Taiwan-based IC design houses have seen an upsurge in orders from the TFT LCD panel and notebook sectors, expecting the rebound in demand to last into January 2011, according to industry sources.

OEM makers and IC distributors normally will not pile up their inventories at the year-end off season and, therefore, the recent orders from the panel and notebook makers actually reflected strong demand for LCD TVs, LCD monitors and notebooks in the end market, the sources added.

LCD IC vendors, including Novatek Microelectronics, Sitronix Technology, Orise Technology, Richtek Technology, Integrated Memory Logic (iML) and Global Mixed-code Technology (GMT), have all received more orders from notebook and monitor makers, the sources revealed.

Notebook IC makers such as Ene Technology and Integrated Technology Express (ITE), as well as touch-panel controller IC vendors Elan Microelectronics and Egalax-empia Technology (EETI), all expect sales to remain strong in November 2010 to January 2011.