The move to 2D barcodes begins
The electronics industry will transition to 2D barcodes over the next five years.
The advantage is 2-D barcodes can be embedded with much more information than 1-D barcodes in a smaller space.
In addition, 2-D barcodes only need to be scanned once, while 1-D barcodes need to be scanned multiple times because each line has to be scanned separately.
A few component manufacturers and distributors are already using 2-D barcodes. One company is Vishay Intertechnology. The chief benefit of 2-D barcoding is that more information can be embedded in the 2-D label.
How soon the transition to 2-D barcodes will occur remains to be seen. Many component manufacturers and distributors say within five years most electronics companies will be using 2-D barcodes. Some distributors believe that the transition will occur faster than that.
MEMS devices proliferate in the medical market
With sales expected to grow by 8 percent in 2013, MEMS makes notable inroads in the medical market.
A portion of that growth will come from the medical electronics market, where the mainstay applications comprise drug discovery chips, disposable invasive blood pressure catheters, drug infusion, balloon inflation and kidney dialysis.
Overall revenue in 2013 for MEMS sensors and actuators is forecast to reach $9.09 billion, up 8.1 percent from $8.41 billion last year.
By 2017, MEMS revenue will amount to some $12.21 billion, up more than 50 percent from 2012 levels.
LED tags to fall in 2013
Prices for LEDs will fall as suppliers move production to larger size wafers and improve manufacturing efficiencies.
Prices for high-brightness LEDs declined by 30 percent or more in 2012, and tags will continue to drop in 2013 .
It is good news for buyers.
Suppliers, such as Cree, Osram, Bridgelux and others, have been able to drop prices because of greater efficiencies in the manufacturing of the chips, and because of reduction in the cost of LED packages.
The global high-brightness light emitting diode market will post strong growth through 2016 as LEDs are used in more electronics systems and for general illumination.
