Globally semiconductor revenue is expected to increase this year, with Samsung gaining noticeable ground on top semiconductor company Intel in market share, Gartner said in a study released Wednesday.

Revenue is expected to reach a “landmark” US$300.3 billion in 2010, up 31.5% from 2009, according to preliminary results released by Gartner. The semiconductor market has been rebounding after the worldwide recession curtailed chip revenue in 2009, when year-over-year revenue declined by 10%.

As the economy stabilized this year, semiconductors manufacturers quickly added capacity to meet the growing demand of parts from system makers. But semiconductor demand started weakening again starting in the third quarter this year, Gartner said.

Despite the late-year slowdown, this year will go down as a “banner year” for the semiconductor industry, said Stephan Ohr, semiconductor research director at Gartner, in the statement. Yearly semiconductor revenue worldwide has grown by more 30% only in 1988, 1995 and 2000, Ohr said.

The top semiconductor company was Intel, which received a boost from a surge in PC sales during the first two quarters of the year. Intel’s semiconductor revenue was $41.34 billion, growing 24.6%, with a 13.8% market share. Intel held a 14.2% market share the previous year.

Samsung, in second place, closed in on Intel by gaining market share. Samsung’s revenue was $28.26 billion, growing by 59.8%, with a 9.4% market share. Samsung’s revenue growth was partly driven by the strong DRAM and NAND flash markets, and memory accounted for 80% of the company’s sales, Gartner said.

Other major semiconductor companies saw positive revenue growth this year. In third place was Toshiba, whose revenue totaled $12.38 billion, growing 28.9%. In close fourth was Texas Instruments, whose revenue was $12.36 billion, growing by 35.2% year-over-year.