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Flexible Circuit Market Trends
December 31, 1969 |Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Flexible (flex) circuits have assumed more importance with the advent of component miniaturization and increasing board density.
By Bhargava Attada
Flex circuits feature a three-dimensional shape, which saves a substantial amount of board space. The circuits also bend during installation and maintenance, making the rework and repair process easier. Additionally, they flex during use, increasing device reliability and longevity. With these features, flex circuits offer cost-effective solutions to problems in design, board assembly and packaging, most importantly in the areas of aerospace, defense, medical devices and commercial applications.
The world market for flex circuits in 2002 is estimated to be $5.5 billion, and is likely to touch $10 billion in 2007. The fastest-growing segment in this area is high-density interconnect (HDI). It comprises approximately 50 percent of the total flex circuits market in 2002. The HDI flex circuits feature a pitch less than 200 µm and diameter less than 250 µm. These circuits find application in consumer electronics, computer peripherals, medical electronics devices and microelectronics packages such as chip scale packages (CSP) and ball grid arrays (BGA). Packaging applications comprise about 55 percent of the total flexible circuits market. While the traditional flex market is growing at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 12 percent per year, the HDI flex market is growing at a rate of 41 percent.
The following factors drive revenue growth in the market:
- Real estate scarcity on printed circuit boards (PCBs), especially in the case of computing, telecom and consumer electronics products
- Difficulty of placement and interconnectivity of 0201 and other minute components on conventional rigid boards in compact packages such as BGAs and CSPs
- Long lifespan of medical, aerospace and defense products, requiring high reliability and longevity
- Increasing electronics applications in the automotive industry, where flexible circuits are more suitable compared to rigid circuit boards because of the circuitry's physical and mechanical movement
- Upsurge in demand in end user segments in Asian regions, leading to increase of flex circuits along with the overall PCB market.
Figure 1. Flexible circuit market — Revenue breakdown by geographic region, 2002 (world).
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Figure 2. Flexible circuit market — Revenue breakdown by end user type, 2002 (world).
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Geographic Trends
Asia currently is producing about 60 percent of the global flexible circuits. Japan is the leading producer in the region, accounting for 43 percent of the total production in 2002, closely followed by North America, which accounted for 26 percent. Figure 1 details the worldwide regional breakdown of flex circuit production. Different factors drive growth in different geographic areas. In Asia, consumer electronics drive revenue growth, while in Europe and North America, computing, telecom and automotive applications are major revenue generators.
With a sharp decline in military and government spending in the United States, the market is likely to decrease further, giving a dominating share to Asian markets. In Europe, specialized applications such as radio frequency identification devices (RFID), smart card readers and other portable devices are likely to generate revenues in the next two years. In Asia, flexible circuitry applications in optoelectronics will likely account for a substantial part of the revenues in the same period.
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End User Segment Trends
Together, the computing and communications segments account for 52 percent of total U.S. flexible circuit production in 2002. The industrial electronics segment accounts for about 15 percent. Figure 2 describes the breakdown of production by end user segment. The table lists specific applications by end user segment. Post-economic recession, with increase in penetration of computing and telecom equipment in the United States and Europe, other commercial applications have become profitable. The medical electronics market has gained attention because of its survival during the economic downturn. Automotive electronics has shown considerable growth, with increases in per-car electronics, navigation devices, park assist systems and global positioning systems (GPS). Government spending in defense and investment in the aerospace sector are likely to increase in 2005, driving revenue growth.
Technology Trends
Flex circuits are either single- or multi-layer, based on technology. A single-layer board has one conducting layer either covered by two insulating layers or left uncovered. Multi-layer boards have more than one conducting layer with insulating, flexible layers between each of them. Another variation in the multi-layer is rigid-flex type, in which more than one conducting layer is insulated between two flexible or rigid nonconducting layers. Multi-layer boards with more than 25 layers are in high demand and are used in most complex applications. These boards account for 40 percent of the total flexible circuit board production in 2002.
Conclusion
Some base metals and substrates lose their elastic properties when bent too much. This challenge can defeat the purpose of a flexible circuit, making it necessary for the manufacturer to choose the substrates and base metals, alloys, and the covering insulating layers to suit the application. However, the flexible circuits market is likely to outpace the rigid circuits market. Flexible circuits made up 18 percent of total circuit board shipments worldwide in 2002.
For more information, contact Julia Paulson, Frost & Sullivan, (210) 247-3870; E-mail: jpaulson@frost.com.