IC Insights, analog chips are expected to achieve double-digit growth again this year.

According to public information, analog ICs are responsible for processing continuous analog signals and are an indispensable part of electronic systems. The analog signal needs to be processed by the analog chip before it can be used by the digital chip. Since the signals actually provided by sensors and receivers are very weak, noisy and susceptible to interference, signal preprocessing is generally required, including amplification, filtering, and isolation. After the preprocessing is completed, the processing, including operation, comparison, conversion, etc., is generally not enough to drive the load, so power amplification is also required. If the signal needs to be digitally processed, the preprocessed analog signal is converted into a digital signal through an A/D converter, and then converted into an analog signal through a D/A converter after processing.

According to the report, total analog chip sales are expected to increase by 12% to $83.2 billion in 2022, unit shipments will increase by 11% to 238.7 billion, and the average selling price of analog chips will increase by 1%.

The analog chip market in 2021 is impressive given the strength and breadth of growth, the report said. Among them, the extraordinary growth of 30% made the sales of analog chips rise to a record high of 74.1 billion US dollars. Meanwhile, shipments of analog chip devices climbed 22% in 2021 to a record $215.1 billion. The combination of strong market demand and supply chain disruption caused the average selling price of analog chips to rise by 6% last year.

Every major general-purpose analog chip and application-specific analog chip market is expected to experience sales growth in 2022, according to the report. For example, from 7% growth in amplifiers and comparators to 17% growth in analog chips for automotive specific applications.

In addition, growing shipments of 5G phones and the infrastructure to support these devices are one of the key reasons why the communications segment is expected to account for the largest portion of analog chip sales in 2022.

Among them, wireless communication applications are expected to account for 91% of sales in the field of communication analog chips this year, while wired communication applications account for 9%.

According to the report, in 2022, power management ICs are expected to become the second largest analog chip market segment. Functionally, power management ICs help regulate power usage to maintain device operating temperature and help extend battery life. In addition, it regulates functions such as stepper motors, communication interfaces and display backlighting.