1. Pentek
In May 2021, the supplier of radio and data acquisition boards and recording systems for high-end commercial and defense applications was acquired by Mercury Systems, a technology firm delivering open-architecture processing solutions to theaerospace and defense industry. The deal will expand Mercury’s reach to radar and electronic warfare markets.
2. Newport Wafer Fab
In July 2021,Nexperia obtained 100% ownership of Newport Wafer Fab and renamed it NexperiaNewport. Earlier, in 2019, Nexperia had become the second-largest shareholderin the Welsh semiconductor production facility. The Newport site will nowcomplement Nexperia’s manufacturing operations in Manchester and Hamburg.
The Newportproduction site, established in 1982 and originally named INMOS, has a capacityof over 35,000 200 mm wafer starts per month, covering semiconductor technologies ranging from MOSFETs to trench IGBTs. Nexperia aims to focus the fab operations on MOSFETs, IGBT, analog, and compound semiconductors.
3. Silicon Labs’ analog assets
Also, in July2021, Silicon Labs shed its Infrastructure & Automotive business toSkyworks Solutions for $2.75 billion. Now focusing on the Internet of Things(IoT) connectivity business, Silicon Labs sold its analog chip businesscomprising two broad categories: timing and isolation. The timing portfolioincluded buffers, clock generators, oscillators, and jitter attenuators. Next,the isolation lineup comprised isolated analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) andgate drivers as well as industrial I/O and digital isolators.
4. Maxim Integrated Products
While widelycovered in technology and trade media, Analog Devices Inc.’s Maxim Integrateddeal made it a mega supplier surpassing $10 billion in sales in 2021, accordingto McClean Report produced by research firm IC insights. Industry observerscall ADI’s acquisition of Maxim Integrated an indication of the red-hot analogchip market.
Maxim’sapplication-focused power management offerings complement ADI’s broadcomponents portfolio in analog and mixed-signal domains. Besides analog designinnovation, what kept Maxim going since its inception in April 1983 was itssavvy manufacturing strategy.
5. Dialog Semiconductor
Anotheracquisition deal completed in August 2021 was the purchase of DialogSemiconductor by Renesas. Another analog and power chipmaker folded into thelarger world of a digital semiconductor outfit aiming to bolster its mixed-signalengineering prowess. The value proposition of buying the Anglo-German chipmakerand Apple supplier seemed two-fold.
First, when youlook at the IoT designs, the secret sauce comprises mainly low-cost MCUs andlow-power connectivity solutions. Here, Renesas MCUs could mesh with Dialog’spower-savvy Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity offerings. Second, Dialog’s expertisein power management ICs (PMICs) could be instrumental in creating low-powersystem-on-chip (SoC) solutions for automotive applications such as batterymanagement, infotainment, and ADAS.
6. Integrated Microwave Corp. (IMC)
Also, in August2021, Knowles Precision Devices, a division of Knowles Corp., acquiredCalifornia-based Integrated Microwave Corp. (IMC) to expand its RF portfolio inthe aerospace and defense markets. IMC’s RF and microwave filtering solutionssupport VHF to Ka-band by adding ceramic, lumped-element, (LC) and cavityfilters for lower-frequency and higher-power applications.
7. Eta Wireless
In September2021, Murata Manufacturing completed the acquisition of Eta Wireless, adeveloper of digital envelope tracking technology that dramatically reduces thepower consumption of RF circuits in wireless communications. The technologycombines signal processing techniques with digital power management methods toefficiently control RF circuits.
That’s going tobe critical in 5G and 6G wireless networks that have limited leverage toimprove the power consumption of broadband signals via hardware manufacturingand analog methods. Here, the digital envelope tracking technology optimizesthe voltage within the RF circuit to curb excessive power consumption.
8. ADI’s radar division
In October 2021,indie Semiconductor, specializing in automotive solutions, announced it wasbuying Symeo GmbH, the Munich-based radar division of Analog Devices Inc. Thebusiness comprising 35 team members developed hardware and software for RF andsensor technologies while enabling real-time position detection and distancemeasurement for high-precision radar solutions.
The acquisitionshows how indie is augmenting vision processing, perception, and LiDAR designexpertise for automotive radar systems. Automotive radars support functionslike navigation, surveillance, and traffic monitoring while providing insightsinto a vehicle’s surroundings and identifying potential hazards for drivers.
9. GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT)
Soon after itsname rebranding, in November 2021, onsemi completed the acquisition of GTAdvanced Technologies, a developer of wafer-ready silicon carbide (SiC)solutions. GTAT’s manufacturing facilities and expertise in 150 mm and 200 mmSiC crystal growth will help onsemi offer SiC-based end-to-end power solutions.
10. UnitedSiC
Next, inNovember 2021, RF chipmaker Qorvo announced the acquisition of United SiliconCarbide (UnitedSiC), a supplier of SiC power semiconductors for electricvehicles (EVs), industrial power, circuit protection, renewables, and datacenter power. Qorvo aims to integrate the new company into its Infrastructure& Defense Products (IDP) business and offer semiconductor solutionscovering power conversion, motion control, and circuit protection applications.
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