Vendors from the smartphone, tablet PC, CMOS image sensor and touch panel sectors have begun booking flexible PCB (FPCB) capacities for 2011, pushing FPCB suppliers to ramp up their output, according to industry sources.

Career Technology and Ichia Technologies begun to expand their capacities in the second half of 2010 and aim to ramp up their output by 50% each when their expansion projects are completed, the sources noted.

Ichia aims to raise its FPCB capacity to 120,000 square feet a month in the first half of 2011.

Another FPCB maker Flexium Interconnect plans to raise its capacity by 30% by the third quarter of 2011, added the sources. Flexium has recently raised NT$1.3 billion (US$42.73 million) to fund its expansion projects.