Market Trends of NOR Flash Memory Industry
Communication to be the Largest End-user Application
- Communications and Telecom represent the largest segment of the market. The amount of data generated worldwide is increasing at a rapid pace. The explosion of data is fueled by a plethora of embedded devices that produce a small amount of data for each discrete transaction and add up to big data when clubbed together. Organizations collect data from a range of sources, including smart (IoT) devices, business transactions, industrial equipment, social media, etc.
- The need to respond to evolving market standards in a compressed time-to-market window has resulted in the widespread use of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and complementary system-on-chip devices (SoCs) in a wide range of wireless infrastructure applications. FPGAs and SoCs require configuration each time the system is powered up. These devices can be configured by diverse types of memories, including Flash.
- Unlike NAND flash, NOR flash memories provide high reliability with low latency in initial response and boot. In addition, advances in NOR Flash process technology, such as MirrorBit technology, which stores two bits per memory cell, support greater density scaling than floating-gate technology. The increased density enables monolithic 1-GB and higher density NOR flash products required for 5G wireless infrastructure. Due to such characteristics, NOR flash memories are widely used in wireless infrastructure applications.
- With the growing demand for 5G, the number of 5G base stations is increasing globally. 5G base stations are expected to need a significant amount of memory chips, as they are usually equipped with high-density NOR flash with 1 or 2 gigabytes of memory, fueling the demand for the market studied.
- Also, a growth in machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless solutions is creating a significant demand for NOR Flash memory. Embedded memory, like NOR Flash, can enable short-range radio solutions (Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, and IP500).
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China to Hold Major Market Share
- The rise in the trend of portable electronic devices combined with the growing penetration of advanced technologies, like IoT, among the population across china acts as one of the major factors driving the growth of the NOR flash memory market. The increase in the sales of consumer electronics in China is escalating the growth of the NOR flash market.
- For instance, according to the State Council of the People's Republic of China, significant electronics manufacturers' added value increased 12.7% year over year in the two months between January and February 2022, as opposed to the 7.5% growth experienced by the nation's entire industrial sector. The demand for NOR flash memory devices is driven by China, the world's top producer of consumer electronics such as TVs, cellphones, laptops, and PCs.
- The concentration of electronics manufacturing in China has provided a foundation for the significant development of IoT products in the country, further stimulated by massive domestic consumer demand. IoT development in China also benefits from massive state-led spending on enabling infrastructure. For instance, China recently announced a three‑year plan for new IoT infrastructure development (2021‑2023), targeting the initial completion of new IoT infrastructure in major cities by the end of 2023. Such initiatives will fuel the growth of IoT-enabled smart devices, facilitating market growth.
- With the growing demand for 5G, the number of 5G base stations is increasing globally. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China aims to have 2 million installed 5G base stations in 2022 to expand the country’s next-generation mobile network. According to MIIT, the Chinese mainland currently has 1.425 million installed 5G base stations that support more than 500 million 5G users nationwide, making it the biggest network in the world. According to the ministry, the country has a 24.3% 5G penetration rate. IoT and other intelligent automation applications that use NOR memory devices are expanding as a result of 5G networks being more widely used.
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