Qualcomm, MediaTek, Nvidia and Spreadtrum Communications have all increased their wafer starts at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to meet anticipated demand for smartphones and tablet PCs during the holiday season, according to industry sources.

Qualcomm, which supplies chips for Apple's iPhone 4S and a number of Windows Phone (Mango) smartphones, have raised wafer starts at TSMC with orders for the fourth quarter increasing by over 40% to exceed 500,000 wafers, the sources indicated.

Qualcomm is likely to place a similar amount of orders with TSMC in the first quarter of 2012, the sources said.

TSMC also makes chips for Nvidia, which has boosted wafer starts for its application processors for tablet PCs to about 100,000 units in the fourth quarter from 90,000 in the third, the sources said. Nvidia reportedly has secured orders from HTC and Asustek Computer.

Meanwhile, MediaTek and Spreadtrum have grown their orders for the fourth quarter to TSMC by more than 20%, the sources pointed out. Their wafer starts at TSMC are estimated at 90,000 units each in the fourth quarter, the sources said.

With orders increasing, TSMC is expected to see its fouth-quarter revenues reach the higher end of its NT$103-105 billion guidance range, according to the sources.

Packaging and testing firms Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) and Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL), and IC substrate maker Kinsus Interconnect Technology are also being identified as the major beneficiaries of the increased orders placed by Qualcomm, MediaTek, Nvidia and Spreadtrum, the sources said.

ASE revealed during its recent investors meeting that it was the first time the company had seen orders from a single customer account for more than 10% of its core business revenues in the third quarter. ASE did not identify the client, but sources speculated Qualcomm as the one.

Kinsus, which reportedly has cut into the supply chain for iPhones and iPads, will see sales generated from orders for the Apple products increase 50% in 2012, the sources noted. Kinsus' overall shipments of FC CSP substrates for ARM-based CPUs have been strong, the sources added.

Kinsus declined to comment on customer status. The company generated revenues of NT$4.55 billion in the third quarter of 2011, a record high.

Source:digitimes