In a newly-released Quarterly Display Optical Film Report available at Electronics.ca Publications indicated that Q2󈧍 demand for large-area TFT LCD backlight optical film grew by more than 22% Q/Q, to 56 million square meters from 45.9 million square meters in Q1󈧍. The growth was driven by expansion of LCD TV area and the recovery of production of notebook PC and monitor panels. Due to growing interest in green LCD TV panels, new designs have reduced the number of lamps in the backlight unit by adding brightness improvement films. Looking forward to Q3󈧍, the market is expected to grow by 11% Q/Q, creating a business opportunity for film makers who can provide improved technology.

TV IC market declined seasonally to 30.8 million units shipped into flat panel TVs in Q1󈧍, according to the latest research in the Q2󈧍 Quarterly TV Electronics Report available at Electronics.ca Publications. Shipments were down 4.3 % Q/Q, but up 11% Y/Y. This is in line with the normal seasonal trends, and with the maturing of flat panel TV as developed markets have completed the switch from CRT TVs.

Announcements and investments made in the first half of this year provide plenty of evidence that companies are now ready to seriously back mobile money services.  This reinforces assumptions and forecasts of a research available at Electronics.ca Publications on the embryonic market for financial applications utilising mobile networks and handsets.  Last year the research projected a potential 900 million users for mobile banking and payment applications at the end of 2013 and these developments back these estimates.

A market research report available at Electronics.ca Publications has revealed that the global solar inverter market more than doubled to reach $2.4 billion in 2008. Analysis has also revealed that a number of companies traditionally associated with industries such as UPS, power supplies and motor drives have found particular success in transferring their expertise to the photovoltaic (PV) inverter market. The global supplier base for PV inverters is likely to change significantly over the next few years according to the research with many new companies expected to enter this quickly growing market.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University in Korea has uncovered a way to force two excited-state intermolecular proton transfer materials into a single molecule. Sounds like the recipe for “transparent aluminum”, but it’s not. The technology is the basis for a white LED with the same warm glow as incandescent bulbs.

According to a soon-to-be-released Mid-Year Update to The McClean Report, 2009 is forecast to be a "tale of two halves." The first half of 2009 was hit hard by seasonal weakness for electronic system sales, a major IC inventory adjustment, and the global recession at its worst (with the global economy registering a rare drop in GDP). However, the second half of 2009 is expected to usher in strong seasonal strength for electronic system sales, a period of IC inventory replenishment (which began in 2Q09), and positive worldwide GDP growth.

Mid-Year Update to The McClean Report describes how, after the worst two quarters in the history of the IC industry (4Q08 and 1Q09), 2Q09 rebounded (+16%) and signaled that the "healing" process is underway. In the past 25 years, only the 18% quarterly IC market increases in 2Q84 and 2Q06 and the 17% surge in 4Q99 were better than the 2Q09 results.

Light vehicles are an important market for suppliers of electrical motors. According to a new report available at Electronics.ca Publications, the average vehicle featured over 30 electrical motors in 2008. In the same year, 66 million vehicles were produced. Overall, the market for electrical motors in automotive applications is forecast to grow at an average rate of around 7% over the next seven years (although the market will shrink in 2009 as the downturn will mean lower vehicle production volumes). However, the report finds that demand for electrical motors in some applications will grow much faster than the average rate.

According to a new market research report available at Electronics.ca Publications, The Global Market for ASICs, the global market for application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) will be worth an estimated $18.5 billion in 2009. This is expected to increase to $22.3 billion in 2014, for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8%.

With growth rates well over 100% in 2010, shipments of Wi-Fi Chipsets based on the draft n/802.11n will surge ahead of those based on 802.11g, according to a new market research report available at Electronics.ca Publications. 802.11n is ahead in nearly every equipment category, but unit volume is being driven by shipment growth in mobile handsets and notebook PCs.