Market Challenges: High design complexity

The increasingly complex design of USB controller chips is posing a major challenge for the growth of the global USB controllers market. As USB standards continue to evolve with new specifications focused on higher speeds and more advanced functionality, the internal architecture and silicon design of USB controller ICs is becoming exponentially more complicated.

USB 4.0 for example has doubled the maximum permitted bandwidth to 40Gbps while maintaining compatibility with previous standards. Achieving such high data throughput within the size and power constraints of portable electronics requires extremely sophisticated semiconductor design with many logic gates, circuits and engineering trade-offs. For chipmakers, developing USB controllers that can support the latest specifications like USB 4.0 entails expending considerable resources in R&D. This steep rise in design requirements is lengthening product development cycles and increasing per unit manufacturing costs.

The greater complexity is also making USB controllers more prone to design bugs and flaws. Advanced FinFET process technologies that offer more transistors per chip area are ironically harder to design for. This has led to lower initial chip yields for manufacturers. Issues found during compliance testing cause costly re-spins that further delay product launches. Some USB controller models may need to go through multiple revisions before achieving the expected level of reliability. These reliability issues damage the reputation of controllers and slow overall market acceptance of new USB standards.

Market Opportunities: Emergence of USB Type C connectivity

The emergence of USB Type C connectivity represents a major opportunity for growth in the global USB controllers market. USB Type C offers several advantages over older USB port types that are driving its widespread adoption. USB Type C connectors are reversible and allow for faster charging and data transfer speeds. They can also support newer technologies like Display Port and power delivery. This widespread adoption of USB Type C is causing increased demand for USB controllers that are compatible with the newer standard.

As USB Type C starts appearing on more device types from smartphones to laptops to accessories, chipmakers see a need to design controllers that fully support the latest capabilities and power levels of USB Type C. The addition of USB Type C ports to devices requires an updated USB controller that can recognize the Type C connector, negotiate bus protocols and power levels, and switch to the appropriate mode of operation. Manufacturers are racing to release newer generations of USB controllers with expanded USB Type C compliance and features in order to capitalize on the growing base of compatible devices.