IC shipments top 10 million mark

SiGe Semiconductor marked the end of 2003 with a major milestone, with IC shipments passing the 10-million-unit barrier.

SiGe Semiconductor marked the end of 2003 with a major milestone, with IC shipments passing the 10-million-unit barrier.

SiGe Semiconductor's sales revenue for 2003 increased by about 150% over the previous year.

This is attributed to the success of SiGe's RangeCharger wireless power amplifiers, which account for about 70% of worldwide shipments.

The power amplifiers improve signal integrity and transmission range to enable wireless Internet access in hotspot, home and office environments.

SiGe's RangeCharger power amplifiers can be found on store shelves today in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled laptop computers, wireless access points, PDAs, PC Cards and PC peripherals marketed by some of the industry's leading consumer electronics companies.

"In just three years, we have built a portfolio of industry-leading products, established a first rate global sales and distribution network, and proven our ability to secure wins with the world's leading manufacturers", said Jim Derbyshire, President and CEO, SiGe Semiconductor.

"We are going to continue to leverage intellectual property and design expertise to expand our product lines and take advantage of emerging market opportunities".

SiGe's success is due in part to the company's push to expand its network of sales, distribution and customer support teams in the Asia-Pacific region.

A significant portion of sales have been to customers and partners in this region, who recognise the ability for SiGe's ICs to meet the requirements of low-cost and high-volume manufacturing processes.

SiGe collaborates with these customers and partners to build wireless systems that are small in size, achieve long battery life, and high performance.

"SiGe Semiconductor's achievement during a time of economic uncertainty is impressive", said Robert Fleming, cofounder and General Partner, Prism Venture Partners, a major investor in SiGe.

"Their excellent traction with customers is fuelled by the management team's ability to identify and capitalise on market opportunities and to deliver products that meet all of the requirements of today's communication devices".

In addition to wireless power amplifiers, the company has developed integrated circuits and front-end modules for cellular, GPS and optical interface applications.

Over the next few years the company will expand these product lines to take advantage of growing demand for consumer devices that support GSM/Edge, CDMA, cdma2000, W-CDMA and GPRS cellular services, location based services and high-speed optical networking.

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