3) THE MICROCONTROLLER MARKET


    Thanks to Robin Getz of National Semiconductor for supplying much of
    the material in this section.


3.1) Shipments


            WorldWide Microcontroller Shipments (in millions of dollars)

            '90   '91   '92   '93   '94   '95   '96   '97   '98   '99   '00
     4-bit 1,393 1,597 1,596 1,698 1,761 1,826 1,849 1,881 1,856 1,816 1,757
     8-bit 2,077 2,615 2,862 3,703 4,689 5,634 6,553 7,529 8,423 9,219 9,715
    16-bit   192   303   340   484   810 1,170 1,628 2,191 2,969 3,678 4,405


                 WorldWide Microcontroller Shipments (in Millions)

             '90   '91   '92   '93   '94   '95   '96   '97   '98   '99   '00
     4-bit   778   906   979  1036  1063  1110  1100  1096  1064  1025   970
     8-bit   588   753   843  1073  1449  1803  2123  2374  2556  2681  2700
    16-bit    22    38    45    59   106   157   227   313   419   501   585


                                                   Source: WSTS & ICE - 1994

    If you were wondering why you should bother learning about
    microcontrollers - well, the tables above should fairly scream the
    answer at you.  Microcontrollers will be *BIG* business - we're
    talking piles of cash - billions!

    Notice that even the lowly 4-bit device is holding its own - what use
    is a 16-bit part in a toaster oven?  Also notice that the 8-bit
    market just keeps growing, and will probably continue to grow.  8-bit
    devices account for over half of the market, and will eventually grab
    even more.  Now do you understand why every silicon manufacturer is
    really pushing their 8-bit microcontrollers?


3.2) Industrial applications


    Average Semiconductor Content per Passenger Automobile (in Dollars)

        '90   '91   '92   '93   '94   '95   '96   '97   '98   '99   '00
     $  595   634   712   905 1,068 1,237 1,339 1,410 1,574 1,852 2,126

                                                     Source: ICE - 1994

    The automotive market is the most important single driving force in
    the microcontroller market, especially at it's high end.  Several
    microcontroller families were developed specifically for automotive
    applications and were subsequently modified to serve other embedded
    applications.

    The automotive market is demanding.  Electronics must operate under
    extreme temperatures and be able to withstand vibration, shock, and
    EMI.  The electronics must be reliable, because a failure that causes
    an accident can (and does) result in multi-million dollar lawsuits.
    Reliability standards are high - but because these electronics also
    compete in the consumer market - they have a low price tag.

    Automotive is not the only market that is growing.  DataQuest says
    that in the average North American's home there are 35
    microcontrollers.  By the year 2000 - that number will grow to 240.
    Consumer electronics is a booming business.


3.3) Deciding whose microcontroller to use


    When deciding which devices to implement in a design, there are lots
    of things to consider besides who else is using these devices (and
    how many are they using).
      - Can I expect help when I am having problems?
      - What development tools are available and how much do they cost?
      - What sort of documentation is available (reference manuals,
        application notes, books)?
      - Can I work a deal by purchasing more devices at one manufacturer?
        That is, purchasing not only the microcontroller, but also
        peripherals (A/D, memory, voltage regulator, etc.) from one
        company).
      - Do they support OTPs, windowed devices, mask parts?


3.4) The players


    Here is a list of the big guys.  Keep in mind that units does not
    equal dollars.  Since some companies deal primarily in higher end
    devices, they need to sell fewer units to achieve a higher dollar
    total.

          Company              Units (k) 1993
    -----------------------------------------------
          Motorola               358,894
          Mitsubishi              71,674
          NEC                     70,180
          Hitachi                 67,873
          Philips                 56,680
          Intel                   46,876
          SGS-Thomson             37,350
          Microchip               35,477
          Matsushitta             34,200
          Toshiba                 32,205
          National Semiconductor  31,634
          Zilog                   31,000
          Texas Instruments       29,725
          Siemens                 20,874
          Sharp                   17,505

                                         SOURCE: DataQuest June 1994


    The above numbers are just somebody's best guess - believe them if
    you want to.  Since they get paid to come up with these numbers, one
    would hope that they would be fairly reliable.  However, one of these
    numbers is wrong for certain (and Robin Getz won't say whether it
    should be higher or lower ;-).